Chapter 14 The Trip
THE TRIP
I was fuming.
I really didn’t want to fume in front of Battle’s sisters.
But damn, I was fuming.
It was the next morning, and it started with Tempie loading us up into the first-class (oh yes, I said first class) carriage of the train, and then we were off.
Although first class was only slightly posher than what the common people had to use, it was a lot quieter (there was only one other person in our carriage).
And once we got rolling, they almost immediately came out with the snack cart, which was nicer (when, sometimes, you never got a snack cart offering in the regular class at all).
Within five minutes of embarking on our journey, I asked Tempie how much I owed them for the tickets.
“Oh, you can take that up with Battle,” she replied.
Did I decide in that moment to wait until I saw Battle that evening?
No, I did not.
I texted him, We’re away. How much do I owe you for the train tickets?
To which, immediately, he texted back, We’re not having this discussion.
Which of course made me text, Fine, then I’m buying dinner tonight.
To which, of course, he replied, Absolutely not.
To which, of course, I replied, Brace Mr. 1933. The little woman is buying dinner!
To which, of course, he replied, If you even look at your bag during dinner, you’ll beg me to end the tease.
To which…you get the gist, Are you sexually blackmailing me?
And I got, Not if not forced to do so. The decision is yours. I suggest you make the right one, darling.
Yes!
He pulled The Darling!
Which started me fuming.
“Is everything okay, Vivi?” Chassie whisper-asked.
I stopped glaring out the window at the beautiful English countryside and looked to her.
“Yes, I’m fine,” I lied.
“You don’t seem fine,” Prue noted, regarding me with worry.
She and Chassie were sitting opposite Tempie and me.
“Okay, well, forewarning you, Battle and I are in a fight,” I admitted.
Prue’s mouth dropped open.
Chassie’s eyes got big.
“It’s not a huge deal,” I assured. “It’s just, the cottage I was going to go to has black mold so I can’t go. I told Battle. He told me I’m staying at The Downs. Told me.”
Not a one of them had any reaction to this.
So I went on, “I tried to compromise by offering him the rent I would—”
I stopped when all three of them hissed breath in between their teeth.
Even Tempie!
I looked among them. “What?”
“You offered Battie rent?” Chassie whisper-whispered, in total shock.
“It’s rude to overstay your welcome,” I told her.
She seemed flummoxed. “But…you’re not.”
Man, I was falling in love with all of these people.
“That’s sweet, Chassie, but I kinda am,” I said gently.
“Do you want to leave?” Prue asked anxiously.
“No,” I said fast. “Not at all. It’s just…not paying anything for room and board?”
None of them had a reaction to that either.
I wasn’t sure I could have this discussion again, especially when I was already going to when I saw Battle again.
About the time I had that thought, Tempie noted, “Obviously you know you must stand down from your position.”
I turned to look at her. “I do?”
She smoothed the material of her black slacks and stated, “He is that man, Vivi. And I do believe you know what I’m saying.”
I had a sinking feeling I did.
She caught my eyes. “It’s enough you made the offer. Now leave it.”
“I hated the idea of you going anyway,” Prue stated, sounding almost petulant. “And if you went, what would Snowball and Gingerface do?”
I also had to admit, I was going to miss those kitties. I didn’t have a pet at home. I was waiting for when I bought my house to decide if I was going to go dog or cat, or both (or two of both).
“Well, I’m staying,” I muttered. “And not because I have no choice. I was dreading leaving anyway.”
Prue clapped happily.
“But now we’re quarreling about me buying dinner tonight because he won’t let me pay for my train ticket,” I shared.
Again with Prue’s mouth dropping open.
“If it was any one of us,” Tempie started, “I would like to think we would do the same. But I don’t know.
It wasn’t any of us. It was Battie. Battie who was the oldest. Battie, who saw there was no one there but a member of staff to clean Chassie’s scraped knees and palms and calm her tears when she fell off her bike.
So he did it. Battie, who knew Dad wouldn’t show up, and Mum was already in Greece, so he drove from university to be there when Prue won that drawing competition and got her ribbon. ”
Okay, I couldn’t dwell on Battle cleansing little Chassie’s wounds and how that made me feel super melty.
I had other things to deal with.
“You won a drawing competition?” I asked Prue.
She shrugged.
Truth, she’d kept a lot from me.
And with that new tidbit, which shouldn’t embarrass her at all, I wondered why.
Tempie kept talking. “You see, it’s ingrained in him now, to see to the people he cares about.
Especially women, not because we’re weaker, or poorer, or anything like that.
Because fate gave him three younger sisters.
He can’t not do it, Vivi. I think it would cause him physical pain, if he’s in a position to offer something and not do so. I know it would cause emotional pain.”
As I started to feel shitty about throwing Battle’s generosity in his face, she turned fully to me and kept going.
“So I ask you, don’t make him. You offered. You pushed back. He knows your stance and you’re not one to take advantage. But that isn’t what you’re doing it. You’re giving him something he needs.”
“Oh, all right, I won’t buy dinner,” I gave in.
Tempie smiled a slow smile.
It was then, Chassie dropped the bomb.
“Well, this is good, because it would be most inconvenient for Battie to keep falling in love with you if you were off to some cottage on the sea.”
I froze.
“Chassie,” Tempie admonished.
“What? It’s not like we all aren’t seeing it,” she whisper-talked back.
Now I couldn’t take the time to deal with Chassie’s “keep falling in love with you” remark, because I had to address the matter at hand.
As such, I stared hard at Prue.
She was smiling. “It’s so amazing. You might be my actual sister one day!” And she clapped on that.
“He’s just flirty. He’s just…we’re just…it’s just a—” I stammered.
“Oh my God,” Tempie groaned. “Stop. Watching my brother on the prowl is enough. I can’t handle you trying to pretend it isn’t what it is. Though, the constant nausea it induces is helping me keep trim.”
“Tempie!” Prue snapped.
“I think it’s lovely,” Chassie whisper-declared. “Finally, Battie’s found a good woman. We like her. Bartie likes her. The cats like her. The house likes her.” She smiled sweetly at me. “It’s perfect.”
The house liked me?
I couldn’t get into that either.
“We haven’t even had a date yet,” I pointed out.
“So have,” Prue contradicted. “Best dates ever. All at The Downs. If he wasn’t my brother, I’d think it was all dreamy. Instead, it’s just slightly gross dreamy.”
Chassie giggled.
“You’re okay with this?” I asked Prue.
“Absolutely,” she answered perkily.
“It hasn’t even very much started.”
Chassie shocked me by rolling her eyes when I said that.
“Okay, it has, but it’s new and it might not come to anything,” I warned.
“Vivi,” Prue smiled brightly, “I’m not twelve. And you’re a good person. So is Battie. If it doesn’t work, it won’t work for whatever reasons you two have. But he won’t be cruel to you, and you won’t be cruel to him, that I know.”
“Chelsea earned what he said to her,” Chassie whisper-added.
“I know, honey,” I assured her.
“What I mean is, that’ll be between you two,” Prue continued. “And like he’ll always be my brother, you’ll always be my friend.”
That gave me so much relief, I reached out to her, she took my hand, we squeezed.
“And the nausea returns,” Tempie drawled.
Prue and I let go as she and I, with Chassie, laughed.
I also got out my phone and texted Battle.
Tempie gave me a talking to. I won’t go for my wallet tonight.
One of the few things I learned from my research into the Talyns was that Battle was a venture capitalist. He was deep into this and had investments in a dizzying number of companies.
So I knew he was probably pretty busy.
He still returned my text, again immediately, Excellent. Enjoy your day, sweetheart. See you tonight.
Staring at his text, and my second brand of endearment from him, I realized we’d pretty much been on a weeklong date before he left for London.
And now that would resume.
So I had to bury a bit of my pride and what had been drilled into me during my upbringing.
I looked from my cell to the girls in the first-class carriage, knowing we had a fun day planned, and I’d see Battle again soon.
Okay.
Yeah.
Worth it.
* * *
I was in the en suite bathroom of my room at Burleigh House in Kensington.
The outside was a fabulous vision of black wrought iron fencing capped with gold spikes, blond gravel, and pots containing well pruned trees, or poofed or coned shrubs, and bright red geraniums.
Although this house had been owned by the duchy for two hundred years, Battle had pretty much divested it of anything not from this millennia. It was thoroughly modern, minimalist, bright, sleek, sophisticated and classy.
I loved it.
We had a driver waiting for us at Paddington Station. He loaded us in a big SUV and took us to Kew, which was beautiful. We had lunch there, and although I knew Tempie was done about fifteen minutes in, we crawled over everything, because Chassie was happy.
We loaded back up in the car and were taken to the house.
Prue gave me the tour.
The housekeeper’s name was Mrs. Pattinson.
I met her and she seemed very nice, definitely delighted to have us all there.
There was no butler. Prue explained Mrs. Pattinson had cleaning ladies who came in once a week to do a thorough clean of the place, but other than that, she got Battle’s food in, cooked for him, dealt with his dry cleaning, made his bed, etc.
There were eight bedrooms, all with en suites.