Page 51 of Meet Me Under the Mistletoe
He was smiling at her and she felt powerless to resist returning it.
“That doesn’t quite fit with the no-fraternizing rule,” Nory countered.
“It’s a gray area.”
“And what about my brother?” she asked.
“Oh, I’ve never fraternized with Thom.”
Nory swiped at him, and he ducked out of the way, laughing.
“Your brother is another gray area. I am leaning toward ‘what he doesn’t know won’t hurt him.’ ”
“With regards to dinner, you mean.”
“Precisely.”
“We’re meeting in the drawing room for cocktails at seven thirty p.m.,” Nory said, moving out of his orbit and walking away. “Don’t be late!” she called over her shoulder. She didn’t look back after that, and she gave herself points for how cool she was.
Fifteen
Nory was in a flap. She’d been in a flap ever since Isaac had agreed to come to dinner at the castle. Jenna had been delighted when she’d told her, and Pippa had gone ahead and spoken with the chef. She hoped her friends would make a good impression; she was feeling very anxious about it all.
“You need to calm down,” said Ameerah, expertly pulling a straightener through Nory’s hair and twisting to create lazy curls.
“What if Charles says something Charles-ish? You know what he’s like. And Guy... oh my god, I can’t even, I’m going to hyperventilate.”
Ameerah passed her the empty hot-water bottle from the dressing table. “Breathe in and out of this,” she said.
“It’s supposed to be paper bags that help, not rubber bladders.”
“Just do it.”
Nory undid the stopper and began to breathe in and out through the water bottle neck. The rubber smell was so strong she could taste it, but weirdly it did seem to help.
“I think I need to tell Camille about Guy.”
“What the actual fuck, Nory! Do you have a death wish or something?” They were talking in a loud hissy whisper that Nory was hoping would be absorbed by the thick walls and doors.
“She’s a nice person, she deserves to know.”
“I agree with you,” said Ameerah. “But you can’t tell her about Guy without confessing your part in it, and do you really want to do that? Do you really think you can look that woman in the eye and tell her that you had sex with her husband?”
“Oh my god, it sounds so much worse when you say it out loud. I’m a home-wrecker!” She started breathing into the hot-water bottle again.
“Look, Nory, you didn’t know he was married. This is on Guy. And I do agree that Camille needs to know what kind of man she’s married to, but you know the phrase ‘Don’t shoot the messenger’? Well, you’d be the messenger who slept with her husband.”
Nory grimaced. “So do I simply not tell her? So much for female solidarity!”
“Let’s just concentrate on having a peaceful and enjoyable dinner with Isaac for this evening, and we’ll focus on being true to the sisterhood tomorrow. One more night isn’t going to change anything.”
“Okay,” said Nory, laying the hot water bottle on her lap. “One crisis at a time.”
“Try not to think about dinner with someone you fancy as a crisis.”
“No, you’re right. And Jeremy and Dev will be there; they’re like an antidote to Charles and Guy.”
“Just enjoy yourself, Nory.” Ameerah laid the straightener down on the dressing table and ran her fingers through Nory’s hair. “You look gorgeous.”
