“It was! It was very important to me.” I sigh, thinking of Dashwell Hall and how magical the wedding would have been. “But I can’t take a moment more. I’m done.”
“Mmm.”
“She can sod off. She paid an actor to pretend to be a swan whisperer. Who does that?”
“It’s very cruel.”
“Why did I fall for it? What iswrongwith me? I should have known! Swans are dangerous birds! Being a swan whisperer is not a thing. You know he filmed it? I’ve checked online but it’s not there, thank goodness. But I know he would have sent that video to her so she could have a good laugh at my expense. That would have been part of her deal when she hired him. Make sure he gets the full thing on camera so she could watch my humiliation. This is the person I’m working for.” I shake my head, my heart beating fast with rage. “I’ve never met anyone so horrible.”
Except,I think,Annabel.In fact, it’s a wonder they’re not friends. They really are as bad as each other. I have no sympathy for Cordelia anymore and the way that Annabel was speaking to her. She deserved it.
“Anyway,” I continue, “she’s finally got her way. I quit.”
“Doyouwant that, though?” Mum asks calmly.
“Yes. I never want to see her again.”
“But do you really want her to win?” Mum turns away from the camera to accept a cup of tea from Dad.
“Hello, Sophie!” Dad says cheerily, appearing on the screen. “I hear you’ve had a bad day.”
“The worst.”
“I’m sorry to hear that. It’s all very unusual.”
“Yes. It was.”
“I wondered whether you’d mind if I use it for the book?”
Mum groans.
“I’ve been wanting to add a little comic relief into a recent scene,” he explains, “and I thought it might perk things up to have one of the junior detectives find himself in waders in the middle of St. James’s Park. Would that be all right?”
“I’m not sure now’s the time to ask,” Mum says, through gritted teeth.
“You can use it, Dad. You might as well. The whole world will be laughing at me once the video is up on YouTube, so the incident might as well be used for something good.”
“Thank you! You’re excellent inspiration, Sophie!”
“All right, off you go,” Mum says, shooing him away. “Sorry about that, darling. Now, where were we? Ah, yes. I was asking you if you really wanted to let her win.”
“Yes, Mum. I do,” I say firmly. “If it means getting out of this toxic job, then I’m very happy to let her win.”
“Has it been that bad? Last time we spoke, you were very enthusiastic about some of the ideas you’d had.”
“Anything good about this wedding has been squashed by what happened today. And all the horrible things she’s done before.”
“All right, well, if it’s making you unhappy then you must, of course, get out. You can’t let someone like that make you miserable.”
“Thank you.”
“But there is another option you may want to consider.”
“If you say anything about killing her with kindness, or however that phrase goes, I’m going to hang up.”
“No, not with kindness.” She smiles, knocking the phone as she moves something on the desk. “With brilliance.”
I throw back my head. “Why do I get the feeling that that’s going to be much the same?”
