Alina announced, “Clementine, I feel so bad about what I did and how I treated you in junior high. I was a jerk. I was so mean. I shouldn’t have said any of the things that I did about you or to you.”
Clementine was standing with one hip jutting out and her chin lifted so hard that she was staring down her nose at Alina. “I appreciate that. It is good to know that you regret your actions. I accept your apology.”
And she turned and walked away from Alina Volkov.
“Hey!” Alina called and ran to catch up with her again. “Iapologized.”
Clementine kept walking. “I know.”
Magnus moved away from the potted palm and followed them on a parallel track behind the tall foliage privacy screen around the pool. The thick grass and soil were soft but not squishy under his shoes.
“Aren’t we going to make up or something? Aren’t we going to vow to be friends from now on?”
“I have plenty of friends. I certainly don’t need one like you.”
“Yeah,but I apologized,”Alina said. “I reallyamsorry for the way I treated you in junior high, but that was a long time ago. Shouldn’t we be friends now? Or at least come to some sort of mutual agreement to be fond acquaintances?”
Clementine rounded on her, and I poised to prevent Clemmy from committing a murder that Alina might have coming. “If you were truly regretful about what you did to me in junior high, the horrible rumors, the snide things you said to my face, the terrible things you had your friends say behind my back, then your apology would be freely given. There would be noquid pro quoin your apology. You would notwantanything from me. You would only want to express regret. I have accepted your apology. Let’s leave it at that.”
“Yeah, but I’d hoped we could be friends.”
“As I said, I have more than enough friends. After you left Le Rosey for whatever international school you went to, I picked up your former friends, and they aremyfriends now. I heard you didn’t make many friends at that English boarding school. It’s very hard to weasel one’s way into English upper-class society. I’m sorry you had a less-than-optimal experience, but I have no desire to associate myself with you.”
With that, Clementine lifted her head, spun on her heel, and strolled away into the darkness.
Alina stood by the pool, gaping as rippled light passed over her face and her palest pink dress, until she finally turned and walked back to the ballroom. Her chin was held high by the time she heavily climbed the terrace steps and strode back inside.
Shit, poor Clemmy.
Magnus walked faster, his long legs covering the ground even though he had a longer path around the outside of the pool area. By the time Clementine emerged from the aqua-glowing pool tarmac into the dark sidewalk leading to the car drop-off roundabout, Magnus was waiting for her. “Clemmy, are you okay?”
“Of course I’m okay. I have no reason not to be okay.” Her firm tone brooked no questions.
The amplified music from the small orchestra reached even this far from the ballroom. They started playing a slow waltz, one they both remembered from high school compulsory physical education.
“You didn’t even dance one waltz,” Magnus noted.
“I didn’t feel like it.”
“You always dance at these cotillions.”
“I didn’t see anyone worth dancing with.”
“Ouch. You wound me.”
“No, I didn’t. You hate dancing at these balls.”
“Dance with me before you leave. I wouldn’t want you to think you came all the way here for nothing.”
“Oh, Magnus. We don’t need to startusagain.”
“I thought we were friends. That’s what we both insisted.”
“Not that kind of friends. Not with benefits.”
Oh, he could argue that, from many occasions. “This isn’t aboutbenefits.It’s just a waltz. It’s just one waltz because we never get to dance. No one holds proper balls or even country dances anymore.”
“I don’t feel like dancing.”
