Chapter 35 NANCY #4
I looked into his eyes and tried to focus as he turned us elegantly about the dance floor, but the crowd surrounding us was far too distracting.
Howls and snorts invaded my ears. Identical-looking, bejewelled young women eyed me with contempt.
Spinning, I watched couple after couple, glinting in shameless decadence under the flashing lights.
We passed a worn-looking waitress being propositioned by a group of men drinking champagne like water, and roaring as they spilt it on the expensive carpet.
There’s nothing elegant about this.
Instead, the whole evening had been a distorted image reflected in the trickery of a hall of mirrors—copied until the original was a warped parody of some long-forgotten age. It was a fraud. I looked up at Alex, seeing him in context for the first time, and almost tripped.
“Careful!” he laughed. “That’s why I lead.”
“Are you sure?”
“What’s that?” he tried to shout over the din.
“Are you sure you’re leading?” I repeated louder, and he looked at me confused. “Forget it, I need to go to the ladies’ room.”
“Nancy? I’ll meet you by the bar, okay?” Alex called out as I bustled past the crowd.
Inside the bathroom, an attendant glanced up and pointed to a free stall. I passed a woman by the mirrors, bent over, pinching her nose, and locked the door.
Though I knew this evening would be outside my comfort zone, I hadn’t realised how out of place I’d feel.
This was Alex’s set—his people—the men and women he grew up with.
While I knew not everyone here thought of me in the fetishized way his cousins or mother had, what influence did they have over his opinion?
How could I be a part of his world if this was the reaction I’d face?
Would Alex ever stand up to these people? Would he stand up for me?
I ran my hand over the diamond choker and tried to calm myself.
We’d already overcome so much together; surely we could find a way through this too.
Once we were out of this place and alone again, we could discuss the evening and find a way forward.
I was sure of it. I rose and took a deep breath, but as I stepped out of the stall, I met Mimi’s frigid gaze in the mirror.
“Piss off and make sure no one comes in. Comprende?” she said to the attendant, who backed out of the bathroom.
I took in Mimi’s tall, svelte elegance, draped in a silvery satin evening dress, expertly riding the line between stunning and terrifying. She turned back and slinked forward.
“I think it’s time we had a little chat. Just the girls.”
“I don’t have anything to say to you. Not after what you’ve put us through this week.”
“On the contrary, we have lots to discuss. I want to ensure you understand your place before the three of us move forward with our arrangement.”
“The three of us?” My fists clenched. “Bitch, there is no three! It’s just me and Alex. I’m sorry he dumped you, Mimi, but this has gone far enough.”
To my surprise, she laughed. “Is that what you think? He’s not told you a thing, has he?”
“He’s told me you were the one feeding the press. You were the reason for all the abuse I’ve suffered this week. And he told me he’s paid you off,” I sneered. “So why don’t you take the money and leave us alone?”
“He told you he paid me off, did he?” Mimi stepped closer, tilting her head. “Oh, Nancy. I think it’s time we got honest. He hasn’t been fair to me or you, so let’s settle this on our own, yah?”
“What the hell are you talking about?”
“Alex is the first in line for a dukedom. I assume you know that much.” I folded my arms, refusing to be baited.
“As the heir to the title, he has responsibilities. It’s his duty to provide an heir, as it was his father’s and his father’s before him.
The Tovertons have held the Duchy of Worcestershire for over three centuries, so Alex knows exactly what’s expected of him. ”
“So what?” I brushed off, but an unsettled feeling crept into my belly.
“It means, dear Nancy, that Alex must marry to produce a legitimate heir, and his wife must be, how to put it, the right wife for the job. She must know how to be a duchess, how to properly bring up the future heir, and how to operate within society to maintain the extensive duties that come with the role. In short, not you.” Mimi wagged her finger at my rageful expression.
“Before you go off on one, be assured that I’m not trying to be cruel.
I’m doing you a favour.” Her smile was pitying.
“How could you ever know what’s expected?
You don’t understand this world. You’re a tourist. You probably look down on the peerage as antiquated within a modern society.
But as much as you may hold it in contempt, we keep this small island in greatness.
We make sure things run properly. That’s why we ensure our titles and fortunes are passed down correctly.
And that is why Alex made a deal with me. ”
My pulse thumped in my neck, but I held steady, waiting her out.
“He cares about you. That much is clear. You’ll live a better life than you could’ve imagined…for as long as he decides to keep you. But I’ll be his wife.”
“You’re delusional. Alex wants nothing to do with you. He’s with me.”
“You can have him.” Mimi shrugged. “I’ve already resigned myself to that. We’ve been on and off for years, you know. Our parents intended us from birth. I was groomed for the role. But Alex was…resistant to the arrangement. Yet he always returned to me.
“There was a time when I thought he loved me, but now I understand I’m more than that.
I’m his constant. He knows that when it comes down to it, I’m the right wife.
I just never imagined it would take him meeting some penniless girl from a housing estate to realise it.
I should thank you.” Her smirk was like a shard. “You’re why he finally proposed.”
I felt the ground shift under me. “You’re lying. He paid you off, he told me.” But did he? And Alex’s words from the previous night returned with a slap.
I approached her with the proposal.
She smiled and pinched each finger of the long silver glove on her left hand, removing it to reveal the biggest diamond I’d ever seen, gleaming on her ring finger.
“It’s the deal we came to over dinner last night. I told him he needed to come clean, but he’s so besotted that he couldn’t find the strength. That’s why I wanted to talk to you, so you’d understand what will happen from now on.”
There were no words. I stood watching my world unravel.
“You will continue to live at the apartment as Alex’s mistress and serve him however he requires—just as Alex’s father’s mistress serves him.
I will become his wife, bear his children, and assume the role of duchess in waiting, taking my place in society.
We shall never cross paths. You will not attend any public events such as this one.
You will never be seen in public together.
You will keep your relationship a secret.
It’s your responsibility as his mistress to be invisible.
” Mimi leaned in. “Do you understand your place now?”
“Screw you! I don’t believe you,” I hissed, but there it was, all laid out plain to see.
“Tell me, Nancy. When Alex screwed you in the apartment, could you still smell me on the sheets?” My eyes widened.
“Didn’t tell you that either? I lived there before you, as have countless girlfriends before me.
His father gifted him the property to keep his mistress in once he’d taken a wife.
It’s a family tradition. But Alex’s always used number eight more like a fuck pad…
” Mimi’s lip curled. “I assume he’s already offered it to you? ”
I felt faint.
“Oh, dahling, you look like your world just ended, but this is better for us all. I’m sure only a month ago, you would never have dreamt you’d land a rich boyfriend who would give you the best money could buy, but here you are wearing a Versace dress and Cartier diamonds.
” She tilted her head. “See how quickly you’ve got used to it now you’ve spread your legs for him. ”
A clock chimed midnight as tears ran down my cheeks.
I cursed myself for becoming emotional in front of this viper, but I couldn’t help it.
My heart was broken. I walked out of the bathroom in a daze, not hearing Mimi’s last words of ridicule.
Unsure where I was going, I found myself back at the cloakroom and handed the ticket to the attendant to retrieve my wrap.
“Do you need help?” the young man asked. His accent was the same as mine. I looked up at his concerned face, but couldn’t find the words, so I shook my head, tightened the wrap around me, and left the hotel to wait on Park Lane for the next bus home to World’s End.