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A tall, swarthy waiter hurried toward where they were sitting. “Can I offer some refreshments?”

“Which champagnes do you stock?” Jem asked.

The waiter listed off a dozen varieties and he and Jem eventually decided on one. Jem turned to Ellie.

“Don’t look at me,” Ellie said. “I don’t drink on the job.”

“Drinking is literally part of your job right now,” Jem said. “Asin, you’re not about to serve our guests something you haven’t tasted, are you?”

Ellie opened her mouth to argue that she hadn’t even had lunch yet, but Jem was already telling the waiter to bring the bottle and two glasses.

“If you don’t like it, don’t drink it,” Jem said.

Ellie gave up since Jem had a fair point. But she wasn’t going to do any more than taste the stuff. Not at this time of the morning.

“Christ, you look like you’re at a job interview, why don’t you sit back and enjoy the view?” Jem said.

With a sigh, Ellie turned and settled back properly into the couch. A small fountain was playing into an ornamental pond in the middle of the courtyard, and bright green grass with multi-colored flowers ringed the water. The Georgian architecture of the building rose up around the little garden and it was like being at an oasis in the center of the city.

“Mesdames,” said the waiter, pushing an ice bucket with the wine in it toward them. He served two glasses and then with quick fingers released the curtains at the sides of the alcove so that the couch was private with a view only to the gardens.

“I might get used to this,” Ellie said, even though she felt uncomfortable in so much luxury.

“You’re hating it,” Jem observed lazily. “And that’s alright.”

“It is?” Ellie asked. She sipped at the champagne, the cool bubbles sliding over her tongue and found it was sweeter than she’d expected. Nicer.

“There’s nothing wrong with breaking out of your comfort zone,” said Jem, taking a drink from her own glass.

“My comfort zone is comfortable, thank you very much.”

“Mmm, the clue’s in the name,” said Jem. “The problem is, how are you ever going to do anything new, meet anyone new, if you just stay where it’s comfortable? I mean, I’m assuming you do want to meet someone, even if you are so desperately uninterested in me.”

Ellie glanced at her quickly and saw that she was teasing, so she drank a little more champagne. “You’re a fine one to talkabout breaking out of comfort zones,” she said.

To her surprise, Jem didn’t argue with her. Instead she gave a soft laugh. “I suppose I am.”

Which made Ellie feel brave enough to pursue the subject a little more. She was desperately curious as to how Jem had kept her secret for so long, why she felt she had to. “Does anyone at all know?”

“You do,” Jem said. She paused. “Rolly, my best friend knows. That’s it.”

Ellie was quiet for a moment, thinking about how lonely that must be. “Can I ask why?”

“How did your family react?”

“Answering a question with a question is rude,” said Ellie. But then she was going to answer it anyway. “I never knew my dad, my mum died four years ago, I don’t speak to my sisters much.”

“We grew up very differently.”

“Yes, you got all the advantages,” Ellie couldn’t help but say.

Jem laughed that soft laugh again. “You’d be surprised,” she said.

“Oh, I’m sorry, did you have too much money to spend? Too many horses to ride? Was your wardrobe so big it was scary?”

Jem stared at her then shook her head. “Never mind.”

Ellie drank the rest of her champagne, annoyed at herself that she’d snapped. She shouldn’t have said that, it was unkind. She reminded herself that money didn’t mean everything. It was just that sometimes it felt like it might, especially when there were bills to pay.