Page 37 of The Bridesmaid
Adrianna nods rapidly. ‘A lot of Kensington Manor girls wear them. Why do you have it?’
‘This is Simone’s niece, Holly Stone,’ fills in Fitzwilliam smoothly.
The women exchange glances.
‘I thought you said you were a lawyer?’ says Georgia, staring at me intently. ‘For Liberation Law.’
‘Um. Right,’ I say, looking desperately at Fitzwilliam for help. ‘We were … um … estranged. My mom and I. Simone … my … aunt … recently hired me to work at her firm. But then … she died …’ I can’t say anything else. My voice catches.
Adrianna’s face twists in sympathy. She darts forward, and puts an arm around me.
‘I’m so sorry,’ she says. ‘Were you close to Simone?’
I nod, looking up through tear-filled eyes, my body wracked with ugly sobs. Her arm at my shoulder feels comforting. She gently takes the ring and eases it onto my little finger.
‘Here,’ she says softly. ‘Your aunt wanted you to have it. AndIam honoured that Simone’s niece would want to be my replacement bridesmaid.’
‘Simone never mentioned having a niece,’ says Petra suspiciously. ‘I don’t see much family resemblance.’
Adrianna frowns at her sharply. ‘Ithink,’ she says meaningfully, ‘the bravery of Simone’s niece stepping in is good PR. Kensington Manor School girls pass their rings down, mother to daughter,’ she adds. ‘Simone must have thought a lot of you, Holly.’
I’m assailed by so many emotions, it’s difficult to speak. Simone wanted me to have this ring. Did she think of me as her daughter?
‘IknewMark would have a good reason to appoint you as the new lawyer,’ continues Adrianna, grabbing me in a sudden hug. Ifeel her rigid limbs fold around me. It feels very much like being enclosed in the grip of a praying mantis.
The faces of the two women behind her would make the best wedding photo ever. Assuming you like your bridesmaid photos to channel jealous rage.
‘Ophelia,’ Adrianna turns to the orange-haired woman, whose green jumpsuit and plastic bangles are creatively mismatched, ‘can you style Holly for the plane?’ Adrianna shoots me an apologetic look. ‘We have photos on landing in Elysium,’ she says. ‘So we all need to coalesce. Not that your skull thing isn’tsupercool.’
‘Sure thing,’ says Ophelia, her eyes twinkling. ‘We can get you some great clothes, Holly. Something to really bring out those eyes, and get you part of the wedding party.’
Ophelia reminds me of a chattering parakeet, all high color and quick little movements. Her porcelain skin is sprinkled with tan freckles the exact shade of her light-brown eyes, and her small mouth is a perfect Cupid’s bow of deep pink.
I can’t get my head around Adrianna’s sudden affection for me, but by the looks of the other women, it’s nothing new.
‘Is your assistant going to be joining us in Elysium?’ Adrianna asks, eyeing Fitzwilliam with open approval. ‘You know we’re flying out this afternoon?’
‘Elysium?’ I say. ‘That’s not really … I mean, I don’t do full-sun … Plus, I don’t have a passport …’
Fitzwilliam makes a loud, coughing sound. ‘Ms Stone’s passport is being renewed with extra pages,’ he says. ‘On account of extensive travel this year.’
I glance across at Fitzwilliam. He and Adrianna match, I think. All that exuberant glossy hair, long thick brows, and dense arc of sooty lashes. Excellent natural protein synthesis seems to be a markof generational wealth. A legacy of having the best of everything.
‘I have that passport problemtoo,’ says Adrianna, rolling her eyes. ‘Why do they make them with so few pages?’ She shrugs. What-you-gonna-do? ‘It’s OK, we can fast-track you entry for Elysium. Let’s just …’ her eyes range over me, the bonhomie in them fading a few degrees, ‘get you some clothes,’ she decides, sweeping into the elevator with the two women behind her.
Ophelia leans in, a brittle smile on her brightly lipsticked mouth. Up close, I realize she is not as beautiful as she first appears. Her heart-shaped face is rather broad, and the light-brown eyes small. Without the make-up and contrasting orange hair, she’d be pretty rather than striking.
‘Don’t get used to it,’ Ophelia hisses. ‘She likes to play favorites.’
Chapter Twenty-Nine
HOLLY
Fitzwilliam and I have convened with Ortiz in an empty hotel bedroom. There’s an excited gleam to her eyes as we tell her what we discovered.
‘OK. Well, firstly, Holly,’ she says, ‘I like the makeover. It suits you.’
I glower at her. Adrianna’s friend Ophelia managed to get to work before Fitzwilliam could drag me to freedom. My face has ‘barely-there’ lip and blush, which leaves me feeling utterly exposed, and my blue hair is set in tidy waves around my face.
