Cally gathered up the skirt of her dress. ‘Thanks.’
She peered out of the marquee, took a breath in and hoped she wouldn’t end up in the mud. As she hustled away from the marquee in the direction of the toilets, she didn’t look back. No way was she going to be stuck with Cassia Allegra Brommington talking about who she was with, that she knew for free.
24
As the rest of the day wore on, the rain eased up. Cally had blasted herself under a hand drier for a bit and successfully made it back from the loo in one piece. She’d subsequently dried out without too much mishap to her outfit and her hat had held up well. She did, however, inevitably think about Cassia way too much. The whole interaction had been quite bizarre. The fact that Cassia had no clue who she was, the dashing through the rain, Cassia being posh-confident and chatting away as if she belonged there. Cally nodded to herself as she thought about their interaction. Cassiadidbelong there.
She stood next to Logan in a circle of people she didn’t know and listened to chit-chat going on around her. Talk of racehorse investments, holiday homes, and boarding schools for children Cally didn't have fizzed around her. She smiled and nodded in what she hoped were the right places and occasionally offered a non-committal "indeed" when she felt it was expected. She’d loved the day, had felt fine hobnobbing in her beautiful outfit and overall, had unexpectedly enjoyed herself despite what she knew about Logan.
As the last round of races began and everyone watched, she didn’t watch but instead found her mind wandering. Shethought about her three jobs, her constant saving for her deposit, the flat above the chemist, Birdie and the regular customers she saw every day. That world seemed a million miles away from what was currently going on around her.
‘Penny for your thoughts?’ Logan said and gently nudged her on the elbow.
Cally startled slightly. ‘Oh, you know, I'm just taking it all in,' she said, forcing a smile.
Logan squeezed her hand. ‘Everyone I've introduced you to has been charmed.’
Cally wished so much that she hadn’t found out about his secret. She felt like a fraud, play-acting at being someone she wasn't. She smiled and nodded anyway, thinking that it wouldn’t be long before Logan was no more in her world once she confronted him about his marriage. It was all going to go sliding downhill from there. As the next few races went by, Cally couldn’t quite wait for the day to end. Although she’d enjoyed it, she was feeling it: the constant small talk, the effort of maintaining everything, the heels, the pins in the back of her head. All of it exhausting. Her feet ached, her face hurt from the perpetual smile and her brain was a complete and utter jumble of she knew not what.
Standing by the window looking over the racetrack where the dark clouds had lifted a little bit, she was counting down the time until she could get into the car and slip off her shoes. She certainly wouldn't be confronting Logan until the next day; she barely had the energy to keep her eyes open. As the last race finished, Logan turned to her with a smile and waved a few of his betting slips. ‘Ready for the after-party?’
Cally's heart sank. More socialising, more pretending. She nodded, summoning what little energy she had left. Making their way to another elaborate marquee, the sounds of a live band drifted out to meet them. Elegantly dressed guests werefiling in through the doors and she caught glimpses of faces she'd seen throughout the day - Lord and Lady Farrington, the woman who'd been discussing Fitzgerald's Folly, the French couple they'd had lunch with. All of it began to blur together in Cally's mind. As they stood with the Farringtons, she smiled and laughed in what she hoped were the right places, but inside, she wanted to go home. All she really wanted to do was pull the mountain of pins out of her hair, get out of the dress, have a nice long bath, scrub off the make-up, get her pyjamas on and settle into her own bed. Swig a quick hot blackcurrant, maybe with a nip of gin.
After another glass of wine, Cally didn’t want to look at another person, let alone have small talk with them. She smiled mutely, half listening to Logan chat to Alastair about one of their horses.
Logan lowered his voice, put his hand on the small of her back and leant into her ear, ‘Had enough? You seem like it.’
Cally nearly jumped down his throat. ‘I have, actually.’
‘Shall we get going?’
‘If you don’t mind, that would be great. I’m exhausted.’
‘Of course not.’ Logan slipped his phone out of his pocket. ‘I’ll call the driver.’
Cally felt a wave of relief. ‘Okay.’ She nodded in the direction of the toilets. ‘I’ll just pop to the loo.’
Logan looked around. ‘I’ll do the rounds and say our goodbyes if you don’t want to go through all that rigmarole.’
Cally definitely didn’t want to have to go through saying goodbye. She felt more than relieved. ‘That would be great.’
Logan joked. ‘We’ll do a runner. An exit plan.’ He indicated in the direction of the toilets. ‘You go to the loo and I’ll see you out the front where we got dropped off. We’ll be home before you know it. You can put your feet up. I’ll run you a nice bath.’
Cally nodded, but there was no way Logan was staying at the flat. She’d cook up some excuse about having to get up for work. ‘By the main gate?’
‘Yep, then we’ll walk to the side entrance where the cars are.’
‘Great, see you there.’
Cally then shimmied through people and made her way across the marquee in the direction of the toilets. When she got to the entrance, an attendant shook her head. ‘Sorry, this one is out of action. There’s a leak because of that downpour.’
‘Ahh, right, where’s the nearest one?’
The attendant pointed out the door. ‘Out there, across the grass, and via the other marquee. Right over the back there.’
Cally nodded. It was next door to the marquee where she’d sheltered from the rain with Cassia. ‘Thank you.’
A few minutes later, she was going through the next marquee. Just as she was near the toilets, someone tapped her on the shoulder. She turned around with a frown and closed her eyes for a second as she saw Cassia. ‘Oh, hello again,’ Cally stuttered.
