The Undomestic Goddess - Sophie Kinsella

“Look!” I say quickly to Nathaniel. “Your mum.”

I greet Iris with a wave. She’s wearing cropped cotton trousers and espadrilles, her plaits wound round her head. As she reaches me she just looks for a few moments: at my bun, my black suit, my high-heeled shoes.

“Goodness,” she says at last.

“I know.” I laugh awkwardly. “A bit different.”

“So, Samantha.” Her eyes rest softly on mine. “You found your way.”

“Yes.” I take a deep breath.“Yes, I did.This is the right way for me, Iris. I’m a lawyer. I always was. It’s a great

opportunity. I’d be… I’d be crazy not to take it up.”

Iris nods, her expression guarded.

“Nathaniel told me all about it. I’m sure you’ve made the right decision.” She pauses. “Well… good-bye, chicken. And good luck.We’ll miss you.”

As I lean forward to hug her I suddenly feel tears pricking my eyes. “Iris… I don’t know how to thank you,” I whisper. “For everything you did.”

“You did it all yourself.” She squeezes me tight. “I’m very proud of you.”

“And it’s not really good-bye.” I wipe my eyes with a tissue, praying my makeup hasn’t run. “I’ll be back before

you know it. I’m going to visit as many weekends as I can…”

“Here, let me.” She takes my tissue from me and dabs my eyes.

“Thanks.” I smile but I’m still shaky. “This makeup has got to last all day.”

“Samantha?” Hilary calls me from the refreshment stand, where she’s talking to David Elldridge and Greg Parker. “Can you come over here?”

“I’ll be right there!” I call back.

“Samantha, before you go…” Iris takes hold of both my hands, her face filled with concern. “Sweetie… I’m sure you’re doing what’s best for you. But just remember, you only get your youth once.” She looks at my hand, smooth

against hers. “You only get these precious years once.”

“I’ll remember.” I bite my lip. “I promise.”

“Good.” She pats my hand. “Off you go.”

As I walk over to the refreshment stand, Nathaniel’s hand is tightly in mine. We’re going to have to say good-bye in a couple of hours.

No. I can’t think about that.

Hilary is looking a little stressed as I approach.

“Got your statement?” she says. “Feeling prepared?”

“All set.” I take out the folded sheet of paper. “Hilary, this is Nathaniel.”

Hilary’s eyes run over him without interest. “Hello,” she says. “Now, Samantha, let’s just run over the order again. You read your statement, then questions, then photos. We’ll start in about three minutes. The team are just distributing press packs—” Suddenly she peers more closely at me. “What happened to your makeup?”

“Um… I was just saying good-bye to someone,” I say apologetically. “It’s not too bad, is it?”

“We’ll have to redo it.” Her voice is jerky with annoyance. “This really is all I need.” She strides away, calling to one of her assistants.

Three more minutes.Three minutes before my old life begins again.

“So… I’ll be back for Eamonn’s party,” I say, still clutching Nathaniel’s hand. “It’s only a few days away. I’ll catch the train down on Friday night, spend the weekend—”

“No, you won’t,” chips in Guy, shaking chocolate onto a cappuccino. He looks up. “You’ll be in Hong Kong.”

“What?” I say stupidly.

“Samatron are delighted you’re back and they’ve asked for you on this merger. We’re flying to Hong Kong tomorrow. Has no one told you?”

“No,” I say, taken aback. “No one’s even mentioned it.”

Guy shrugs. “I thought you knew. Five days in Hong Kong and then on to Singapore. You and I are going to be wooing some new clients.” He takes a sip of coffee. “You need to start pulling in business, Samantha Sweeting, equity partner. Can’t rest on your laurels.”

I haven’t even started the job yet. And they’re already talking about resting on my laurels?

“So… when will we be back?”

Guy shrugs. “Couple of weeks?”

“Samantha!” says Elldridge, coming up. “Has Guy mentioned, we want you on a corporate shooting weekend in September? Up in Scotland; should be fun.”

“Right. Um, yes, that sounds great.” I rub my nose. “The only thing is, I’m trying to keep some weekends free… keep a bit of balance in my life…”

Elldridge looks puzzled.

“You’ve had your break, Samantha,” he says. “Now it’s back to work. And I must talk to you about New York.” He pats me on the shoulder and turns to the girl manning the coffee machine. “Another espresso, please.”

“Realistically, I’d say you’re not going to have a free weekend till Christmas,” puts in Guy. “I did warn you.” He raises his eyebrows meaningfully and moves away to talk to Hilary.

There’s silence. I don’t know what to say. Everything’s moving too fast. I

thought it would be different this time. I thought I’d have more control.

“Christmas,” echoes Nathaniel at last, looking thunderstruck.

“No,” I say at once. “He’s exaggerating. It won’t be that bad. I’ll rearrange things.” I rub my brow. “Look, Nathaniel, I’ll be back before Christmas. I promise. Things might be busy—but I’ll do it somehow. Whatever it takes.”

He flinches at my words. “Don’t turn it into a duty.”

“Duty?” I stare at him. “That’s not what I meant. You know that’s not what I meant.”

“Two minutes!” Hilary comes bustling up with the makeup artist, but I ignore her.

“Nathaniel—”

“Samantha!” snaps Hilary, trying to pull me away. “You really don’t have time for this!”

“You should go.” Nathaniel gestures with his head. “You’re busy.”

This is awful. It feels like everything is disintegrating between us.

“Nathaniel, just tell me.” My voice trembles.“Tell me before I go. That day in the farmhouse—what did you say to me?”