Page 69
She nodded.
“What about you?” I asked. “Have you been writing in the glass house?”
“Almost every afternoon. I think I’ve officially claimed it. I’m going to call it Charlotte’s Conservatory for Complicated Characters.”
“Naturally.”
“I thought it had a certain dignity.”
“It suits you.” I smiled. “I’m excited to see it.”
“I’ll take you soon.” She took a sip of her coffee. “I forgot to tell you. Julian Mercer introduced himself to me yesterday. He somehow found me at the glass house.”
“Really?”
“Yes. He said he had seen us together and knew I was your friend. We chatted a bit before he had to leave.”
“That’s unexpected.”
“I thought so too.” She reached for her cappuccino.
I took another sip of my tea. “Alexander invited me to a recital tonight.”
Charlotte gave the smallest smile. “I’m glad.”
“You don’t seem surprised.”
“I’m not.”
I raised an eyebrow.
She leaned back in her chair. “You’re having breakfast together now. He finds reasons to see you during the day. He walks you home whenever the opportunity presents itself. Somewhere along the way, the two of you stopped looking like two people who happened to spend time together and started looking like two people who simply belong in the same places.”
She took another sip of her coffee. “They’re performing Otello tonight. Georg has been trying to get tonight’s tenor here for years, so I suspect it will be worth the evening. I’ll be there as well. Another ticket was waiting in my mailbox this morning.”
“Another one?”
“Apparently this is becoming a thing.”
“Who do you think keeps leaving them?”
“I have no idea. There’s never a note.” She changed the subject. “I’m sure it is going to be a romantic evening. You seem happy with him.”
“Yes.” I turned the mug in my hands. “I’ve spent so much of my life trying to become whatever someone else needed me to be. Trying to anticipate the next compromise before it was asked of me. At some point, I stopped noticing how exhausting it had become.”
Charlotte didn’t interrupt.
“When I’m with Alexander, I never feel like I’m trying to become someone else. I don’t wonder if I’ve said the right thing or whether I’m asking for too much. I just…” I searched for the right words. “I just feel like myself.”
Charlotte reached across the table and rested her hand on mine. “I’m really happy for you, Emilia.”
* * *
I enjoyed evenings that gave me a reason to wear beautiful clothes.
The dress I chose was emerald green silk, long enough to brush the floor when I walked. It followed the curve of my waist and hips, falling softly from there and catching the light each time I moved. I left my hair down, fastening the necklace Sofia had given me.
He knocked at seven. I was ready before I reached the door. Alexander stood outside my suite in a charcoal dinner jacket that looked both effortless and impossibly elegant. His eyes met mine. Without a word, he reached for my hand and held it to his lips.
