“Oz talks about you as well,” I told her quietly. She tore her gaze away from Rafe and blinked at me.
“W-what?” she asked, totally thrown.
“He tells me about his beautiful, kind mummy. About how you give the best hugs in the world.” I smiled at her. All of this was true. Whatever Sophia was like to everyone else she was definitely loving with her son. “He also told me that you got very cross with him when he said he thought he wasstupid. That you think he’s the smartest little boy in London.”
“Oh…” She turned away and smoothed her hair back over her shoulders, clearly trying to gather herself. “I…” she cleared her throat. “I’m sorry. I was rude just now.”
“Not at all,” I told her. “If living arrangements change, it’s important for everyone to be aware.”
“Yes,” she agreed.
“You should have told Sophia I was living here,” I told Rafe.
Rafe looked between me and Sophia and then gave a stiff nod. “Yes. I should have done. I apologise, Sophia.”
She nodded back, then turned to me again. “Miss Clara, I… thank you.”
“What––?”
“For what you’re doing for Ozzie. He read with me last week so… thank you.” That sheen was over her eyes again but she blinked rapidly to clear it. “And I’m sorry I was rude before. I just… I’m finding it difficult after the divorce.” She turned to Rafe. “If you’d just talk to me aboutus, I––”
“Sophia, we’ve been over this,” Rafe said firmly. “There’s nothing to talk about.”
Sophia shook her head. “Rafe, please. I––”
“Sophia, darling,” a posh voice sounded from the doorway of the kitchen and we all turned that way to see the Earl and Countess of Dorset standing there with an elderly lady that must have been Rafe and Poppy’s Granny. “I think it’s time to run along now,” the countess continued.
“Yes, sod off,” put in the elderly lady. “Bloody Knightsbridge riff-raff. Honestly Rafe, you should have known better.”
Neither the countess nor the dowager were wearing the kind of red-soled, high-fashion heels as Sophia. Their shoeswere far sturdier and the countess had teamed hers with perfectly fitted trousers, a twin set and pearls, whilst the dowager wore a headscarf and, bizarrely, a wax jacket. Rafe’s father had streaks of grey in his hair and the same lordly air as Rafe, but was wearing a tweed coat which on anyone else would have looked ridiculous. On him, it only enhanced his old-money aura.
“This is my home,” Sophia said, her face flushing and her expression twisting with anger.
“It hasn’t been your home since you decided to shag that actor fellow, darling,” said the earl and I blinked in shock. These people were clearly the level of posh where zero fucks were given. “Run along and do give your father my regards. I understand his estate has been faltering of late.”
Sophia’s eyes snapped to the earl and her face paled.
His voice changed subtly with his next words, dropping just that little bit lower with a hint of menace threading through the words. “It would be a shame if the estate went under completely, don’t you think, Sophia? It can be difficult to protect these old legacies. Such a shame.”
A shiver went down my spine. I was very attuned to sensing danger. There was something about this man, behind the gentlemanly exterior, that was almost scary.
“So important for everything to be pleasant after a divorce, isn’t it?” put in the countess, her smile more like a baring of teeth now. “For Ozzie. It would be terrible if thatweren’tthe case.”
Sophia looked afraid now. The way the earl and the countess were looking at her was almost sinister, more like members ofmyfamily would look at people they were intimidating.
I swallowed nervously. The comparisons were making me feel unsettled.
“Right, I’ll just be going,” Sophia muttered as she hurried to leave, bobbing a curtsy as she went past the earl and the countess.
Oh shit, was I supposed to be curtsying as well? I grabbed onto Lily’s arm and she gave me a confused look, clearly not understanding what I was panicking about.
But then the front door slammed and it was too late. The earl and countess were descending on Lily and me. The sinister look in the earl’s eyes was completely gone now. He looked just like an affable older gentleman should on a Sunday. Kind smile on his lips, one hand in his pocket, totally relaxed.
“The amazing Clara. I’ve heard so much about you,” he said as he crossed the kitchen towards me. “And Miss Summerfield, I presume.”
“Lord Sterling,” I stuttered out as I performed an inexpert curtsy complete with comical wobble.
“Oh, darling,” said the countess as she moved to me, took me by my shoulders and then air-kissed either side of my head, before giving Lily the same treatment. “You don’t have to bother with all that. Sophia only does it because my husband scares the bollocks off her. She’s a good mum when she’s actually here, but she can be a raving bitch otherwise and it’s best to keep her reined in. Now, no Lord or Lady bollocks. We’re George and Eleanor.”
