Total pages in book: 127
Estimated words: 127368 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 637(@200wpm)___ 509(@250wpm)___ 425(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 127368 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 637(@200wpm)___ 509(@250wpm)___ 425(@300wpm)
I was concerned she was knackered. She shouldn’t be. She’d been resting a great deal lately. Though I knew her headaches took a lot out of her, the aura that always happened after never lingered like it’d been doing at Duncroft.
But mostly I was relieved she was getting out of there.
“Soooooo…” she drew that out and said no more.
“So?” I prompted.
“You ran to Ian in your fright last night?”
She looked at me and batted her eyes.
“I needed to know about the bouquet,” I explained lamely.
“When I asked Rebecca where you were this morning, she told me in Ian’s room. It took him that long to explain about the bouquet?”
“Shut up,” I mumbled.
“Another reason for me to leave, I’ll no longer be the third wheel. You have him all to yourself to play backgammon.”
I threw a poppy-red silk bolster pillow at her.
She smiled.
That made me feel better.
“He thinks Portia and Daniel aren’t done with their games,” I shared.
“He thinks right,” she replied. “A trait of hers is being radically counter intuitive. Instead of learning from her mistakes, she pushes harder, which only digs her hole deeper. I don’t get it.”
I didn’t either.
And I’d turned that over enough in my head, I knew no discussion with Lou about it would serve up any answers.
“Ian wants to work together to figure out what they’re up to and thwart it,” I told her.
“I bet he does,” she teased.
“And yes,” I said seriously. “He made it clear, when I told him I wanted to take you and leave, that he wanted me to stay because he wanted time to get to know me better.”
She straightened from pressing down on the mound of folded sweaters in her case and exclaimed, “I knew it!”
That almost made me smile, but I cautioned, “Don’t get excited. We like each other. But he hasn’t even kissed me.”
“Poor play to make a move on a woman who just ran screaming to you in the night,” she remarked.
“I didn’t scream,” I told her.
I did, just not while I was racing to Ian. Only after I got to him.
“Well, it’s good you’re out of that room and you know Portia and Daniel have been screwing with you, so you can sleep tonight. And it’s good you’re staying to get to know him, because you already know, I like you two together and I’m tickled pink you’re giving a man a shot again. Especially a man like Ian, and I don’t mean how drop-dead gorgeous he is.”
This was the thing.
Because it was flirty and there was hand holding, and Ian had made me sleep by his side last night.
But it was also easy and friendly, and my sister was seeing his brother, and I had more than one concern about that. She’d also dated Ian, and this could all end up a mess.
And then there was that forehead kiss.
Ulk.
Bottom line: was I reading into the flirty when I should be reading into the friendly?
“And there you go, talking yourself out of how blatantly into you he is,” Lou noted, watching me closely.
“I think I need to get some things straight,” I admitted.
“Do that. Be honest. I sense he’ll appreciate it and want you both on the same footing from the jump, whatever that is. Though I know he likes you, and in future, you’ll be spending more time in the southeast wing.”
I rolled my eyes.
She ignored this and carried on, “But also, one of us, and obviously that’s going to be you, has to stay and see how things turn out, because Portia played into our hands. Daniel was not best pleased her allowance plummeted. He might come from money, but that doesn’t mean he has it. She could already be acting as his sugar mama.”
“Mm,” I hummed my agreement, because from what I saw between them not twenty minutes ago, that was a definite possibility.
“So now that you’ve erased any possibility of the high life for both of them, we’ll see the real of their relationship,” she concluded.
“Yes,” I agreed again.
“It’s all going to be okay, Daph.”
Her change in tone, reassuring and sympathetic, made me focus fully on her.
“Do you think it was just a joke?” I asked.
Her expression altered, grew harder at the same time contemplative.
And then, like it was difficult for her to force out the words, she said, “You know, it might be the headache talking, the drama of all this, but some things seem to be coming clear. I hate to say it, but I’m not sure I’d put anything past your sister. So keep your chin up, lovely, and your eyes open.”
Indeed.
The strange and intrusive request for an entire week in the country. Dragging Ian from his life too, so we were all drawn into the game. Daniel walking into the mist in the dark of night. Them throwing us together, then disappearing for nearly two days. The Carnation Room and carnations. Whatever was standing between Lou and Richard and Jane, something that was still her secret, and I wasn’t going to pry, but I had to admit, I was curious.