Page 14 of Summer Storms

Christine smiled, but she was experiencing that strange feeling again, as if she didn’t really belong. Everyone in her family had their own concerns, their own secrets, and none seemed to think they could discuss them with her. Why was that?

She pondered the question as she rode back to the Hall. Had she made this situation all by herself? Was it because she had only ever thought of her own ambitions? Her family was very proud of her, of course they were, but they did not think of her as someone they could confide in about everyday concerns. They did not think of her as one of them.

She wondered what she could do to change that, because she knew now that she wanted to.

CHAPTER EIGHT

Over the next week, the Starlings went back and forth to Ansford Keep to visit the new baby. They cooed and admired Abby and Reeve’s new addition, all eager to declare him the sweetest and most handsome baby they had ever seen. Until the next one arrived, of course.

Nigel, in particular, was very excited. Will’s daughter clutched her father’s leg, peeping around it cautiously, as if she wasn’t sure the baby was real. Some, like Meg and Molly, offered advice—whether it was asked for or not. Christine spent some time there as well, but she had no practical advice to offer, so once again she busied herself arranging meals and tending to any crises that came up. At least that way she felt she was being useful.

Zek Nash paid his respects now and again. He and Reeve had business to discuss, after all. Now that Christine realised they were involved in helping places like Allingham Farm, she felt she better understood their connection. She did not have any private conversations with Zek, but there were moments they shared together. Catching his eyes over the dinner table, seeing the faint twist of his lips as he gazed back at her. Questions asked as a part of dinner conversation, polite and yet with undercurrents. The experience left her feeling warm and flustered, as if he had kissed her again. And despite what she had said before, she wanted him to kiss her again.

All that changed one sultry afternoon. Storm clouds were on the horizon, and Zek had arrived with his sister.

“I hope you don’t mind,” he said to Reeve at the front door. “Izzy tells me she is bored and asked if she could come.”

Reeve had no problem with this, and suggested the girl make herself at home. “My wife is sleeping,” he said, “but perhaps when she wakes, you can visit her and the baby.”

“Have you chosen a name yet?” Izzy asked. She wasn’t the only one who was curious. So far neither Reeve nor Abby had discussed a name with the rest of the family.

“Abby and I haven’t come to any decision,” he said evasively.

“Not Hamlet, then?” Christine interjected.

That made Reeve laugh, though Izzy didn’t seem to think it was funny.

“My uncle is called Fortunatus,” Zek said. “It means fortunate one. But it is a bit of a mouthful so everyone calls him Nat.”

“I suppose if you’re incapable of deciding, there is always Reeve junior.” Christine suggested. Zek smiled at that.

Had they been alone, more might have happened with him than a brief smile. But then he and Reeve went off to have another of their business discussions, leaving Izzy behind. Christine tried to be friendly, asking her questions, but Izzy was having none of it, shooting suspicious glances from dark eyes that were so like her brother’s.

In the end, Christine gave up and set off for the kitchen, only to have Izzy follow her and then stand watching by the doorway.

Christine was helping the cook put the finishing touches to their meal. She wasn’t much of a chef, but she did know how to make things look pretty. Satisfied, the cook went to check on an issue with a cream jug, leaving them alone. That was when Izzy stepped forward, coming so fast and so close that Christine felt genuinely uneasy.

“Zek is just pretending to like you,” she said with a fixed stare. “You know that, don’t you?”

Christine looked at her in surprise. “I beg your pardon?”

Izzy smirked. “He wants to make you feel sorry for the way you treated us before. He always said you should be punished, and now he’s going to do it.”

Christine stared at Izzy for a moment, her mind a blank.

“I never liked you,” Izzy went on. “You were horrible to us when we were younger. Zek is right to punish you.”

“And just how is he going to punish me?” she asked at last, but she had a horrible feeling that she already knew.

“He’s going to make you fall in love with him,” Izzy said with a wicked grin. “And when you confess your love, he’s going to tell you he doesn’t want anything to do with you. Not if you were the last woman in the whole world. He’s going to break your heart. That’s what he’s going to do.”

“Why are you telling me this?” Christine whispered, her voice barely audible.

“I wanted to see the look on your face.”

Christine was still standing, frozen, when Izzy flounced away.

She should be angry. It was a ridiculous notion, and yet... Could it be true? Was Zek playing with her emotions so that he could take revenge on her?