with him this weekend—’
‘On Wednesday?’ Mattie echoed sharply now. ‘But I—Wasn’t Jack always bringing a—a young lady with him?’
‘Oh, no,’ Betty dismissed indulgently. ‘This is the first time Jack has ever introduced us to any of his—friends.Which is why we were so hopeful—Jack is very protective of his private life as a rule.’
In the circumstances, that wasn’t surprising!
Nevertheless, Mattie was still puzzled by the other woman’s disclosure. ‘But surely Jack
was
bringing someone with him this weekend …?’ she persisted.
‘Not until Wednesday, no.’ His mother shook her head confidently. ‘As I said, Edward and I were so excited at the prospect of meeting you.’ She smiled warmly.
Mattie’s own smile came out as more of a grimace. Because she didn’t understand this conversation at all. Jack had assured her that her deliberate mismanagement of the cards on the flowers she had delivered for him had messed up his relationships—
But had he?
She tried to remember back to that conversation they had had, to remember exactly who had said what, but it was difficult as Betty spoke again.
‘I know Jack can sometimes be a little—forceful, in his ways.’ She looked slightly embarrassed. ‘He gets that from his father, I’m afraid. I’ve learnt to deal with it, of course, but then I’ve had years of experience,’ she continued indulgently. ‘But Jack can be such a thoughtful boy, too, that the family usually overlooks any—little faults, he may have.’
Mattie’s head was buzzing as a number of possibilities suddenly came to mind. ‘Tell me, Mrs Beauchamp—’
‘Betty, please,’ the other woman invited lightly.
‘Tell me, Betty,’ Mattie began slowly, ‘if Jack is so thoughtful, why does he never send you flowers?’ The other woman looked taken aback by the strangenessof the question. As well she might, Mattie inwardly acknowledged, but the way in which Betty answered it was very important to her.
‘Why, how clever of you to know that!’ she exclaimed. ‘Jack knows I have an aversion to cut flowers—I believe they should remain in the ground to be enjoyed rather than brought into the house to die. And so, whenever Jack sends flowers to the girls, he always buys me a rose-bush to plant in the garden, instead. I believe I have at least fifty by now,’ she added with satisfaction.
‘Girls?’ Mattie repeated, a slight edge to her voice now. Although she had a feeling she already knew the answer to this particular question. If she was right, she was going to throttle Jack when next she saw him!
‘My four daughters,’ Betty told her proudly. ‘I did tell you that I have five children? Jack is the eldest, of course, followed by Christina, then the twins, Sarah and Caroline, and lastly—’
‘Alexandra,’ Mattie finished rather more forcefully than she intended. But if what she thought were true—! ‘She would be Sandy?’ she probed evenly.
‘Yes,’ Betty confirmed, frowning slightly. ‘Of course, this will be Sandy’s second marriage, but the first one was such a disaster that we’re all just very pleased to be celebrating her second chance at happiness.’
Mattie wasn’t sure she wanted to hear a potted version of the Beauchamp family history! Although this explanation did help to explain away Sandy’s surname on the flowers Jack had sent. And talking of flowers …
‘Your other daughters would be Tina, Sally, and Cally?’ she pressed.
‘Families are terrible for nicknames, aren’t they?’Betty pondered affectionately. ‘Of course, Jack is really Jonathan, too, but we’ve always called him Jack.’
No doubt about it, Mattie
was
going to kill him!
Those four women, the ones she had assumed were the women in Jack’s life, were all his sisters!
Incredible. Amazing. Absolutely unbelievable!
It didn’t matter at that moment that Jack had tried to tell her he didn’t have four girlfriends, he had still talked her
‘On Wednesday?’ Mattie echoed sharply now. ‘But I—Wasn’t Jack always bringing a—a young lady with him?’
‘Oh, no,’ Betty dismissed indulgently. ‘This is the first time Jack has ever introduced us to any of his—friends.Which is why we were so hopeful—Jack is very protective of his private life as a rule.’
In the circumstances, that wasn’t surprising!
Nevertheless, Mattie was still puzzled by the other woman’s disclosure. ‘But surely Jack
was
bringing someone with him this weekend …?’ she persisted.
‘Not until Wednesday, no.’ His mother shook her head confidently. ‘As I said, Edward and I were so excited at the prospect of meeting you.’ She smiled warmly.
Mattie’s own smile came out as more of a grimace. Because she didn’t understand this conversation at all. Jack had assured her that her deliberate mismanagement of the cards on the flowers she had delivered for him had messed up his relationships—
But had he?
She tried to remember back to that conversation they had had, to remember exactly who had said what, but it was difficult as Betty spoke again.
‘I know Jack can sometimes be a little—forceful, in his ways.’ She looked slightly embarrassed. ‘He gets that from his father, I’m afraid. I’ve learnt to deal with it, of course, but then I’ve had years of experience,’ she continued indulgently. ‘But Jack can be such a thoughtful boy, too, that the family usually overlooks any—little faults, he may have.’
Mattie’s head was buzzing as a number of possibilities suddenly came to mind. ‘Tell me, Mrs Beauchamp—’
‘Betty, please,’ the other woman invited lightly.
‘Tell me, Betty,’ Mattie began slowly, ‘if Jack is so thoughtful, why does he never send you flowers?’ The other woman looked taken aback by the strangenessof the question. As well she might, Mattie inwardly acknowledged, but the way in which Betty answered it was very important to her.
‘Why, how clever of you to know that!’ she exclaimed. ‘Jack knows I have an aversion to cut flowers—I believe they should remain in the ground to be enjoyed rather than brought into the house to die. And so, whenever Jack sends flowers to the girls, he always buys me a rose-bush to plant in the garden, instead. I believe I have at least fifty by now,’ she added with satisfaction.
‘Girls?’ Mattie repeated, a slight edge to her voice now. Although she had a feeling she already knew the answer to this particular question. If she was right, she was going to throttle Jack when next she saw him!
‘My four daughters,’ Betty told her proudly. ‘I did tell you that I have five children? Jack is the eldest, of course, followed by Christina, then the twins, Sarah and Caroline, and lastly—’
‘Alexandra,’ Mattie finished rather more forcefully than she intended. But if what she thought were true—! ‘She would be Sandy?’ she probed evenly.
‘Yes,’ Betty confirmed, frowning slightly. ‘Of course, this will be Sandy’s second marriage, but the first one was such a disaster that we’re all just very pleased to be celebrating her second chance at happiness.’
Mattie wasn’t sure she wanted to hear a potted version of the Beauchamp family history! Although this explanation did help to explain away Sandy’s surname on the flowers Jack had sent. And talking of flowers …
‘Your other daughters would be Tina, Sally, and Cally?’ she pressed.
‘Families are terrible for nicknames, aren’t they?’Betty pondered affectionately. ‘Of course, Jack is really Jonathan, too, but we’ve always called him Jack.’
No doubt about it, Mattie
was
going to kill him!
Those four women, the ones she had assumed were the women in Jack’s life, were all his sisters!
Incredible. Amazing. Absolutely unbelievable!
It didn’t matter at that moment that Jack had tried to tell her he didn’t have four girlfriends, he had still talked her
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