“You didn’t think I’d pass on my first go, did you? Be honest. I can see you’re in shock,” I said, giggling. I felt heady and overwhelmed, like I’d downed half a bottle of wine.
“I never doubted you,” he said, cupping me beneath the chin. “Not for a moment.”
I wondered, then, what was bothering him, but pressing him didn't seem productive. Why spoil a happy moment?
“I’m going to go upstairs and call Eugenie, and then I’ll be right back with you,” I said, planting a kiss on Nick’s stubbled cheek.
He turned the trocar in his hands, frowning slightly, clearly thinking something over. His voice came in a soft murmur, but there was something a little darker behind it, more sinister. When Nick spoke to me in that voice, I pulsed between my legs, enjoying the authoritarian tone in his voice.
“Remember what I told you, won’t you, Grace?”
I paused on the stairs, looking back at him over my shoulder. It was late November, the sky outside darkening already before it was even midday. A sudden chill made me shiver.
“Of course. Only Eugenie knows, and she’s sworn to secrecy. She’s proven a very loyal friend to me, you know, “ I said.
“So far,” said Nick, withdrawing the trocar once more.
He held it upright like a spear while he examined Mrs Sugi’s corpse, watching her thoughtfully. “I’m keen that we don’t let any of my competitors find out until we’ve had thechance to announce it ourselves, properly, with dignity. It could ruffle too many feathers. They’re looking for excuses, Grace, to drag my name through the mud.”
“Of course, sir. I remember,” I said.
I understood, I really did – but he piqued my curiosity in moments like this, when I could sense his intense anxieties, his need for control. It unearthed a vulnerability in him that I had fast fallen in love with. Beneath his cool, composed exterior, Nick was afraid. He needed, at least, the illusion of control; to feel as though he could influence the opinion of all those who doubted his past, who blamed him for the catastrophic fire that killed his family and Louisa.
It was this knowledge that had prevented me from questioning him about the church visit, and the strange people I’d seen him standing with – especially the one who appeared to have suffered a seizure. I couldn’t imagine why Nick would feel the need to keep those associates from me, or me from them, except that he simply wasn’t ready to reveal our relationship.
Deep down, I knew, my resemblance to Louisa played its part in that. I knew people would draw comparisons. I no longer cared about that, but Nick did, and so I made the decision not to pry – at least, for now.
Eugenie was not so keen on that decision.
“You still haven’t demanded answers? Grace, you’re getting married to a man who keeps secrets from you!” Her voice came shrill from the speaker.
“I liked you better when you were cheering wildly down the phone because I’d passed my test,” I said, massaging the ever-present creases between my eyebrows. “Now you’re admonishing me.”
“I’m notadmonishingyou,” she said. I could almost hear her eyes rolling. “I just don’t want him to get away with it. You know, this is hard for me to say, but...there are rumours about Nick. Nasty ones. I never paid much mind to them, but now that you’re getting married...are you sure you know what you’re getting into?”
I shook my head privately, dismissing her question. “Shame on you for believing any of those vicious lies!”
“I don’t believe them, I just...there’s no smoke without just a teensy little bit of fire, you know?”
We shared a silence.
“Not to mention the way he treated poor Dorian. He’s apologised, I know, but still...”
I bit my lip until a tiny bead of blood sprung up. I brushed it away with my tongue. I wished I could change the subject entirely, away from any ghastly claims about the man I loved.
“Does this mean you don’t wish to be my bridesmaid any more?” I asked tiredly.
“Don’t be silly,” she said in a sardonic tone. “I want what’s best for you, that’s all. You’re younger than me. I see you like my little naive sister, the blushing bride, walking potentially into disaster,” said Eugenie. I could hear that she was fiddling with something on her end, tapping it against the table; a stone necklace, maybe, or one of her ceramic Chinese hair pieces – more like works of art than accessories.
“I’m sorry, it’s just...the fact is that I didn’t get quite the reaction from Nick as I got from you when I told him about my driving test. He’s angry, somehow, or bothered about it at least, and I don’t know why,” I said.
Eugenie hummed a little, pondering.
“Perhaps he was hoping to keep you nice and busy for a little while. Long enough, say, to put any questionable things you’d seen recently out of your mind?” Eugenie sounded so smug I wished I could reach through the phone and shake her, but of course, I wouldn’t. She was my friend.
“I didn’t see anything questionable,” I said, in a clipped tone that revealed my annoyance. “I saw Nick at a church service with some people he didn’t want me to meet yet. That’s all. I’m sure it’ll all be worked out in the end and I’ll get to know them.”
Eugenie sighed. “All right. If you’re happy, then I’m happy, I suppose. “It’s your funeral”, so-to-speak.”
