Thea felt the heat rushing to her cheeks.“Beatrice!”she whispered, completely scandalized.
Beatrice grinned.“I sincerely hope that the two of you have finally gotten over whatever it was that was wrong between you.”
Thea stared at her friend.“What do you mean?”
“Oh, please,” Beatrice waved her hand at her.“Anyone who was paying attention could see that the two of you had something between you.”
“I thought we hid it so well,” Thea murmured.
“You can think that,” Beatrice said with a laugh, “but it wasn’t true.Not for people who paid attention, at least.”They both looked up as the bell rang and Eugenia stepped in.“People like me and Eugenia,” Beatrice added, giggling at the look on Thea’s face.“Oh, come on.She’s not that bad.”
“No, she’s not,” Thea shook her head, “but keeping this secret from her has been taxing.”
“Which secret?”Beatrice asked.“The fact that you and Nat love each other, or the fact that he keeps turning into a cat?”
Thea shushed Beatrice quickly as Eugenia made her way to the counter.
“Hello, dearies,” she said.“Beatrice, I heard you were in town, and I had to come over and see for myself.”
“The rumor mill spreads fast in this town,” Beatrice muttered to Thea before rounding the counter to give Eugenia a hug and a hello.“How’s my library doing?”
“Wonderfully,” Eugenia said with a grin.“You and Lord Dunham should come see it soon.I’ve had someone help me make some new shelves.”
“Is he cute?”Beatrice asked.
Eugenia colored.Thea’s eyes widened as she glanced at Beatrice, who was smirking at Eugenia.
“I love this,” Thea said.“I wish you’d told me sooner.Beatrice and I had no idea you had your eyes on someone.”
“I don’t!”Eugenia insisted, but there was a twinkle in her eyes.
“Eugenia, you are the queen of gossip in this town.Did you really expect that we wouldn’t find out you were falling for someone?”
“Speaking of gossip,” Eugenia said, “I heard that Roan invited his brother over for dinner.”
That was quite the topic change.“Where did you hear that?”Thea asked.
“Someone who was at the tavern earlier,” Eugenia said, “but I shan’t reveal my sources.”
Thea sighed.“Of course not.”
“I do hope those boys patch up their relationship,” Eugenia said.“Not many know this since it’s practically ancient history, but their mother was the daughter of a good friend of mine, and I have a soft spot for those boys.I hope they’ll work things out between them.”
“They’re not really boys anymore,” Beatrice pointed out.
“They may not be,” Eugenia said, “but they always will be to me.I watched them grow up.That’s not something one easily forgets.”
Thea hadn’t realized that they had such a history with Eugenia.Though now that she said that, she recalled at least one or two stories about an Aunt Genie that felt very like Eugenia.
“What were they like as boys?”Thea asked suddenly, desperate to hear what Nathaniel had been like as a child.
“Much the same as they are now.”Eugenia shook her head.“Though both more extreme and more temperate.Roan was solid and responsible and took more of his father’s wrath than any boy should have to.I hated to see what that man did to him.”
She let out a deep sigh.“And Nathaniel—he was the happy-go-lucky one, with a smile for everyone.He was also the sensitive one, always in tune with what his mother needed.When their grandmother passed, I was there to help their mother.But she grew apart from me as the boys grew up and her husband became worse.If I had to guess, I’d say she was ashamed of her husband—and the fact that she had married him for position and not for love before she realized what a horrible man he was.And when she pulled away, I saw less and less of them.But I saw enough to see that your Nathaniel grew up to be a fine young man, and you would do well to stick with him.He won’t be like his father.”
Eugenia nodded to herself, musing, “I think Roan has a little more growing up to do.”
“But he’s older than Nathaniel,” Beatrice said.
