Marrying Money: Lady Diana's Story by Glenys O'Connell Page A

gazing up at Josh with adoring eyes. Little faker.
    “Well , sure…”
    “I am not your Mummy,” I snapped. “How many times do I have to tell you?” Adam’s lip quivered and Josh gave me a startled glare.  I didn’t have time to correct the impression I’d given because I saw Bill and Sally frantically waving to me from the restaurant door,
    “You left your phone in the hotel room and I thought I’d better let you know the nursing home called about Auntie Kay,” Sally said. “They said she’s ready to leave now and wondered when you could pick her up. In fact, “Sally grinned. “ It sounded as if they were practically begging.”
    A big hole seemed to open up in the pit of my stomach. Oh, no - with everything I had to deal with right now . I had the most awful visions of adding Auntie Kay to the mess my life already was in. Auntie Kay in Dublin? My God, imagine all the high places she could climb to on O’Connell street alone.
    “Don’t worry, I suggested they keep her for another week. I made the most of her relationship to your title and everything, so they agreed.”
    “Sally , you’re a sweetheart.” I said, hugging her gratefully. “Can you imagine Auntie Kay here in Dublin? As if I don’t have enough to cope with. It would be much better if she’s in the nursing home.”
    I didn’t mean it to sound quite so callous, but Bill gave me a hard look.
    “It’s hard for an old person to be away from home,” he said.
    “We’re not talking any old person here, we’re talking Diana’s Auntie Kay.  Diana, remember the odd look the doctor in the emergency department gave you when he asked how she came to be locked in the attics?”
    Sally was obviously having a good time, painting me as the evil niece in front of Bill. I’d deal with her later, I vowed. Meanwhile, I had to do something about the increasingly shrill wail of Mummeeee! coming from the little changeling sitting at our table with the man I should be thinking of marrying.
    And wasn't it strange , with Bill the Builder standing right there, I found it very hard to think of Josh the Lord as husband material?
    “Just a moment, Adam,” I called sweetly.
    “ Mummeeeeeeeee!” Came the returning shriek.
    “I am not your Mummy! I told you not to call me that in public!” I shrieked back. I wished the floor would open up when I saw the shocked looks on the faces of both Bill and Joshua. But by now I was beyond caring. “See you later,” I muttered to Sally. “Have a grand time. Be careful not to fall into the river now, won’t you,” I added under my breath.
    “Well , you have a delightful lunch, dear,” Sally replied.
    Josh was distinctly cool when I returned to our table to discover Adam still sobbing under his breath because there was onion on his hamburger.
    “You couldn’t just take the onion off?” I asked reasonably.
    “No ,”   he stuttered between sobs. “I can’t eat a hamburger that has onions on it.”
    I grabbed the offending burger, lifted the top of the bun and whipped off the onion. I dumped it back on his plate. “There now, there’s a burger without any onion at all. Eat it.”
    “No . I can’t.”
    “Eat the damned burger,” I snarled, frustration getting the better of me. Of course, there had to be a sudden lull in conversation when I said that. And then Adam replied, “Please don’t make me eat it. I’m 'llergic to onions, even just touching my food, they make me all red!”
    I wished the floor would open up and swallow me ... again.
    Fortunately, that brought me back to my senses. None of this was the kid's fault, and it was mean and petty of me to take it out on him. He was distressed that his parents seemed to have dumped him, and he was afraid they were fighting and would split up. The little Lady Diana been traumatized by similar feelings when she was his age.
    Did I behave as badly as this kid? Probably.
    So I managed to start acting like a grown up, ordered the kid a decent, onion-free