Page 69 of Love ad Lib
‘That’s enough of your insides for one night,’ Finn said. He looked at his watch. ‘I’m going to head home. I’ll see you all tomorrow.’
‘Another game?’ asked Leo. ‘Or billiards and more booze?’
Henry glanced at Libby. She was still smiling, but he remembered her sunken shoulders and yawn from earlier. She must be exhausted.
‘I think maybe Libby and I will turn in for the evening,’ he said.
‘Turn in?’ Estelle scoffed. ‘Have you got your striped pyjamas and teddy bear ready?’ She smirked at Libby. ‘You’d better grab a hot water bottle. It’ll be the hottest thing you ever experience in that bed.’
Libby drew herself up and put her hands on her hips.
‘It was a joke! Yes, I know. You think my brother’s spicier than a Vindaloo and keeps you up all night…’ Estelle gazed at Finn, her eyes dancing.
‘On the toilet?’ he supplied.
She whooped and high-fived him. ‘Didn’t let me down, Finley. I’m proud of you.’
‘There you all are.’ Summer was striding down the corridor towards them. ‘We're playing again?’
Leo shook his head. ‘Don’t think so. Finn’s off home, Henry and Libby are going to “bed”, and Ella’s going to bust my balls in the billiards room.’
‘Boring,’ Summer grumbled at Finn, then turned to Jasmine. ‘Let’s find Willow and get another drink.’
As everyone wandered off, Henry stood with Libby, waving like long-suffering hosts making sure their guests actually left.
‘Thank you,’ she said as the last one disappeared around the corner. ‘It’s been a bit of a day.’
‘No, thankyou. You’ve been amazing.’
‘You think they bought it?’
‘Which bit?’
She shrugged and her eyes darted down. ‘I don’t know. Me being posh and working in publishing. Us being a real couple…’
‘You don’t need to be posh to work in publishing.’
‘So why does India’s sister, Savannah, only work with people called Saffy and Jocasta?’ She scuffed the thick pile carpet with the tip of her shoe. ‘I don’t fit in here, Henry.’
He kept his arms by his sides, resisting the urge to take her hand.
‘Do you think any member of our family, apart from maybe Summer, Leo and Gram-Gram, fit into the British upper-classes?’ he asked.
Libby looked at him. ‘Of course, they do, it’s a confidence thing. Look at Estelle. She rides horses, shoots stuff and could probably run a fox to ground all by herself.’
He smiled. ‘But you have confidence. I could never in a million years get up in front of strangers, think up clever things to say on the fly and make them laugh like you do. You’re incredible, Libby. And Estelle isn’t as confident as she makes out. Here, at Foxbrooke, she can be. But outside?’
‘Don’t judge a book by its cover?’
He nodded.
‘So, Estelle’sRed Storm Breaking at the Edge of the Event Horizon, but alsoChristmas wishes and Mince Pie dishes at the Prancing Pony Stables?’
He grinned. ‘Absolutely. But don’t ever say that to her or she’ll go full mediaeval on you.’
‘And Henry, you’reAn English Gentleman’s Guide to Etiquette, Contract Negotiations and the Eight Inch Rule,but also…?’
‘An English Gentleman’s Guide to Etiquette, Contract Negotiations and the Eight Inch Rule, Second Edition,’ he replied. ‘I know I’m extremely boring, but it’s fine. That’s the way I want my life to be.’
