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Violet Francis Carlton escorted by Theodore Martin.
I ran down the stairs and found my mother and father in the parlor, and in a state of panic, I slammed the program down on the table.
“What is this! How could you do this?”
My father spoke first. “Watch your tone.”
“What are you ranting about Violet?” My mother’s face was clenched tight as she closed her book and took off her reading glasses.
“How could you say that Theo was escorting me?” I pointed to the program.
“Well, he will be,” my mother replied, crossing one leg over the other. “You two are dating, it’s not a secret. Who else would be escorting you if not him?”
I stared at her in disbelief. Sure, on the outside what she was saying seemed rather, well, practical, but on the inside, I was screaming, “Tuck!”
She stared at me, a fire behind her eyes as though she were challenging me, wondering if there was something more to my outburst.
I cleared my throat, backing down. “I just wish you would have waited until I properly asked him.”
My mother chuckled. It was funny how even her laugh could sound pretentious. “Oh, Violet. Theo knows, as your partner, that he will escort you. It is no surprise. Tomorrow at breakfast, the two of you can discuss plans.”
“Breakfast? I wasn’t aware I had plans with Theo tomorrow.”
I had plans with Tuck in Aveline.
“Yes, we have arranged for breakfast so you can prepare for the ball. We don’t have much time, Violet. You waited until the last minute to find an escort, and now we are scrambling to try to get things taken care of. If you hadn’t been so irresponsible and had just asked Theo beforehand then we wouldn’t have been in this much of a hurry, but—”
“I know, I waited until the last minute,” I cut her off as respectfully as possible, which probably wasn’t respectful at all, “So you’ve said.” Then I left the room.
I didn’t go back upstairs to my room. Instead, I slipped out the front door and drove straight to Aveline. I’d known I couldn’t take Tuck to the debutante ball, and I’d figured that I would eventually go with Theo just to appease my parents, but seeing his name next to mine in the program made me realize what a double life I was living. I felt like I was on a tightrope thousands of feet in the air, and every time I got closer to the end, to Aveline, something pulled me back, causing me to stumble and almost fall. I didn’t want to go backward, back to my life before Tuck, I wanted to run straight toward him.
Straight to the only person who knew the real me.
FORTY-ONE
LETTIE
It was late,and as soon as I pulled into Aveline, I realized I had no idea where Tuck would be. I didn’t know where he lived, and the bakery was closed, so the only thing I could think of was that maybe someone over at Green Gables could tell me where to find him. I pulled into a parking spot and stepped up to the Inn which had quickly become one of my favorite places in the entire world.
There was a bell on the front desk and a couple people sitting by the fireplace, but I didn’t see Evelyn anywhere. I rang the bell and waited until Millie came to the desk.
“Welcome to Green Gables, can I help you?” she said with her head down, nose in a book. When she looked up, she exclaimed, “Oh! Hey, Lettie!”
“Hey, Mills. I was wondering…” I looked around, trying to find anyone else I could talk to. “Is there anyone… else here?”
“My mom is in the back. She just got back from a trip. But I can help you. I know how to book rooms for people now.” Millie stood up taller and pressed her shoulders back.
“That’s great. I, uh, well, I don’t really need a room,” I said and watched as Millie tilted her head.
Her face was scrunched up. “What did you come into a bed and breakfast for if you didn’t need a place to stay?” She lowered her voice and looked around. “Is Tuck coming?”
Just then, a woman came bounding from the back. “Millie, what are you sassin’ this woman for?”
The woman was beautiful and familiar, and I realized instantly it was because she looked so similar to Evelyn. It was like staring at a younger version of her. An exact replica, twenty years younger.
“Sorry,” the woman said. “I left for a trip and came back, and Millie owns the place now.” She held out her hand. “I’m Bev.”
I took her hand in mine and smiled, but Millie answered for me. “She’sLettie.”
