Magnate (Acquisition 2)

“What is it?” I asked as the faint rumble of thunder rolled over the house.

“Nothing.” She straightened my blanket, even though I would just kick it off once I was asleep.

“Something.” I tilted my head at her and patted the bed. “Sit. What is it?”

She paused and then slowly walked over to me and sat, her small frame barely making an indention in the bed. The thunder grew louder, the rain pouring over the higher eaves, making a small waterfall outside my window.

“It’s Renee.”

I sat up. “What about her?”

“It’s just,” she glanced to the closed door and back to me, “I’m not supposed to talk about…” She looked up.

I took her meaning. “About Vinemont’s mother?”

She nodded and dropped her voice to a whisper. “But I’ve heard things when I’ve been in Teddy’s room.” Her cheeks pinked. “Cleaning in Teddy’s room,” she corrected herself.

“Like what?”

“Bangs and yells and crying. All sorts of things that never happened before. I’ve never been allowed up there, and I know neither of us are supposed to go and see. But I know that’s where Renee is. I prepare meals for two now instead of one, and send them up with Mr. Farns.”

I gripped her arm. “Do you think Mrs. Vinemont is hurting Renee?”

“I think so.” She shrugged, her narrow shoulders carrying more weight than seemed possible. “It’s worse up there now. And it’s worse down here, too. Teddy hears it and he sort of, I don’t know. He just gets so sad, and it doesn’t matter what I do or say; I can’t help him.” She wiped at her eyes with the hem of her white apron.

Something upstairs had changed. The silent partner in this Acquisition mess was making plenty of noise all the sudden. I moved my feet under the blanket. I winced as a stinging pain erupted along my injured skin. I didn’t have a chance of getting upstairs anytime soon, especially not stealthily. Maybe a week or so. Then I could investigate.

“Why tell me?”

She sniffed and brought her gaze to mine. “You’re the only one I’ve ever seen get to them. I mean, Teddy talks about you like a sister.” She laughed. “I was even jealous at first when you came.” Her giggle died on her tongue. “But then that morning in the dining room, when Mr. Sinclair made you stand and m-made Teddy watch. I didn’t envy you. I still don’t fully know what the Acquisition is—”

“Join the club.”

“But I know it’s ripping them all apart. I don’t want Teddy hurt. I lo—” She stopped herself.

“It’s okay to love him, Laura. He’s a good boy. Man, I guess. He’s a good man.”

The two of them wouldn’t have an easy road, but the love they shared was obvious. I hoped that one day they could leave the Vinemont legacy behind entirely and strike out on their own.

Tears rolled down her round cheeks. “I know. I’m worried about him. I’m worried about Renee.” She picked at the hem of her apron. “I just don’t know what to do. I would march right up to the third floor, but then I’d lose my job and my chance to see Teddy.”

I patted her arm. “I’m already in hell. Going down another circle won’t hurt me too much. I’ll check it out as soon as I’m able.” I waved at my legs and feet.

She turned her body toward me, staring at me head on. “How are you so brave? How do you do it?”

Brave? That’s not a word I’d ever associated with myself. “I’m just surviving.”

“You are brave.” Tears still shone in her bright eyes. “I know what they did to your back. I heard a rumor about where you went the last couple of days, what they were going to do to you.” She dropped her gaze. “I would have given up if I were you.”

“No, you wouldn’t.” I leaned my head back, the pill starting to do its work. “You would do what you had to do. You would go through hell. But you would be alive on the other side. You’d be different. I’m different. But I’m alive.”

“Brave,” she said again, and rose. The thunder boomed right overhead, the sound vibrating in my lungs, my mind.

I turned my head and stared out the window, the streaking rain becoming nothing but a gray blur as she left and clicked the door shut.

The next few days were spent in bed, Laura visiting more and more frequently. I sketched and sketched. Most of my drawings were of the wisteria in bloom from the house in New Orleans, or skeletal trees spiking in a desolate landscape.

I didn’t see Vinemont or Lucius, though Laura told me they were out of the country on business. I wondered if that meant Cuba. Teddy came by to visit, though he avoided any questions about how I came to be laid up like I was.