“Did you eat here before the party?” he asks, looking over my shoulder and into the restaurant. “Or come here for a drink at the bar before it all begins? The calm before the storm, as it were.”
“A drink,” I reply hurriedly, thanking him for a perfect answer. “I had some work stuff to tie up, and I didn’t want to be on my phone in the party.”
He laughs. “Right. I suppose you know about the time Cordelia threw that guy’s phone out the window when he wasn’t listening. She’s lucky it missed that goose. Would have taken it out.”
“Oh, yeah.” I’m laughing along. “That is a hilarious story. She’s so funny!”
Must keep phone hidden at all times. Cordelia is a PSYCHO.
“Anyway, we should probably get to the party. Do you know where the Grand Ballroom is by any chance?” I ask. “Or were you waiting here for someone?”
“I was just trying to phone a friend of mine to see where she was,” he explains, holding up his phone. “She likes to be fashionably late.”
“Oh, right.” I smile, leaving him to it. “I’ll see you in there.”
“I can come with you and show you the way,” he says, putting his phone away and falling into step with me.
“No, please don’t worry! You should wait here for your date. I’m sure I can find it myself.”
“It’s all right.” He shrugs, opening a set of doors as we turn the corner onto another corridor. “I don’t want Cordelia to think I’ve gone missing from her party. And she’s not my date. By the way, how’s your loo situation?”
“Excuse me?” I reply, horrified.
“The portaloo disaster.” He laughs. “Remember? You were on the phone outside my parents’ house and there was a toilet disaster.”
“Oh, right!” I say, blushing. “I think my friend’s sorted it now.”
This is half true. I haven’t confirmed with the new company, as I want to see the loos before I let Rosemary make any commitment, but it’s a strong lead.
“I’m pleased to hear it. Ah, here we are. The Grand Ballroom.”
A tall woman with a neat bob and bright red lipstick, wearing a smart black trouser suit and a headphone set, is standing at the door with two hotel porters and security officers. She acknowledges Tom, then asks my name, checking it against the list onher iPad screen before offering me a warm smile. “Welcome, Miss Taylor, do go on through.”
The doors are opened and the first person I see is Lady Cordelia, standing just inside with Jonathan, waiting to greet her guests as they enter.
“Look who I found, Cordelia,” Tom says, taking a glass of champagne offered by a waiter and handing it to me, oblivious to her thunderous expression. “Now you might enjoy your party, considering there’s someone here that you actually like.”
As her eyes narrow to slits, I smile at her before taking a large gulp from my glass.
I don’t normally drink on the job, but I think I’m going to need it.
CHAPTER NINE
“All right, what the fuck are you doing here?”
At the sound of Cordelia’s voice echoing around the loo, I genuinely stop mid-pee.
Mid-pee.That’s how terrifying she is.
I’m in a cubicle, and had been enjoying a brief moment of peace and quiet away from the party, where I’ve had to smile like the Cheshire Cat all evening. I was particularly nervous to meet the Marquess of Meade, Cordelia and Tom’s father. As you’d expect a marquess to be, he’s tall and imposing, with thick dark hair, graying at the sides, and a stern, square jawline. He also has the same kind, dark eyes as his son. I met him briefly, introduced by Lady Meade. He was very polite, but the hotel manager had appeared swiftly after we met to ask a question about the canapés, so I’d left him to it.
After that, I’d done my best to mingle with various guests, who had stepped straight out of the society pages ofTatler,before escaping to the ladies’.
Cordelia must have spotted me slipping away.
“I know you’re in there,” she yells, knocking on my cubicle door. “Emily.”
“I’ll be out in a second!” I squeak back.
