“Mr. Wilde, very nice to see you again. You did very well with the clays the other day. I hope you leave some grouse for us tomorrow.”
“You have my word on that, sir,” I said. Maybe I was a hypocrite—I couldn’t even spell the word vegetarian—but I didn’t want the souls of tiny birds haunting me. I’d leave that to old money. “After we met,” I said, “I realized our paths have almost crossed a couple of times in London.” I wasn’t about to mention the time at the Dorchester when I tried to introduce myself. “There was a property of yours I was interested in.”
Henry frowned. “Really? I don’t recall.”
“Yes, the Dawnay building in Mayfair.”
He took in a deep breath and then shook his head. “Yes, place still isn’t let. But I don’t remember any offers.”
“Well, perhaps we could find some time to discuss it,” I said.
“Yes, of course,” he said. “Right now, I must go and see Graham.” He shook his head and turned back to Stella. “You look wonderful, darling.” He turned to me. “Look after her . . . Mr. Wilde.”
Great, I thought as Henry headed toward the bar and left Stella and me at the entrance to the party. He hadn’t even remembered my first name.
“Who’s Graham?” I asked.
“No idea,” she replied. “Tell me what happened?”
“What? When?”
“Henry mentioned that you shot well,” Stella said as we found ourselves a table and took a seat.
“Oh yes. It’s surprising how often these men miss considering they do this kind of thing all the time.”
Stella groaned. “Give it to me straight. Did you beat everyone else?”
Why was she groaning? I thought she’d be impressed.
“Easily,” I replied. “That’s what too much time with an air rifle and three empty tomato soup cans looks like.”
She leaned toward me. “I’m going to ask you a straightforward question and I want you to give me an honest answer—how badly do you want this building in Mayfair?”
Had she missed something? I thought I’d been more than clear. “Badly.”
“Put your ego to one side, hand over your credit card, and follow my instructions ‘badly’?”
“You want me to buy everyone a round of drinks?” I asked.
“That’s the very last thing I want you to do.” She pulled out her phone and began scrolling. “We’re free tomorrow morning—no wedding events. We’ll try in the village but if not, we’re going to have to make a trip into Inverness,” she said like I knew what she was talking about.
“For what?” I asked.
“You’re clearly not winning over Henry. That introduction was a car crash.”
Car crash seemed a harsh way of putting it. It hadn’t been that bad, had it? He might not have remembered my name, or asked me anything about the Dawnay building and my interest in it. He might have cut the conversation short, but it was progress, wasn’t it? I suppose it hadn’t been great, but I’d at least spoken to him.
“So, we need to get you back on track,” Stella said. “We’re going to go shopping and buy you some things, and I’m going to help you build a relationship with Henry.”
“What sort of things are we going to buy that will help me negotiate with Henry? A rope, duct tape, and some chloroform?”
“Funny,” she replied. “Clothes. We’re going to give you a makeover.”
“You’re going to give me a Pretty Woman moment?” I asked.
“Think of me as Richard Gere. And you’re Julia Roberts, just not as hot.”
“Well, for the record, you’re a lot better looking than either Richard or Julia.”