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“Not particularly,” Addie said.
“Well, as long as you know you can’t have mine, then we can be friends.” Lena hiccupped out what was supposed to be a frivolous giggle but instead it sounded like a small dog’s bark.
“You’ve nothing to worry about. My sister and I are women of honor.” Delphia pressed closer to her Addie. “We don’t take what doesn’t belong to us.”
Addie had turned the color of the light pink hydrangeas pressing their heads against the screened porch. We were not honorable. I wasn’t, at any rate. She was a casualty of my aggressive kisses. Now she felt bad. She shouldn’t—it was my fault. I was the one who had forced my kiss upon her.
“Lena,” I said quietly. “Tell them you’re only teasing.”
“Oh my goodness, yes, of course, I’m only teasing. I know the sisters of James’s best friend would never weasel their way into his life when they know he’s getting married in a few weeks.” Lena’s eyes bugged slightly. Beads of perspiration dotted her nose.
Addie set down her lemonade and touched her graceful fingers to her temples. “I’m feeling poorly. It’s a headache from the heat, I think. Please forgive me, but I must go lie down.”
“I’ll go with you,” Delphia said, glaring at Lena. “We’re sharing a room since we have unexpected guests. Uninvited ones, at that.” She said the last part under her breath, but we all heard it.
Lena made another one of her pouty faces. “I’m terribly sorry to have put you out of your room, Delphia. When we asked if we could stay, we had no idea the house was so…small. We’re accustomed to the estates of our friends in the east.”
Delphia opened her mouth, obviously summoning a retort, but Addie gave her a look that only sisters could exchange, and she shut it again.
“We’ll see you both at dinner,” Addie said. “I hope you’ll be comfortable in your room.”
“Thank you. I’m sure I shall,” Lena said.
I watched the two sisters leave the covered porch and disappear into the house. No sooner had the door slammed than Lena turned to me. “How sad for her. She’s obviously in love with you. Poor little lamb.”
“What are you talking about?” Sweat very suddenly dampened my palms.
“Addie Barnes. She’s smitten with you. Surely you can see it?”
“No, we’re close friends, that’s all. I’m helping her with her manuscript, as I said.”
“I know it’s on the up-and-up, darling.” She smacked a hand playfully against the lapel of my jacket. “I could hardly blame her for having a crush on you. You’re irresistible.”
I smiled, pretending to be pleased with the compliment. Inside, however, I was a bundle of nerves. How had Lena known of Addie’s feelings? Could she see mine as well?
12
ADDIE
The momentwe were in my room, Delphia flopped onto the made bed and tossed a throw pillow against the wall. “Can you believe her? Saying our house is small and that you’re a hobbyist. I hate her.”“
If I hadn’t been quite so miserable, my little sister would have made me laugh. “If I were in a war, I’d want you by my side.” I unpinned my hat and left it on my dressing table. With my fingers, I fluffed my hair back into shape, wincing at the sore spots where the pins had pulled at my scalp.
“The heat’s unbearable.” I tugged my shoes and stockings off my damp skin and placed them neatly in the wardrobe before helping myself to a glass of water from the pitcher on the dresser.
“This is a war, Addie.” Delphia sat up, glaring at me. Not in the same way she’d just done with Lena but in a sisterly way, exasperated but loving at the same time. I’d heard about secret codes during the war. My sister and I had them, too.
“It’s a war I can’t win. Even if I convinced him to marry me instead, he’d eventually become resentful for ruining his family.” I sank into the window seat and bent my knees, holding on to my bare legs under the skirt of my dress as if I might fall from grace otherwise. Outside, the flowers wilted under the heat, tucking their heads in repose.
She tugged off her shoes and hurled them toward the fat chair in the corner of the room. They bounced off the cushion and fell onto the floor. “This is maddening.” Delphia sprang up from the bed and began pacing around the room in a circle. When we were small, she’d done the same thing, pretending a tiger was chasing her. “What are we supposed to do? Accept this?”
“What else can we do?” I rested my chin on my knees and fought tears. “We have to pretend that I don’t care. I can’t let her know how much it hurts. At least I’ll have my pride.” I looked over at my sister, who now leaned her back against one corner of the four-poster bed frame.
“Pride? Isn’t that what you’re always lecturing me about? ‘Don’t be so prideful, Delphia.’” She mimicked my breathy voice.
I sighed, the headache I’d feigned taking hold now. “Will you deny me even that?”
She scrunched up her face, clearly remorseful for making me feel worse. “No, you may have your pride. I understand perfectly well.”
