At first, Camilla laughed a bit at Jules’ words, lovingly amused by her friend’s lively manner of admitting her inability to run a fashion house. She could imagine that it must have been hard for her friend to head Lytton for the entirety of it. While her level head was needed for the more logistical aspect of the business, Camilla and especially Marcus were the heart and soul of it.

It was then that it struck to Camilla that her brother wasn’t mentioned at all. She felt as though a heavy rock had dropped on her chest, where her heart was. Her limbs grew numb and filled with tension at the same time, a sense of dread overcoming it. Maybe she was reading into things, maybe it was just her anxious state perceiving everything as bad news.

Her face blanched, she said: “Oh, my darling, something bad has happened, hasn’t it?” she asked faintly, not daring to voice her fears.