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“I suppose I should ask you the same thing,” Jeffrey said. “You seem to be a rather reasonable woman. Not the sort to seek outside validation from some sort of idiotic …”
“I believe myself to be entirely rational, thank you,” Charlotte affirmed. A storm brewed behind her eyes. “I met with the mystic as a courtesy to my dear friend, who wanted to speak with her urgently. When we arrived, the mystic informed us that it was necessary to speak with us separately.”
“I see. She wanted to swindle you.”
“Those were my thoughts exactly,” Charlotte said.
Jeffrey tilted his head, flummoxed. “Then what affected you so greatly about your experience? Why did you return?”
“It’s a bit silly to discuss at length,” Charlotte said. She scraped her fork tongs across the meat and said, “If you’ve already such a low opinion of my decision to meet her, I don’t suppose you’ll take kindly to my interest in what she said.”
“Come now. Of course, I’m interested,” he said.
“It’s my private business, isn’t it? What the mystic might have told me about my future?” Charlotte said. She tossed her dark blonde curls behind her shoulder and arched her brow. “I don’t mean to be rude, but you know very little about me. I wouldn’t be surprised if you don’t remember my first name.”
“Charlotte,” he told her.
“Jeffrey.”
They regarded one another for a long moment, their eyes large. It was as though both had fully recognized the other’s power at this moment.
“You understand that your caginess only propels my curiosity,” he said.
“I suppose that’s a natural response. In turn, I must demand why on earth you have such curiosity about my situation,” she said.
“Then I suppose we’re at a standstill,” Jeffrey said. “And our gorgeous food has begun to cool.”
“Did you remember that we were at the dinner party of your dear friend?” she asked. “Or had you forgotten?”
Jeffrey turned his eyes towards Peter, who seemed amid a pressing conversation about imports and exports. Jeffrey’s shoulders shook with laughter.
“I suppose I forgot for a moment. And you?”
“I thought we were miles away,” Charlotte said. For the first time, she gave him a crooked smile, one that seemed a joke between the two of them. “Should we make a deal to keep our secrets to ourselves?”
“I suppose we had better,” Jeffrey said.
“Although it might be difficult to deduce what to speak about,” Charlotte said.
“Aren’t there a number of topics beyond the dark ones that exist within our hearts?” Jeffrey asked.
“If there are, I haven’t heard of them.”
Jeffrey scrunched his nose with laughter. “Perhaps we’d both better return to our separate libraries, read some texts, and return with things to say.”
“That could take several days. Do you suppose the dinner party will wait for us?” Charlotte asked.
“I can ask Peter.” He turned around to find Peter’s eyes fixed on him, curious. It seemed he’d heard his name.
“What was that?” Peter asked.
“Oh. Nothing.” At this moment, Jeffrey realized just how far he and Charlotte had floated from reality.
Again, conversation swirled around them, as Charlotte tittered with laughter.
“Do you normally lose yourself in conversation like that?” she asked him.
“I suppose I’m a bit out of practice when it comes to social occasions,” he told her.
