Chapter Fourteen #3
“I don’t want to ever talk to her again,” Harper said, barely able to speak the words, her lips were trembling so.
She had thought she’d grown accustomed to her mother’s vitriolic conversations.
But today, damn her, Harper had once again slipped into the fantasy—for the briefest, sweetest moment—that her mother was truly happy for her.
That she cared. Fool, she told herself. When will you ever learn?
“What did she say?” asked Granny James in a low voice.
Harper swiftly wiped away a tear from her cheek. “Must we discuss it?”
“Yes, dear, I think we must. Tell me what she said.”
Granny was no stranger to Georgiana’s ability to cut a person off at the knees. Granny had been there for Harper for all of her life to listen, to console, to reassure her that she was loved.
“Well, first she congratulated me on the baby.”
“That’s something.”
Harper laughed derisively. “Then she proceeded to tell me to sell this backwoods house and move to Greenfields Park. She was quite clear it was my responsibility. Even my destiny. I suppose to fulfill her own sense of duty.”
“Oh, this is such a mess. I never expected Georgiana or you to take the reins at Greenfields Park. I’d hoped, of course.
But, Harper,” Granny James said with annoyance, “we’ve been through all this long ago and made our peace.
You live here at Sea Breeze and I think you’ve made the right decision because you love it here.
” Granny smiled a watery smile. “And so do I. Most of all, you’re happy. ”
“Why can’t my mother understand that?”
“Oh, Harper, I wish I knew. There’s something missing in that woman.”
“I know. A heart.”
Granny James looked at her hands with pinched lips.
“But what about Greenfields Park?” Tears flooded Harper’s eyes. “Did I let you and Papa Jeffrey down? I’d feel horrid if I did.”
Granny James reached out to take Harper’s hand and pull her close against her chest. “Dear girl, no! Not at all.”
Harper leaned back and wiped her eyes, sniffing. “But what will happen to it?”
“I don’t know where to begin.” Granny James moved the breakfast tray away and pushed back to sit higher against her pillows. Once settled, she placed her hands on her thighs. “It’s time I tell you, dear. I’ve sold Greenfields Park.”
“Sold it?” Harper was shocked. Greenfields Park was a large estate, a historic manor house filled with antiques, portraits.
“But you knew it was meant to be sold.”
“Y-yes,” Harper stammered. “But so quickly?”
“Not so very quickly, actually. You see, I’ve known for some time I might have to sell it.
What with your grandfather’s Alzheimer’s.
Georgiana made it very clear she was staying in New York.
So I waited for you to decide whether you’d come back to take over the estate.
I hoped you would, of course. No guilt,” she said, pointing at Harper when she saw the desolate expression on Harper’s face.
“You’re entitled to make your own decisions.
” Granny James’s fingers creased the edge of her sheets.
“But once you decided to stay at Sea Breeze, I was free to act on, frankly, several offers that had been floating around for some time. Greenfields Park is quite the plum, you know. There are very few estates like it available.” Harper heard the pride in her grandmother’s voice.
“I’m not surprised it sold, Granny, only how fast. I’m kind of in shock, to be honest. I didn’t get the chance to go back for a last look-see. A farewell. I had some very happy days there. I would have liked to show Taylor the property.”
“Oh, there’s plenty of time for all that.
It’s going to take me a while to settle everything and parcel out all of the treasures inside.
There are so many decisions to be made, not only by me, but by you and Georgiana.
” Granny delivered a firm look. “I want to keep the important family pieces, of course. You’ll have to come soon to choose what other pieces you want.
Then I’ll pass some on to nieces and nephews.
The nonfamily pieces I’m selling with the house.
A sheikh from Saudi Arabia bought the place and wants everything possible included. Can you imagine?”
Harper could very well imagine. The collection of furniture was not only rare but had taken her grandmother a lifetime to amass. “Don’t be taken over a barrel. Some of your pieces are priceless.”
Granny James delivered a withering look. “Really, Harper. Do you think I don’t know my business?”
Harper smiled, her eyes filled with amusement. Imogene James was never one to be swindled. Harper suddenly felt pity for the sheikh.
“What about Papa Jeffrey?”
Granny James scoffed. “He doesn’t remember me, much less the house.”
Harper faltered at the raw emotion in her words. “Is . . . is he settling into the new home?”
Granny James grew pensive, the sad look in her eyes returning. “Yes, dear, as well as can be expected. He is not the same person he once was. The home has become his new world. The people who care for him. He doesn’t need me anymore.”
Harper was alert to the catch in Granny James’s voice. “You’ve done all you could. For such a long time. No one could have been more attentive. More loving.”
“I did try my best.”
Harper steered the conversation back to the estate, wanting to distract Granny James. “What will you do now that the house is sold? Where will you go?”
It was Granny’s turn to falter. “Well, I was rather hoping I could spend some of my time here.”
“At Sea Breeze?”
“Yes, at Sea Breeze. You’re my family. And now with a baby coming, I’d like to be closer.
Oh, don’t look alarmed,” Granny said with a nervous laugh.
“I’d only be here for a few months at a time.
I will still spend summers in the Hamptons with Georgiana.
And I can stay at her condominium in New York, as well.
We get along well enough. She works all day and spends evenings out, after all.
And, she is my daughter. Plus I want to travel. So I wouldn’t be underfoot.”
Granny James paused and let her gaze float about the room. “But I’d like for this to be my base. I’ve become quite fond of the lowcountry. Sea Breeze in particular. There’s an aura about this place that’s quite seductive. And of course, you’re here.”
Harper listened, processing Granny James’s response but not quite ready to offer up an answer. She needed to mull it over and consult with Taylor first. Sea Breeze was a big old bear of a house—there had to be a space for Granny James that would satisfy them all.
Granny James grew aware of Harper’s hesitation, and suddenly her tone became more urgent. “You understand now why I was so disappointed to find Marietta in my cottage. I’d thought it would be the perfect arrangement. Me in the cottage, giving you and Taylor your space, out of the way and all that.”
“Mamaw had the same idea.”
“Right,” Granny James said with annoyance. “And she beat me to the punch, as they say.”
Harper sighed and leaned back on her arms.
Granny James adjusted the ribbons of her bed jacket. “We don’t need to decide anything now. Don’t give it another thought. We’ve a wedding to plan, after all. Lists to make.”
“Granny James . . .”
“Don’t we have an appointment at the bridal shop this afternoon? I must get up and dressed.”
“Granny—”
“No!” She put her hand up. Tears flashed in her eyes. “No more talk.”
The tears in her grandmother’s eyes frightened Harper more than anything she’d said. Granny James was the bulwark never faltering in the family. The rock upon which every ship rested upon for safe harbor. To see her crumbling now shook Harper to her very foundation.
“Off you go, dearest. But do have that conversation with Taylor about the prenup. Now you understand why time is of the essence. I’ll take care of the legalities, don’t you worry. You have enough to think about now.”
Harper left to go to her own room. She was grateful that Taylor was at work and she was alone. There she closed the door, curled up on the bed, and had a good cry.