Serena perches on the sofa, one leg under her, one leg on the floor, and takes an immense gulp of wine. Anna sincerely hopes her cousin does not expect her to match that pace and takes a small sip. It is cold and fresh and gently fizzy. It is good. Serena jumps up again and returns with two pre-prepared charcuterie boards. Serena’s text had saidI’ll do foodand Anna had wondered. Serena is no more a domestic goddess than Anna. She is relieved – she will need something to mop up the alcohol. Even though she has no conference sessions tomorrow, she doesn’t fancy sightseeing with a hangover. Nor wasting her free time in LA lying in bed, nursing a headache.
She takes a water biscuit, and layers cheese and sundried tomato on it as Serena slumps beside her. Just as she bites it, Serena asks, “So how are you finding LA?”
Anna nods and chews quickly. “I haven’t seen much of it yet, but I’ve got the next couple of days free. I’m hoping to pack in the sightseeing.”
Serena clicks her tongue. “Shame,” she says. “I’d take you around, but I’m flying out again tomorrow first thing.”
“Weren’t you just in a desert?” Anna looks around at the sparse apartment. There are no dog-eared magazines or books half-read. No photos line the walls, no ornaments in the solitary shelving unit, not a single plant drooping dusty and forgotten in a corner. She contrasts it with her own attic apartment and its cushions and snuggle blankets, its piles of medical textbooks interspersed with paperback thrillers. She thought she spent little time at home working long hours, but this is even worse.
“That’s my life,” says Serena with a small smile.
“You could change it.” Anna is a fixer, not a listener.
“It suits me.” Serena ducks her head, hiding her eyes from Anna’s scrutiny.
“Even with the cost?” Anna’s question is probing, but her voice is gentle. She’s not trying to force Serena to change, merely to check whether her cousin is truly content to sacrifice her relationship with Frankie to keep her career on track. Eleanor has never had to make the choice, but if Anna were ever forced, she feels she would make the same decision as Serena. Being a medic is at the core of her soul.
Serena bites her lip and lifts her eyes. “Even with the cost.”
And Anna nods. “Eleanor is worried about you.”
“Eleanor is all loved up and wants everyone else to feel the same.” Serena gives a half-smile. “I could say she is worried about you, too.”
“True,” Anna agrees. Having discovered her own happiness, Eleanor can’t comprehend letting anyone else miss out.
“You know, Eleanor and I once spied on Jacob and his friend skinny dipping. I think we were only thirteen at the time – it was the first summer I spent with you. Maybe that’s what did it for her. She never got over her first sight of dick.”
Anna snort laughs. “Good job you’re not built that way. Otherwise you’d be sitting at home married to a soldier, popping out babies while you wait for your man to come back from duty!”
Serena gives a fake shudder. “Let’s all be grateful. I don’t think I’d make anyone a dutiful wife. If I’d been born a century ago, I’d have been one of those eccentric women explorers, bundling my bustle onto a camel somewhere.” They both laugh at the image.
“Still,” Serena draws a breath. “I was surprised when she married him. I honestly thought she and Tolly Hyde would make a go of it.”
Anna’s ears prick up. She cannot believe her luck. Serena has brought up the subject without even being led to it. This was what Anna had been half-hoping to hear. Eleanor and Tolly had got together while Anna had been busy in London, paying very little attention to her sister’s love life. “Why did you think that?” she asks cautiously.
“I was at Larkford Hall one evening and Tolly was there. I don’t think anyone in the room could mistake how much he liked Eleanor.” This simple sentence has the oddest effect on Anna. She feels twisted inside. Thankfully, Serena doesn’t notice. She is looking down at her glass of wine and remembering. “He kissed her and she got cross. But you know your sister. She can get her knickers in a twist over the tiniest bit of rule-breaking.”
“Like stealing quad bikes?” Anna makes a reference to one of Serena’s less successful adventures.
“Exactly. Then Frankie told me later all seemed forgiven and they were dating. She thought it was a grand romance. And it fed through, you know. I know he’s a good actor but there’ssomething exceptional about his Mr Darcy. He was the absolute epitome of a man suffused with barely contained love. My theory is he was imagining Eleanor every time he stood opposite Lizzie Bennett. The whole series was carried by him.”
Not sure if she wants to hear any more, Anna picks an olive from the charcuterie board and pops it in her mouth.
“Then the next thing I heard was he was here in Hollywood and Eleanor was dating Jacob. It just didn’t add up.”
“Do you know what happened between them?” Anna holds her breath.
“No. At least no more than you, I suspect. Your sister is a very private person. All she said to me was that Tolly had gone to Hollywood. An offer he couldn’t refuse. There was enough gossip here about how the part went to him after the original actor was sacked. Everyone knew why that was. The female co-star threatened to involve the police. It was a big picture. They’d paid a fortune for the rights to the book. And they needed a young, handsome English actor asap. It worked out well for Tolly.”
“That’s all she said to me, too.” Had Tolly made the same choice as Serena – profession over passion? It would imply he hadn’t been as smitten with Eleanor as Serena imagined and that is a most comforting thought, although Anna is unsure why. But she can’t help thinking it is the antithesis of his character.
“Then pretty soon, all Eleanor could talk about was Jacob. She hasn’t said, but I think they took up almost as soon as Tolly left.”
That was news to Anna. She knew she was the first person Eleanor told about Jacob, but that was weeks after Tolly had gone. “Really?”
“I mean, Jacob’s a hunk and all that, but him and Eleanor? I think she was heartbroken and he picked her up, made her feel good about herself.” This is not great news. There are only two possibilities. Either Eleanor had not cared too deeply about Tollyand had moved on straight away, or she had fallen for Jacob while vulnerable and at her lowest ebb. Anna would far rather it was the former. But here is Eleanor’s best friend, telling her it was the latter.
Serena takes a deep breath and draws herself upright. “Well, it all worked out for Tolly. Got the part, got the girl.”
