Lord Seeks Wife: A hilariously funny romantic comedy by Heather Barnett

Author:Heather Barnett [Barnett, Heather]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Serpentine Books
Publisher: Serpentine Books
Published: 2021-08-01T18:30:00+00:00

Chapter 14

Three days later, phones were ringing off the hook and text messages were flinging themselves through the ether the length and breadth of the country as successful interviewees let friends and family know they were through to the second round. Some took it in their stride. Sinead received the news as a formality. Others were shocked and delighted or shocked and nervous; or, in Alice’s case, shocked and nauseous. The first interview had been an off-the-cuff kind of thing; Mia’s way of dragging her out of the dumps. She’d been tipsy and reckless and looking back on it, she was taken aback by her own audacity. So when the call came through to say that she’d been successful and was invited back for a second interview on Saturday 20th June, just under two weeks away, her stomach started churning. It was a second interview which, it stood to reason, would be more gruelling than the first. It was unlikely she’d be drunk this time and the recklessness seemed to have worn off now that she was back into the humdrum of the working week, with tabloid exposés and miracle-working Argentines melting into the past.

After work, she called Mia.

‘I’m not sure I can go through with the second interview.’

‘That’s what you said about the first one.’

‘Yes, but that was different. I was drunk.’

‘So, get drunk again.’

‘We have to be there at 10 a.m. It doesn’t give me much time.’

‘Start the previous evening. Piece of cake.’

‘Seriously, Mia, I’m terrified.’

‘You won’t be on your own. Lots of people will be terrified.’

Not Mia though, of course. She wouldn’t even turn a hair. Alice hadn’t even bothered to ask if Mia was through: it would have been like asking Elvis Presley if he’d made it through the first round of an Elvis Presley lookalike competition.

‘I could pull out. Or is that rude?’

‘I wouldn’t worry about that. If you don’t want to go, don’t go.’

Twisting around in her seat and dislodging Tom, who shot her a dirty look, Alice mused, ‘Is it a bit ungrateful when all those other people queued for hours and didn’t get through? Basically taking someone else’s place and then wasting it?’

Before Mia could answer, Alice heard voices in the background and asked, ‘Where are you, by the way?’

‘Marrakesh.’

‘Oh! Right. Sounds noisy.’

‘Yes, I’m in a police station.’

‘Oh dear! What are you doing there?’

‘Long story – work, mainly.’

The voices in the background were getting louder and more irate and Alice thought she could detect sounds of a fight breaking out.

‘Do you need to…’ she began, as Mia said,

‘Listen, do what you feel comfortable with and don’t worry about what anyone else thinks. I’ll speak to you soon – back in a week or so.’

The phone went dead.

Alice gave Tom a stroke and he pushed his furry head up against her hand.

There she was again, Mia – off doing something adventurous-sounding while Alice was sitting on the sofa with Tom after a day at work, wondering what to make for dinner and if there was anything good on telly.

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