Forbidden Desire(17)

The women are all smiling patiently. No one else seems to be eating, although a couple of the girls dart longing glances at the spread.

“I, uh, just ate,” I say, feeling self-conscious. I can never eat when there are that many eyes upon me.

“Suit yourself.” Claire forks several pieces of bacon on a plate and flings herself into an armchair. Then she leans over to me. “Say, you don’t mind if I put anything I like on Alex’s tab, do you? You needn’t tell him. It will just be between you and me.”

Oh, is it what this is about? I recall the conversation at the dinner table and her mother not giving her clothing allowance.

So she’s using me.

“I don’t think that’s right,” I reply.

“Oh come on, don’t be a fuddy duddy. You’d want at least one person in the family to be on your side.” She smiles innocently as she forks a rasher of bacon into her mouth.

This is making me uncomfortable. Is she trying to bribe me? No wonder she didn’t want Jasper here. I’m aware that I shouldn’t embarrass her by saying no in front of all the shop girls, and yet I’m aware that this may be a test – she might want to gauge if I would deceive Alex in any way.

Oh, my head hurts!

I grip my fists and take a deep breath. Any move I make will probably be construed wrongly anyway, so I might as well be true to myself.

I try to make my voice as impartial as I can. “Claire, this is your family’s money and you can do what you like with it. I’m not going to go out of my way to say anything to your brother, but if he or your mother asks me, I would probably have to tell them the truth.”

There. She’s going to hate me forever now. But she already hates me, so what the heck.

Claire’s face is like a rock. She appears stunned, at least momentarily. I take it that no one aside from her mother has ever said no to her before. Anyway, I didn’t really say no. I just put the ball back on her court and maintained my position.

Her eyes narrow. She puts her fork down on the side table.

“I see. So that’s your stance.” Her mouth compresses in a flat, ugly line.

I nod. My heart is thudding hard against my ribs. Confrontation is always so hard for me.

“I won’t lie to your family, Claire. Not for anyone. Not even for your brother if he asked me to, and I don’t think he ever will.”

Silence. The women in the room exchange uncomfortable glances with each other and shift on their feet.

“Fine then.” Claire gets up. She stalks off and heads for the exit. She turns. “But don’t count on me to get your back next time.”

I don’t say anything.

As soon as she vanishes, a palpable cloud lifts from the room. The atmosphere lightens considerably.

Eve says in a low voice, “She’s not a good enemy to make, ma cherie.”

I sigh. “None of them are, but they already hate my guts anyway.”

She seems to ponder this, and then she brightens. “Come, let’s pick out something for you. A whole new trousseau, shall we? What do you say we begin with some suitable clothes to be photographed in?”

This is a cheery prospect. I can’t help smiling again despite everything.

“OK. But I insist on only one thing.”

“What is it?”

I wave my hand at the food spread. “Seeing as I’m not going to be eating all this alone, why don’t we all have a little bit of breakfast?”

The girls all eye each other in delight. I think they must have been up since five preparing all this for me.

“Are you sure?” Eva asks me, creasing her brow. “It has never been . . . done.”

“I’m pretty sure. There’s no one to spy on us anyway.”

A sprinkling of laughter and chatter now permeates the solemn room. I smile as the girls make a line for the buffet.





8





It’s a good thing I decided to wear one of the two piece suits I bought on Alex’s tab. It’s a cream-colored cashmere number, extremely well cut and a lot like something Kate Middleton would wear at a function (I think), only pricier.

“You have to find your own style,” Eva advises. “I’m here to guide you.”

She’s talking as if I’m a princess-in-waiting already.

I toss a laugh. “It’s too early to find my own style. Besides, I don’t know how this whole thing will pan out. You know . . . with Claire and her mother . . . ”

Eva nods. “Say no more. I completely understand. The royals may be a handful at times. Some of them are extremely spoilt. I daresay they need a little shakeup in their ranks because they are starting to lose touch with the common people. You are the breath of fresh air they need.”#p#分页标题#e#