The Undoing of de Luca by Kate Hewitt Page B

he’d said that. ‘Don’t see this as some kind of mercy mission,’ she warned him. ‘I’m going with you because I want to. It’s my choice.’ She met his gaze directly. ‘A week is all I want, as well, Larenz.’
    Surprise flashed across his features, followed by what could only be satisfaction. His mouth tightened. ‘Good,’ he said again, and just as firmly.
    Ellery settled back in the seat, glad she’d made herself clear. A week is all I want , she repeated to herself, and she believed it.
    They didn’t speak again until they’d left both the Manor and village behind and the road stretched out in front of them, glittering under a bright autumn sun.
    Larenz steered the conversation to more innocuous matters, talking lightly about films and books and even the weather; Ellery enjoyed chatting about such simple things.
    ‘So you teach,’ he commented as they turned onto the motorway. ‘I can see you giving one of your stern looks to a classroom full of unruly boys.’
    Ellery chuckled. ‘Actually, it’s an all-girls school. I taught full-time in London, but I gave that up when I came out here. Fortunately, I found a part-time job. One of the teachers was going on maternity leave.’
    ‘And when she comes back? What will you do then?’
    Ellery shrugged. ‘I don’t know. I don’t have a long-term plan, to be honest.’ She made herself smile. ‘I know I can’t hold on to Maddock Manor for ever.’
    Larenz glanced sideways at her, speculative and a little compassionate. ‘Then I suppose the question is—why hold on to it at all?’
    ‘That is indeed a good question. I haven’t yet found a good answer.’ She stared out of the window at the trees lining their side of the motorway, their stark branches stripped of leaves and stretching towards the sky. ‘Have you ever not been able to give something up, even though you know you probably should?’ Larenz didn’t answer, and so Ellery finished, ‘That’s how I feel about the Manor. I’m just not ready to let it go yet. All of my friends think I’m mad, of course.’
    ‘Well,’ Larenz said quietly, ‘I think you’re brave. Not everyone is able to actually do something the way you have. Most people would just let it go and be sad.’
    ‘Perhaps that’s better.’
    Larenz glanced at her again. ‘Do you really believe that? Wouldn’t you rather act and really live life than let it go by?’
    Ellery swallowed, surprised by the intensity in his voice. Yes, she wanted to live life. She wanted to act. Wasn’t that why she was here? She was taking control.
    They lapsed into silence, and an hour later Larenz pulled the car up to the front of The Berkeley, an impressive-looking hotel in Belgravia.
    He tossed his keys to the valet while a porter helped Ellery out of the Lexus. Larenz ushered her into the hotel’s sumptuous lobby; she thought she saw a celebrity she recognized disappear into one of the exquisite dining rooms.
    Ellery was breathless, overwhelmed by the luxury she had never experienced and yet should have expected. After all, Larenz de Luca was a wealthy, powerful man. And she was never more conscious of it than when he strode through the hotel lobby, the staff nodding and bowing to him. He was quite obviously a regular customer. The very idea that she was here with him seemed ludicrous, so much so that Ellery had to stifle a laugh of sheer amazement and wonder as she followed him through the sumptuous lobby.
    ‘You come here often?’ she asked as he gestured for her to enter the lift before him.
    ‘I reserve a suite for my personal use,’ Larenz replied with a shrug.
    ‘Reserve?’ Ellery echoed. ‘You mean always?’ The thought of paying thousands of pounds a night for a hotel suite to be on reserve seemed not only incredible but rather wasteful, especially in light of her own desperate financial situation. She could not imagine ever being so wealthy or privileged.
    Larenz shrugged again. ‘Not always,’ he allowed. ‘If I