He didn’t know what was so funny about that but Valerie couldn’t stop snickering. They waved to Penny, who was visible on the treadmill through the gym’s huge windows. She didn’t wave back.
Valerie followed him down the short corridor and stopped when they emerged into the study. “Are we in the same house?”
He tried to see his favorite room through her eyes. Here, the labored perfection of the rest of the cottage had been banished so the space retained the comfortable atmosphere of a well-loved den. Shelves of crinkly paperbacks, survivors of rainy days and dockside splashes, overlooked shabby furniture covered in faded blue and green tartan. It set off the dark honey wood of the walls and floor and in no way matched the threadbare Persian rug.
“This is so cozy.” Valerie examined a bookcase formed from a red canoe that had faded to pink. On the shelves stood a motley mix of mementos, including old tins spotted with rust, glass Coke bottles filled with sand, and rocks that Nico assumed had once held esoteric significance to a past Badgerton child.
“You might find something here about Yvette.” Nico pointed to a row of photo albums lining the bottom canoe shelf but she was busy looking at the battered table made from old oars and covered with a random collection of board games. Nico had never played them but knew the Yahtzee box would be missing the score sheets and half the Monopoly money would be gone.
“Good idea.” She spared the albums a quick glance. “How did this escape the despotic hand of minimalism?”
“Malcolm insisted one room of the original cottage be kept how he wanted after Penny had a designer expand and redo it.”
“Heya.” Roger came in and hesitated. Nico could tell he was deciding between a hug (too intimate), handshake (too formal), or fist bump (no). He settled on a wave and moved to a worn chessboard in the corner. “Do you play, Valerie?”
“I do.” She walked over and plucked up two pawns that she hid behind her back. Roger pointed to the left and she held out her hand with a flourish to reveal black. “How about you?”
“I used to play with my father, but the first time I won was the last time we played. After that he was too busy for games.”
Classic Malcolm. Nico watched as Valerie moved a white pawn. “Seems like a good time to start again,” she said.
“I don’t remember any of the strategies.”
“Me neither. We’ll play for fun.”
Roger laughed. “That’s new. Dad considered games another competitive venue. Only the weak lost.”
“Well, let’s prove him wrong,” said Valerie. “Come on.”
They sat at the board and Nico stood to the side, feeling like a sentry. “How do you think last night went?” she asked.
Roger sighed. “I’m having second thoughts.”
Nico watched Valerie’s eyebrows rise higher than Icarus testing his new wings. “Not to be rude, but I feel you have a limited period for walking this back and that time frame is shrinking rapidly.”
That was charitable, because Nico thought Roger’s opportunity to back out had basically shriveled to proton size as of yesterday. Maybe down to quark.
“It’s just…” Roger moved a pawn. “I look at their faces and I can’t believe my own flesh and blood could knowingly do this to me.”
“Your father did,” she said gently.
“He did, but it was a lie of omission.” Roger held up a bishop. “I never asked Dad straight to his face if he knew about Yvette.”
Nico thought Roger was being overly generous to Malcolm but knew nothing would come from saying so. A bad parent was still a parent. Valerie looked up as if to encourage Roger to keep talking.
“It doesn’t feel real,” said Roger. “Ever since I found out, it hasn’t felt real.”
Valerie’s eyes met Nico’s and he hoped his face expressed his profound and admittedly unfair desire for her to take on the burden of the conversation. He was Roger’s executive assistant. He wanted to know what was going on in terms of logistics and information, but it was inappropriate for him to talk about feelings. He didn’t know what to say. She nodded as if to tell him she had this and he sagged—internally—with gratitude.
“Now’s the time for you to confirm you want to continue, before we get in too deep,” she said. “There’s a lot at stake, Roger. Your family is going to be furious at you for lying. It’s a big deal, what you’re doing. Really big.”
“I know, and you’re putting yourself on the line as well.”
She waved her hand. “Don’t worry about me. Let’s get you sorted.”
Nico started. Don’t worry about her? Valerie’s concern truly seemed to be with Roger.
Roger breathed in through his nose. “Right.”
