Page 52 of Pulled By the Tail
Talen set down the chair he had been carrying. Fiona approached him down the corridor with a flurry of tossed hair and a cloud of floral perfume.
He sneezed. Rude, yes, but he couldn’t help it. The stench made his nose itch. “What is that sten… smell?”
Fiona took a deep breath. “I don’t smell anything.”
“Your perfume.” Another sneeze. He stepped back, away from the toxic floral cloud.
“Oh, roses. An Earth flower. Quil said he liked it.”
His brother must be nose blind. “It is unique.”
“Thank you,” she said, fluttering her lashes like that meant something.
“Do you have something in your eye? I will retrieve the eyewash from the first aid kit. Remain here and do not panic.”
“No. Don’t bother.” She frowned, confused as to why her charms failed to captivate him.
He knew why but he wouldn’t share. For one, she stank of Quil and Earth roses. For another, her personality made him want to run in the opposite direction.
Patience. Kindness. He needed both.
“You wanted to see me,” he prompted.
“Oh, yes. I wanted to talk about Georgia.” She flung herself in a chair and immediately sprang up. “Why is this filthy? Ugh.” Fruitlessly, she wiped her hand on her thigh.
“What about Georgia?”
“Well, this.” She waved to the chair. “Standards have fallen, haven’t they? God, that thing looks like it hasn’t been cleaned in years.”
“And that’s Georgia’s fault,” he said, unsure what angle the female attempted to work.
“You tell me. She’s the house manager, so yes. It is her fault. And what do we even know about her?”
Talen flattered himself by thinking he knew Georgia fairly well, but he didn’t know why she pulled away from their friendship, so he said nothing. Better to say nothing and be mistaken for wise than open your mouth and be known as a fool, his father said once in a rare moment of insight.
“I’m just concerned that we know nothing about this woman, and we let her live with us. She could murder us in our sleep.”
Talen highly doubted that. It had been nearly three months with nary a whisper about middle-of-the-night murder sprees. “We knew nothing about you when Quil dragged you home, and we let you live with us.”
“Yes, but I’m Quil’s wife,” Fiona said, as if that vouched for her character. Quite the opposite.
“Until the marriage is annulled by Earth authorities, so is Georgia.”
“She is not!” Fiona stomped a foot. A hand fluttered to her chest and she smiled. “Mercy me, please excuse me. The idea of that woman laying a hand on Quil makes me so vexed. Positively vexed.”
“I can honestly say that I feel the same,” he said.
“Good, because I think she’s only interested in our money. We shouldn’t trust her with the accounts.”
“Our money?”
“Quil’s. Mine. Ours.” She lifted her chin, a stubborn look on her face.
“Do you know something in particular or is this all slander?” He folded his arms across his chest.
“Slander? No, this isconcern. Genuine concern.” She laid her hand on his forearm, peering up at him with wide, beseeching eyes. “I don’t trust her. She’s up to no good.”
He stepped back, distancing himself from the female. He couldn’t even begin to unpack everything wrong with Fiona’s insinuations. Truthfully, the house ran smoothly with Georgia at the helm and the accounts had improved.
