‘How exciting!’ Lucy elongated her vowels, like the people on the BBC. ‘Do you always travel with Her Majesty?’
He shrugged, as if it were nothing. ‘Only every so often. Otherwise, I’m in Oxfordshire, or at our place in France.’
‘You have a house in France?’
He returned to the sofa, handing her a tumbler and putting his feet up on the beautiful antique coffee table. ‘It’s more of a run-down château, to be honest.’ He took her hand and put it on his lap. ‘I don’t know how we’ll afford to renovate it, with money so tight.’
‘It doesn’t seem like you’re doing so very badly,’ she said, spluttering over the strength of the clear liquid in her glass.
But he shook his head. ‘Times have changed, darling. Thank goodness for this new generation of young women – your generation. They’re practical and driven. They know what they want and how to get it.’ He squeezed her hand. ‘Just like you, coming to London, determined to make it.’
She lit up. ‘It’s the way I am,’ she said, delighted that he saw her spirit. ‘I had to get away, find better opportunities.’
‘Young women aren’t listening to their parents and grandparents telling them how to live.’ He smiled. ‘We’re not living in the same world as their parents did, and that’s why their mothers don’t understand them. All that dreadful Victorian uptightness has gone, and we’re free to be ourselves, to enjoy life, to let ourselves go.’ He turned to her with that forlorn look of his. ‘I imagine your mother might not like the idea of her daughter with a man so different as me. Some people distrust what they don’t know.’
That made Lucy smile. ‘My friends in the palace said you’re too upper-class for me. They don’t understand.’
‘They’re just jealous.’ He laughed, inching closer to her. ‘They haven’t got what you have, your beauty and your ambition. You have to have more faith in yourself, Lucy. Stand up for what you want. Don’t let those dowdy biddies pull you down to their level.’
With that, he leaned over and kissed her, this time a full kiss, his hand stealing around her waist, inching her blouse out of her skirt so that he could slip his hand onto her back. ‘Your skin is so warm, and you, my darling, are the most beautiful girl. If only you’d—’ He broke off, pulling away. ‘Oh, nothing.’
She looked at him, fraught. That dreadful fear that she wasn’t good enough came back to her. Panicking, she insisted, ‘What? Tell me!’
‘Really, darling, it’s nothing.’ He went to kiss her again, but as she pulled away, he smiled gently. ‘Well, if you insist, it’s just that you need to be more relaxed. Live a little, let your hair down. Now, I think you might be a bit self-conscious, coming from the countryside and not a place like this’ – he spread open one hand – ‘but you’re a very beautiful girl, Lucy. You need to be yourself, just the way you are.’
‘But my friends say that—’
‘You’re a grown woman now, darling, and you’re different from your friends, living in a very different world. I can see that you’re clever, too – far brighter than they think. It’s time for you to start living on your own terms, break free from the old ways. Think of your future, of what it could be.’ He gestured around the room, the expanse and elegance. If Shirley knew she was there, she’d be as jealous as a dog.
Richard was right. Shewasclever, and she was going to show everyone how she could get on in the world. All this could be hers if she just let herself go.
And instead of waiting for him to kiss her, she peeled open her blouse and leaned forward, kissing him for all she was worth. His hands went underneath one of her bra straps, and she slipped it down, urging him on, her body fizzing with energy. She’d fumbled around with a few boys before, but Richard was a real man, and he had a prowess about him that made her feel like a Hollywood actress.
And as he unclothed her, she basked in his appreciation of her, the way their relationship was developing.
It was only at the very back of her mind that she wondered if she should stop him, do as Shirley said and save her virginity for the right man.
But Shirley had deserted her, giving up on her to follow her mediocre dreams with Vernon.
On the other hand, hadn’t Miranda told her to do all she could to get ahead? Wasn’t cementing her relationship with Richard precisely that?
And as she felt Richard’s strong arms, the knowledge that he would look after her overwhelmed her so much that she felt like crying, for relief that at last someone cared about her – someone would help her.
He could finally make her someone.
CAROLINE
THE LETTER ARRIVED ON TUESDAY MORNING,A LONG, official-looking envelope with the address from the solicitor on the back. Instantly, Caroline knew it was the inheritance cheque.
‘What’s that, Mum?’ Annabel looked up from her breakfast roll. ‘It looks important.’ She frowned.
‘Nothing to worry about.’ Caroline couldn’t help but smile, adding with a whisper, ‘Maybe something good. We might have inherited some money.’
Immediately, Annabel was beside her, and Caroline took out the letter, a cheque fluttering to the floor.
As she picked it up, her eyes alighted on the number of digits in the small window.
Her breath caught in her throat.
