Page 168 of The Bet
“His parents got involved?”
“Millicent, his mother, was a mess,” Savannah recalled. “I knew something was wrong when she turned up here not wearing pearls, or a Chanel number.”
Izzy let out a smile. That sounded like Xavier’s mother, from what she remembered of her. She couldn’t imagine what it would be like having someone like Millicent Stone as a mother-in-law.
From what Savannah had told her, she seemed to handle her just fine. “She turned up here because the boys were arguing?” Izzy asked.
“She wanted me to fix it.”
“How?”
“You tell me. I had no idea, especially since, at that time I had no idea that Xavier had accidentally spilled the news about the twins.”
Izzy jolted to attention. This didn’t sound right. This wasn’t what had happened. And Xavier had taken the blame for something he didn’t do, and she couldn’t sit by and say nothing.
“Xavier didn’t tell anyone about the twins.”
Savannah’s eyes narrowed. “How do you know?”
“Because …” Izzy took a deep breath, knowing that what she had were only suspicions. “He’s covering up for someone he wants to protect.”
Savannah let out a choked laugh. “I don’t understand. We only told family, his and mine. I hadn’t even told you.”
“It’s not me he’s protecting.”
Savannah blinked, and those green irises stared back at her, making her hesitate. Some mothers couldn’t take the discovery that their children might have done something wrong, even by accident. Even though Izzy had a feeling that Savannah wasn’t one of those women, it didn’t make telling her any easier.
“Then who?”
“I suspect it might have been Jacob, but I don’t think he would have done it intentionally.”
“Jacob?”
Izzy could tell this was the last thing she’d expected to hear. “Please don’t tell him off,” she urged. “I don’t know what happened when Jacob was growing up, but I can tell that he gets scared easily. He doesn’t like shouting and swearing, and—”
“And any kind of confrontation,” Savannah finished the sentence for her, and nodded her head, agreeing. “I won’t tell him off. I would never, but, I’m surprised.” And then her features relaxed. “Though I should have known better. Keeping this a secret must have been impossible, given how ecstatic he’s been.”
“He didn’t tell us. He let it slip once when we were at the fairground.”
“The fairground?” Savannah asked, “When you and Xavier took him?” She gave Izzy a peculiar look, as if she was slowly piecing things together.
“Then you’ll recall he came home with those two huge plush monkeys?”
Savannah nodded.
“Jacob wanted to win them. He wanted identical cuddly toys, and we didn’t understand it until he let it slip. He didn’t say it outright, but he let it slip and then he stopped himself. I didn’t tell anyone, and I know Xavier wouldn’t have. We barely discussed it in all the time we were together. I mean, in all the time I worked for him.” Heat rushed to her cheeks, and she looked down, making herself focus on her cell phone in order to avoid looking at Savannah.
“I can believe it,” Savannah said, in the silence that followed. “He wouldn’t be able to keep something like that in, at least not with people he felt so comfortable with.”
Izzy lifted her face. “So, you see. I don’t think any of this news being leaked was Xavier’s doing. Xavier looks up to Tobias, he thinks the world of him, at least, that’s the impression I get.”
“I’ve seen that as well.” Savannah rubbed her forehead. “Xavier’s lying to protect Jacob.”
Izzy nodded. “If Jacob let it slip to me and Xavier that easily, he might also have let it slip to one of his friends at school.”
“Lenny,” Savannah murmured, placing her hand flat on her forehead. “Julia mentioned something once, and my bump wasn’t even showing that much. I think you might be right. Once it gets out in the school, I have enough school moms who wouldn’t think twice about letting the news out.”
“We still don’t know for sure, and I would hate for Jacob to get told off.”
“Tobias would never shout at Jacob, but maybe we expected too much, thinking he could keep the secret. I should have known the excitement of twins, and boys at that, would be too much for him to contain.”
“I didn’t want Xavier to get the blame for something he hadn’t done.”
“You still care for him.” Savannah stated, not asking, or probing.
“I believe in doing the right thing.”
