Jude tensed and stared down at the laptop in front of him. ‘It would have been selfish to make her do this journey with us when we’ll only be at the villa one night—’
Tansy nodded agreement because she liked to try and keep her sister to a stable routine, which was difficult, she allowed ruefully, when Jude seemed to live flitting from property to property, country to country, and then there was the yacht to throw into his options as well. It was something they would have to discuss because there had to be one place he would surely be willing to call home where they could settle like a normal family. Only they weren’t a normal family, she acknowledged with a sinking sensation in her tummy.
As they were driven from the airport it was a beautiful sunny day with the sky a clear cerulean blue and the landscape lush and green with the promise of spring moving into summer. Orange and olive groves and serrated lines of vines marched over the rolling hills and a colourful selection of wild flowers flourished on the verges of the lane they drove down.
‘We’ll head up to the villa later. Clio is expecting us,’ Jude told her.
The limousine drew up at a picturesque old stone building embellished with glorious roses and greenery. ‘It looks like a painting,’ Tansy whispered admiringly.
‘Wait until you see the gardens,’ Jude advised. ‘The whole place is like this—’
A tall, beautiful blonde appeared in the doorway and smiled widely at Jude. ‘Come in…lunch is ready.’
‘This is Tansy,’ Jude murmured. ‘Clio…’
Clio looked twenty years younger than Tansy knew her to be and she was still gorgeous, from her long blond hair and bright blue eyes to her leggy grace in workmanlike jeans.
‘Tansy.’ Clio extended a cool hand. ‘Rather a common, ordinary herb, I’m afraid.’
Tansy went pink and smiled, ignoring the comment.
‘There’s nothing ordinary about Tansy.’ Jude laughed, resting a hand against her taut spine.
A light lunch was served in the dining room. The room was dominated by a large portrait of a young, handsome man with black curls, his likeness to Jude so strong that it could only have been his father.
‘The resemblance between father and son is striking,’ Clio commented when she saw what had stolen Tansy’s attention.
‘It certainly is,’ Tansy agreed, disconcerted by the older woman’s brittle manner and tart tongue while marvelling that Jude was so tolerant of her idiosyncrasies. His kindness, his fondness for his only surviving parent were palpable, but it also helped her to understand why he would be so keen to steer clear of emotional entanglements in his own life after his experiences at his mother’s and Althea’s hands.
‘Why aren’t you drinking your wine?’ the blonde woman asked abruptly. ‘Don’t you like it? Perhaps you’d prefer red or rosé? Or perhaps you don’t drink?’
‘Tansy’s pregnant,’ Jude said quietly.
The announcement dropped into a sudden sharp silence. His mother stared at him in dismay. ‘You can’t make me a granny! I’m far too young for that,’ she objected vehemently.
‘Fortunately, we don’t need anyone’s permission,’ Jude countered quietly.
Clio settled indignant blue eyes on Tansy. ‘Jude will ruin your life. He’ll cheat on you like his father cheated on me. The last thing you should be doing is bringing a child into the chaos ahead of you!’
Tansy breathed in slow and deep to restrain her temper. ‘You can’t know your son very well if you think he would cheat on me. He has an aversion to infidelity that makes me feel safe on that score. He is very loyal,’ she stressed defensively.
Jude closed a soothing hand over hers where it sat knotted into a fist of tension on her thigh. It infuriated Tansy that a mother could think so little of her own child that she denigrated him in front of an audience.
Clio snorted. ‘You’ll learn otherwise…eventually.’
Jude, evidently accustomed to his mother’s attacks, made light conversation for what remained of the meal. Clio didn’t even ask Tansy when her baby was due, indeed appeared to have no interest whatsoever in the topic. By the time coffee was served their hostess was becoming restless and she mentioned a media interview she had mid-afternoon before suggesting that they tour the gardens.
‘Your mother’s rather thorny,’ Tansy said ruefully as they walked down an informal path from the cottage. The path gave way into a wide grassed area enclosed by a tunnel of low-hanging trees. An imposing stone temple sat as a focal point at the far end. It was spectacular.
‘Always was. Essentially, if you had roots you would get much more attention from Clio,’ Jude remarked wryly.
‘No, I wouldn’t, not with the connotations of a name as humble as mine. I think I’m the equivalent of a weed in her eyes!’ Tansy opined with a helpless giggle.
‘Thank you for not taking offence.’ Jude sighed. ‘She was rude but that’s not unusual for her. She’s not very fond of her own sex and she doesn’t like to share my attention with anyone else.’
‘Or the thought of being made a grandmother.’
Jude flung back his curly dark head and laughed with appreciation. ‘You weren’t one bit bothered by her, were you?’