Part 13
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"Roderick?! What happened to your face?" Daisy loudly cried out in concern, shooting forward to try and embrace him.
Just like John had done, Roderick pushed her away from his body, with far too much disdain considering their supposed close and intimate relationship. "I fell and caught my face on the edge of a chair," he lied. "Nothing to worry about."
"Are you sure?" Donna queried with a snort of scorn as John averted a guilty expression and Roderick glanced at her with a none-too-pleased smirk.
"Why did you come here, Daisy?" he demanded to know instead, in a deliciously testy voice, Donna noted.
"I wanted to see you," Daisy insisted through a much practiced pout.
'Yeah, of course you did,' Donna thought to herself in disbelief. To her delight, Roderick arched an eyebrow in query, obviously thinking along similar lines.
"Since I have covered the most important ground with my family, I suppose you'd better come and eat with us all," Roderick reluctantly offered. "If that is okay with you, John?"
"That's fine," John hurriedly agreed.
"Excuse me then while I speak to the management for a moment," Roderick politely requested and strolled over to the reception desk to the eagerly waiting receptionist.
Seizing his opportunity, John reached out a hand to escort Donna back to the dining table, and pulled her close; but she resisted his efforts to guide her back. "I don't think I should," she hastily told him in low tones. "I can easily get something to eat elsewhere on the way home."
"It's all been sorted," he whispered into her ear as they very slowly walked. "Mum made us come and get you after we… erm… we had a few words."
"What's that special code for?" she wondered with trepidation. "Is she going to have another go at me?"
John halted their progress through the restaurant in order to sincerely reassure her, "Oh no! It's nothing like that, honest it isn't. Mum wanted to have a private moment with our Ricky; she didn't mean to make it sound as bad as that when she... I am so sorry she ordered you out, and I think she is too. I'm almost certain of it."
"Are you sure? Because I don't want to go where I'm not wanted," Donna insisted.
"Oh Donna!" he sadly exclaimed. "I would never put you in such a position," he continued, leaning in close whilst he tenderly caressed her cheek. He would have added in a kiss too but Roderick suddenly placed a firm hand on his shoulder.
A waiter anxiously hovered nearby as Roderick tetchily asked John, "Are you two coming?" Without thinking, he went to lay a hand on Donna's arm but she flinched away, and he found himself frowning as much at her as he did himself, wondering what he had been thinking. Ignoring Daisy's attempt to reach for him instead, he strode purposely forward.
"Sorry," John immediately apologised, and then took a possessive hold of Donna's hand to take her with them.
"We found Donna," Roderick proudly announced to his aunt and uncle when they reached the table, and watched a waiter hastily place an extra chair and cutlery for the additional place setting on the table. "My friend shall have the soup," he told the waiter before returning his attention to his family. "She was talking to my work acquaintance from London, so I invited her to dine with us too. Daisy, may I present my Aunt Verity and Uncle Sydney."
Donna couldn't help mentally noting that Roderick still liked to order and control the food of his companion; but she bit down on any outward observation.
Greetings were cordially exchanged, and Roderick guided Daisy to sit between him and his aunt whilst Donna resumed her previous seat between him and John. Roderick smiled genially at her as she was informed, "I ordered the fish for you. I hope you don't mind."
Bugger! He'd done it to her again. Would he ever stop doing that to her when they met? All she could do in the circumstances was politely confirm that she didn't mind, and smile just as sweetly back. It also had the added bonus of peeing Daisy off that Roderick was paying her attention.
"So… you two work together?" Verity questioned her new companion as their food arrived.
"Oh yes!" Daisy gushed. "I didn't know Roddy had a cousin that looked so much like him."
John suddenly found a very flirty look being aimed in his direction. A look that seemed quite familiar. "You remind of someone I met once," he remarked.
"Who? Was it Kate Moss? Because I often get told I look like her," Daisy boasted.
"No, not her," John quickly denied.
"Was it Sienna Miller?" Daisy tried instead. "Roddy likes her, quite a lot."
"Ah! Hence the extra blondness," Donna muttered to herself under her breath. It all made sense now.
Unfortunately she was heard, and Roderick managed to distract her attention enough to glare meaningfully. "Daisy, your soup is getting cold. It would be criminal if you let it go to waste."
"Roddy is so caring about making sure I eat properly," Daisy proudly remarked to Verity. "It would be awful if I didn't watch my weight too." She then let out a much-practised giggle.
"He has always been caring. Does the weight watching mean you have no intention of having any children?" Verity considered.
"Hell yes!" Daisy enthusiastically confirmed, scrunching her face up in disgust at the thought. "We don't want a baby, do we, Roddy?"
"Is that true?" Verity asked her nephew, hoping it wasn't.
After carefully dabbing his mouth with his napkin and then placing it back in his lap, Roderick considered his answer; fully aware of the scrutiny of his table companions. "I have no such plans, and I do not believe that I have had much experience of babies or young children. I cannot say I have deliberately sought them out."
"There was that baby at the last school choir championships you conducted at," Donna supplied without thinking. "You took rather a shine to her."
"Donna!" Roderick warned; a full blown scowl on his face.
"You think I didn't see you backstage cooing away to her when you thought no one was looking," she continued, deliberately ignoring his angry pout. Any regard she had for that had long since gone. Plus, the bruised lip detracted from the effect, and so far no one had told her why or how he had the injury. From John's shy demeanour she could only guess it was his fault, and that made her both proud and chuffed with him. "I'm trying to remember her name. Her mum seemed really nice, considering all that fuss, and then there was that other baby..."
"Yes, it was an eventful day," Roderick curtly cut across her reminiscing. Part of him was mortified he had been seen being vulnerable; although it had evidently worked in his favour where Donna was concerned, now that he had a chance to examine that time, and would do so properly later, when alone. Once Daisy could be packed off to leave him be with his thoughts, obviously. The woman was like a limpet at times, and could only be prised off if he threw money in the opposite direction.
Verity smiled with delight. Now this was the sort of thing she wanted to hear about their Ricky. It reminded her that he could still be the decent human being she knew he was underneath all that imposing guise. "Do you still keep in touch?" she wondered.
"I sent a birthday gift and I had a Christmas card," he responded before he knew it, and blushed in embarrassment. "Nothing anybody else would have done in the same circumstances."
"Of course," Verity agreed, still smiling with undisguised relief. "I'm sure John would have done the same."
"Who me?" John spluttered, distracted from eating his steak and listening to Donna managing to reveal information about their Ricky. "I'd be frightened to hold a baby, in case I dropped it or something."
"It would only be like holding a newborn lamb, and you've probably held dozens of those," Donna pointed out in an effort to console him.
"I know; but a baby... you have to worry about their heads, you know, supporting their necks, and making sure they are safe, warm and happy. I'm not sure I could do all that," John worriedly admitted.
It was so easy for her to reach out and take his nearest hand in comfort and give it a reassuring squeeze. Instead of making the obvious comparison with Roderick, that if he could do it then anyone could, she said, "By saying that you've just proved you'd be excellent at being a father." When his eyes went wide in surprise, she quickly added, "Or just holding someone else's baby."
"There's more to being a father than holding a baby," Sydney retorted jovially. "And you have to find the perfect woman to have them with," he continued, aiming his praise towards his wife. "We were only blessed with only the one but she did me proud."
Verity inevitably smiled modestly back.
"Do I make you proud, Roddy?" Daisy simpered in his direction, having felt rather left out in this family discussion.
'Proud' was not the word he would have chosen at that moment. "Present company does not allow me to divulge how you make me feel," he diplomatically tried to answer, and gained a pleased grin.
He never said that?! Donna immediately swallowed her food wrongly, and had a coughing fit. Two strong hands suddenly started patting her on the back.
"Give her a sip of water," Verity ordered them.
"I'm fine," Donna gasped out after some seconds, and wiped at her watery eyes. "Blimey! I wasn't expecting that. Probably a fish bone, or something, went down the wrong hole."
"Or something," Roderick echoed; and then to her complete surprise, he winked at Donna.
What had come over him lately? Stifling a giggle, she turned to see if John had noticed; but he hadn't. Instead, he was looking at her with great concern.
"Are you okay?" he mouthed, obviously wanting to take a firm hold of her hand.
Aww, he was so sweet and adorable! "Yes," she answered, resisting the urge to grab and kiss him then and there. That would have to wait until later.
On the other side of the table both Verity and Sydney were thrilled to see the tender exchange; but it was only Verity who noted Roderick's less than pleased expression.
"Tell me, Daisy, were you working with our Roderick when Donna was still with him?" Verity asked.
Daisy nodded as she finished her soup, and wiped off any possible remnants on her face with her linen napkin. "It was Donna who acted as my mentor when I first started. You should have seen me, I didn't know a thing!"
"And didn't we know it," Donna commented only loud enough for John and Roderick to catch her words.
"But I picked things up really quickly," Daisy continued, "so much so that when Roddy had to choose one of us to leave, I got to stay."
"Yay! Who'd have believed that one happening," Donna couldn't help adding quietly.
A frown appeared on Verity's face. "Am I right in thinking you're his girlfriend?" That gained another enthusiastic nod. "Then does that mean you will both be living one day in the farm-"
"Aunt Verity," Roderick quickly interrupted her question. "The finer details haven't been decided upon yet; there are very many different alternatives available in the near future."
"What are you going on about, Roddy? I don't understand," Daisy admitted. "Where does your aunt think we'll be living?"
"Don't worry your pretty little head about it yet," Roderick patronised her without showing a hint of embarrassment. "Any relocation would need to be thought through very carefully."
"Why don't you talk it over with our John while me and your uncle head for home?" Verity proposed. "It was a lovely meal. Thank you for treating us."
"Yes, it was smashing," Sydney remarked. "But I need to go and rest, and I'm sure you want to spend more time with Daisy here." He smiled sweetly at the girl in sympathy. It was obvious she was not going to get the relationship she was hoping for.
"Of course," Roderick accepted their suggestion. "John and I can catch up properly, and I'll see you both tomorrow."
"Tomorrow?" Verity queried in surprise. "I thought you were going back to London tonight."
"I've decide to stay on for a bit longer," Roderick reluctantly revealed. "I cancelled my engagement for tonight and things need discussing here."
It certainly had Verity wondering what his motive was in not returning back to the capital as soon as possible. He'd been quite keen to cut his visit short before the meal had started; which left only two possible candidates for his change of heart.
As for John, he was wondering what his cousin's motivation was too with this sudden change of heart. It was with some hesitation that he bade his parents goodbye and a safe journey home in Roderick's limousine. He really didn't like finding himself being forced into spending quality time with Ricky. Was this a genuine attempt at socialising or merely a ploy to establish who the alpha male with their female companions was? The next half hour would probably tell.
"Are you alright?" Donna anxiously asked him as Roderick settled the bill.
"I'll let you know later," he discretely answered. "Just promise me this, please; don't leave me on my own with Daisy. She's terrifying."
With a happy chuckle, it was easy for Donna to assure him she wouldn't. As for her own chances with Roderick, well, that was yet to be seen.