Page 35 of Whispers of Wisteria
My movements caught Bryce’s attention, and I pressed my nose to the back of the chair.
His eyes widened as the annoyance faded from his face, and his voice was lower when he spoke next. “Bianca,” he said, softer, “what do you want to do?”
I didn’t respond—a million scenarios raced through my mind. Had I done something? Maybe I shouldn’t have yelled at Uncle Gregory. Or perhaps I shouldn’t have been nice to Damen at all. That’s what’d made Brayden mad.
But that wasn’t right. There was nothing wrong with my being nice to Damen, and I hadn’t even known I was doing anything that might be noticed.
That wasn’t my fault, right?
Or maybe there was something else—some way I’d been inadvertently offending them all without realizing it.
What should I do?
“Bianca?” Bryce was watching me, eyes heavy with expectation. He was waiting for an answer.
My eyes stung as my thoughts spiraled.
“Do you want to go to Uncle Gregory?” Bryce asked, his cautious gaze softer than I’d expected. “He really would like for you to work with him.”
I shook my head. Even if it offended the older man, I wasn’t getting anything done that way.
“Okay.” Bryce took one slow step into the room. “Then do you want to work with Gloria when you come to the school?”
I nodded. But, wouldn’t they be mad—
“Then you’ll study with Gloria.” He looked behind me. “You’re not taking on any other cases like in the past?”
The past?
What kind of cases did Gloria usually work? I hadn’t even thought to ask her directly. But Ms. McKinnen had said—
“No.” Gloria’s voice had lost its angry edge. “I’m too old for that. Mostly sleuthing and acting as an intermediary at rendezvous points.”
Bryce shrugged, and my shallow breathing began to even out.
“Then it’s settled. I’ll deal with Uncle Gregory.” He held out his hand to me, and I stared at it. Although his hands smelled of soap, they were stained with red dirt and ash.
“I’m going back to Damen’s house,” he said. “Come with me?”
My gaze followed the line of his arm to his face. Now that I was paying more attention, I noticed he even had smudges on his sleeves.
Was he working in the greenhouse?
“Bianca?” My spine tingled at how he said my name, and I looked into his face. There was a certain level of expectation there, and right now, I didn’t feel like fighting it.
“Okay.”
6
I tuckedmy hands under my legs and studied my knees as Bryce weaved through the scarce afternoon traffic. “Don’t you think it’s weird how Uncle Gregory doesn’t want me to work with Gloria?”
Bryce stiffened in his seat and then relaxed before answering. “Only a bit. But I can see why he’s concerned.”
“Why?”
“Gloria was a highly decorated detective who worked her way into that position when women were not encouraged to join the police force, but”—Bryce paused, hesitant, before he added, “it’s been a long time since she’s been in the field, and the work she specialized in was not easy.”
“Like what?”
