to go after her, almost running through the doorway to catch up with Serena. ‘Serena,’ she said quietly, ‘your father told me earlier how important this dinner is to him – and how we get along.’
Serena span on her heel. ‘He’ll get over it,’ she spat. ‘And in future, I suggest that you make a little more effort with the lady of the house.’
Maria stood and anxiously watched Serena ascend the enormous flight of stairs, as she sulkily stepped up them one by one. ‘Stupid Italian cow,’ said Serena under her breath, already pulling off her shoes to walk up the thick red corridor carpet barefoot.
On the first floor of the house there was a spooky quiet. Most of the lights were turned off. She had seen Collins go around, methodically switching off lamps earlier, no doubt in a desperate attempt to economize. Saving a few pennies on electricity wasn’t exactly going to refill the Huntsford coffers, she thought with irritation. Passing a window that overlooked the lake, she flinched as the lights were switched on over the domed stage, drowning the grounds in crisp, sterile light. Thank goodness she had drawn the curtains in her room, she thought. She didn’t want her bed being lit up like a football stadium.
She pushed down the gilt handle of her bedroom door and stepped inside. Immediately she knew that something was wrong. A presence. Instinctively she clutched the Jimmy Choo shoe with its four-inch heel in her hand like an axe. With her other hand she felt around on the wall for the light switch. There was definitely someone in the room: she could sense it. Finally she found the switch and flipped it on. Her first reaction was to scream, but the sound in her voice transformed into a shout as she immediately recognized the intruder. ‘MILES! What the hell are you …?’
He was carrying a small torch in one hand while the other was rifling through her overnight bag.
‘You won’t find anything in there,’ she said slowly, almost riveted to the spot with disbelief.
‘Serena, I, look …’
Realizing he’d been caught out, he darted for the door. Serena reacted too slowly to stop him, waving the heel of the Jimmy Choo above her head in frustration.
The spell broken, she screamed but, sensing its piercing blast had too far to travel before anyone would hear, she ran out into the corridor, shouting as loudly as she could. Between screams she could hear the sound of frantic footsteps taking the stairs of the grand staircase in bounds, followed quickly afterwards by the roar of a motorcycle engine revving up quickly outside the front door. Oswald stormed into the hallway as Serena looked down from above.
‘What the Dickens is going on?’ he yelled up at her. ‘You decided to leave your dinner, now at least leave us to enjoy ours in peace!’
‘An intruder! There was an intruder in the house!’ shouted Serena.
Oswald ran to the door to see the red taillight of the motorbike disappear as Serena sank slowly to the floor. Putting her head against the banister, she began sobbing.
Camilla walked into the Royal Suite at Claridge’s to find Serena upside down on the floor, her body bent into an inverted V.
‘What on earth are you doing?’ she asked, cocking her head to look at her sister.
‘The downward dog, what does it look like?’ sighed Serena, uncoiling herself. ‘My life-coach is in Capri, my shrink has gone AWOL and my agent is fucking useless. Yoga is about the only thing keeping me sane at the minute.’
‘Is there anything I can get you?’ asked Camilla helpfully, sitting down on the sofa.
‘How about a revolver?’ said Serena, pursing her lips.
Serena had gone missing for twenty-four hours after the intruder had been found at Huntsford. Disappeared. Missing from the Musical Evening without a word or message to anyone. It was only when Camilla received a text from Serena the morning after the event that the mystery of her whereabouts was solved. Claridge’s Royal Suite was one of Serena’s favourite bolt holes when the world was closing in: deliciously chintzy, totally private, it even contained Gilbert and Sullivan’s old piano. Not that she could play.
‘Do you want to tell me what happened?’ asked Camilla, helping herself to a grape from the fruit bowl.
The strain was unmistakable in Serena’s face. Camilla was shocked: her sister never looked anything less than gorgeous, confident and totally in control.
‘I put up with a lot of things you know,’ she said fiercely. ‘Paparazzi calling me bitch in the street. Reporters going through my bins. Having my phones tapped. But to find someone in my house. My room.’
She rubbed her temples and her voice softened dramatically. ‘I came here because I wanted to hide. It was awful, Cammy. It really was.’
Bending her knees, she sank down onto the carpet of Claridge’s luxurious suite.
Camilla paused, used to her sister’s dramatics, before noticing that real tears were rolling down Serena’s cheeks. She came over to throw her arm around her shoulder.
‘It’s OK. Come on, this stress isn’t good for the baby,’ she whispered. ‘You’re safe. The intruder didn’t hurt you or take anything.’
‘It’s not OK though, is it?’ replied Serena, blotting the corner of her eye with her fingertip. ‘I heard the evening was a bit of a disaster. How bad was it?’
‘Pretty bad,’ said Camilla with a grimace. In fact, ‘pretty bad’ was an understatement. The previous night had been an unmitigated disaster, which had no doubt cost her father thousands.
‘The main thing was the weather,’ said Camilla. ‘It was so foul yesterday that it kept a lot of the crowds away. Then the PA shorted for about twenty minutes and, to be honest, it was an absolute mud bath. People were still queuing to get out at four in the morning.’
‘What about the introduction? Who opened it?’ she asked, feeling guilty that it should have been her role.
‘Who do you think? Daddy. He droned on for so long he was booed. They’d have started throwing bottles if they hadn’t all been holding umbrellas.’
‘Oh great,’ said Serena, rolling her eyes. ‘I suppose that’s my fault as well. Blame it on the bad guy – everyone else does,’ said Serena. She fell back into the ruby-red sofa and drew her knees up to her chin.
‘How do you mean?’ asked Camilla.
‘Look at the papers. Haven’t you seen them this morning?’
Camilla picked up a stack of Sunday papers that were sitting on top of the suite’s grand piano. The Sunday Reporter had a splash: Serena deserts family for lover.
‘Go on, read it,’ sighed Serena. ‘According to them, I’m the reason the evening was a disaster. Apparently I was supposed to be the star attraction and left Daddy in the lurch.’
Camilla traced the newspaper text with her fingertip. ‘Pregnant Serena flouted her family duty when she skipped the event for a booze-fuelled rendezvous with her lover.’ Camilla looked up. ‘What lover?’
‘Precisely, but I can take that,’ replied Serena, her mouth setting in a thin determined line.
‘What
