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She nodded.
‘Fifteen months ago.’
Her mind stuttered. ‘But…’
‘I told you, I didn’t steal Elizabeth from your brother,’ he said, his voice dropping to almost a whisper. ‘I kept her company at Imperium after he was late for their date, then took her for dinner. At the end of the night, we went our separate ways and I didn’t see her again.’
‘But she’s your type,’ she said, reiterating Elyse’s words and Henry’s convictions.
James frowned. ‘My type?’
‘You know, blonde.’
‘I don’t have a type. When was the last time you had sex?’
There was no way Estelle was answering that one. She hadn’t had sex for years. ‘None of your business,’ she said primly, then pulled out the next question. ‘What has been your longest sexual relationship?’
‘Four months,’ James replied without hesitation. ‘You?’
She stared at him. ‘Four months?’
He nodded.
Huh? None of what James or his parents had said was tallying with what Elyse had told her earlier. But Elyse had seemed genuinely heartbroken.
‘I know it’s not very long,’ James continued, his voice low. ‘But I don’t see the point in continuing a relationship if it’s not right. It’s not fair to the woman.’
‘What do you mean?’
He let out a terse sigh. ‘In my experience, men can keep a relationship going that they’re not really committed to because they have easy access to sex. But most women want more than that and many of them want the opportunity to have kids. Men can father children throughout their lives, but women can’t. So, stringing someone along when they could be looking for someone better, someone who really wants them, is unfair.’
Her mouth dropped open.
James pulled another question from the envelope and read aloud. ‘What are you most excited about right now?’ He looked tired as he gazed at her. ‘I’m most excited about this dinner party ending.’
Estelle nodded. The day felt like it had been going for years and her emotions had been put through the wringer. First with Eveline’s pregnancy, then meeting Elyse, then hearing James being a twat on the phone, the blow up in front of the councillors, meeting James’s parents, and all the revelations of the evening. She was exhausted.
‘Can I give you a lift home?’ James asked. ‘We could leave now?’
Estelle looked around the table. Everyone else was chatting, laughing, and seemed to be having fun.
She nodded. ‘I just don’t want to give my father more to crow about.’
‘French exit? You leave now, as if you’re going to the bathroom, and I’ll meet you outside in a few minutes?’
‘Thank you.’ She glanced down at her clothes. ‘But I’m all muddy. And your car is so posh.’
‘There’s a picnic blanket in the boot. I can put that on the seat if you’d like?’
She nodded again, then pulled the last piece of paper from the envelope. ‘Final one. What is a fact few people know about you?’
‘That I was born Kevin Skinner, and when I was seven, my dad changed my name to Lord James Hunter-Savage.’ He gave her a tired smile. ‘Now go, before the rest of them finish and your dad brings out the Twister board.’
Estelle took the pad of paper with her drawing of Peewee on it and the pencil, then left the room without a backward glance.
Four minutes later, James strode out of the front doors of Foxbrooke Manor, unlocked his car, and passed Estelle a picnic blanket from the boot.
She carefully laid it on the passenger seat and got in.
