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Rick had tried not to think about that. “When Fleur leaves the clinic she’s going back to Boston.”
“But she could be your girlfriend in Boston.” Ellie could be relentless at times. Rick just wished she’d pick on something else to be relentless about.
“No, sweetie. She might be a friend, but that’s not the same as a girlfriend. You know that, don’t you.”
Ellie nodded. “Can she be my friend too?”
Rick smiled. Like most children, Ellie was quick to see when someone was genuinely interested in her, and on the way here Fleur had made a point of talking to his daughter, telling her about the island and its inhabitants. “Yes, I think that would be quite all right.”
“Is Fleur in the Girl Scouts...?”
“I don’t know. You could ask her if you liked.” Fleur and Pam had been closeted in the reading room together for a while now. Perhaps he should go and see what they were up to.
“Stay here, Ellie. I’m just going to see whether Fleur and Pam are finished yet.”
Keeping Ellie firmly in the corner of his vision, Rick walked to the reading room door. The door was closed, and he decided he should knock first.
“Come in, Rick...” Pamela’s voice floated through the paneled door. “You’re just in time.”
“In time for...”
Tequila...?
That was the last thing that Rick had expected. The elegant room had the air of having changed very little since Ezra Van Den Berg had lived here, and Pamela and Fleur were sitting on either side of a finely polished table. Between them stood a bottle of tequila and a couple of shot glasses. Salt and slices of lime, arranged on a saucer, indicated that they were taking this seriously.
“It’s a bit of a tradition.” Fleur was eyeing him with the look of someone who had been found out doing something she shouldn’t. “I’m only having a splash.”
“This is a Maple Island tradition?”
Pamela snorted with laughter. “Not likely. My tradition. Will you join us? We’re toasting the prospective success of the Fright Night.” She poured a small measure into each glass, pushing one toward Fleur.
“No. Thanks, but I’m driving. But don’t let me stop you.” Fleur wasn’t on any drugs that stopped her from drinking, and her face was glowing with the kind of enjoyment that Rick wanted to see.
“Of course. Help yourself to lime, then...” Pa
mela pushed the saucer toward him. The two women counted to three together, licked a smear of salt from the backs of their hands and then downed the contents of their glasses, following it up with a slice of lime.
“Oh.” Fleur’s eyes widened, and she shook her head, grinning. “That’s good. I’d forgotten...”
She’d been forgetting a lot of things. But now it seemed that she was clawing her way back, with no less ferocity than Rick would have expected from her. She was equal to the challenge, and he began to wonder whether he was. Her smile and her shining eyes were more intoxicating than a whole bottle of tequila, worm and all.
Pamela rose, collecting up the bottle and unlocking the glass doors of one of the ornate bookcases. When she pressed the panel at the back, another hidden door sprung open, and Pamela put the bottle into the hidey-hole behind it.
“This is our little secret, Rick.” Pamela shot him a conspiratorial smile and Fleur chuckled.
“As if the whole of the island doesn’t know where you keep the tequila, Pam.”
“I’m the one with the key, though.” Pamela closed and re-locked the cabinet. “Has Ellie finished looking around the children’s library?”
“Yes, I think so. I assume you’re both finished?”
“For now.” Fleur closed her writing pad. “I think we’ve got a few ideas to get started with.”
* * *
Ellie was bundled up in her coat again and she carefully took Fleur’s hand, leading her out of the library. As Rick went to follow them, Pamela beckoned him back.
“This is Ellie’s welcome pack.” She handed him a brightly colored folder with Ellie’s name on it. “I hope we’ll see her again soon.”
