AllFreeNovel
Share Us
And neither of us wants to risk that.
“Fine. You’re right. I promised.” She sounds sad. Yet fierce. “I’ll do this, but you owe me.”
“Owe you what?” I ask warily. We’ve had these sorts of conversations before, and I’m always the one who ends up owing her. It’s awful, because her demands are never small. She always needs me to bail her out of a sticky situation, no questions asked.
It’s the worst.
“Whatever I need, whenever I need you, you have to be there.” She points a finger at me, her expression one of pure determination. “If I have to suffer this entire weekend with your insufferable family, then I’m going to put you through equal torture. Someday. I promise.”
“Fine,” I say with an exasperated sigh. I don’t know what she could expect of me that would be as torturous as her spending time with my mother and I guess my brother too, but we’ll see.
I’m sure Evie can come up with something.
“There you are,” my mother coos as Evie and I make our entrance into the house hours later, both of us dripping on the aging rug in the foyer since we got caught in a torrential downpour on the way into the house. Neither of us thought to bring an umbrella, which was stupid. “I was getting worried.”
“The rain is terrible,” I tell her while I shed my raincoat, as does Evie. My mother’s latest maid takes the coats from us, and when I tell her thank you, she curtsies, barely meets my gaze, and then dashes away, like she’s scared.
With my mother as her employer, I don’t doubt for a minute that she’s terrified.
The moment the maid is gone, Mother pulls me into a stiff embrace, her cool cheek pressed against mine for the briefest second before she releases me, though she keeps her hands on my shoulders as her contemplative gaze rakes over me. Assessing my appearance, as per the usual.
“The weather held us up a bit,” I tell her.
“Mmm. Hmm. I figured with Evie’s mad driving skills, you’d be here much sooner.” Mother smiles, nodding at Evie, who merely glowers in return.
A compliment wrapped in an insult—that’s my mother for you.
“Where’s Father?” If he were here, he’d soften the mood a bit. He’s so much kinder than my mother, he always has been. Tolerant, fun, and with a keen sense of humor. Patient. Oh, so patient.
He adores Evie, who loves him in return. It’s quite touching, how sweet they are to each other.
“He went hunting with the neighbors. He should be back before dinner.” Mother clasps her hands together, her gaze going from me to Evie and back to me again. “George should be here soon. And he’s bringing a friend.”
“A friend?” Evie asks, her voice unnaturally high. I send her a look, but she’s solely focused on Mother.
“A young woman he’s calling a friend, but I’m hopeful she’s more than that.” My mother looks like she’s going to squeal and bounce in delight, she’s so happy at the thought of my brother bringing home a woman he cares about so much he’s willin
g to let her meet his parents. “Isn’t this marvelous news?”
“Marvelous,” Evie says, hitching her travel bag strap higher onto her shoulder and starting for the stairwell. “Fantastic. Bloody brilliant. I hope George is thrilled to marry the old bag.”
Old bag? What in the world?
Evie runs up the stairs before I can say anything, her boots extra loud as they go stomp, stomp, stomp up the rattling staircase, and both Mother and I watch her silently until she disappears down the hallway.
“That was—odd,” Mother says, sending me a questioning glance. “Why would she act in such a way?”
“I’m not sure.” Maybe because she hates George with the fiery passion of a thousand suns? Not that I ever saw them have any sort of interaction where hate could be involved. Hmm.
Or maybe it’s because she’s secretly attracted to my brother and is pissed that he’s found someone else?
The imaginary lightbulb that suddenly clicks on above my head makes me think it’s the latter.
“Well, I don’t suppose it matters what your friend thinks. What matters is what your brother’s future wife thinks.” Mother smiles, and I swear she’s the happiest I’ve seen her in a while. “And I think this young lady sounds promising.”
“So George has told you about her?” What a surprise, considering he doesn’t like to give her any details about his love interests. I don’t tell her much either.
“Not really.” She smiles. “You know how private he is.”
