Delphia jumped from the table and with a piece of toast in her hand, followed Mama into the hallway. Papa excused himself as well, leaving Fiona, Addie, and me still sitting around the table.
Fiona had helped herself to a cup of coffee and one of Lizzie’s sweet rolls. She nibbled a piece half-heartedly before shoving her plate away.
“Are you feeling all right?” Addie asked her sister.
“Yes, just more of the same.”
Addie nodded as if she understood perfectly. What was going on? “Fi, are you sick?” A dart of fear tapped my throbbing head.
She sighed. “No, nothing like that. I think I may be having another baby. I’m going to see Theo this morning.”
“How wonderful,” I said.
“I’ve not let myself think about what it means too much,” Fiona said. “Or I might dissolve into a puddle right here and now.” She looked at me and then over at her sister. “Speaking of which, is something wrong with you two? You both look as if you’ve been caught doing something naughty. Yes, indeed, you both stink of guilt.”
Addie choked and coughed before pressing a napkin to her lips. Her eyes flitted around the room, clearly uneasy. Fiona was right. She looked guilty. Which meant I probably looked five times worse.
“James?” Fiona prodded me with her foot under the table. “What is this?”
I looked into her dark blue eyes. Although I couldn’t know for sure, it felt as if all my secrets were laid out in front of her, my soul bared for everyone to see. Fiona would figure me out. She was my dearest friend. How could I have thought I could hide it?
“Nothing at all,” I said. “Addie and I were up at the same time last night and talked for a while in the sitting room. We’re abashed at having done something inappropriate. The talking alone, I mean. In the middle of the night, that is.” This all gushed out of my mouth too fast. Good Lord, I should never commit a crime if this was how I acted.
“Just talking?” Fiona asked, her voice dry as an autumn leaf fluttering to the ground.
“Don’t be silly,” Addie said. “Yes, we were talking about my work. That’s all. What else would it be?”
“I see.” Fiona jerked up from the table and headed back to the buffet. With her back to us, she said, “These modern times are changing every day. However, some conventions should be honored. Men and women spending time together unsupervised is not what we want for either of you. It’s too easy to be tempted to act in ways you can’t tell your mother.” She turned around to look at us pointedly. “Ways that could cause a lot of repercussions for a lot of people. You must be careful, for everyone’s sake.”
I glanced over at Addie. To my surprise, a mischievous smile played on her lips. Those lips, so firm and soft at the same time. How I’d love to taste her again.
“Of course, Fi,” I said. “We’ll keep that in mind.”
“What’s this I hear about Lena Masters and her father?” Fiona returned to the table, this time with peaches and berries smothered in fresh cream. “Is it true what Li told me? They’re really coming here? How do you feel about it?”
No one could get right at a thing like Fiona. I’d missed her. However, a vision of hens clucking in their coop came to mind.
“I should go,” Addie said, rising from the table. “It’s good to see you, Fi. But I’ve work to do.”
“Yes, understood.” Fiona raised her cheek for Addie to kiss. “You and I can talk later.”
How did Addie and Delphia survive their childhood with all of these mother hens? I wondered.
The moment Addie was gone, Fiona focused on me with her full attention. “All right, Mr. West, what’s going on between you and my baby sister?”
* * *
We endedup out in the garden, walking in the pleasant coolness of the morning. Dew sparkled on the grass and flowers. Blue sky peeked between the trees. None of it did anything to help my head or my churning stomach, made worse by Fiona’s direct question of my intentions.
Fiona linked her arm in mine as we strolled along the fence surrounding the yard. “Are you going to tell me or not?”
“There’s nothing to tell,” I said.
“You’re a liar. I know you too well, James West. I could practically feel the attraction between you. I’ve had my own forbidden love story, you know.”
I halted near one corner of the fence, withdrawing from her. Around us, bees were busy gathering pollen from the flowers. Above us, two birds were having either a squabble or a mating ritual. “Has she told you anything? About how she feels about me?”
“No, but I had a feeling. I have a sense about these things, especially when it comes to my sisters. Last summer, her eyes lit up every time you were in the room. Since then, when she speaks of you, it’s with a certain reverence. I take it she finally told you?”