Me and Mr Carrington: A Short Story Read Online Free PDF Page B

feeling trickles down my back. The Countess drains another flute and stumbles as she leans in towards Eddie. He takes her empty glass and places it on the tray, but just as the waiter heads off, the Countess grabs another flute. I busy myself by processing the payment and gift-wrapping the handbag, desperately trying to ignore the now panicky swirl in the pit of my stomach.
    ‘Do you know Mr Carrington?’ the Countess slurs in Eddie’s face.
    ‘Yes, I do. I’m his personal assistant.’
    ‘Ah, that’s right. I spoke to you on the telephone. You know, my other daughter, Lucia,’ she pauses to cast a disparaging glance towards my counter where Adrianna is waiting patiently for me to finish, ‘soon she will be Mrs Carrington. And such a delightful couple they make. Two extraordinarily exquisite creatures together, can you imagine how perfect their babies will be?’ Eddie flashes me a look before placing a hand on the Countess’s arm.
    ‘Delightful, I’m sure. Perhaps you’d be more comfortable in our personal shopping suite,’ Eddie suggests, attempting to steer the Countess away from the gathering crowd.
    ‘Yes I would.’ She follows Eddie towards the lift, and then stops abruptly. ‘Maximillian! What have you done with my little Maxi? Help me. My dog has been stolen,’ she shrieks to the whole shop floor. Thankfully, the chauffeur reappears quickly and calm is restored with little Maxi leaping into his mistress’s arms and licking her actual face all over. Yuk!
    I hand the Carrington’s carrier bag to Adrianna – desperately wishing my trembling hands weren’t quite so obvious.
    ‘I’m so sorry,’ she says, quietly. ‘My mother gets a little … animated at times.’
That’s one way of putting it I suppose
. I smile politely, wishing I were anywhere but here right now. ‘She can’t help herself, I suppose. We’ve known the Carrington family for generations and she’s always had it in mind that Lucia and Tom would end up together so when Tom invited Lucia to meet him in Milan to …’ Adrianna’s mobile rings. ‘Oh, will you excuse me please?’ I nod and force a smile in response. She looks at the screen before switching the phone off. ‘They can wait. Yes, where was I?’
    ‘Lucia?’ I just about manage.
    ‘Oh yes, Lucia is truly stunning,’ she explains, rolling her eyes nonchalantly. ‘Makes me feel positively ugly. She’s always been Mother’s favourite.’ Adrianna laughs as if it’s a mere detail, a family joke almost, but oh my God, if Lucia makes Adrianna feel ugly then I might as well shove a sack over my head right now and be done with it because from where I’m standing, she’s drop-dead gorgeous. ‘Thank you so much for this.’ She swings the carrier bag in the air. ‘A true bargain.’
    And after slipping the limited edition Dior bag back into the crook of arm, she follows the Countess towards the personal shopping suite while I place both hands on the counter to calm myself, silently praying that the tears stinging in my eyes don’t actually spill out on to my cheeks.

Chapter Six
    Crushed!
    That’s the only way to describe how I feel this morning. And exhausted. I hardly slept last night after letting my mind spiral, going over and over everything that’s happened with Tom. I even switched on the lamp on my nightstand at around 3am – a particularly low point – to read back through our email exchange. Nothing. No clues. Everything points to him being one hundred percent interested in me, so then why am I now convinced that our long distance flirtation is just a dalliance because he’s bored? A distraction. Light entertainment to ease his hectic schedule while he waits for Lucia to join him in Milan …
    I should have known it was too good to be true – that I was punching above my weight with Tom. Mrs Grace even warned me to watch my back, but I didn’t, I let my heart do a running bodyslam, unable to get him out of my head from that first moment he