“You’re welcome, Mrs. Van... Colette.”
“See, it’s not so bad,” Colette teases, and the older woman smiles and leaves us alone. “Tea or coffee?”
“Coffee, please. I just woke up and haven’t had a cup yet.”
“Just woke up? It’s the afternoon.” She hands me the coffee, and I take it.
“Oh, we had a late night.”
“Did you?” She waggles her eyebrows. “I bet.”
I feel my cheeks flush.
“How did it go at The Tribunal? Jackson said they were dismissing the charges.”
“They did, but it was still nerve-wracking.”
“I can imagine. I’ve only been there as a witness for you, but that was scary even with Jackson beside me.”
“Thank you so much for what you did. To you and Jackson.”
“Of course, Ivy. I knew you couldn’t have done what they accused you of. Have they found the woman?”
“I don’t think so.”
“Well, they will. The Society always does in the end.”
I think about the comment The Councilor had made about the second attempt on Santiago’s life. “Can I ask you something?”
“Sure.” She takes a bite of a cookie.
“The fire a few years ago where a lot of members died, was that a gas leak?”
“That’s what they say but…” She shrugs a shoulder. “Who knows. I’ve asked Jackson, but he’s pretty tight-lipped. So many rules.”
“Tell me about it. How long have you been married?”
“Just over a year.”
“Oh, I didn’t realize it was so recent.”
“No? Hasn’t Mercedes filled you in?” she asks, saying Mercedes’s name with a tone that doesn’t hide how she feels.
“Mercedes and I aren’t exactly friends. She hates me, in fact.”
“Well, that makes two of us then! We’ll have to toast on that once Benjamin has vacated the premises.”
“Why doesn’t she like you?”
She glances at the door, then back at me. “Are you up for a walk?”
“Absolutely.”
She puts her tea down. I finish my coffee and do the same. We get our coats on and step out into the garden arm in arm. She glances toward one of the back windows and waves.
I turn to find Jackson standing there looking out. He raises his hand in a less enthusiastic wave.
“It’s Holton. That man always puts Jackson in a bad mood.”
“Holton?”
“Cornelius Holton,” she says in a haughty accent. “I can’t stand him, honestly. Gives me the creeps.”
“Me too.”
“You know him?”
“I wish I didn’t. Tell me about Mercedes.”
“You really don’t know any of this?”
I shake my head.
“You had to have felt the tension when Jackson and I came to your house the other day. Between Santiago and Jackson?”
“You’d have to be dead not to feel that. What’s the story?”
“Mercedes had her eye on Jackson. They dated a long time ago even though that’s not technically allowed. I think they had some make-out sessions is about the extent of it.”
“Mercedes and Jackson?” I’m shocked.
“I know. She’s an ice queen.”
“You’re being nice.”
“Well, my family only moved to New Orleans less than two years ago. We’re from Atlanta originally. I guess by then Mercedes and Jackson, although not engaged, were officially courting right up until the night he saw me.”
“What?”
“It was my family’s first event at IVI in New Orleans.”
“Love at first sight?”
“It’s what Jackson says.” Her eyes get shiny, and I feel goose bumps rise on my arms. “For me too, though.” She doesn’t say it in a gloating way. I think she’s just in love with her husband.
“Anyway, we met that night briefly, and by the next week, he’d broken it off with Mercedes. He told me he’d been wanting to for a while, but she wouldn’t accept it. She wasn’t happy about the break, obviously. And again, I don’t blame her, but it’s not like something like that can be helped. And she’s been pretty awful since.”
“Awful to you?”
Colette nods. “I don’t exactly have an abundance of friends at The Society, at least not among the women.”
“Well, I like you.”
She smiles, shrugging a shoulder. “Mercedes has done everything she can to freeze me out, and her family ranks higher than Jackson’s, so you know, the sheep go along.”
“I’m sorry to hear that.”
“It doesn’t matter. Those women are too snooty for me anyway. Anyhow, the week we met, Jackson was at my door asking my father’s permission to court me.”
“Are you serious?”
“You know how things work with IVI. It’s so old-fashioned. I hope you don’t think—”
“What would I think? My brother told me I’d be marrying a perfect stranger days before our wedding.”
“You didn’t know Santiago at all?”
“Well, he worked with my father. He was close with him when I was younger so I’d seen him around. We’d barely had a conversation though. But I want to hear about you and Jackson. I have to admit, the night of the gala, I’d assumed he was some ogre for making you wear those shoes and be out late when you’re so…so pregnant.”
“Jackson?” She giggles. “Nah, that’s his Society face.” She makes a face herself at that. “He’s just a big teddy bear behind closed doors.”