I crossed the room, steadying myself on the mantel.
“I was trying to make your father understand who you are. And you not only recorded it, you edited it into, into—oh my God, this is your pitch, isn’t it?”
On screen, the video was building to a crescendo. Me slaughtering Horatio Blunt, Edward’s Jag sinking into the lake, Peggy accepting rousing applause from the kitchen volunteers.
The voice-over continued: “Join the dashing Lord Buckford, and a cast of colourful characters, as he channels the fighting spirit of his ancestors to save his family home—penny by penny, brick by brick, battle by battle.”
The wordsSaving the Love Manorflashed up on the screen over footage of me in my armour, the wind lightly tickling my hair.
The screen went black.
I couldn’t speak.
It was easier to breathe at the bottom of a ruck than it was right now.
“Well, what do you think?” Petey asked, his voice small.
I turned to look at him.
“What do I think?” The words cracked. “You secretly filmed me. My family. Your family. The entire community. Everyone I care about. You recorded private conversations.” I pointed at the blank screen of the TV. “This is exactly whatThe Bulletindoes. Violates privacy for entertainment.”
Petey’s face went white.
“That’s not… I’m not…”
“How is it any different?”
“Because I love you!” Petey was on his feet, his voice breaking. “I was trying to find a way for us to be together. This is it. If Indira goes for this, I can be here during filming. We can be together. This is me fighting for us, William.”
“If this is you fighting for us, what does you fighting against us look like? Volunteering the house as a nuclear testing sight? Ripping my heart out to make a casserole?”
“William—”
“You’ve violated everyone’s trust.”
“It’sjusta pitch. None of this goes on TV. But I can take anything you want out of this edit. Anything anyone’s uncomfortable with. I’ll destroy the footage. I promise. No one will ever see it.”
It wasn’t enough.
“You can’t pitch this show.Ican’t do this show.”
Petey’s face crumpled. “You can’t be serious.”
“I don’t want to live my life on camera. I don’t want to live in public.”
“But we’d have control. Don’t you see? We’d control the narrative. We’d have a PR team.”
“Why didn’t you ask me before you did all this?”
“I wanted to surprise you.”
“By making a major decision about my life without asking me?” Tears were streaming down Petey’s face.
“Please, don’t be angry.”
“I’m not angry. I’m just… really disappointed.”
The words hung in the air. Petey’s face changed. His eyes shuttered. He dashed out of the room. I started to give chase, then stopped. He needed space. We both did. I stood there, feeling completely empty. My hands were shaking. I meant everything I’d said. But I still loved him.
