She smiled back at him.

  “We’ll teach you about the forks and whatever else,” Lillian said. “It’s a silly convention anyway. Who needs this many types of silver?”

  Luci’s gaze returned to her plate. “Are these snails? Do people eat snails?”

  Roland laughed again. “In fact, they eat slugs in France. They’re called escargot. But these are oysters and come from the ocean. You’ll be surprised to know that people love them. A delicacy. Where I’m from, they’re another thing we can steal from the sea to stay alive.”

  Luci looked over at Roland, then back to her plate. “Oh yes, an oyster. I’ve heard of them.”

  My sister picked up the small pitchfork-shaped fork. “Use this one. Etta has already loosened the oyster from its shell, so you just have to scoop it up with the fork and bring the whole thing to your mouth at once.” Lillian demonstrated before picking up her champagne glass. “Then you follow it with a drink of champagne.”

  “Or water.” Roland’s eyes twinkled as he looked adoringly at my sister. “And leave the champagne for Lillian.”

  “Since it makes your insides tickle, I’ll be happy to have yours,” Lillian said.

  “But no more than a second glass, right, Lillian?” Luci asked earnestly.

  “You’re a quick learner,” Lillian said.

  “I don’t want to feel as if I want to die in the morning. All I’ve done all my life is try to stay alive.” Luci smiled, then chuckled.

  “This is a wise woman.” Roland picked up his oyster fork and deftly scooped an oyster from its shell and into his mouth.

  Luci imitated Roland’s move, scooping the oyster out of the shell. Somehow she didn’t quite get hold of it and the entire thing plopped onto her lap. “Oh no.”

  “Well, that’s not exactly the way.” Lillian abruptly stood, then darted around to the other side of the table. She tugged one glove off and plucked the oyster from Luci’s lap and plopped it back into its shell. “They’re slippery, I’m afraid. And look at you. The devil fell in your napkin, which you so cleverly had spread over your lap. No harm done.”

  Roland and I had both stood when my sister left her place at the table. Now, Roland assisted her by scooting her chair back in. Once she was settled, we both sat back down.

  Luci lifted her chin from where it had been tucked into her neck. “They smell like three-day old fish heads. And the shell looks like a scary sea creature. I think I shall hate them.”

  I barked out a laugh. “Truth be told, I don’t care for them. Let’s give them all to Lillian and Roland and move on to the soup.”

  Luci’s wide smile made me dizzy. “You won’t make me eat them?”

  “As I said earlier today. I’ll not make you do anything you don’t want to.” I spoke softly as if she were an abused dog, wary and suspicious. Thinking of Sam Quick made my blood boil. I’d have loved to give him a little of what he’d been giving out all these years.

  “No, I can’t leave food on the table,” Luci said. “That’s wrong. I’ll try again to get the devil in my mouth.” She stabbed the tiny fork into the oyster and leaned over her plate as she lifted it to her mouth. Her eyes widened as she swallowed. “It’s slippery in my mouth too, but it doesn’t taste too bad.”

  “They taste like the sea,” Lillian said. “Which is why I love them.”

  “I’ve never been to the sea,” Luci said.

  “We’re going soon,” I said.

  “Do you love it there as much as Wesley?” Luci asked Roland.

  “Yes, and I think you will as well,” Roland said.

  June returned with the second course, a cold vichyssoise. Etta was a little too French for my liking, but I put that aside for the moment. After gathering the oyster plates, June set a bowl in front of each of us. I waited for her to leave before turning back to Luci. “Is it obvious which one is used for soup?” I asked.

  Luci raised the only spoon and blessed me with another smile. “This one?”

  “See, there’s nothing to this,” I said.

  “The only thing here is that you have to scoop away rather than toward you,” Lillian said as she dipped her spoon into the soup. “No one knows why, but that’s just the way it is.”

  “Again, I had no idea about this detail until school.” Roland gave Luci an encouraging smile. “I was used to scooping it into my mouth as fast as possible or risk having it stolen by a sister.”

  Again, Luci imitated my sister, scooping carefully away from her as instructed. The moment the soup was in her mouth, her eyebrows shot up in surprise. “It’s cold.”

  Lillian nodded. “They love their cold soup in France.”

  I dipped into my bowl and took a hearty bite. The flavors of leeks and garlic were delicious. “This is good. Luci, do you like it?”

  “Very much, yes.” She took another bite. Such a pretty mouth, I thought, momentarily distracted. I couldn’t wait to kiss her.

  “Do you think Sadie’s all right?” Lillian asked. “This must be disorienting for her.”

  Luci looked up from her intense concentration on the soup. “She’s quite well, thank you.” Her tone sounded both protective and leery. “Has she done something?”

  “Not at all,” Lillian said. “She’s sweet as can be and has impeccable manners. You’ve done wonderfully with her, considering everything.”

  Luci’s eyes flashed with a hint of anger at the word everything. My sister had meant no harm, but I could see how that could be taken as an insult. “Thank you.”

  “Darling, I’m sorry,” Lillian said. “I’m a dolt. I meant only that she’s a remarkable child, and that can only be because of you.”

  “Thank you.” Luci lifted her gaze toward Lillian. “It’s true that our circumstances haven’t been ideal. However, just because we’re poor doesn’t mean we shouldn’t have good manners or learn how to speak properly. Before my sister came, I went to school, for which I’m grateful.”

  “Same with me,” Roland said. “I had an unknown benefactor who sent me to boarding school, where I met Wes.”

  “Really?” Luci asked. “You never learned who it was?”

  “I’ve absolutely no idea,” Roland said.

  “It’s dreadful,” Lillian said. “I can’t let any mystery go. Anything unsolved spins around in my head forever.”

  “Some things I wish I didn’t know,” Luci said.

  “Like what?” Lillian asked.

  “Nothing. Never mind.” Luci held up her spoon. “What do you do with this when you’re done with your soup?”

  “Just leave it in the bowl,” Lillian said, sounding disappointed.

  During the rest of the meal, we continued to cover forks. Lillian explained that everything goes from the outside inward. “Every time they bring a new course, use the next fork.”

  Our next fork was not used for fish as it often was, but a melon paired with thinly sliced ham.

  Luci took a bite of cantaloupe and closed her eyes as she chewed. “I’ve never tasted anything so good.”

  “Dax’s garden,” Lillian said.

  Next, June brought the main course, chunks of beef covered with a garlic butter sauce.

  Luci groaned softly as she chewed the first bite. That particular sound caused all kinds of feelings to stir in me, none of them gentlemanly.

  “Mother would frown on appreciative noises at the dinner table,” Lillian said. “Isn’t that right, Wesley?”

  “Yes,” I said. “I was scolded for that a few times growing up.”

  Luci flushed. “I’m sorry. It’s just that I’ve never tasted anything like this.”

  Lillian laughed merrily. “Oh, Luci, you certainly liven things up.”

  “But I don’t want to be lively,” Luci said. “I want to be presentable.”

  “Proper young ladies are so boring.” Lillian drew out the first syllable of boring for dramatic effect. “We only have to pretend to be in front of anyone who cares about such things.”

  “Your mother will care,” Luci said. “What if she finds me lacking?”

  “Who cares?” Lillian asked. “She has no say over anything Wesley does. He inherited her father’s fortune, leaving him independent of any ties.”

  Luci looked over at me, clearly surprised. “Did it go to you because you’re a man?”

  “Partly,” Lillian said. “But mostly as a way to punish our mother for marrying our father.”

  “He didn’t approve,” Wesley said. “Which proved to be right.”

  “But without him, there would be no you,” Luci said. “Or you, Lillian. Which would make the world less bright.”

  Roland lifted his champagne glass. “I couldn’t agree with you more, Luci.”

  21

  Luci

  * * *

  “I’m to sleep in here? Without you?” Sadie’s eyes were big and her voice small. “But there are two beds.”

  “In our new life, I’ll have my own room. When I marry Wesley, then I’ll share a bedroom with him.”

  Sadie frowned as she clutched the quilt up to her chin with both hands. “I’ll be scared without you.”

  From the doorway came Wesley’s voice. “I have an idea.”

  We both turned to look at him. Gus was beside him in the doorway. “May I come in?”

  “Yes, all right,” I said.

  Gus followed Wesley over to the other twin bed, where he sat. His long legs and bulk looked almost comical on the small bed. “When I was a boy, my dog Atlas slept with me. Right on my bed. I was never scared. Perhaps Gus could sleep here with you?”

  As if all for the idea, Gus put his chin on the mattress near Sadie’s shoulder. She reached a hand out and scratched behind his ears. “Would you like to stay with me, Gus?” Sadie asked.

  Gus whined and wagged his tail. “I think that’s a yes,” Wesley said. “You’ll want him to sleep by your feet. Otherwise, there won’t be room.”

  “How do I teach him that?” Sadie asked.

  Wesley unfolded himself and ambled over to her bed. He patted the spot near her feet. “You sleep here, all right, old boy?”

  Gus jumped on the bed, did three circles, and lay down with his head facing Sadie.

  “Good boy,” Wesley said.

  Gus wagged his tail twice and then closed his eyes. “I think you wore him out today, Sadie.”

  She smiled up at him. “Goodnight, Wesley.”

  “Goodnight, Sadie Bug.” He glanced over at me. “Will you come say goodnight when you’re done?”

  I nodded. After he was out of the room, I tucked the quilt around Sadie’s shoulders. “I have a treat for you.” I reached under the bed where I’d temporarily hidden a book of fairy tales I’d found in the shelves. There were at least a hundred tales. The volume weighed as much as five pounds of flour. “Would you like me to read you a story?”

  “Yes, please.”

  I had already decided I would read the story of Cinderella to her. It was one Mama had occasionally told me when she tucked me in for the night. “I’m going to read to you about Cinderella, but you’re going to be surprised by the ending. It’s not like the one Mama told me.”

  The story Mama had passed along from her own childhood ended with the prince marrying the princess of his father’s choice. Cinderella had remained at home, mistreated by her stepmother and stepsisters for the rest of her life. The first time she’d told me that sad tale, I’d cried. “But why didn’t he choose her?” I’d asked.

  “Because a prince never chooses a girl like Cinderella. Girls like us are not meant for fine lives. We’re meant to grasp and claw to stay alive.”

  I shook aside that memory to focus on Sadie.

  “Please read, Sister.” She turned on her side as I sat in the rocking chair next to the bed.

  “Once upon a time there was a girl named . . .” I continued, reading about how she meets the prince in the woods, and later they dance at the ball, and finally he chooses Cinderella to be his bride.

  “They lived happily ever after,” I said, closing the book.

  “It’s not at all what we thought. Why did Mama lie to you?”

  I took a moment before answering. “I think she didn’t want me to be disappointed. Her life was hard. She knew it would be for us too. Or, at least me. She didn’t know about you yet.”

  Sadie’s eyes filled with tears. “I don’t want to have a sad ending.”

  “You, my sweet, are not going to have a sad ending. I shall not allow it.”

  “Do you want to dance with Wesley? Like Cinderella danced with the prince?”

  “I don’t know how to dance.” I scooted out of the chair to perch on the side of her bed.

  “Cinderella loved the prince, didn’t she? Do you love Wesley?”

  I smoothed the blanket over her shoulder. How could I explain to my little sister the deep feelings I had for Wesley? “I’m as tied to him as I am to you.”

  “Like Cinderella and the prince?”

  “I suppose so.”

  She turned over onto her back and looked up at me, a crease in her fair brow. “Why did Cinderella’s father not take care of her? Why did he let the evil stepmother and stepsisters be so mean to her?”

  “I’m not sure. I think some people don’t understand how to love.”

  “Will you still love me even if you love Wesley?”

  “I’ll never ever stop loving you.” I tapped my chest with one finger. “You’re in here, no matter how many years go by. It’s been you and me for a long time now. That will never change, even if we grow to love others too.”

  “Even if you have a baby of your own? Not a sister but a daughter?”

  I gazed down at her, amazed by these questions. “Have you been worried about these things?”

  “I guess so. I don’t want you to leave me behind.”

  “I’ll never leave you or send you away. You’re my sister, yes, but you’ve been mine since the day you were first born. I’m the one God entrusted to take care of you. You’re my child. You always will be. Do you understand?”

  “Yes.” She yawned and snuggled deeper under the covers.

  I leaned over to kiss her forehead. “Goodnight, precious girl.”

  “Night, Sister.”

  I stood up from the bed and walked quietly to the door, then turned back to get another look. She’d closed her eyes. The quilt moved up and down from her even breathing. A feeling of deep gratitude filled me. We’d made it. I’d managed to keep us both alive. Now Wesley was here, offering us a new life. My sweet Sadie would never have to be hungry again.

  After I came downstairs from tucking Sadie in, Wesley asked if I’d like to take a stroll in the garden. Although I was slightly nervous to be alone with him, I accepted. Dusk was the shade of dusty roses as we ambled across the lawn toward the vegetable gardens. The night was warm and still and smelled of ripening tomatoes. Tucked behind the fenced garden, the lights of Dax and Mollie’s cottage peeked through. The notes of Lillian’s piano playing from the main house drifted through the open windows.

  “What’s the ocean like?” I asked.

  “Like nowhere else. The air smells of fish and seaweed and salt. When the sun shines, the water is as blue as anything you’ve ever seen. All day the waves crash onto the shore. At night too. I can hear them as I fall asleep. You can drift to sleep knowing that in the morning they will still be there. On summer days, you can sit on the back porch of the cottage and look and look but never find the end of the ocean. Everything’s green, with wildflowers that dot the hillside.”

  We walked in silence for a moment. The sound of a cricket started up, background to the croak of a bullfrog and interfering with the piano notes.

  “Will there be a school for Sadie?”

  “Yes, it’s small, but there’s a schoolhouse in Castaway.”

  “Do you regret bringing me here?” I asked. After dinner, I’d had a hollow feeling in my stomach. Maybe he’d seen for himself how uncultured I was and had decided I wasn’t for him after all.

  He stopped walking and turned me to look at him. “No, why would you ask?”

  “I don’t know. It was an impulse, wasn’t it? Not a decision you thought through? After tonight at dinner I thought you may have changed your mind.”

  “Knowing which fork to use is of no consequence to me. It’s you I want. One of the reasons I moved to the sea was to live how I want to live. Free from expectations from my parents or anyone else. We’ll make our own way. Together.”

  “And what would I do? As your wife, I mean.”

  “What do you like to do?”

  I thought for a moment. Had I ever done anything other than chores? “I’ve no idea. There’s never been a choice. I did what had to be done.”

  “What about before Sadie?”

  My memories were dim of the time before my sister. I’d gone to school long enough to know how to read and write. “I liked school. Reading books. But there have been so few of those.”

  “I’ll buy you books, and you can sit outside on the porch and read as the waves crash to shore.”

  “But who will make dinner and clean the house?”

  He laughed. “You have a lot of questions tonight.”

  “Is it too many?”

  “Never. If we decide we need help, we can hire someone.”

  I thought about that for a moment. What would it be like to have a maid or a cook? Or to have time during the day to read a book?

  “Thank you for letting me borrow the book to read to Sadie. She enjoyed it more than I can say. As did I.”

  “You’re welcome to any of the books. Mother won’t miss them, if you’d like to take anything with us when we go.” He steered us toward the fence. “Would you like a book for tonight? I like to read before I go to sleep at night.”

  “Yes, please.” I couldn’t keep the excitement out of my voice. “Could you help me pick something out?”

  “What kind of stories do you like?”

  I thought for a moment. Not really knowing, having read so few, I took a guess. “I might like to read a book about a girl like me.”

  “There aren’t any books about a girl like you,” he said. “You’re one of a kind.”