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“Everyone speaks differently,” Rose explained. “It depends on where you come from.”
Evie pondered this for a moment and turned to her sister for confirmation. Kate nodded vigorously.
Somebody had taken Rose’s bags for her upon her arrival, which meant she was at the beach without her swimsuit. Because she was wearing a tank-top and thick black underwear, she removed her skirt and went swimming with the kids, rolling through waves that felt so blissful and chilly and powerful. Hogarth and Hamilton cackled and leaped, splashing each other and their sisters.Rose kept tabs on Evie and Hamilton especially, as Mrs. Walden had said they couldn’t yet swim. At one point, Evie slipped her hand into Rose’s, and Rose’s heart pumped with gladness.They already trust me,she decided.It’s going to be a brilliant summer.
Evening fast approached. The air chilled and cast soft blues and purples as it blinked across the horizon. Rose knew it was time to gather the children up and get them cleaned up and changed for dinner. She wrapped Evie in a thick towel as Hogarth and Hamilton continued to splash. Kate attempted to draw her hair into a pristine ponytail, clearly imitating her mother’s professionalism.
That was when Rose spotted the black smoke on the other side of the woods.
Rose drew herself to full height. The thick, ominous smoke roiled through the evening sky. It smelled like chemicals and burning wood.Is the forest burning?
Suddenly, a helicopter approached overhead and circled the smoke.
“What’s going on?” Hogarth demanded.
But what could Rose tell them? She didn’t know herself. “Let’s get inside,” she said, scrambling to throw everything in the picnic basket.
The helicopter and the fire captivated the children, so much so that it took bribery and cajoling to get them down the stone path that led back to the house. Rose carried Evie on her hip, trying to keep herself from looking back at the fire.What if we have to evacuate?she wondered.Should I get my things? Where is Mrs. Walden? Is this an emergency?
Rose hurried the children through the side entrance, where they dutifully removed their shoes and went up the back staircase to their bedrooms and bathrooms, separatefrom their parents’ bedrooms and bathrooms. Separate so that their parents only had to think about their children when they wanted to.
Rose paused at the base of the steps. Evie giggled as she erupted up the stairs after her brothers and sisters. Next came the sound of the shower; Hogarth, Hamilton, or Kate were already washing up. Rose had promised Evie she would help soon.
But Rose heard voices coming from down the hall. Two men and a woman. Mrs. Walden? Yes. Was one of them Mr. Walden? Were they talking about the fire?
Rose took a hesitant step away from the staircase. She knew better than to eavesdrop, but she ached to understand more about her surroundings. She sensed that Mrs. Walden would only tell her things on a need-to-know basis. She crept from the hallway into the dark sitting room. A door separated Rose and the three speakers.
“Of course, he can,” Mrs. Walden was saying. “I just can’t imagine he’d want to.”
“The man’s lost his way,” one of the men explained. “I’ve never seen him like that.”
“You don’t think he…” Mrs. Walden breathed.
“Let’s not get carried away,” the other man warned. “We don’t know anything yet.”
“We know the house is unlivable already,” Mrs. Walden pointed out. “Anyone with a nose can smell that.” She cleared her throat. “Zachary, we’d be pleased to welcome you and your brother for dinner and drinks this week.”
“I know he’ll appreciate that,” Zachary said. “Thank you.”
“And thank you for letting us know.” Mrs. Walden sighed. “We always assume Nantucket is the safest of allthe safe havens. Our children know it as heaven on earth. It’s terrifying to know such things transpire just a forest away.”
“It’s hard to know how bad luck grows,” Zachary said. “We must batten down the hatches and ensure nothing else threatens our magnificent community.”
Mrs. Walden agreed.
What are they talking about?Rose furrowed her brow, listening harder. She understood that Mr. and Mrs. Walden weren’t entirely on the same page and that Zachary’s brother was somehow involved with the fire.Zachary’s brother has lost his way.Was it his house? Had he burned it on purpose? Why would someone do that? For insurance purposes? Rose had grown up without two pennies to rub together, and it was often difficult for her to imagine the problems of the terribly wealthy. But she was surrounded by them.
Suddenly, the door between them burst open. A man she didn’t recognize stood before her in a suit jacket and a pair of slacks, his hair mussed, his eyes red-rimmed and frantic. He looked at her with his jaw slack, then fixed his face into an arrogant smile—one that told her he’dcaught her doing something she shouldn’t have.
Mrs. and Mr. Walden squabbled behind him about something Rose couldn’t understand anymore. Rose met Zachary’s gaze and touched the wall beside her for support. She thought she was going to collapse. She thought he was going to tell on her immediately.
But he tilted his head. It took Rose a full ten seconds to realize what he hinted at.Get out of here before they catch you.
Rose tiptoed out of the sitting room and rushed up the staircase with the air of someone running out of thatburning house across the forest. Her thighs screamed.Why did he let me off the hook?She marveled. But she didn’t have time to question it further. Hogarth was out of the shower; Hamilton was refusing to bathe. There were tasks to tend to. It was only the first day in Nantucket. And the fire was clearly out of her control—and nothing that concerned her.
She decided to put it out of her mind.
Chapter Two
