Chapter Ten
D anni stood in the back room of the pub surrounded by drink crates and wrestling with the dress that Indi had thrust upon her. The thing had about a million tiny buttons and she was beginning to suspect that rich people just liked to make getting dressed as complicated as possible.
“This is ridiculous,” she grumbled, twisting around to reach a particularly stubborn button. “I could be at home, in my jeans, eating a perfectly good pasty. Instead, I’m squeezing myself into this… torture device.” She gestured at the dress, nearly topping over in the process.
Indi, who was perched on a stool watching all of this with great amusement, sipped at her drink. “You’ll survive,” she said.
Danni scowled. “You don’t know that.”
“You’ve faced down angry cows and had your hand up a sheep’s bum. I’m pretty sure you can handle a cocktail party, Dan.”
“That’s debatable,” Danni muttered. She groaned as she finally managed to do up the last button.
“Living with Eleanor is driving me up the wall. She’s got rules about everything.
I swear to God, if I leave my dirty boots by the door one more time, the woman’s going to have me hung, drawn, and quartered. ”
“Sounds like she’s got your number,” Indi smirked. “And I thought you’d never met a woman that you couldn’t charm?”
Danni scoffed at this. “Eleanor’s immune. She got vaccinated as a child or something.”
“Mmm-hmm,” said Indi, clearly unconvinced. She stood up and gave Danni an appraising look, straightening the dress on her shoulders a little. “Well, I hate to say it, but you actually look kind of posh.”
Tommy stuck his head around the door, took one look at Danni, snorted and muttered, “Bloody hell, miracles do happen.”
Indi smacked him on the arm.
Danni rolled her eyes and grabbed her jacket, which had seen better days and was currently covered in a fair sprinkling of hay. “I’m going. I just want to get this over with at this point.”
???
Eleanor was fixing her earrings in the small mirror by the back door when the door opened. “Finally,” she said, huffing and turning around. And then she nearly swallowed her tongue.
Danni stood in the doorway in the borrowed dress, and for the first time, she actually looked like she belonged at the country club.
Her usual scruffy farm-wear was gone, replaced by elegant lines and fabric that actually fit her.
A dark bottle-green color bringing out her dark eyes, her dark curls piled on top of head.
Alright, her hair was still a little messy, but in a way that was…
Eleanor swallowed… almost roguishly charming.
“You alright?” Danni asked, raising an eyebrow. “You look like you’ve just seen a ghost.”
Eleanor snapped herself out of it, straightening up. “You, um, you look… presentable.”
Danni smirked. “Careful, El. Any more enthusiasm and I might think you like having me around.”
“Just try not to embarrass me,” Eleanor snapped. “And don’t call me El.”
“Sorry, Princess,” said Danni with a syrupy smile. “Your car or mine?”
“Is that really a question?” asked Eleanor, picking up her purse.
“Yours got hit by a tractor, remember?” Danni said. “Thought you might want to take mine.”
“Just get in the damn car,” Eleanor said, gritting her teeth and already regretting this little outing.
???
The country club turned out to be all dark wood and plush carpeting and Danni had an inexplicable urge to graffiti the toilet walls, but held herself back.
She was on her best behavior. Despite what Eleanor might think, she did know how to behave herself, and she knew how to play nice. She was going to keep to her side of the bargain, she knew what there was to gain.
So she shook hands and smiled politely and even managed to fake interest in some truly awful conversations.
Eleanor, to her credit, seemed surprised and rather gratified at how well Danni was doing. She smiled and was graceful, and Danni found herself wondering why Eleanor couldn’t be a little more charming at home as well.
But even Danni’s patience eventually wore thin. The rich might dress nicely, and have decent taste in little snacky things, to be fair. But they were also fake, all smiles and polite nods until someone walked away, and then it was open season with the barbed insults.
“These people are awful,” Danni hissed, leaning toward Eleanor.
Eleanor sighed. “That’s just how it is.”
“Doesn’t mean I have to like it,” Danni snorted. “Who’s the wanker with the kilt?”
A look passed over Eleanor’s face that interested Danni.
“Go on, who is he?” she poked. “Ex-boyfriend?”
“No,” said Eleanor sharply. “As it happens, he’s my great-uncle. ”
Danni peered at the blonde man across the room. “No shit? But he’s not that much older than Hector.”
“Mmm,” Eleanor said. “My grandmother’s sister was… a woman of certain tastes. And Stephan wasn’t above taking advantage of those tastes. I’m surprised they let him in here, the last I heard he’d declared bankruptcy.”
“Looks like he’s doing alright now,” Danni observed. “He’s chatting up anyone that’ll listen. He does look a wanker in the kilt, though.”
“I didn’t know he was Scottish,” Eleanor admitted.
“Don’t think he is,” said Danni. “Think he just thinks he’s got nice calves and wants to show ‘em off. He’s that kind of bloke.”
“Behave yourself,” Eleanor said threateningly.
“Don’t worry, new tractor on the line, I’ve got it,” Danni said. “I’m all out of drinks, though, so you could probably bribe me with alcohol for better results.”
Eleanor put her hand in the small of Danni’s back to escort her to the drinks table, and Danni felt an odd shiver go down her spine as her skin started to tingle. Jesus, these toffs made their drinks strong. Maybe she should go easy on the next one.
???
Just as Eleanor was steering Danni toward the drinks table, a familiar, unwelcome voice rang out. Eleanor’s stomach dropped.
“Well, Eleanor, darling, isn’t this… unexpected?”
Eleanor took a deep breath before turning around to see Beatrice Allenton standing there, lips curved into a razor-thin smile.
Beatrice had been the bane of her existence since boarding school, always ready with a mean quip or spiky insult. She had the uncanny ability of being able to pin-point one’s weaknesses, an ability she took full advantage of.
“What is unexpected?” Eleanor asked, already dreading the answer. She really must learn to stay far away from Beatrice. She’d been avoiding the woman all evening, but Danni had distracted her.
“Your husband.” Beatrice’s eyes flicked to Danni with amused disdain. “Or should I say, wife? I’m not sure of the proper vocabulary under these circumstances.”
Eleanor tensed. “This is Danni—” she began, determined to make a proper introduction.
Beatrice didn’t let her finish. “Quite the change of taste, isn’t it? One might even say… desperate.”
Eleanor felt her jaw clench. She took a breath, searching for the proper, polite response that wouldn’t start a scene in front of all these people, but before she came up with anything, Danni spoke.
“Interesting,” Danni drawled, voice dripping with false innocence.
“Interesting?” Beatrice said, eyes alight with wicked amusement.
“Well, such a fascinating way to say, ‘Congratulations, Eleanor, I hope you’re happy.’ I wouldn’t have put it that way myself. You have quite the way with words, don’t you?”
Beatrice blinked, clearly taken aback.
Danni leaned in, lowering her voice just enough that only the three of them could hear.
“Here’s the thing, Duchess. See, Eleanor’s got class.
She’s got poise. Which means she’s far too well-bred to tell you what she really thinks of you.
Luckily, I’m not well-bred at all. I think you’re an insufferable little woman who has so little to do she picks on others.
A bully, if you will. And I think that if Eleanor had wanted to marry a pretentious snob, she’d have picked someone like you.
But instead, she picked me. So what does that tell you? ”
Beatrice opened her mouth, closed it again, then backed off, almost tripping over her dress as she did so.
Eleanor stared at Danni, utterly stunned. “Did you just…?”
Danni grinned. “Yep. Absolutely did.”
And to Eleanor’s horror, she felt herself start to grin back.
It wasn’t until the drive home that Eleanor really had time to take in what Danni had done. It wasn’t so much the words, though they helped, it was more the springing to her defense that took her by surprise.
They drove in silence for a few minutes, Eleanor turning over Beatrice’s words, and Danni’s response, in her head.
And finally, she said, “Thank you. For earlier.”
She’d been expecting Danni to pretend not to know what she was talking about, to drag things out somehow, to want more praise. But she just waved a hand. “Eh, can’t have people talking to my wife like that, can I?”
Eleanor rolled her eyes. “It was still appreciated.”
“Just don’t expect it to happen too often,” Danni said, with a tired sigh. “I do have a reputation to maintain if I’m going to be your bit of rough.”
Eleanor shook her head, smiling despite herself.
There was something about Danni being her ‘bit of rough’ that made her feel…
better. Something about Danni being hers, however temporarily, that made things just a little nicer, warmer.
They fell into a more comfortable silence, the hum of the road lulling them into a truce.
Then, just as they pulled into the bumpy drive, Danni gave another sigh. This time of relief. “Well, at least we don’t have to do that again anytime soon.”
“Not until Saturday, at least,” Eleanor said, slowing down and watching out for foxes.
Danni’s head snapped toward her. “What’s happening on Saturday?”
“Dinner with my grandmother,” Eleanor said airily.
Danni let out a strangled groan. “Oh, fantastic.”
Eleanor couldn’t help but laugh as she stepped out of the car. Danni took her elbow to steady her up the stairs, and then turned to unlock the front door. And Eleanor had a feeling that Saturday’s dinner was going to be very interesting indeed.