Lawless - [8]

about this. But then, Ruby was obstinate about nearly everything: Daisy supposed that was how she came to be such a success in life.

Could she look any less like me? wondered Daisy, watching her mother straighten her pearls in the hall mirror. It never failed to amaze and amuse her when she looked at Ruby. Daisy herself had the healthy tanned complexion, golden-blonde hair and robust build of a Valkyrie. There was certainly no question who Daisy’s father was: she was every inch the daughter of big, blond Cornelius Bray. She looked nothing like exotic, dark-skinned Ruby – unlike her twin, Kit.

Daisy didn’t even sound like her mother. Ruby’s voice still held a hint of the East End she’d grown up in; when Daisy spoke it was with the beautifully rounded vowels of the Home Counties, as befitted the daughter of Lord and Lady Bray. But Lord Bray hadn’t wanted to know about his dark-skinned son; Kit had been raised in a succession of uncaring state orphanages. And she had always felt so guilty about that.

In fact, Daisy felt that lately she passed her days consumed with guilt, not only about Kit but about her babies too. She loved her boys desperately, but being a stay-at-home mum had left her feeling restless, a little frustrated, a little bored even. Did that make her a failure as a mother? She felt that she was. And having abandoned her babies – and every waking minute spent away from them was torment – had she now compounded her failure by being a complete washout at her job?

‘How’s it going?’ Ruby asked.

‘Hm?’

‘At the store.’

Shortly after Christmas, Daisy had asked her mother if she could perhaps work in the Darkes flagship Marble Arch store. Ruby had been surprised, but gratified. She had dreamed of her daughter following in her footsteps one day. But she insisted that if Daisy was going to work in the store, then she was going to have to learn the trade from the bottom up, just as she had. And Daisy had agreed, even though it wasn’t what she’d envisaged. She’d pictured herself doing a little clerical work in Ruby’s office, helping out Joan, her mother’s PA. She liked Joan, who was a merry-eyed matron and kindness itself.

The trouble was, nothing had turned out the way she’d imagined – least of all store work. And on top of that there was the agony of leaving the twins in Jody’s care. Daisy felt shaky and near to tears, hyper-emotional every time she had to leave them. Plus she was still breastfeeding, which meant she had to express milk for their feeds, and wear pads inside her bra because her breasts leaked. Granted, the boys were gradually being weaned on to formula feed so she wouldn’t have to do it that much longer, but each day it seemed more of a struggle. Maybe Simon, her ex, was right: maybe she was a bad mother. True to his usual form, Simon had flown into a rage when she’d told him she planned to start work in the store, accusing her of abandoning the boys. Much as she hated the thought of doing anything that would please him, it was so, so tempting to throw in the job.

‘It’s going OK, is it?’ Ruby persisted. ‘At the store?’

Daisy gave a smile. ‘Oh yes. Great.’

Ruby studied her daughter’s face; she suspected that Daisy was lying, probably to spare her feelings, to avoid worrying her when she had enough on her plate as it was.

I’m so lucky that I’ve found Daisy again. That she’s here with me, she thought. All the pain she had been through over the years, all the anguish, was softened by Daisy’s presence. Her relationship with Daisy, after almost three decades apart, had fallen almost easily into a comfortable, loving mode. But her relationship with Kit was never going to be so simple.

Ruby heaved a sudden sigh.

‘What?’ asked Daisy, watching her mother curiously.

‘I was thinking about your brother,’ said Ruby.

‘Well, he won’t be at the funeral, that’s for sure. He hated Tito!’ Daisy snorted. ‘And you don’t have to go either. Not if you really don’t want to.’

But Ruby knew that was not true. She did have to be there. Because of Bella, Tito’s mother. And because of the phone call.

Blood will flow.

What could Bella have meant by that? Was it a threat? Or a warning? Ruby shuddered to think of that voice on the phone, trembling yet full of determination.

She had no choice. She had to find out what Bella was talking about.

7

‘Honey, wake up! Wake up!’ squealed a voice in Kit’s ear.

‘Wha…?’ he groaned, deep in a dream where a woman jangling with gold smiled at him with flirtatious sea-green eyes.

An alarm was going off. Someone was shaking his shoulder.

Ah shit no. Lemme sleep. Let me go back to her…

‘Wake UP!’ shouted the female voice, shaking him harder.

Kit opened his eyes. A shadowed face was leaning over him, hair tickling his face. For a moment he thought it was her. But then he realized it wasn’t. Felt the numb deadness crush him again. ‘What the fuck…?’ he mumbled.

‘It’s ten o’clock. You said not to let you sleep past ten, remember?’ said the girl, sounding annoyed.

Kit came properly awake. No, this wasn’t Gilda. It was… damn. Couldn’t remember her name. His head ached, he’d drunk too much last night and fallen into bed with her, one of the hostesses maybe? One of the dancers? Who knew? Who cared? He’d been in a club, drinking. Which club, he didn’t know. His mouth was parched and sour, his eyes gritty.