“More like groundbreaking.” Victoria leaned closer before whispering, “Your father’s cronies are scared shitless of her. That new golf course? If she wins? They can kiss it goodbye. She wants to expand the park, and she believes the damn golf course would consume too much water and serve too few people. That vague museum-schmuseum idea for the history of the island he has been floating about for decades? Will never happen?—”
“What’s so wrong with the museum of the town?” Pru heard herself ask, the shrill not quite hidden in her voice. No, she wasn’t at all interested in her father’s dealings. And no, he was no saint. Victoria wasn’t wrong about some of his hangers-on being old cronies, but surely a museum wasn’t a bad idea?
“Nothing.” Headmistress Nox tone was decidedly neutral. “Depending on what said museum is for. And what it is meant to glorify. After all, to the victor go the spoils, and the side that has the might more often than not makes itself right. And writes the history to suit itself. These people choose what they will display in said museums. What they will glorify. And what will never see the light of day.”
With that she patted Pru on the cheek once more and disappeared into the crowd, the scent of jasmine the only trace of her left behind. Jasmine and secrets, that is.
“What did she mean by it, Victoria?”
“Who knows with her?” Victoria shook her head, but Pru was having none of it.
“A second ago you and her were exactly on the same page. Heck, you were singing from the same note sheet. So what gives?”
Victoria sighed and moved close in once again. But before she could proceed, Rhiannon emerged from the crowd directly in front of them. Her eyes looked tired, the uncharacteristic shadows under them speaking volumes.
“I should’ve known I’d find my aunt gossiping. Do you ever take a break?”
Instead of getting cross, Victoria just tsked and took Rhiannon’s arm.
“It pays to keep your ear to the ground. Otherwise, how will one find out that Paloma Allende is freshly divorced and on the prowl for a new Mrs. Allende?”
Rhiannon’s laughter sounded forced.
“Why are you even talking about her, Victoria? Who cares if she is single or a lesbian?”
“Everyone cares, Rhiannon. Just like when she arrived, everyone cared about Headmistress Nox and her sexuality and marital status.”
Rhiannon made a face.
“Why is nobody calling that woman by her first name?”
Victoria threw a vicious side-eye her way, and Pru had to hide a giggle.
“Would you call Vice President Harris ‘Kamala’ to her face? Secretary Clinton ‘Hillary?’ In public?” When Rhiannon’s eyeswidened and she slowly shook her head, Victoria’s voice turned gleeful.
“That’s what I thought. As for Ms. Allende? She is rich, beautiful, invested now in a considerable chunk of the island, and stands as the only viable candidate to run against Jed Fowler. No offense, Prudence.”
Pru wanted to say that she took none, since she wasn’t her father, but something in the way everyone was talking about him here was raising her hackles. She bit her lip and turned away, trying to tune out the chatter.
“And now you’re just upsetting Prudence, aunt.”
Rhiannon’s arm was suddenly around her waist and steering her farther from the crowds, leaving the open-mouthed Victoria behind, and Pru felt an unexpected sense of relief. What was happening to her? Why was she acting this way?
“I confess, I haven’t considered the implications of bringing the daughter of the current mayor into the lair of the person who very much wants to take his place.”
Rhiannon made a face, tone apologetic, as she snagged two flutes from the passing server and handed one to Pru.
“I was invited, and I am not him, nor am I concerned about his job.”
“Goddess knows he has other things to fall back on.” Rhiannon’s eyes shifted from her, too quickly, and Pru thought that she was entirely out of the loop.
“I wish everyone would stop talking in riddles. Alternatively, I wish people would stop talking around me and just talk to me.”
“Like Headmistress Nox? I couldn’t help but notice how cordial you two were.” Rhiannon kept her eyes averted but Pru could sense the green in them sharpen. Then she sighed and dropped her arm.
“I apologize, Prudence. Tonight has been a bit overwhelming.”
“What happened?” It was Pru who came closer, shielding Rhiannon from the rest of the guests.
