Page 25 of Giving Up The Ghost
Charlotte hesitated, then nodded, eyes focused on something inward, something only she could see as she answered in a soft voice barely above a whisper, “Yes. Very old. Well. I sayvery. Not too many years older than my mother had been, I suppose. He is one of the last of Violet’s circle. So many passed so close together… My mother was worried when all the notices started appearing. ” A small, wistful smile appeared then vanished into a frown. “She was worried, I think, that she might be next. When Dolores Rennert died in August and was declared an accidental death, Maman was nearly giddy with relief. Even though four of them had died one after the other,” she snapped her fingers one two three four, “I think knowing they had been accidents helped ease her mind.”
“August?” I startled, setting my mug down. “I’m sorry, I thought your mother had passed away some time ago. Something Oscar had said made me think…” He’d mentioned more than once that the Fellowes line was quite thin, and Charlotte was one of the last ones, aside from him, Charlotte, Charlotte’s daughter Nadine, and a few very distant cousins who no one had ever met. “Well. I’m so sorry you lost your mother,” I fumbled.That might explain something,I realized.Especially if they had been close. The loss of a loved one can wreak havoc with your mental health.
Charlotte’s slowly opening demeanor slammed shut. She turned sharply away and strode out of the kitchen, pausing only to say over her shoulder, “Next time ask before you invade the kitchen,DoctorWeems. It’s rude to go rummaging about without asking first.”
Honestly… That had gone better than I’d anticipated.
CHAPTER 6
OSCAR
Iwoke to a soft thump and the sound of Julian’s sleep-rough voice cursing fluently. “Alright?” I muttered face half-mashed into the pillow. We’d slept tangled both out of preference and necessity. I’d suggested I take the floor or go air out one of the unused rooms I knew were available, but Julian had been adamant that we share the bed.
I was glad for his insistence, to be honest. If he’d conceded to me taking the floor or going to another room, I’m sure I’d have dwelt on it all night and well into the day, reading too much into the choice and catastrophizing everything.
Sometimes it’s easier when we’re filming,I thought.We don’t have time for these awkward headbutting fights.
The thought of our relationship only working when we had the pressure of a film schedule over our heads nauseated me.You’re overthinking things, Oscar,I scolded myself.One crisis at a time, damn it.And you know it’s not true. You’ve spent plenty of time together without a camera crew around and you love him just as well.
But still. Doubt was a bitch of a thing.
Julian made another thumping sound and I finally pried open one eye. He was sitting on the edge of the bed, fumbling for something on the floor with his cane, using it as a poking device. “Need a hand?”
“Sorry, didn’t mean to wake you,” he grumbled. “CeCe’s been blowing up my phone since 4 a.m. and I finally got to the point where I couldn’t tune out the buzzing anymore. Do you know how many dreams I had about bees? I woke up sure one of them had gotten into the room and I was going to end up as Nic Cage in that damnWicker Manremake. Damn it!”
I squiggled over to his side of the bed and stretched until I was half-off and able to reach his phone, just out of reach under the edge of the nightstand. “Ta da!”
He accepted it from me with a kiss and a blush. “Sorry. I couldn’t get down on the floor without it becoming a whole thing, and every time I tried to scoot it towards me with the stick I just made it worse.”
I rolled onto my back, still half off the bed but arranged now so I could look up at him from my bat-like posture. “Your hip bothering you more lately?” He’d been moving slower the past several weeks, having more difficulty with some movements he’d been fine with even after the injury. It wasn’t that I minded being on top every time, I reflected, but given our history, it was unusual for us to only use the one position…
“It’s fine. Just a little stiff from the travel,” he dismissed, shooting me a small, tense smile before opening his messaging app to thumb through CeCe’s messages. “Oh, hell. She needs to talk about the divorce. I’ll give her a call before breakfast.”
I flopped back onto my stomach and pressed a kiss to his bare thigh, drawing an appreciative sound from low in his chest. “In that case, I’ll leave you to it and have a slash and shower before facing Charlotte.”
At the sound of her name, we both paused and looked at one another. “Look,” Julian said carefully, “I ran into her in the kitchen last night and she said something that kind of confused me, but I suppose itmightbe a reason for some of her behavior, but I’m still not comfortable with everything going on. Do you remember when her mother passed?”
I rocked back, frowning in confusion. “What? It was some time back.”
“Ah. So, not recently then?”
“No,” I drew out. “Why do you ask? What does that have to do with the kitchen?”
“Last night she mentioned something about her mother that made it sound as if she had just passed recently and I was confused.” Julian shrugged, not quite meeting my eyes.
“That makes two of us!”
“There’s more.” Julian took a deep breath and, setting his phone aside, leaned forward over his knees to fix me with a pleading, albeit nervous, look. “She’s very invested in this wholeone of usandus and themthing she’s got going on. I’m… concerned,” he said delicately, “that she might be trying to drive a wedge between us.”
I groaned in frustration, dropping back onto the bed. “Julian, Please. She’s just a bit brusque. And Awkward.”
Julian’s face was awash with frustration and a growing flush as he chose his words carefully. “I know I don’t have Ezra’s empathy, but I’m not bad at picking up on weird signals. I’ve spent most of my life around people who play mind games thanks to my mother’s side of the family, and in academia, you’re basically up to your eyebrows in manipulation tactics. I’m not exaggerating when I say Charlotte is giving me the same vibes as some of the people I’ve known in the past. People who?—”
My temper was crackling, threatening to push out words I knew would leave scars. I swallowed down the urge, bitter and acidic, and drew in a long, slow, breath before I spoke again. “And what do you think I should do about this, Julian? I came here for a reason. And Charlotte is helping make that happen.”
“I’m thinking maybe it might be best if we went to a hotel for the rest of this trip. All three of us. And you can come back during the day to work with Charlotte on whatever it is she’s hiding from me and Ezra. And?—”
“And no,” I said, my tone firmer than even I’d expected, sharp and loud in the quiet little room. “I’ll talk to her this morning. I’m not letting her drive you and Ezra away. I… I agree,” I admitted with a tired sigh. She had been a bit clingy with me, a shade more intense than I was truly comfortable with. It’s possible, I thought, just possible… “She’s acting off with the pair of you and I want to know why.”
