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“No, thank you, I’m fine.” My stomach churned as I brought the cup of coffee to my mouth. Liar, it seemed to growl at me.
“They have booze and gambling in New York, darling,” Alexander said, teasing his wife. “I’m sure James is not an innocent at his age.”
“I work a lot,” I said. “And stay out of trouble.”
“So it is our boys that did this to you,” Quinn said. “I suspected as much.”
One of Delphia’s eyebrows shot up as she watched me with absolutely no sympathy. “You do look a little green. Did they get you drunk and take all your money?”
“They did no such thing,” Addie said, speaking for the first time. “He won all of their money.” She defended me, I thought, even when I didn’t deserve it. I let myself enjoy the sensation of her protection for a second. What was this warm feeling she gave me in the pit of my stomach? Love? No, no, no. What was I doing? Selfish, that’s what I was.
“Tell them, James,” Addie said. “You’re no fool.”
“Yes, I did take all their money last night,” I said, sheepish. “It was luck only, of course. No skill involved.”
“I doubt that,” Addie said.
“How do you know he won all their money, Addie?” Delphia crossed her arms over her chest and inspected her sister with excited eyes. “He just came down for breakfast.”
“I’m guessing,” Addie mumbled. “Because James is clever with cards. Always has been.”
“Is that true?” Delphia turned back to me.
“Which part?” I asked, stalling for time. This morning was not going well. Now I was lying to Quinn and Alexander right to their faces.
“Are you clever with cards? And did you win all the money?” Delphia asked.
“Yes and yes,” I said.
“And how exactly does my sister know all this?” Delphia’s mouth twitched with delight. She was an evil little thing with an angel’s face. “Did you speak afterward? Before breakfast somehow?”
“Delphia, please.” Addie spoke sharply to her sister. “Just leave it alone.”
“Fine.” For once, Delphia seemed abashed and returned her attention to demolishing a piece of toast with a generous layer of butter and strawberry preserves.
“It does beg the question,” Alexander said. “How did you know, Addie?”
Quinn looked at me, her eyes narrowing. “Yes, how did she know that, James?”
“Iamgood at cards,” I said, hurriedly. “Your brothers always underestimate me when it comes to games. As for how Addie knew of my misadventures, she happened to be up writing when I came in last night. My apologies, once again, for disrupting your evening.” I directed this last part to Addie, who blushed a pretty pink. A quick glance at Quinn confirmed my fear. She studied both her daughter and me with a discerning gaze that popped from one of us to the other as though she was watching a sparring match. Not much would go unnoticed around here. I had to be more careful.
“Why were you up in the middle of the night, love?” Alexander asked Addie. His low, resonant voice was not harsh in any way, merely curious. Regardless, a chill passed through me.
“I couldn’t sleep.” Addie shifted a glob of scrambled eggs from one side of her plate to the other. “James gave me some notes on my manuscript, so I gave up and went downstairs so as not to disturb anyone.”
This seemed to satisfy everyone. The subject turned to Addie’s manuscript. I’d assumed everyone had read it or at least knew what it was about. I’d been wrong. Only Delphia had seen it.
“She won’t let anyone but me read it,” Delphia said. “I can tell you all that it’s quite good.”
“Perhaps after a polish, she’ll feel less shy,” I said. “If she’s like most writers she’ll want it to be as close to perfect as it can be before sharing it with those she loves the most.”
“That’s correct. Very astute of you, James.” Addie lifted her eyes to mine. As usual, her eyes spoke volumes, thanking me for understanding and coming to her rescue. “I’ll let you all read it when I think it’s ready.”
“Delphia’s right. It’s very good.” I buttered a piece of toast and took a bite, hoping it would stay where it was supposed to.
“It’s about us. All of us,” Addie said. “The story of our family.”
“Really?” Quinn asked. “How exciting.”
