“Don’t push it too far.”
We dance for a while, in silence, then I notice that she’s looking around the ballroom, and so I can’t help asking her a question: “I assume that there’s something else behind your change… or maybesomeoneelse?”
“Who?”
“You’ve thrown it in my face for weeks and now you play dumb? Willoughby.”
Jemma shakes her head. “No. Willoughby has nothing to do with it.”
“Are looking for someone?”
She lets out a hint of a smile. “I was looking for your mother. I wanted to shock her as I did at the fashion show.”
“I don’t think you can ever reach that level again.” I hold back a sigh: I don’t care about my mother. And if Willoughby is no longer in my way, I have one problem less. “Would you please relax a bit? You’re so stiff that it feels like dancing with Admiral Nelson!”
“I’d rather be cautious. I’m sure that as soon as I lower my guard you will come out with one of your little jokes. I’ll be ready for it.”
“You’re wrong. I’m so at peace with the universe, right now. It didn’t take long to figure it out, yet you refused to do it until the very last second: all I asked for was someone who didn’t humiliate me or embarrass me.”
“That’s too bad. Humiliating you is the only thing that can resize your endless ego, and embarrassing you is the perfect way to break down your arrogance,” she replies, sporting an angelic smile on her face.
“You mean you always did it on purpose?” I ask.
“All the time,” she replies, satisfied.
“You’re a stunning bitch.”
We dance through the last notes of the song, before she gives me a victorious look.
“See? You finally admitted it.”
“What?”
“That I’m stunning.”
She won. This time, she really won.
51
Jemma’s Version
Since Delphina left, I’ve found myself in a rather demanding position. Yes, I have always considered that woman a waste of space, but the management of Denby Hall is involving me more and more every day. And, strange as it may seem, I like it.
I’ve always been subordinate to someone, playing second fiddle for years, but now every decision, even the smallest details, seem to require my approval.
Lance and the rest of the staff are so good to me and they do everything to put me at ease, as they’re well aware that this is all new to me.
The charity is a different matter: I’m their experiment and they’re all keeping me under the microscope. The fashion show was a long shot and it went well, but I don’t know if luck will be on my side this time.
I got a call from Lady Antonia who, in a quiet tone which was as fake as seasonal sales, told me that I will have to take care of the evening which had been assigned to Delphina: the Gregorian Choir concert in the big conservatory at the Country Club.
I don’t know anything about Gregorian Choirs.
And then, where do you get these Gregorians?
I’m forced to improvise again, for two main reasons: first, because the fashion show was a master stroke and they say you shouldn’t mess with success; second, because I wouldn’t know what else to do.
*
