Right Number, Wrong Girl

The library doors opened, and the time for negotiation was over.

I hoped like fuck my dad had been honest when he’d told me to lead this.

Rupert opened the doors, and my mother, Nancy, and Camilla all filed into the room, followed quickly by Grandma.

“Where is my father?” I asked Rupert, noting that Henry quickly dipped out of the room.

He bowed his head. “His Grace will be with you momentarily.”

“Sit down,” I said firmly to everyone else.

I was the only one standing except my mother.

“That includes you, Mother,” I told her.

She folded her arms without moving. “I will not be ordered around by my son.”

“Sit down, Anna.” Dad strolled into the room and sat down. “There’s been a lot of deception in this house, and it’s time we got to the bottom of it.”

Mum turned her glare on him.

Grandma hobbled into the library again. “I told you this party was a bad idea, but does anyone listen to me? No, they do not. You people should listen to me more often.” She stopped when she realised the only people standing were me and Mum. “What’s going on? Is there a secret meeting? Are we all supposed to be sitting down?”

She turned to Mum and dragged her to a sofa where she shoved her back before sitting down in the nearest empty armchair herself. Helena choked back a small laugh.

“There. Sit down, Anna. You were making the place look untidy. Not that you need to be standing to do that, but still.” Grandma looked at me. “Now. What’s all this mess about Camilla and Sophie and Nancy being a big fat liar?”

That was one way to put it.

“Evelyn, you will not talk to her that way!”

“She’s been lying to you,” I said to Mum. “I know that for a fact. Everything Sophie told you is true. There was only ever one version of a seating plan and that was the final one. Nancy was responsible for ensuring the invitations went out correctly.” I turned to Camilla. “Did she ever tell you about Kellie? Who would be doing the cake?”

Camilla’s eyes widened, and she shook her head, quickly recovering from the shock. “I was given a bakery run by someone called Alice and one from a nearby village. I’m sorry, I haven’t looked at the information in a while.”

“Don’t worry, dear,” Grandma said, reaching over and patting her knee. “Forgetting happens to the best of us.”

Camilla smiled gratefully.

“And when you emailed Nancy to tell her Sophie would be coming in your place?”

“I didn’t get a response. I had a lot of signal issues with the storm and then my grandmother fell ill, so I didn’t check in the way I should have. Soph was right about that.” She glanced down.

“You have a lot of hearsay,” Mum said. “But there’s no proof. Why would Nancy lie about it? Nobody wanted Evelyn’s party to be sabotaged.”

“I did,” Grandma said brightly. “Although the lemon cake was a step too bloody far.”

Dad shot her a look.

“We knew,” Helena said. “We didn’t know as much as Hugo until just now, I don’t think, but we knew.”

“You also knew her true identity and didn’t tell me,” Mum snapped at her.

“She was doing what she thought was best!” Helena shot back with just as much bite. “She was put in the most impossible situation by everyone around her and yet she still managed to pull it off. Everything on that table over there is her hard work. Wasn’t it just three or four days ago she was there until past ten p.m. working to make sure nothing went wrong? You were praising her work ethic the next day.”

“I should have been told!”

“You didn’t let her tell you,” Grandma said calmly. “She tried to say something on the first day, if I remember correctly, and you cut her off, then flounced off to the hairdressers.”