I know I need to smarten up my miserable face but I really have no desire to be here. ‘Excellent.’
She thrusts her arm through mine as I walk with my hands in the pockets of my gilet. We make our way past the house, to a lake and into the fields beyond, strolling leisurely, intentionally killing time.
‘My brother said you’re a lawyer?’
‘Yes, I am. I work for him sometimes.’
‘He said. And that’s how you met Gregory?’
‘Yes.’
We both turn sharply when the water feature shoots high into the sky and sprays down into the lake behind us. ‘What do you do?’
‘I’m in my final year of uni. I’m studying Classics so God knows what I’ll do when I graduate.’ She laughs.
‘Do you enjoy it?’
‘Mm, yep, but I’m ready to leave. Did you feel like that towards the end?’
‘I guess so. I was looking forward to working and making my own money. Funny.’
‘Why’s that funny?’
‘Because given the chance, I’d go back. Life’s much easier at uni. You’ve got the rest of your life to work long hours.’
‘But you enjoy being a lawyer?’
‘Yes, mostly. It has its moments.’
She nods thoughtfully. ‘I think I’m ready to be out of my parents’ controlandmy brother’s shadow. My parents think he did everything right and I do everything wrong.’ Now her head is shaking. ‘He drank, he had sex, he did whatever, but it’sdifferent with me. If they eventhinkthat I’m doing something wrong, even though he probably did it, I’m hauled over the coals. It really pisses me off. What pisses me off more is that I listen to them too. My friends will be going out, doing whatever, and I think,what would my parents say? I just want to go a little crazy, you know?’
I nod. I never did either. Gregory is the most exciting thing that’s happened in my life.Be careful what you wish for.
We walk until the house is almost out of sight, only the tallest peaks poking through trees behind us.
‘You could probably have a worse big brother. Williams is pretty cool.’
‘When he’s not being uptight.’
Williams, uptight? There’s a rarity. My mind wanders to Amanda. Maybe she brings out light-hearted Williams.
It’s starting to drop cold, the November sun being replaced with an increasingly grey sky.
‘We should head back.’
The concierge, in period dress like the rest of them, shows me to our room, guiding me along dark stone corridors which are lit romantically with five-prong candelabras and soft wall lights. He opens the bedroom door with an enormous, black key, then places it in my hand and leaves me to my own devices.
The room is amazing. It’s got a medieval feel. A large, four-poster bed stands proudly in the middle. The walls are adorned with luxurious, deep-red fabric. The bed is laid with red and gold silk, a black velour throw swept across the bottom. The furniture is dark, antique-looking wood: a chest of drawers, a wardrobe, an ottoman and two bedside cabinets. I open a door and walk along a short corridor, flanked by decoratively carved wardrobes, then I reach the bathroom. It must be half the size of the main room. Alarge, freestanding, ceramic bath takes centre stage with little else in the room. I open a door to the right, which leads to a big mirror and his-and-hers sinks. Beyond the sinks, another door opens into a wet room with a monsoon shower.This is incredible.
My phone beeps, drawing me back to the bedroom to find it. A missed call and two messages from Amanda.
Are you having fun?
Then an hour later:
So is Ed there?
Just fun, my arse!If she’d just stop being so stubborn and admit what’s blatantly obvious, she could be here to save me from the torture of a night with these women who want to throw daggers at me.
