‘Keep your voice down, Elizabeth.’ Her mother looked pained and turned back to Katy. ‘You’ve qualified now. You’ve shown everyone that you can do it. You don’t need to carry on working any more. Freddie is extraordinarily wealthy in his own right and with your trust fund there’s absolutely no need for you to work. When you’re married Freddie will need you at home for entertaining clients. You won’t have time for a job.’
Katy felt stifled again. ‘I love being a doctor, it’s what I do. There’s no way I’m giving it up.’
Sometimes she felt that her job was the only thing that kept her sane.
Her mother rubbed her hands together nervously. ‘You can’t carry on doing nights and all those horrible hours once you’re married.’
Katy liked the horrible hours. Horrible hours gave her a perfect excuse not to have a social life.
‘I’ve got a new job starting in two weeks,’ Katy reminded her. ‘I’m a casualty officer in the accident and emergency department.’
And she couldn’t wait.
‘Oh, Katherine, what is the matter with you?’ Her mother screwed up her face in horror. ‘All those drunks and rough people—Saturday nights after the rugby. Why would you want to do that when you don’t have to?’
Because she loved medicine. And it was a million miles away from the ruthless world of banking that had been her entire life.
The garden was closing in on her.
‘It’s just such a waste,’ her mother was saying. ‘I still tell everyone that you were a successful model when you were seventeen. You were on so many magazine covers and if you hadn’t thrown it all in to become a doctor you’d be one of those supermodels now.’
‘No, she wouldn’t,’ Libby interrupted cheerfully. ‘Katy’s grown hips and boobs since then and you’re not allowed to have those if you’re a supermodel. Just bones.’
Their mother’s mouth tightened. ‘Just promise me you’ll give up this emergency department rubbish. I know Freddie’s parents are worried about it, too. It’s just not suitable, Katherine.’
Suitable. There was that word again.
Katy felt as though her head was exploding.
What was happening to her?
Normally she’d do anything to keep the peace for her mother’s sake, but today she just wanted to run screaming into the distance.
‘Start the job if you must,’ her mother carried on, ‘but you’ll be marrying Freddie in three months and you’ll have to give it up then. Oh, look, there’s Freddie’s mother. I must talk to her about the arrangements.’ She glared at Libby. ‘Elizabeth, go and change into something that hides your underwear before your father sees you. Please.’
She turned and walked with studied elegance across the lawn, beaming at her guests and reaching for another glass of champagne.
Libby gave an exaggerated sigh. ‘It’s a good job we’re triplets. At least they managed to get the physical contact over in one go.’
‘Libby!’ Katy turned to her, her blue eyes wide with reproach, and Libby shrugged.
‘Well, it’s true. Look at them.’ She tilted her head to one side. ‘They don’t show each other any affection. Their marriage is a business arrangement. It’s no wonder you, Alex and I are so dysfunctional. Look at our role models.’
Katy licked dry lips. ‘We’re not dysfunctional.’
‘Yes, we are. You’ve spent so much of your life trying to please Dad and avoid his wrath that you don’t even know who you are any more. I’m so determined to be the opposite of everything they want me to be that I’ve forgotten who I am, too. And as for Alex…’ Libby turned and scanned the garden, looking for their brother. ‘Alex is so disillusioned about marriage that he sets a three-month rule. After three months with a woman he ends the relationship just to be sure that they don’t start hearing the word “serious”. He’s the original commitment-phobe.’
Katy looked at her. ‘So are you.’
‘And can you blame me?’ Libby looked at her parents and shuddered dramatically. ‘If that’s marriage, then I hope I die single.’
‘Libby, that’s an awful thing to say.’
A bee hovered close to them and Libby took a step backwards.
‘Oops. Killer insects.’
Katy frowned, knowing that her sister was very allergic to bee stings. ‘Are you carrying adrenaline?’