Three hours sitting in a tiny back-end-of-nowhere station while engineering works brought the rail network to its knees. She'd spent the time staring at the email on her phone.
We are delighted to offer you the position of Senior Investment Manager…
She should be euphoric. This was everything she'd worked toward. Instead, she felt oddly empty, like viewing her triumph through glass.
Davies appeared before she'd even knocked. "Miss Victoria. Welcome home. I trust the journey was eventful?"
"One way to put it." She handed him her bag. "How's the carnage?"
"Your mother is in excellent spirits, your father has twice tried to retreat to his greenhouse prevented only by your grandmother, and Master Ambrose appears to be celebrating something with considerable enthusiasm."
Victoria quickly went up to her room, dropped her briefcase and slid into the dress that she’d bought for the occasion, before running back downstairs. On her way down, she thought she heard something, almost like a cat’s meow, but the sound didn’t come again and she was in a hurry.
Finally, she stepped onto the terrace, immediately scanning for Sasha. She found her near the rose garden, wearing a sundress that should have been illegal, making Lord Paddingham laugh entirely too much.
"Victoria!" Her mother appeared with a relieved smile. "Thank goodness you're here. How did the meeting go?"
"Fine. Very productive." The lie came automatically.
Before Victoria could protest, she was being steered toward a tall man with expensive teeth who launched into currency fluctuations. Victoria made appropriate noises while watching Sasha over his shoulder, trying not to notice how her stomach hurt at the sight of her.
"—quite remarkable opportunities in Asia-Pacific," the man was saying.
"Mmm," Victoria agreed, though she was more fascinated by the way Sasha's dress fitted her curves.
Sasha chose that moment to laugh at something Lord Pemberton said, throwing her head back, and Victoria's brain promptly shut down.
"Miss Sullivan? You seem distracted."
"Sorry. Jet lag." Which made no sense since she'd been to London, but he nodded sympathetically anyway.
Victoria excused herself and found Ambrose at the drinks table with champagne in each hand and glassy eyes.
"Vic!" He embraced her with drunken enthusiasm. "Perfect timing. I've been building up Dutch courage."
"How much have you had?"
"Just enough to make terrible decisions seem reasonable." He grinned. "How was London? Did you conquer the banking world?"
"Something like that." Victoria couldn't tell him about the job offer. Not yet. She couldn’t tell anyone.
"Ah. Well. You know what they say."
"No. What do they say?"
He shook his head. "Something about… the truth will out? I think that’s what they say, anyway."
She sighed, picked up a bottle of water, and handed it to her brother. "Drink this before making any rash decisions," she said, before moving off to try and find Sasha.
"Victoria, there you are."
She spun to find Sasha beside her, looking unfairly gorgeous. Victoria's mouth went dry.
"You're back," Sasha said, relief in her voice that made Victoria's chest tight. "How did it go?"
"Good. Really good." Victoria took a large gulp of champagne. "They seemed interested."
"That's brilliant." Sasha's smile was warm but careful. "I'm glad you're here. The party wasn't quite the same without you."
