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)
“Mum—” Daniel began.
I shifted my attention to him and saw his cheeks were ruddy, and he looked miffed.
Then again, his girlfriend was getting a dressing down, one she deserved, but they were both adults, so this had to be humiliating.
Top that, there was an audience, and the brother Daniel was jealous of was part of it.
“Now,” Lady Jane cut Daniel off, standing. “We have a whole week to learn how to treat each other with respect. I hope I have your assurances there won’t be a repeat of some version of last night.”
“It was just meant to be a joke,” Portia said weakly.
“What was meant to be a joke?” Lou asked.
“Did your sister look amused last night?” Lady Jane demanded.
Portia cast her gaze to the floor.
“Do I have to ask again?” Lady Jane prompted.
“There won’t be a repeat, Mum,” Daniel said.
“Good,” she replied. “Now, I’m certain your sister has a few things to say. I’ll leave her to say them among family.”
With that, she dipped her head to Lou, acknowledging her for the first time, and she gave her version of a warm look to her son, and also, I thought was nice, to me, before she swanned out.
I was surprised she had all that in her. Surprised and impressed.
Then again, it was Lady Jane who said Daniel needed a taskmaster. I just hadn’t put it together at the time that all his life, that role so far had fallen to his mother.
It was Daniel who stepped up first.
“Jesus Christ, Ian,” he sniped, glancing at me briefly while saying, “No offense. I saw you last night and I could tell it went too far,”—back to Ian—“but it was just a goddamned joke.”
“Was it you who asked to put Daphne in the Carnation Room?” Ian returned coolly.
“Oh my God,” Lou whispered.
“I don’t have to explain myself to you,” Daniel bit.
“May be nice, though, if you explained yourself to me,” I butted in.
Daniel’s jaw rippled.
“Did you?” I pushed.
Daniel said nothing.
Portia said nothing.
“Answer her,” Lou demanded of Portia.
Shocker.
Even though Lou was family, she never butted into family stuff, not even when Dad was alive. And she never pushed anything. Ever. Particularly with Portia.
“What happened last night?” she asked.
“Danny and Portia left carnation bouquets for Daphne the two nights they’ve been here. The same type of bouquets David would leave for Dorothy because she loved carnations. Hence, she chose that room. And when David’s wife was away, and Dorothy would come to play, that’s where they’d tryst. Even Virginia came to understand that had become Dorothy’s room.”
And there was the explanation behind the reason Lady Jane seemed so shaken when I mentioned the carnations last night.
I didn’t freak out about all this new knowledge that only made what Portia did worse.
But Lou sure as hell did.
“You know your sister isn’t good with that kind of thing,” she snapped.
Actually snapped.
“Lou, it doesn’t have anything to do with—” Portia began.
Lou interrupted her. “I’m a part of this family, whether you like it or not. I care about you and your sister. So it has something to do with me, knowing you’d be so thoughtless. I mean, honestly, Portia. What do you think your sister does all day? And she’s here. Do you not get what that means? You can’t,” she answered her own question. “If you did, you wouldn’t be playing your usual mind games.”
“Mind games?” Portia spat.
“Mind games,” I said calmly.
Because…yes. Spot on. I finally got it, and Lou obviously already knew it.
That was what it always was.
Portia getting into trouble, and dragging me in. Portia pushing Dad and getting something out of the fact his need to become stricter and more demanding of her meant he did the same with me. Portia playing on my sympathies and my big sister loyalty and Lou’s need for her love and approval. Portia pulling shit like she did last night for whatever she got out of doing things like that.
It was all just mind games.
Portia opened her mouth.
But I was done with this.
“It was you and I know it. Daniel doesn’t want to throw you under the bus, and you sure as hell don’t have the maturity to cop to it, but it was you. Daniel told you the story of Dorothy and David, and you knew I’d look into things when you asked us here. It’s tragic, mysterious and spooky, with Dorothy supposedly haunting this house, a famous story I couldn’t miss. You hatched your scheme and got Daniel to play along with it.”
As it had been last night, the guilt was written all over her face.
I was done with Portia’s guilt too.
So I kept going, “It wasn’t nice. It hurt my feelings. But it’s over, and we’re moving on. Not with forgiveness,” I hastened to add when Portia seemed to settle down and the familiar I-got-away-with-it smirk started to form on her mouth. “You haven’t said you’re sorry. But I have to share I am so…fucking…done. With all of it. And there’s more. And I want that done too, so we’re moving on.”