AllFreeNovel
Share Us
‘And now the situation is even more dire.’
‘How?’
He glanced at the door, making sure it was shut, but still kept his voice low. ‘We don’t have enough money to pay the wage bill next month.’
There was a stunned silence.
Then she exploded. ‘What the fuck? So, you’ve just glad-handed them, made them fall in love with you, whilst knowing that you’re—we’re—about to stab—’
‘Keep your voice down!’ He strode to the door, checking the corridor was empty. Closing it, he turned to Estelle. ‘I’m trying to find a solution.’
‘Why didn’t you trust me with this?’
‘At the start of the year, you hated me enough to walk away from the festival. If you’d have known, you would have bailed.’
She shook her head.
‘Yes, you would. Before Christmas, at the church, I saw it in your eyes. You had an out and were prepared to take it. And in China, I couldn’t tell you about bribing people, or the whole thing could have collapsed. I wasn’t going to risk that. I wasn’t going to leave Dad there.’
Memories stabbed at his stomach. He’d pushed down his emotions when he’d been abroad, not allowing the fear of failure to impede his actions. But now, with his father home, the ‘what-ifs’ pounded through him like surf from a storm.
Estelle sat on the chaise longue, her head in her hands. ‘So, we can’t pay our staff, but you’re still taking a nice fat paycheck at the end of every month?’
‘No, I’m not.’
She glanced up, the frown back in place.
‘I haven’t ever drawn a wage. If I was, then I wouldn’t be living with my parents.’
‘But—’
‘I’ve told you. I’m trying to find a solution. One that involves the festival going ahead, people getting paid, and my parents having a home.’ He let out a bitter laugh. ‘But you wouldn’t know about worries like that.’
‘Excuse me?’
‘You’re Lady Estelle Foxbrooke, born with a silver spoon up your arse. You’ve never had to deal with the kind of shit commoners like me have had to.’
She sprung to her feet. ‘You know nothing about me or my family.’
‘Really? The festival’s just a hobby for you. There’s no actual risk.’
Shut up! Now!
Her eyes were liquid but still blazed with fury. She advanced on him, her index finger pointing like a weapon.
‘You. Know. Nothing.’ Each word was punctuated by a stab to his chest. ‘I’ve given my life to the estate. If it hadn’t been for me, it would have been sold off to property developers or the National Trust a decade ago. Did you see the Holbeins on the wall last time you were there? The Vermeers? They’re all fake. Over the years, I’ve sold off every asset I can and paid for reproductions to go in their place. The festival is not a hobby. If it fails, then the Foxbrooke estate fails. And you think I’m privileged? Take a look at yourself. Eton, Oxford, the City. Want to know where I went to school? Huh?’ She didn’t let him reply. ‘Foxbrooke Primary, then Foxbrooke Secondary School. State education. I didn’t fit in and hated every fucking second.’
‘But Henry—’
‘Dad let Mom pay for him to go to Eton, but he wouldn’t let her pay for me, or Connor, or Leo, or Willow. The only reason Summer went to private school was because Henry paid every penny of the fees from his Conqueror wages.’
James’s mind was reeling.
‘Yes, I’ve got a title and my family live in a fancy house, but it means jack shit. You’ve met my dad. Does he look like the kind of man who makes sensible business decisions? Someone had to be the adult in our family, and for the last twelve years that job has fallen to me. Oh, and don’t forget the livery I saved from going under. So, whilst you went to the best school and university on the planet, then swanned around London living the high life, I was enduring the local comp, then ankle deep in horse shit and family bullshit.’
‘I’m—’
‘Out of the two of us, you’re the privileged one. And the wages I’ve been paid by BDE? They’ve gone straight back into the festival.’ She shook her head, the fight seeming to leave her body, her expression desolate. ‘Why do you have to be such an arsehole?’
