Vic shifted again, this time more dramatically. At the same time ice in the duke’s glass rattled loudly, betraying a tremor in his hand. Which one of them would break first and put an end to this little exercise? Or would their stiff British nobility doom them to politely sit through the entire film? Was the duchess placing her own internal bets on the subject? Too bad she hadn’t let Sophia in on the game. They could’ve added a side bet, maybe an over/under wager on how many minutes of simulated fellatio her family could stomach watching together in the same room, because any woman who was eager to host a public viewing of this movie obviously had a sick sense of humour.

The only thing Sophia knew was that she wouldn’t be the one to call uncle. She had two advantages over the others. One, she already knew the full plot of this movie, and two, she had a lifetime of practice in not apologising, or even caring about making other people uncomfortable with her life choices.

She settled back deeper in the lush couch cushions as her poor young character settled onto her knees under the casting director’s rusty metal desk.

The shot wasn’t nearly as graphic as it could’ve been. The camera focused much more on the actor playing the agent. What was his name? Mike? Matt? He was a bit over the top with all his grunts and twisted facial expressions. At times she wasn’t even sure if her character was doing a really good job or a pretty bad one. The thought might’ve been funny if not for the tension practically pulsing off the people around her.

The duke crossed one leg over the other, and then uncrossed them as if trying not to appear uncomfortable, or maybe he didn’t want to appear aroused. That would make an already awkward situation infinitely more terrible. Vic certainly had no such mixed reaction. In a particularly well-lit moment on screen, Sophia could clearly see her face had lost all its practiced neutrality. Anger beset something else. Pain? Repulsion?

Humiliation.

For the first time some of Sophia’s defiance wavered. Was Vic upset that her mother had clearly chosen this film to hurt her, or was she actually embarrassed on Sophia’s behalf? The former she could get behind; the latter was a more complicated matter. She didn’t even consider the worst option, the one that involved Vic being embarrassed by her.