“I’ll just have water, please.” Brielle takes the seat on her father’s right, next to Dad. She looks at me. “Would you mind awfully closing the blinds a little? Maddie and I have bad photosensitivity, and if we sit here in sunglasses it’s going to look as if we’re hoping for a part in the newMen in Blackmovie.”
Marcus gives a short laugh. “Women in Black, you mean,” and Aurelia giggles as she pours the tea.
Tom has obviously brought Brielle here to smooth things over. I don’t want to be smoothed over, and glower as I rise to close the blinds.
It’s only as I pull on the cord and she says, “That’s better,” that I register what she said before. “Maddie?” I query.
“My sister,” Brielle clarifies as she hands us all a folder. “She went to the bathroom—she’ll be here in a sec. Oh, here she is now.”
The glass door opens, and I look across to see another young woman coming through. She’s wearing a navy pencil skirt and a white blouse that makes her look businesslike but also feminine. Like Brielle, she also has white hair, although hers ismuch longer and falls past her shoulders like a curtain of snow. She also has white eyebrows and lashes, and when she looks at me, she has the same stunning violet eyes as her sister.
But what convinces me that she’s my mystery girl is the small mole above her top lip.
That, and the fact that as she enters she walks right into the rubber plant standing by the door and knocks it over, spilling earth all over the carpet.
I rise, my heart racing, and walk around the table. “Oh God,” she’s saying, “I can’t believe I did that. I was going for smooth and suave, but I don’t think my brain got the memo.”
It’s definitely her. I lower down, take the pot out of her hands, and put it down, saying, “Don’t worry, I’ll get someone to clean it up.”
She looks up, right into my eyes, and I have a startling revelation. Her expression contains no surprise, only wariness.
Does she recognize me? It’s hard to tell, but as I continue to stare at her, her pale cheeks slowly flush. I don’t think she’s shocked to see me. She knew I’d be here.
That means when we met at the ball she must have known my real identity.
Hurt and anger surge through me. Why did she lie to me? Did she go to the ball with the intention of tracking me down and seducing me? For what reason? To soften me up before her grandfather swept in with his offer? What’s the plan? To blackmail me by saying she’ll reveal our one-night stand unless I agree to the partnership?
I open my mouth to ask what’s going on, but to my surprise she gives a small shake of her head. She doesn’t want me to say anything. Who the fuck does she think she is? Resentment almost makes me blurt out an accusation anyway… but as I look into her eyes, the memories of that night are strong enough to make me close my mouth and rise to my feet.
I hold out a hand to her, and she slides hers into it and rises.
“Jeez, Maddie,” Brielle says. “You’ve only been in the room for five seconds.”
“A personal record,” Maddie jokes. She looks down at where my fingers are curled around hers, then withdraws her hand.
My father chuckles and says, “Don’t worry about it. It’s good to know the Rutherfords are human too,” and Tom grins.
I’m not so sure he’s wholly human. He’s at least part Rottweiler.
I open the glass door and call out to Imogen, one of our PAs, who’s passing by. “Immi, would you mind finding a dustpan and brush? We’ve had a slight spillage.”
“No worries,” she says, and goes off to the stationery cupboard.
She’s back almost immediately with the items, and Maddie says, “Thank you,” and holds out her hand for them.
“It’s okay, I’ll do it,” Immi says. “You carry on with your meeting.” She lowers down and quickly begins brushing up the loose soil.
“I’m so sorry,” Maddie says to her, sitting next to her sister. “You might want to leave the dustpan afterward. It’s quite likely I’ll spill something else before the meeting’s over.”
Immi laughs. I thank her and walk around the table to take my seat, which happens to be opposite Maddie’s. As I sit, I glance over at her. She meets my gaze evenly, then drops hers to the folder in front of her.
“Okay,” Dad says, “well now we’ve had the entertainment…” He smiles warmly at Maddie. “Let me start by saying thank you for coming for this exploratory meeting. I’m hoping we can all approach what comes out of today with open minds.” He looks pointedly at me.
I look down at my own folder. He knows how much I dislike Tom, and he agreed to meet with him anyway. My father isn’t my favorite person right now.
As he gives a short introductory speech about the future of farming, without moving my head I lift my gaze to Maddie. She’s looking at Dad, and it gives me a moment to study her profile.
No wonder she wore a disguise on the night of the ball. Her hair is incredibly distinctive, especially when matched with her white eyebrows. She must have either dyed them or covered them with makeup at the ball. The same with her eyelashes, which were probably false. The albinism explains why her lips were so pale beneath her bright-pink lipstick. And also why she had such pale nipples.
