"Martin?" Louisa questioned him as she turned slightly and touched his arm. He looked down at her hand as it lingered there, her gorgeous diamond ring sparkling on his forearm.
"You're married?" Martin's father bellowed, giving Martin a glare as he darted his eyes from Louisa to Martin. He started to chuckle, bringing his hand to his face. "Oh, that's funny, something we never imagined."
"Who is she?" Martin's mother gestured with her finger, as if Louisa was something to be discarded. She gave Martin a horrified look and waited for an answer.
Martin schooled his features and with his free hand at his side, flexed his fingers and then tightened them into a fist over and over to contain his disdain. He decided to ignore the 'married' comment, believing they were close enough to married, and he really did not want to get into any discussion with his parents.
"Louisa," he said flatly, not at all in the same tone he used when they were often alone. He met her gaze, and he tried to convey how quickly he wanted to leave, "This is my father and mother, Christopher and Margaret Ellingham. Mum, Dad," he grumbled, still not looking at them until the last second, "this is Louisa. We will not be staying."
Because Louisa was almost a half-step behind Martin to start and both had on their coats, it was not immediately evident was pregnant, not until both she and Martin moved slightly.
"You fathered a child too?" Christopher started to laugh and elbowed Margaret whose eyes glanced to Louisa. She looked back up at Martin and rolled them, obviously disgusted. "I'll forget, Martin, that you failed to properly address me as a surgeon, but expecting good manners is obviously expecting too much."
"Good evening," Louisa tried to be polite and civil as she gave them a half smile. She glared at Martin's dad after his rude comments.
"Oh," Margaret chuckled herself as she raised her eyebrows up at Christopher, "not a proper Londoner either. That sounds like that dreadful Cornwall accent. Martin, it would appear you've returned to London and brought along a stray."
"That will enough," he hissed, stepping aside to allow Louisa in front of him. Louisa started to frown, but remembering the little she did about what he'd told her about his parents, schooled her own features to show no emotion. She looked to Martin.
"This restaurant appeared to be of high standard, but," she said, dragging out the word in her thick accent, "obviously, we were wrong. Martin, let's find somewhere to our liking."
"Yes," he stated and nodded to his parents as he and Louisa stepped by them.
"Dear," Margaret said with a smirk at Louisa, "has he told you about his bad behavior as a child? Bedwetter? Why, good luck," she nodded to Louisa's stomach. "With him, you'll need it. He has ruined any chance of a decent relationship with his family, and well, he will do the same to you. Imagine that," she mumbled almost to herself, "a child now, hmm. Oh, the features-those ears-"
"That's enough!" Martin bellowed, trying to maneuver out of the small restaurant reception area. "Louisa," he gestured toward the door. She tried to move as well.
"Aren't you going to ask us why we are together, Martin?" Margaret called out to him smugly. Martin had to turn slightly to open the door and hold it for Louisa. As he did, he threw a glance back to his parents.
"No, I really don't care," he told them curtly as Louisa stepped into the doorway.
"Thank you for your flat," Margaret continued, wanting to get this all out. "You know, you were as stupid as we expected, believing that after all these years, I'd actually leave your father, that we would separate. That was all a ruse, and well," she said with a smug nod, "joke is on you. I can say that now that everything has been properly transferred for some time. We came out of it with a holiday flat in Portugal and a proper Kensington address here with this flat. Just handing it over to your father instead of selling it to cover Joan's debt, well, that worked better than Christopher or I imagined. Yes, you might be back in London now, but we have the premiere flat. You owed us that, and we took what we rightfully deserved."
Martin glared at them, still trying to hold back any features. He saw that Louisa had cleared the door, and just as he left, giving them both a once over said, "I am certain I gained much more out of that deal than you could ever understand. Not only was I able to help Joan, a woman who would and has done anything for me, but at the same time, I was able to rid myself of the two of you for good. If one flat was the cost of that," he said tilting his head up once, "I am certainly satisfied with that arrangement. Good evening."
