Page 46 of Savage Blooms
“But it’s not Christmas yet,” Robert said, confused and scandalized and thrilled all at the same time.
“Christmas Eve is close enough,” his father said, giving him a conspiratorial wink. “Go on. Open it up.”
Robert didn’t have to be told twice. He set upon the present with frenzied enthusiasm, tearing away the wrapping and tugging off the lid until he discovered, with a squeal of delight, that there was a teddy bear inside. Robbie clutched his newest friend to his chest, relishing in its softness. The fur was caramel-colored and curly, and it looked just like the one in the shop window hehad seen when his father took him along on a business trip to Glasgow.
“He’s mine?” Robert asked, grinning wide as could be.
“He’s yours,” his father said, reaching down to ruffle his blond hair. His sister and his parents all had dark hair. Whenever people got confused his father always quickly corrected them, saying that Robert was adopted and just as much a part of their family as Arabella was. “Make sure you give him a proper name. Now go on enjoy the rest of the party.”
Robert did enjoy the rest of the party, very much, even when Arabella cheated at jacks and their mother took her side in the dispute. He kept enjoying himself as the adults began to wrap themselves in coats and furs and make lingering goodbyes in the foyer while the cars warmed up outside. He was still enjoying himself as his eyes began to droop, and as he perched himself at the top of the stairs to wait for Arabella to come up to bed. There was no point in trying to sleep when she would be going through her noisy girlish bedtime rituals next door, tossing her hairpins into a ceramic dish and kicking her shoes across the room. Besides, he wanted to hug her goodnight. Robert finger-combed his teddy’s curly fur as he waited. He hadn’t let go of the bear, whom he had decided to name Tammany – Tam for short – all night long.
His mother drifted by downstairs, removing her earrings with a sigh. His father appeared moments later, andstopped behind her to loop an arm around her waist and kiss her shoulder. Robert was mostly hidden by the banister from this angle, and he didn’t think they could see him. His parents talked in low voices, murmuring to each other, until his father pulled away and said, loud enough for Robert to hear. “He’ll adjust. He just needs time.”
“It’s been six years,” his mother responded. “I worry he won’t adjust, not completely.”
“The agency said that happens sometimes. He’s his own person, and there’s nothing wrong with that. He’s bright, and he adores Arabella. Would you rather we be raising a child with nothing between his ears?”
Robert froze with his thumb in his mouth, a jolt of guilt shooting through his stomach. Were they talking about him? Were they mad at him?
“I know you love him as much as I do,” his mother said with a sigh. “I just feel guilty some days. It isn’t fair of us, to trap another woman’s child out here.”
“That woman could barely take care of herself, let alone a little boy,” Robert’s father said, with a sharpness in his voice Robert only heard when he talked about Catholics, or criminals. “We did him a good turn. A sibling was all Belle wanted, and it was the one thing we couldn’t give her, for all our trying.”
Robert’s mother fell silent, wrapping her pashmina tighter around her shoulders. She sniffled, and Robert’s father strode forward to enfold her in his arms.
“I’ve never blamed you for any of it,” he said softly,almost too softly for Robert to hear. “You know that. We’re all doing the best we can. Let’s go upstairs and put the little ones to bed. It’s been a long day.”
Robert scrambled up as quietly as he could and tiptoed down the hallway to his room, just managing not to get caught. He yanked off his trousers and pressed shirt and tiny bow tie, then shrugged on an oversized sleep shirt before clambering into bed.
He lay there in the dark, surrounded by wooden trains and countless adventure books, his new teddy bear clutched to his chest, but despite all his toys and the rustling of his parents’ feet just beyond his door, he felt like the loneliest boy in the world.
CHAPTER EIGHTEEN
Nicola
Nicola’s ears rang as she watched Adam and Eileen and Finley stand shoulder to shoulder at the desk, volleying theories back and forth as they peered down at the photograph. Eileen had her palm pressed between Adam’s shoulder blades, leaning in close to speak in a low, urgent voice. Like she had known him all her life, like they were just as close as Adam and Nicola were.
The hothouse haze of Finley’s lesson moments before had evaporated, sacrificed to more pressing matters. Nicola couldn’t help but feel like she had been forgotten.
“That’s got to be your grandfather,” Eileen said. “The name’s the same, and he’s the spitting image of you.”
“I always thought he spent time at Craigmar when he was older,” Adam said, eyes bright with the thrill of discovery.
“And maybe that’s the case,” Eileen went on. “But we can’t discount the possibility that he might also have grown up here.”
“He could have visited Craigmar one Christmas when he was a boy,” Nicola said weakly, although she knew in the pit of her stomach that it wasn’t true. She knew exactly what was unfolding here, and she knew exactly what it would do to her friendship with Adam. Wrapped up in this ultimate triumph, welcomed home like a prodigal son, he wouldn’t need her any more.
“Your grandmother and Adam’s grandfather are about the same age in this photograph,” Finley noted, tapping his fingers thoughtfully on the desk. “They almost look like siblings.”
“My grandfather was an only child,” Adam said.
“That’s what I always heard about my grandmother too,” Eileen put in. “Wouldn’t I have heard about a little brother, if she had one?”
“Maybe not,” Finley said. “Families keep secrets.”
“Yeah, but Robert and Arabella look nothing alike in this picture,” Adam went on. “Neither do me and Eileen.”
“Lots of people adopt,” Finley said, dropping his eyes to the carpet. It was as though Adam had unknowingly brushed a raw nerve, but before Nicola could ask what was wrong, Adam blazed forward with his exploration.
