“I made sure you didn’t see me. But it gives me a problem, Elise.”
“What’s that.”
“I can’t trust a word you say.”
She doesn’t fluster like I expected. She doesn’t protest or wince or even look slightly worried, which surprises me. Elise likes to defer attention from what she’s done with an expression that asks for her to be saved.
“But then neither can we trust you.”
She sits back. Folds her arms.
I don’t flinch.
“It isn’t just you who knows secrets. I found a lot out about your family years ago. Majken came to visit – let’s see – about seven or eight years ago. She found your dad near the maze and I happened to be walking there. She really wasn’t happy with some things that Lennox said in an interview.”
“What were those things? I don’t suppose you happen to remember?”
She laughs quietly. “His usual rhetoric about countries getting along and being stronger together. You know, I couldn’t give a shit about a reunion. As long as more people are happy. Settled. So we do something to move out of this climate of fear and get on with having lives that arefun. Fun,Ben, do you even know what that is.”
“Probably not at this moment in time.” I take a sip of my champagne. My stomach has stopped creating an ulcer. A temporary pause.
“Did you ever?”
I copy her shrug.
“Your sister’s a bit deep, isn’t she?”
“Majken’s always liked a lost cause.”
“Bit like you?”
I’m not sure if she’s implying that I am a lost cause.
“Ben, I think it’s best if we stay out of each other’s way. No more of this strange happening to bump into each other business.”
“I can’t promise that.”
“Shame. I still have Majken’s number. She gave it to me that day when I had a chat with her about Lennox. We still speak occasionally.”
I lean forward. “That’s interesting. I can see why Majjie would want to speak to you. You know a lot.”
“About you. About your sister. I’m not sure how the king would feel about his daughter sleeping with someone who has a such a political motivation for being with her.”
This time my laugh is genuine.
“I wouldn’t waste your breath, Elise. But what you do is up to you.”
She downs the rest of her champagne and stands up with a wobble. “Absolutely. Just don’t take me for a fool.”
She walks away, not looking back, just asking the waiter for her shopping that she’s had them store.
Elise won’t say anything yet. But she will eventually. And she knows what I’ve been keeping from Blair for years; the reason I didn’t stay.
Because what breaks someone’s heart more than being a traitor?
* * *
It’s raining heavily by the time I approach the castle. The loch looks black in the distance, even blacker than the night sky. The temperature has dropped and I’d predict that we’d have the first snow fall in another week or so. It’s in the air.
