amilla had won。 Again。
？I learned from the master；？ she giggled excitedly。
？When is it going to be my turn？？ Blair whined。 She？d been waiting for ages to get her chance to
swing the mallet。 She was definitely in the mood to hit something。
Behind them the ivy…covered gray stone West London mansion rose up like a fortress。 Blair
hadn？t been invited inside yet； nor had she met Marcus？s parents。
？Mother has one of her headaches；？ he？d explained； causing Camilla to erupt into a fit of
honking laughter。 Blair wondered if Lady Rhodes had a tendency to bring a bottle of sloe gin to
bed with her； but she didn？t ask； preferring to glare menacingly at Camilla instead。 There was
something so ？I？min and you？reout ？ about her； Blair just wanted to rip her head off like some
kind of ugly royal cousin Barbie that would still be on the shelves at FAO Schwarz long after
Christmas。
？I believe that ends our game；？ Lord Marcus called apolo…getically。 ？Shall we have another go？？
？Whatever；？ muttered Blair； sipping her fourth Bombay Sapphire martini of the afternoon。 The
sprawling ancient stone mansion was framed by hundreds of perfectly conical bushes。 Even the
massive trees had been trimmed into unnatural shapes。 Blair was beginning to feel like Alice at the
Queen of Hearts？ palace in Wonderland。 She lit a Silk Cut and puffed on it greedily。 ？Can we get
some more refreshments？？ she asked of no one in particular。
When in doubt； have another。
？I？m knackered；？ sighed Camilla as she collapsed into the wrought…iron chair next to
Blair？s。 ？Having fun？？ she asked； putting her hand on Blair？s； which was curled up into an angry
little fist。
Weren？t