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The butler brought mint juleps, not a favourite of Justin, but his mother enjoyed them and it seemed his daughter had cultivated the taste; he knew better than to question. It was hot in the Orangery, deliberately so, Vanessa liked the heat and humidity and expressed her preference frequently and Justin knew better than to question that as well; in fact, he never questioned anything of his mother. He never truly enjoyed meeting his family, including his daughter. So he drank his bourbon over cracked ice, the mint stalks sticking up his nose and making him sneeze. He preferred neat Scotch, but he suffered for the women in his family, not aware of just how much they would eventually make him suffer.
‘Good job on the policeman, Justin. Maybe a bit dramatic outside Scotland Yard, but nece
