A little teaser from Chapter 1

Chapter 1: The ground rules 

‘Everyone knows there are only three types of people in Knightsbridge,’ Allegra declared confidently through her perfectly shaped smile. 

‘The new rich, the formerly rich, and the almost rich.’ 

I erupted into a smirk, assuming she had forgotten something and replied ‘What about the old money?’ 

Her face instantly displayed her fleeting interest in the topic before closing the conversation: ‘Don’t be ridiculous; they left this part of town a long time ago’. 

It had certainly been an oversight on my part that I would be able to understand the pecking order in this part of South West London, particularly when I sat firmly in the unmentioned category of wishing I was rich. I was part of a curious group of people who just about made it to the right school due to concessions and sacrifices made by my hardworking parents. They had aspired for me to enjoy the best education their salaries could afford, which had the unintended consequence of me growing up in a rank of society often inaccessible to our tax bracket. It would never be lost on me that my role was that of a mere observer rather than a participant in all that happens between Hyde Park Corner and Brompton Road.