To Be the Best (47 page)

‘You see, Maddy, I’d shared a perfect marriage with my darling David…ever since I’d married him at eighteen. I believed it could never be repeated or recaptured with another man, and it couldn’t. For the simple reason that no two men are the same, no two women either, for that matter, and every relationship is different, has its own strengths and weaknesses. Leaving England, coming out here, helped me to start over again, and my charity work for sick and needy children especially helped to give me a purpose. But it was Jason who made me come alive again as a woman.
He
made
me
whole, Maddy.’

‘He’s a very special man,’ Maddy acknowledged in all sincerity, thinking of the gruff Australian’s many kindnesses and loving gestures to her over the past few months. ‘We both lucked out, finding ourselves a couple of genuine fortycarat dudes.’

‘I’ll say we did!’ Daisy exclaimed, laughing, as usual highly amused by Madelana’s quaint expressions. She couldn’t wait to tell Jason of Maddy’s assessment of him,
which, she decided, was absolutely spot on. Daisy leaned forward, picked up her cup of tea, took a sip of it.

A compatible silence fell between these two women who sprang from such different echelons of society, from such different worlds, yet who had grown to care deeply for each other in the year they had known each other. Their great common bond was the love they both felt for Philip and Paula, and Maddy’s obsessional admiration of Emma Harte. Daisy was devoted to the memory of her mother, and she enjoyed answering Maddy’s never-ending questions, speaking about Emma, recounting anecdotes about the legendary tycoon; she had a rapt and enthralled listener in her daughter-in-law. And finally there was the bond created by the child Madelana was carrying. Philip’s child…and the heir to the McGill empire Daisy had longed for.

Daisy thought of the baby now as she sipped her tea and quietly studied Madelana. She wished the baby would arrive. It was nearly two weeks late, and everyone was growing more impatient by the day: except for Maddy, who was tranquil and healthy…and somewhat amused by their constant fussing.

‘I’m glad you didn’t have the amniocentesis test after all,’ Daisy said, breaking the silence, ‘even though I can’t wait to know whether I have a grandson or a granddaughter inside that tummy of yours.’

Madelana grinned. ‘I don’t think I’ve ever wanted to know…I prefer to be surprised.’ She placed her hands over her stomach, feeling the baby, the gesture protective, and then she started to laugh. ‘However, I have a peculiar feeling that she’s a girl, Daisy.’

‘Do you really?’

Maddy nodded, leaned forward, announced, ‘And if it’s a girl we’re going to call her Fiona Daisy Harte McGill. Rather a long name, isn’t it? But we did want to name her after my mother and you, and include the surnames of her greatgrandparents.’

‘I’m touched and honoured – and terribly flattered,’ Daisy responded, pleasure lighting up her vividly blue McGill eyes, which were so like her father’s.

Madelana shifted her weight on the sofa, pushed herself into the pile of cushions, seeking a more comfortable position. She felt awkward and ungainly, slightly cramped all of a sudden.

‘Are you all right?’ Daisy asked, noticing Maddy’s grimacing, her pained expression.

‘I’m fine, just a bit stiff today. But to tell you the truth, I, too, wish the baby would come now. I feel like a giant-sized, over-ripe watermelon that’s about to go plop! And I’m lumbering around after Philip as if I’m a fish out of water…a huge beached whale, or something of the sort!’

Daisy burst out laughing. ‘You do have the most colourful expressions, darling. And what if you have a boy? Have you chosen a name yet?’

‘Paul McGill. After your father.’

‘Oh, Maddy, how lovely of you and Philip. I’m delighted.’

Daisy got to her feet, walked across to the console where she had left her handbag when she had arrived earlier in the afternoon. She opened it, took out a small leather box, brought it over to Madelana. Handing it to her, she said, ‘This is for you.’

Madelana looked up at her mother-in-law in surprise, then brought her eyes down to the jewel box in her hands. The leather was worn and scratched, the gilt-embossed edge faded by time. She lifted the lid and caught her breath when she saw the emerald bow lying on the black velvet.

‘Why, Daisy, it’s simply beautiful.
Gorgeous.
Thank you, thank you so much. It’s old, isn’t it?’

Daisy, who had seated herself next to Madelana on the sofa, nodded. ‘It dates back to the 1920s. I’ve wanted to give you something very special for the longest time, and I finally – ‘

‘But you have!’ Madelana interrupted. ‘I’ve had so many extraordinary gifts from you and Jason, as well as from Philip. You all spoil me.’

‘We love you, Maddy. But as I was saying, I wanted to give you something that would be truly meaningful to you at this particular time…and so I picked the emerald bow from my collection. Not only because it’s exquisite and will suit you admirably, but also because it belonged to my mother. I felt you’d appreciate that, appreciate the sentimental value attached to the brooch more than anything else.’

‘I do. But I can’t take it after all, Daisy…why, it’s a family heirloom.’

‘And what are you, if not family? Darling, you’re Philip’s
wife,’
Daisy said softly but emphatically. She took the brooch out of the box and together they looked at it, admiring the exquisite workmanship, the beauty of the design, the lustre and depth of colour of the emeralds.

Presently, Daisy said, ‘There’s a lovely story about this piece of jewellery…would you like to hear it?’

‘Oh yes, I would.’

Daisy smiled to herself as she laid the brooch in the velvetpadded box, and settled back on the sofa. She was thinking of her mother, seeing her as a little girl at the turn of the century, as she had so frequently done in the past, forever marvelling at her extraordinary character.

‘The story actually began in 1904,’ Daisy explained. ‘Emma was a servant girl in service at Fairley Hall in Yorkshire, where she had worked since she was twelve. One Sunday afternoon in March of that year, her best friend Blackie O’Neill arrived to see her. He had bought her a green-glass brooch shaped like a bow for her fifteenth birthday at the end of April. He was going away, you see, and he wanted her to have something from him before he left. Anyway, Blackie explained to Emma that when he had noticed the bow in the window of a shop in Leeds the stones
had reminded him of her emerald eyes. Naturally, young Emma was enchanted with the brooch, cheap as it was, because she had never had anything like it. She thought it was the most beautiful thing in the world. And that afternoon, Blackie made a promise to her…he told her that one day, when he was rich, he would buy her a replica of the brooch, and that it would be made of emeralds. He was true to his word. Many years later he gave her this…
this
is Blackie’s emerald bow,’ Daisy finished. She thought to add, ‘When my mother died she left the brooch to me, along with her collection of emeralds which my father had given her over the years.’

‘What a lovely story, and the bow
is
beautiful, but as I just said, I’m not sure I should accept it, Daisy. Ought it not to go to Paula in view of its history?’

‘No, no, she and I want you to have it!’ Daisy insisted, reaching out, squeezing Madelana’s hand affectionately. ‘I’ve spoken to Paula, and she thinks it’s a most fitting gift for you. As I do. And I know that if my mother was alive she would want you to have it, too.’

Madelana realized there was no point in protesting further, that it would be even ungracious to do so, and she murmured her thanks again, permitted her mother-in-law to pin the emerald bow to her maternity smock. Then, pushing herself up, she went to the mirror over the fireplace, looked at herself. The bow was an extraordinary piece, and she was greatly moved because Daisy had given her something which had once belonged to Emma Harte.

Madelana went back to the sofa, and after a moment Daisy leaned back against the cushions. ‘Speaking of my daughter, do you think she’s made a mistake buying the Larson chain in the States?’

‘Of course not!’ Madelana cried, sitting up straighter on the sofa, returning Daisy’s penetrating gaze. ‘She’s a brilliant businesswoman and I’ve never known her to make a wrong move yet.’

‘I just wish she’d told me
why
she wanted me to sell the Sitex stock when she suggested I do so last year. Or at least given me the chance to let her have the additional money she needed for the takeover of Larson’s.’ Daisy sighed heavily. ‘Paula can be awfully stubborn and she’s determined to do everything her own way. She’s so like my mother. Oh dear, I don’t know…business does baffle me most of the time.’

Daisy rose, moved to the fireplace, stood with one hand resting on the mantel. ‘And I don’t understand Shane, if the truth be known. I can’t imagine why he didn’t tell me or Philip about her plans long ago. And why on earth didn’t he advise her? After what he said last night, I think he should have, don’t you?’

‘I’m not sure anyone can advise Paula. She’s so confident and self-assured. And so brilliant in business she doesn’t need advice from anyone. Besides, Shane would never interfere. He would remain aloof…that would be the wisest course for anyone to take, as I’m sure he realizes by now.’

Daisy frowned. ‘I was surprised by some of the things I heard over dinner last night, weren’t you?’

‘Not really,’ Madelana answered truthfully. ‘Don’t forget, I was Paula’s assistant at the New York store, and she has been after an American chain for a long time. In any event, as I said before, I trust her judgement implicitly. And so should you. I know Philip does, and from what Shane said at dinner, he does too.’ Madelana gave Daisy a look she hoped was reassuring. ‘There’s one more thing I’d like to add. Hasn’t it ever occurred to you that Paula might want to own something of her own?’

‘But she does, Maddy dear,’ Daisy exclaimed in a startled tone. ‘The Harte chain, not to mention –’

‘But that was founded by Emma,’ Madelana was quick to point out. ‘In fact, everything Paula runs she inherited from her grandmother. Perhaps emotionally she has the need to
…to…well, to
create
and
build
something of her very own and with her own money.’

‘Is that what she indicated to you when you worked together in New York?’

‘No, it’s just a feeling I have, knowing her as well as I do.’

Daisy looked further surprised and fell silent, ruminating on her daughter-in-law’s words. Eventually, she said, ‘Perhaps you’re right, Maddy dear. I hadn’t looked at it quite like that. Nevertheless, apart from anything else, I do think she has taken on an enormous amount of responsibility in addition to everything else she has to do.’

Maddy said in a loving voice, ‘Try not to worry about Paula and her expansion programme in the States. She’ll be fine, it’ll be fine. Philip believes she’s a chip off the old block, and you said only a few minutes ago that she’s like your mother. Being another Emma Harte can’t be all that bad, can it?’ Maddy finished on a teasing note, raising a brow.

Daisy had the good grace to laugh. ‘No, it can’t,’ she said.

Later, after her mother-in-law had left to return to her house in Rose Bay, Madelana put on a thick, white wool cape and went outside. She walked slowly through the gardens as she did twice a day, enjoying the exercise and the air.

Although the wind had dropped, it had turned cold; dusk was falling, and in that lovely half light, neither day nor night but hovering somewhere in between, everything appeared to be softer, gentler.

The pristine sky of earlier had lost its sharp, icy blue-and-white tints, was slowly darkening, and its rim at the edge of the horizon was streaked with flaring ribbons of amber and rose as the sun sank into the sea. And in those hushed and silent gardens, where not a single thing stirred, the only sound was the lapping of the waves against the rocks of the jutting headland on which the mansion was built.

When she reached the end of the wide path, Madelana stood for a moment gazing out across the endless stretch of inky water. It looked cold, forbidding, bottomless, and she shivered despite the warmth of her cape. Turning swiftly on her heels, she hurried back up to the house. She could see that lamps were being turned on in some of the rooms, and narrow corridors of light were streaming out from the windows, illuminating her way.

How warm and welcoming her home looked in contrast to the daunting sea behind her. She increased her pace, wanting suddenly to be inside. Within minutes she was closing the French doors of the library, walking through the room and out into the foyer, still shivering slightly.

As she hung her cape in the hall cupboard she heard the chatter of voices coming from the kitchen area of the house.
It was the two maids, Alice and Peggy, and Mrs Ordens, the housekeeper, twittering away together like a flock of chirpy sparrows. The three women took care of them exceptionally well, eased the burden of running two homes in Sydney – the house out here at Point Piper and the penthouse atop the McGill Tower. She took a step towards the door, then decided to change her clothes in readiness for the evening before going in to speak to them.

A little sigh of happiness trickled through Madelana as she climbed the staircase leading to the upper floors. She had been experiencing a lovely sense of contentment in the last few days. It was Philip’s love and the baby she was carrying that filled her with such abundant joyousness. Soon they would be three instead of two. She could hardly wait…longed to hold her child in her arms.

The rosy glow of the fire greeted her when she pushed open the door of their bedroom and went in. This was one of the two rooms in the house she had redecorated after her marriage; she had used a mixture of soft greens and a striking white chintz splashed with pink peonies, scarlet roses, yellow lilies and dark green leaves. The play of greens in the overall scheme and the airy chintz, lavishly used, served to endorse the spaciousness of the bedroom. There was a sweeping bay window overlooking the gardens and the sea, a curving, cushioned window seat underneath, and a huge four-poster bed.