“I hope I didn’t get any suds on it,” Sister Connelly laughed. “Go and have a rest. You must be exhausted after all you’ve been doing for us.”
Claudia smiled weakly. “Thank you.” She waved goodbye to the sister once more then turned back to Stavros.
The fact he was there, at her front door, his expression watchful, angered her. How dared he intrude on her life? Especially after he’d kicked her out of his?
“What are you doing here?”
“I needed to speak to you.”
“Fine.” She slipped her arms into her jacket, pulling it tight around her middle. “What?”
He looked around. There were no photographers in evidence but people were milling around, walking past.
“In private.”
She glared at him. “No way.”
“Yes.” He moved closer. “I don’t want our conversation to be overheard.”
“We have nothing to discuss,” she snapped, moving past him towards her front door.
“Not true. How come you never told me?”
Her fingers shook as she slipped the key into the lock and made to turn it. But she dropped it to the ground and Stavros was there, crouching down to retrieve it and inserting it calmly back into place.
“Told you what?” She responded softly, cautiously.
His eyes held hers as the door pushed inwards. “About your dyslexia.”
She sucked in a deep breath but it didn’t help. The floor shifted and she was dizzy. She reached behind her for the railing and gripped it. All the colour drained from her face.
“Come inside, asteraki,” he said gently, with the sympathy she had dreaded for so long. “Let us speak privately.”
She nodded, completely numb, knowing there was nothing he could say that would make this easier or better. Knowing that she needed him to go away again, but that she could hardly tell him that out here, with people swarming past.
“For two minutes, okay?”
The front door of her home opening into a small anteroom and then a large living space.
Stavros had to conceal his amusement – it wasn’t an appropriate emotion – as he walked in and saw the gigantic Christmas tree given pride of place in the very centre of the floor.
There were ivy garlands strung along the ceiling and up the banister of the stairwell, and all of the décor had been swapped out to show a festive flavor. At least, he hoped it had been swapped out. The cushion covers had dark red snowflakes on them, and the curtains had tiny little Christmas trees embellished into the fabric.
Claudia, apparently, didn’t see. She was used to the décor, apparently.
“How did you find out?” The words were barely audible. Her eyes were huge in her pale face, and she stood just a little way away from the Christmas tree, her arms crossed over her torso, her body hunched.
“You should have told me,” he responded, and then cringed at the obvious criticism in his voice.
“Why?” She snapped. “Why was it any of your business?”
“I’m your guardian, for one thing. Don’t you think it’s something of which I should have been made aware?”
“Not particularly.”
Silence throbbed in the room. He took a step closer, his eyes warring with hers. “Did you mean what you said about Pennington?”
She frowned, with no recollection of what he was referring to.