It was full. People who couldn’t find seats were standing around in small groups, breathing in cigarette smoke and perfume. She pushed through the throng, greeting people as she went. Not stopping to chat, she made her way to the small dance area, scanned the tables, and was surprised to see Tommy sitting with Rupert and Jonathan. She saw his flushed face and guessed he had been drinking. Jonathan noticed her and waved her over. His face was flushed and sweating too. Briony walked across the small dance floor and deliberately ignored the people watching her. She felt as if she was in a glass bubble, on show to the world. She sat beside Tommy and he kissed her on the lips.

She had dressed in a deep crimson dress which accentuated her white skin and green eyes. She looked startling, almost too bright. The colour gave her a brittle quality, her rouge a deep stain on her cheekbones, her lips a deep crimson to match her dress. Tommy eyed her for a few seconds before kissing her again, this time on her cheek.

‘Hello, darlin’. Have a glass of champagne.’

She took the fluted glass from him and sipped the cold liquid. Then, tilting her head back, she drank it down, holding the glass out again for another drink.

Five glasses later she was having a friendly argument with Jonathan about the films they were going to make. He wanted art, she decided to be contrary and insist on porn. Tommy sat back and listened to them with a smile on his face.

She was holding up. He had counted on that. While she was sorting out her mind, coming to terms with herself and her actions, he had been organising their protection and their new workforce. Tommy had no qualms about what he had done. It was over with, finished, done. Briony was a different kettle of fish; she needed to adjust to her new status. But he knew that once she did, the two of them would be a dynamite team, and nothing and no one could ever stop them.

People dropped by their table to pay their respects. Men who would not normally have been seen dead in their club had made a pilgrimage to the West End to offer their support and friendship, and Briony gave them just the right amount of her time and her interest.

Tommy sat back and relaxed. She was holding up all right, as he had known she would. By the time Kerry had finished her second set, Briony looked positively relaxed.

Chapter Seventeen

Chapter Seventeen