The crowd of Executives was full of familiar faces, naturally. These people were the cream of Paxco high society, and Nadia was highly accustomed to socializing with them, though she had never enjoyed it. Because she was presumed to be the future Chairman Spouse, and therefore a person of great influence, many people made a great deal of effort to ingratiate themselves to her, and that got tiresome in the extreme. Equally tiresome were her jealous and spiteful peers, people like the Terrible Trio, who went out of their way to deliver backhanded compliments and sly insults. Nadia was very good at the verbal sparring, but she didn’t take to it with the vicious glee the Trio did.
Nadia scanned the crowd, considering her options and assessing the situation. She’d been escorted onto the porch with no fanfare, so most people hadn’t yet noticed her arrival. A quick glance confirmed her assumption that the Terrible Trio were all in attendance, the three of them traveling in a pack as they worked their way through the younger members of the crowd. Nadia took a careful step to the side so that there was a pillar and a cluster of older Executives that would block her from the Trio’s view. She doubted she could get through the whole service without having to talk to them, but she’d give it her best shot.
She spotted her parents standing at the far side of the porch, but she would have to pass right by the Trio to get there. Besides, she was so angry at both of them she’d be tempted to make a scene, which was Not Done.
Nadia hoped to spot Nate or Gerri, someone she could comfortably talk with, but there was no sign of either of them. She did, however, see Agnes, standing alone and forlorn in the far corner of the porch.
Nadia had spoken to Agnes only briefly at Tranquility—and that only because she had insisted Nate introduce them. It had taken no more than a couple of words for Nadia to confirm her suspicion that the poor girl was painfully shy and self-conscious. Nate hadn’t made any cutting remarks, but he hadn’t gone out of his way to be nice, either, and Nadia couldn’t blame Agnes for hunkering down into her shell for protection. She looked like she was doing the same thing now, her obvious discomfort in the crowd acting like some kind of force field to keep people away.
Almost without conscious thought, Nadia found herself wandering in Agnes’s direction. Agnes saw her coming and looked alarmed, glancing right and left as if in search of an escape route. Apparently subtlety was not her strong suit. But then, based on Nate’s unflattering assessment, Agnes didn’t have a strong suit.
Nadia should hate this girl who had supplanted her, or a least resent her. But Nadia’s ruin wasn’t Agnes’s fault, and holding it against her was unfair. The girl was doing her duty as the daughter of a powerful Executive, just as Nadia would have done in her shoes. Maybe if Nadia made friendly with Agnes, it would put pressure on Nate to do the same. Besides, Nadia would rather try to get to know a stranger than mingle with the Paxco Executives who would cut her and her family out of their lives as soon as they learned Nadia had been put aside in Agnes’s favor.
Nadia smiled in her most encouraging manner. Agnes tried to return the smile, but the near-terror in her eyes made the expression look more like a grimace. Her black dress could have used some better tailoring at the shoulders, and its layered skirt made her look more bottom-heavy than she really was. Her taste in clothes was questionable at best and would give those who enjoyed being cruel extra ammunition.
“So, we meet again,” Nadia said lightly as she put her hands on the porch railing and looked out over the grounds, trying not to make Agnes feel cornered.
“Um. Yes.”
If Agnes looked any more tense, she might start vibrating. At social events, Nadia was usually a big fan of subtlety, but she decided that perhaps with Agnes a bolder approach might be more effective.
“I don’t hold it against you, you know,” she said, giving Agnes another smile that she hoped conveyed the sincerity of her words. If anything, Agnes looked even more alarmed. “I know Nate has been acting like an ass toward you, but he doesn’t know what it’s like to be an Executive girl. I do.”
Agnes rubbed her hands together nervously. “I’m … sorry about all the…”
Nadia waved her off. “You have nothing to be sorry about. It’s not like we’re Employee girls and can choose whom we marry.”
“No one’s forcing me,” Agnes said with the first hint of heat Nadia had seen. “Nathaniel wants me to talk my father out of it, but I won’t.” She raised her chin, but the defiant gesture was undercut by her hunched shoulders and crossed arms.
“Of course not,” Nadia said easily, hoping that she’d managed to talk Nate out of being such a jerk in the future. “Nate may not be the prize catch he thinks he is, but the strategic match is undeniable. He doesn’t quite get that personal happiness isn’t as important as taking care of your family and your state. If things had been different, I could very easily have found myself in the same kind of situation.”
Agnes looked at her wonderingly. “And if you had…?”
Nadia shrugged. “I’d have done my duty, no matter what. You and I are more alike than you think.” After all, hadn’t Nadia done everything she could to protect her engagement to a guy she knew wasn’t into girls? She would much rather have married someone she was in love with—and who loved her back—but an Executive had to think about the well-being of her family and her state above her own.
Agnes gave her a look of infinite skepticism. “I’m sure in my shoes you’d be parked in a corner all by yourself just like me.” A flush of red instantly warmed her cheeks. “I mean, not all by myself … But…” She stammered to a halt.
Nadia smiled at her. “It’s okay. It didn’t even occur to me to be insulted until you started backpedaling. You were talking about before I came over.”
Agnes still looked miserable, as though she’d put her foot so far in her mouth she’d never be able to get it out. “I always say the wrong thing.”
“No, you don’t. It’s just that you’re an Executive and any wrong thing you say gets magnified out of proportion.” And it didn’t help that Agnes was apparently willing to do some of that magnification without anyone else’s input.
“You don’t know me.”
Nadia raised an eyebrow. “Are you saying it’s not true?”
Agnes sighed and shook her head. The flush had receded, and the tension in her shoulders eased away. “It’s still better when I keep my mouth shut,” she said sadly. “Most people aren’t as understanding as you.”
Nadia had spent a lot of time feeling sorry for herself lately, but despite her misery, she wondered if Agnes weren’t the one getting the worst of it. Nadia had never enjoyed the verbal sparring matches with people like the Trio, and she’d had her feelings hurt plenty of times. But she’d always been good at hiding her hurt—and covering up any moments of awkwardness or uncertainty—so that she didn’t give the predators too much satisfaction and encouragement. Agnes would attract the same kinds of social predators, but she didn’t have Nadia’s armor. When the press and the Trio came after her—as they were sure to do when the engagement was announced—she wouldn’t be able to hide her hurt, and she wouldn’t be able to smooth over any awkward statements that escaped her.
“Keeping your mouth shut won’t be an option when the engagement is announced,” Nadia said. “It would be better if you could learn to stop beating yourself up when you make a faux pas.”
Agnes’s jaw clenched, and though she didn’t say anything, Nadia could almost hear her thoughts: Gee, I never thought of trying that. You just changed my life forever with your brilliant idea.