Victoria chewed thoughtfully, taking her time before finally giving Rhiannon her full attention.
“Ceridwen would not have intervened had you taken your responsibilities seriously. I’m surprised at you, Rhiannon Elizabeth.”
Rhiannon tore a piece of the bread and then set it carefully down. The acid bubbling up inside of her would spill any moment. Her hunger was gone.
“Ceridwen doesn’t ‘have’ to do a damn thing. That woman has been fine her entire life not knowing anything about anything. She’s safer that way, anyway. And she’s a Fowler.”
“Like you’ve ever cared about the Civil War, the mayoral snafus along the centuries, or believed in the Dragons’s version of the Hatfields and McCoys nonsense. It sells a lot of books. And makes for fun tours. ‘Dear tourists, look to your right. This is where Liam Crowhart fought Obadiah Fowler after the former returned from bravely fighting for the Union only to see his town and his properties swiped from under him by the latter. And here is where the Fowler family stood their ground against the rowdy Crowharts who staged a revolt against the legitimately elected mayor of Crow’s Nest and spilled blood.’ It makes for a good story. You never gave much of damn about those anyway,Rhiannon. And no, don’t start with me about Jed. That’s all on you and that wife of yours.”
Rhiannon pushed the food back toward Victoria, who was still staring at her with a knowing gaze. When she tsked again, Rhiannon saw red.
“You know that’s not all there is when it comes to Fowlers.”
Victoria narrowed her eyes.
“Maybe, maybe not. Do we know anything for certain? You’re the one who has the Crowhart books. Have you even opened them in all these years?”
When Rhiannon lowered her face, Victoria said nothing. Her silence was enough.
“Now that I have disappointed you six different ways, can we move on from this conversation?”
“I don’t know. I’ve been disappointed for twenty-two years, it’s a lot to just let go of, especially when you keep acting foolish.” When Rhiannon opened her mouth to contradict, Victoria lifted a hand. “No, no, you might pick up stakes any second now and I won’t get to say my piece, Goddess knows I didn’t manage to do so the last time. I do hope my little jinx of your food never having enough seasoning held true for at least a year in that big world you ran off to.”
“Closer to two. It was a masterpiece.” Rhiannon smiled in spite of her aunt’s words. Victoria always had the best of punishments. The pettiness was pure art. Victoria smiled back.
“It was one of my best hexes. Good enough to hang in a museum. Hey, maybe the Louvre. I hear there’s room now.”
Rhiannon almost chocked on her food and then they both dissolved in laughter. When the giggles subsided, her aunt’s faced sobered.
“You rallying against Ceridwen is not new, Rhiannon, you’ve been butting heads since you were children. Always at odds, even when you followed her around like a puppy. But youdenying the gift is another matter entirely. It’s not only foolish… It’s dangerous.”
Rhiannon narrowed her eyes and said nothing, allowing Victoria to speak.
“I don’t know why you’re here. I have no idea why you have taken over Jerome’s old place…” Something in Rhiannon’s face must’ve drawn Victoria’s attention because she latched on to it immediately.
“I take it you still think you can handle everything. Of course you do. It’s you, after all.”
Rhiannon lifted an eyebrow at the proclamation.
“And what do you mean by that?”
“You always thought you had all the bases covered, Rhiannon Elizabeth Crowhart. You always were the smartest person in the room. And you believed it too. You were right there when our lives unraveled—hell, you caused most of the unraveling—and yet you took that cursed building over nevertheless. I’m surprised at you, my girl. I really am. Is it penance? Have you decided to atone now? Twenty years after the fact? And don’t get me started on the demons of that place. Why would you even… I can’t begin to know what to make of this. I was so mad at you back then. I was tied to Moreau and Ceridwen was mortgaging everything trying to keep the family afloat and you? You skipped town to carouse with Margaux Belcourt.”
Victoria took a deep breath, but if she tried to calm herself down, it didn’t work.
“I didn’t give a flying fuck that she had been a married woman. Jerome was no picnic and I had one of his kind in my own home. And who hasn’t fallen for an older woman? I couldn’t call you out for that. Would’ve been mighty hypocritical of me.”
When Rhiannon’s jaw dropped, Victoria just waved her surprise away.
“What you don’t know, can’t make you jealous. Anyway. You left us to raise two teenagers because you hated that Ceridwen judged you for your choices? Or thought you could’ve pulled more weight instead of allowing Margaux to put her weight on your face? I was so damn mad, Rhiannon. And then not even a year later, you literally drowned everyone in your money and I thought, okay, she is making amends. In her own stubborn way. And so I reached for patience. It was always a wait-and-see with you. But now? Tell me, is this atonement?”
Rhiannon turned her aunt’s words in her mind, choosing her own carefully. How much should she reveal? How much should she keep to herself if only to spare everyone more heartache? She couldn’t face their pity, especially not when the island and the town kept tugging at all her heartstrings, unravelling the walls she had been building up for years.
“And here I thought you knew me better than that. Atonement is overrated and martyrdom is decidedly not sexy, Vicky. And as for the Atelier… You certainly had nothing against it when I was eighteen?—”
“You know that’s not true, Rhiannon! It was Christian and your mother?—”
Victoria’s outburst felt like a gunshot, loud, deadly, and done. She turned away hastily, either embarrassed or horrified at her own words, leaving the sentence dangling, and Rhiannon closed her eyes, wishing for the thousandth time that she had never set foot back in town.
