“I’m sorry, Mother.” I made myself say the proper noun.
Jezebel took a deep breath and stood. “Let me get you some dinner.”
Rett’s concern that Jezebel was also responsible for the danger he warned about fueled my questions as she walked past me to the working area of the kitchen, only to return with a plate. There was no silver dome as there would be if Ian brought me food.
I swallowed, not ready to think about him.
The plate she brought was filled with red beans and a dark green leafy salad. It had pecans, sliced oranges, and red berries all mixed with a raspberry vinaigrette dressing.
“The beans are fresh, just shucked today,” Jezebel said as she went back and returned with a bottle of water.
My eyes opened wide. “Kyle said—”
“Kyle took the tablets.”
I opened the cap, hearing the click, and hurriedly drank nearly half the contents of the bottle. When I finished, I inhaled, enjoying the common sensation of the cool moisture on my lips and tongue. “I may need a second bottle.”
After retrieving a second bottle, Jezebel took the seat where she’d been sitting, placed her hands in the pockets of her sweater, and leaned back, all the time keeping her eyes on me. “Tell me about yourself, Emma.”
Lifting the fork, I moved the food around the plate, mentally weighing if I believed it was safe to eat.
As if Jezebel could read my mind, she offered, “I’ll taste the food for you if that will help you eat.”
I set the fork down. “Kyle took the sugar pills?”
She grinned. “And slept for fourteen hours straight.”
“I thought you said they were placebos.”
“They are. The mind is the most powerful drug. And some minds are easier to manipulate than others. Tell me, is your husband easy to manipulate?”
I stared for a moment, appreciating Jezebel’s directness.
My lower lip disappeared behind my front teeth as I considered her question. “Mother, you’re speaking of Rett in the present tense. That means he’s all right.” I shook my head. “I should know that doesn’t matter; Miss Guidry speaks of everyone in the present tense.”
“That’s because Ruth speaks to everyone in the present. As for your husband, you know he’s alive.”
There was no way to describe the relief that came with that simple sentence of verification. I blinked away the tears and picked up the fork. Jezebel’s question came back as I took a bite of the red beans. While I’d expected them to be tasteless, they weren’t. “These are sweet.”
“Yes, they’re grown on the property. I suppose they’d be called a hybrid.”
I ate some more. “They’re very good.”
“Your husband,” she prompted.
I shook my head as I took another drink of water. “I’d say no; he’s not easily manipulated.”
“Your brother?”
I nodded with a scoff. “I mean, he was. I haven’t seen him, and I suppose people change.”
“William?”
Thoughts and memories came to my mind. “I didn’t think so. Again, it’s been years. Now, I don’t know. I’d say Liam is less so than Kyle.”
“And on that scale, where does Mr. Ramses fall?”
“The least of them all.” I finished the beans and moved on to the salad. After a few bites, I turned to Jezebel. “I don’t understand. If the blue tablets were a test and Kyle took them but I didn’t, who passed the test?”