Page 38 of His Secretary's Nine-Month Notice
‘I have a stack of emails to get through before morning,’ Matt informed them both and, whilst neither parent said anything, Violet noticed the fleeting moue of distaste that had crossed his father’s face. Then they were at the front door, with coats being brought to them and congratulations repeated on the pregnancy.
‘We must lunch,’ his mother said politely. ‘I visit London every so often and I would be delighted to take you somewhere.’
Violet nodded and wondered how that would go. Lunch with Julietta Falconer? The conversation would not flow, that was for sure.
‘I told you it wouldn’t be a protracted affair,’ was the first thing Matt said once they were in the car and heading away from the country estate.
‘Do you normally have such...formal meals with your parents?’
Matt slung her a sideways glance. ‘They’re not the sort who enjoy casual dining round a kitchen table.’
‘I never knew... I wasn’t expecting...’
‘I prefer not to dwell on my background. I find it muddies the water.’
‘Was it always like that?’
He shrugged. ‘Boarding school broke it up.’ He paused and said neutrally, eyes fixed on the road ahead, making brilliant time in the darkness on the empty country lanes, ‘I envy the chaotic life you must have led, Violet, even though you probably might have wished it could have been different when you were growing up.’
‘I always felt that there was so much responsibility on my shoulders. Without a mother and with my dad and his carefree lack of self-control—you’re right. I used to long for a bit of stability.’
‘Which is why you reacted by becoming the very antithesis of your father. Where he was wild, you were grounded. You looked out for him and, in the process, you sacrificed the sort of life most young girls would have led.’
‘This is a pretty deep conversation to be having so late in the evening.’
Matt smiled crookedly. ‘Sometimes deep conversations are called for. I don’t usually do them but, hey, there are exceptions to every rule.’
Violet glanced across at him with uneasy eyes, sensing that he wanted to say something she might not be overjoyed to hear, but really not sure what that somethingmight be.
But that glimpse into his past had made her hungry for more, and curiosity was a greater force than wariness.
‘Your parents don’t approve of what you do, do they?’
‘What makes you say that?’ Startled, Matt slid his gaze across to her, eyes narrowed.
‘Just a feeling I got.’
‘Explain.’
‘There was something in your dad’s expression when you told him that we had to leave because you had work to do when you got back to London.’
Bitterness crept into Matt’s voice when he next spoke. ‘My destiny was to manage that sprawling estate and, for fun, have a career in the city or at the very least at the bar. Something traditional and respectable. Along with marriage to the right girl with the right connections.’
‘They told you that?’
‘Not in so many words,’ Matt said drily. ‘But, then again, meaningful conversation has always been thin on the ground. The chosen way has always been to circle around what needed to be said aloud.’
Hence, Violet thought, his remark about being a disappointment. Her heart went out to him. What must he have felt growing up? He was now the biggest success story in the tech industry but, as far as his parents were concerned, he was a let down, pursuing a career they probably didn’t fully understand and maybe disapproved of.
‘I can hear the sound of you feeling sorry for me,’ he continued.
‘Of course I do.’ She reached out, rested her hand on his arm and felt him stiffen fractionally. In response, she whipped her hand away, cheeks red.
‘Matt.’ She sighed with exasperation. ‘You should tell me what’s going on. I thought...’ She breathed in deeply and ploughed on, because nothing felt right at the moment. ‘I thought that when I agreed to give our relationship a go you might have been a little more enthusiastic, especially considering you were the one to suggest... Well, you asked me to marry you and I turned you down. Now I’m prepared to meet you halfway but I get the feeling that you’re not at all overjoyed with the situation. You vanished like a bat out of hell the second I told you that I was prepared to give things a go and now you can barely look me in the face. Meeting your parents...felt like a big step forward, but was it? Or was it just a hurdle that had to be jumped?’
‘You deserve to have all those questions answered,’ he said roughly.
Violet felt a chill run through her. How had she managed to misjudge the situation so badly? He’d been the perfect partner when he had had no choice but to take care of her, but while he had been fetching and carrying and making sure that her feet were up and she was getting the bed rest the doctor had recommended, he had had time and opportunity to consider his options.
