At that moment, Savilla hurried over, interrupting the interrogation I so wanted to conduct. She handed me a spoon, signaling that I should clink it against my glass to call everyone to order.
“We’re running behind schedule,” Savilla whispered. “You don’t want to be unpunctuated.”
Bella frowned at Savilla’s word choice, and a sudden protectiveness coursed through my veins. I was the only one allowed to question exactly what my sister meant, but, once again, I understood right away. Savilla wanted to make sure we were going to be punctual and that the evening would run according to schedule, or perhaps as… anticipated?
Reluctant to leave the conversation with Charlotte but also fairly certain I wasn’t going to get more out of her, I did as Savilla bid, dinging the spoon until everyone’s eyes turned to me.
“Ladies, ladies, may I have your attention?” I asked, not quite knowing what else to say.
Thankfully, Savilla stepped behind Bella and the cousins and with a smile, prodded all of them toward the center of the room until the seven of us stood in a malformed circle with drinks in hand: me, Lacy, Jemma, Savilla, Myrtis, Charlotte, and Bella, whom I needed to watch like a hawk.
“I wanted to officially welcome everyone to Lacy’s bachelorette party,” I said, clearing my throat. “Tonight, I’ve organized a scavenger hunt to take us to some of Lacy’s favorite Aubergine hangouts. The proprietors have agreed to open late so we can return to our old haunts.”
Lacy’s face lit up in delight for the first time that evening, and I knew I’d chosen the right direction for her bachelorette party. By contrast, I just had to ignore the three intruders: Myrtis stared on with a sort of grimace; a distracted Charlotte took yellow-tinted glasses from her hair and tucked them into a pink bag hanging off her arm; while Bella kept her eyes fixed on Lacy.
The night was already goinggreat.
“I have a clue for each place we’ll visit, and”—I dropped my spoon in the champagne flute and pulled the clue from my cleavage, where Aunt DeeDee had taught me by example to keep important things—“here’s the first clue.”
From Archibald to Viola
we’ve seen them all.
Now, tonight, we’ll share
your favorite Law.
“Archibald?” called Jemma. “Is that the stripper’s name? Is he hot?”
“No strippers,” I corrected. I’d been relieved when I’d asked Lacy if she wanted me to hire one, and she’d scrunched her nose, complaining that they were too sweaty for her liking. “But,” I continued, chuckling at Jemma’s question, “Archibald was considered a heartthrob… in the 1940s.”
Lacy took the paper from my hand, and I could see that she was enjoying having her mind on something frivolous as she explained the riddle. “Archie—that was the real-life first name of Cary Grant. And Viola, as in Davis, so a modern actress.” Her eyes roamed across the second line again. “My favorite Law… It’s capitalized, so… oh, I know! Jude Law.”
Jemma jumped in. “He was soooo handsome in that Christmas movie. I watch it every year. It has Kate Winslet and that chubby guy.”
“Jack Black,” Lacy added.
“The Holiday,” Bella said with lifted brows, simultaneously stopping the fun of discovery and shutting down all conversation with her abrupt tone.
“That’s right.” I tried to rally again. “We’re watchingThe Holidayat The Reel.”
The Reel was the only movie theater in town. It had opened sometime in the seventies, and when Lacy and I were in elementary school, we saw every Disney movie from the creaky seats.Years later, The Reel had become the most popular Friday night hangout for most of the high schoolers in town, including me and Lacy, primarily because they served refillable popcorn and sodas—and because it was a parent-approved space since the owner, a notoriously gruff guy who tolerated no nonsense, ran it.
“To the theater,” Savilla chimed, while also taking everyone’s glasses and lining them in a row for the staff to more easily clean up.
Within a couple of minutes, we were heading outside, this eclectic pack of gals.
TWELVE
With the doubling of our bride’s night out, we had to take two cars into town. I was one of the few who’d had no more than a sip of champagne, so I decided to play nice and offer to drive the Texas crew. The fact that I could pepper them with questions on the fifteen-minute drive may or may not have been the primary motivator. Not that I was particularly interested in their lives, but I was very interested in this weekend proceeding without any additional surprises from them.
Charlotte and Myrtis wordlessly took the back seats, their eyes locked on each other, communicating their distaste for my decades-old car. Despite my new standing as an heiress, I had yet to overhaul my entire life, car included, and I had no plans to change things up anytime soon.
With the cousins settled in the back, that left Bella up front with me. Good.
The CD player’s eject button hadn’t worked since Momma put in Coldplay in 2003, so it was either that or silence. I turned up “Green Eyes” to put my companions at ease enough to disclose information I needed—namely, why exactly Patty and the Swanson clan wanted to stop this wedding. It couldn’t be just because they liked Bella better, surely.
As we drove out of the gates of the estate, Bella reached out a hand and turned the volume down, startling me. When Aunt DeeDee had taught me to drive, she’d also taught me about the sanctity of the driver’s control of the music.
