Page 44 of The Black Trilogy

“Can you make it half an hour? I need to take a shower, but I’ve been putting it off due to a lack of hot water.”

“It’s broken?”

“Yup, for three days now. George promised to look into it, but he has no sense of urgency when it comes to these things.”

Although I imagined if it was him who had to take a cold shower, he’d get onto it pretty sharpish.

“Why don’t you bring your stuff with you? I can spare some hot water.”

Hallelujah. “I’m not going to turn down that offer. Ten minutes, then.”

As Luke swung left into his tree-lined drive, I got my first glimpse of his home. An imposing wall hid the house from the road, but as we rounded a curve, it came into view, lit up by spotlights at the front. The style was mock-Tudor—all exposed beams and imitation leaded light windows.

I couldn’t make up my mind whether I liked it or not.

The impeccably decorated, chintzy interior wasn’t what I’d expected from a bachelor pad. An overstuffed sofa and ornate credenza flanked the front door, although the fake flowers on the latter looked kind of dusty. Either Luke had been exploring his feminine side, or he’d had help.

My inspection didn’t escape his notice. “The decor isn’t exactly what I’d have chosen.”

I raised an eyebrow.

“When I moved out, mother got a little upset. The only way I could calm her down was to ask her to help with the furnishing. It made her feel wanted.”

“You live alone, then?”

“Tia’s got a room here, but she doesn’t use it much.”

“How is she? After the ball, I mean?”

Don’t mention the drugs. Be tactful, Ash. A foreign concept to me.

“She’s okay. Or at least, as okay as Tia gets. You were right about her being in a foul mood the next day. She slept until one, and when I tried to bring up what happened, she stormed off and refused to speak to me for the rest of the afternoon. Mother picked her up in the evening, and I haven’t heard from her since. I don’t know what to do.”

“I’m sure she’ll come round. Just give her time.”

“You’re female, and didn’t you say you went through a wild phase? Any idea how I can get her to behave?”

My wild phase had lasted from the age of twelve until just after I turned fourteen. What can I say? I’d always been precocious. I knew about drugs not because I’d been educated in the dangers of substance abuse by a loving family, but because I’d tried most of them. What snapped me out of it was waking up in a dingy squat one morning to find a guy I’d been partying with the night before dead beside me. An overdose combined with malnutrition, or so I heard.

After that wake-up call, I knew things needed to change, and change they did when I met my father. Not my real father—I had no idea who that prick was—but the man I’d nominated for the job. He and his wife took me in and smacked some sense into me. That was the start of my journey to the person I’d become.

I didn’t think hearing about my early years would be particularly comforting to Luke, though.

“How about finding her a mentor? Someone she can look up to? If you’re not around and your mother isn’t up to the job, she needs someone else.”

“Where on earth do I find one of those?”

“Could her school help? They might have a program?”

“I’ll call them on Monday. Anything else?”

“Does she have any hobbies besides the horses?”

“Shopping.”

“Not sure there’s much we can do with that.”

“I tried cutting off her allowance, but she ‘borrowed’ my credit card and ran up a five-figure bill on the Selfridges website.” He sighed. “But enough about my sister. I’ll show you where the bathroom is so you can clean up while I finish dinner.”

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