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Most Ardently

Page 8

by Susan Mesler-Evans


  He was smiling fondly as he spoke. So he still liked her, even when she was vomiting. That was a good sign if there ever was one.

  “That definitely sounds like my sister. But bring her quilt, too. She’ll be glad to have it while she’s away from home.” Elisa stepped away from the closet, four days or so worth of clothes in her arms. “You can always come back and get more clothes if she’s there longer than a few days. Plus, I assume you have a washing machine.”

  “We’ll make it work.” He paused to look at the small bookshelf on Julieta’s side of the room. “What are her favorite books? She’ll have to take a break from work sometime.”

  “I wouldn’t count on it. But anything by Terry Pratchett is a good bet.”

  Tossing a couple of Discworld books onto the pile on the bed, he said, “Am I selfish for being glad Julieta’s staying with me? If she weren’t, I’d be over here twenty-four/seven to check on her.”

  Elisa smiled. “That’s not selfish. That just means you like her.”

  He went slightly pink, but said, “I suppose that isn’t much of a secret.”

  “Just don’t say so to my mother. She’s already embarrassingly supportive. I don’t think Julieta could stand the shame.”

  He grinned. “Not a bad problem to have, if you ask me.”

  “You clearly don’t know my mother.”

  …

  Julieta had been at Netherfield Park for a week. She’d been online semi-frequently, but usually had her status set to “busy.” Fortunately, Bobby texted Elisa with updates every few hours, so she knew that Julieta was better, and that the puke-per-day average had gone down significantly but she was still mostly staying in bed.

  Still, texts weren’t quite the same. Elisa missed her big sister’s voice. Especially when her only company for most of the week had been Lucia, Maria, and Camila. She loved them dearly, but being the acting oldest sibling was exhausting. She didn’t know how Julieta did it.

  So, a week after Bobby had come over to fetch Julieta’s things, she decided to see if she was up to talking on the phone.

  Bobby picked up, even though she had called her cell.

  “Hey, Elisa—Jules told me to go ahead and pick up for her, she’s in the shower.”

  “Are you?” Elisa asked.

  He sputtered for a second before saying, “No—no. I’m standing outside the bathroom door. I just heard her phone going off in her room—”

  She laughed. “Relax, I’m just teasing you. I was calling to see how Julieta’s doing.”

  “She’s… Well, she’s still feeling pretty crappy,” he said. “And I know she misses you.” Suddenly, his voice brightened. “Hey, why not come over to visit for a couple of hours? I’m sure she’d love to see you.”

  “Are you sure that’s a good idea?”

  “Pretty sure. Her fever’s down. The doctor said that the meds he gave her are working, so you shouldn’t catch whatever this is.”

  Elisa paused, then said, “Okay. I’ll be over soon. What’s the address?”

  “Eighteen thirteen Lancaster Drive. See you soon. Bye.”

  “Bye.”

  She and Bobby hung up, and she went to find her mother.

  “Mama, can I borrow the car?” she asked, sticking her head into the kitchen.

  “Sure,” Mom said, not looking up from what she was doing. “Where are you headed?”

  “Bobby invited me over to visit Julieta.”

  She looked up. “No.”

  “What?”

  “I cannot have you over there interfering. Not when those two lovebirds are finally getting some real, quality alone time.”

  “Mom, she’s sick. She’s spent most of her time there curled up in her room.”

  “With him taking care of her, fetching things for her, catering to her every need. Come on, Elisa, you’ve read enough romances to know where that’s going.” Elisa felt the heat rush to her face as her mother shot her an amused glance. “Yeah, I know what’s in that shoebox underneath your bed.”

  “That’s not the point,” Elisa said quickly. “Julieta’s probably homesick. I don’t see how my being there for a couple of hours could hurt.”

  “You are not taking the car over there.”

  “Mom—”

  “Don’t ‘Mom’ me. You’re not taking the car. End of discussion.”

  And she went back to what she was doing without another word.

  Elisa hesitated.

  “Okay. I won’t take the car,” she said.

  She grabbed her coat, her phone, and pulled on her favorite pair of boots, then headed out the door before her mother could work out what she was doing.

  According to Google Maps, it was a three-hour walk to Netherfield Park, and she still had a solid four hours before it got dark.

  The things she did for her sister. And to spite her mother.

  Okay—mostly to spite her mother.

  Chapter Six

  In Which Elisa Enters Stepford (Or Close to It)

  The sky was streaked with pink by the time Elisa reached Bobby’s house. It had rained for about half an hour a while back, but her hair was nearly dry as she walked up the sidewalk to ring the doorbell. Her feet were killing her, and she was sweaty, despite it being October. On top it all, a car had gone past her about twenty miles over the speed limit and splattered her with a tidal wave of mud.

  A maid opened the door.

  “Sorry, I think you have the wrong address,” she said, beginning to close it again.

  Elisa quickly stuck her foot in the doorway to keep the door from shutting. “I’m Elisa,” she said. “Julieta’s sister.”

  “Oh. Oh, yes. Mr. Charles mentioned you were coming. Three hours ago.”

  “It’s a long story.”

  “Follow me, Miss Benitez. And please remember to wipe your feet on the doormat before you step inside.”

  Deciding not to comment on how weird it was to be called “Miss Benitez,” she stepped into the house—after getting most of the mud off of her boots. The inside of the house was beautiful—white marble floors with a high ceiling, a chandelier glittering in the entry hallway. She looked around, trying her best not to gawk. The maid took her coat from her before leading her into the lounge, where Bobby, Cora, Louise, and Darcy were all playing a video game.

  Oh, right. Darcy is staying here. Elisa had forgotten about that.

  “Your guest has arrived,” the maid said, presenting Elisa to the others. She shifted on her feet self-consciously.

  “You look like you’ve been hit with a truck,” one of the twins said.

  She rolled her eyes on instinct but couldn’t really get offended—it was true. “It was a long walk.”

  Bobby looked appalled. “You walked here all the way from Longbourn?”

  She shrugged weakly. “Mom needed the car,” she said. The truth miiiiiight freak him out a bit.

  “Why didn’t you call? I would’ve sent a car to pick you up,” he said.

  “I did think of that about halfway here,” she admitted.

  “You must’ve gotten caught in the rain.”

  “I did.”

  “Your feet must be killing you.”

  “They are.”

  “It looks like you got splashed with mud.”

  “Yep.”

  “And you still didn’t call?”

  “Nope.”

  “Why not?”

  “To prove a point.”

  Bobby gave her an odd look before shaking his head, apparently deciding to leave it at that. “Would you like to see Julieta?”

  “Yes, please.”

  He gestured for her to follow him. She only got a glance at the others before she left the room. Cora and Louise were both staring at her as if she were something disgusting that they’d found on the bottom of their shoes. Darcy simply watched her with the slightest curve of a smile around her lips.

  Fortunately, the McMansion Bobby lived in had an elevator, and Bobby had correctly guessed that she was
in no mood to take the stairs. Elisa, for her part, couldn’t quite wrap her head around the idea of an elevator in a house. Even the one back at the apartment complex was broken half the time.

  “All the guest rooms are on the east side of the second floor,” Bobby explained. “My family and I—and Darcy—all sleep in the west side.”

  “Isn’t Darcy a guest, too?” Elisa asked.

  “She’s never a guest,” he said with a smile. “We’ve known her way too long for that. She’s family.”

  Elisa smiled, too. No wonder she’s nicer to him than anyone else.

  The elevator opened with a pleasant ding! and Bobby led her down a long hallway. Elisa cringed when her still-damp feet left a trail. Feeling sorry for whoever would have to clean up the mess, she followed behind him. Every closed door looked the same to her, but he seemed to know where he was going.

  Finally, they reached a door that was cracked open. Bobby knocked lightly, peering inside.

  “Jules, you awake?”

  “Yeah,” came her croaky reply.

  “Your sister’s here.” He opened the door wider so Elisa could step in.

  Julieta had dark bags under her eyes, and a trash can next to her bed, but managed to sit up, brushing some hair out of her face. “Elisa,” she said, opening her arms for a hug. In spite of her aching feet and her exhaustion, she grinned, rushing forward to sit on the bed, hugging her sister. “I figured you weren’t coming today after all.”

  “Mama needed the car, so I walked,” Elisa explained.

  “All the w—”

  “Yes, all the way. Yes, in the rain.”

  Julieta laughed. “Well, Mama’s stubbornness had to go somewhere, I guess. But Bobby would’ve given you a ride if—”

  “If I’d called. Yep. I know.”

  Bobby chuckled before pecking Julieta on the cheek and saying, “I’ll be right back.”

  After he left, Elisa told her why, exactly, she’d walked to Netherfield instead of taking the car. Julieta groaned, looking embarrassed but not surprised.

  “I’m glad you came anyway,” she said, “but Mom’s gonna kill you.”

  “Yeah, her texts to me said as much.”

  “What’d you say?”

  “Well, I ignored her for as long as I possibly could, and then I texted back that I had already walked halfway there, so there was no point in telling me to come home now unless she wanted me walking through our end of town alone at night,” Elisa said. “And then she said, fine, if I was that determined, I could go, but I shouldn’t expect her to come and pick me up. I said I could live with that, and I’m sure that one day, we’ll be on speaking terms again.”

  Julieta laughed, shaking her head. “Lisa, you didn’t have to do that. I don’t want Mom mad at you.”

  “She hasn’t yelled at anyone in nearly a week. One of us was due to piss her off. Figured I’d give Cam and Lulu a break.”

  “Well, you didn’t need to go to all that trouble,” Julieta said, though she was still smiling, “but I am very glad you’re here.”

  “What’s it like, being a guest in Netherfield Park? Is it like visiting with royalty?”

  She blushed, looking down at her lap. “Bobby has been lovely. He’s the only person I’ve seen much of for the past week. The others tend to go out or hang out downstairs. Darcy did keep an eye on me for Bobby when he had to deal with work for a few hours yesterday, though.”

  She grimaced. “Ugh, being under the watchful eyes of Darcy Fitzgerald. What was that like?”

  “It really wasn’t bad,” she insisted. Elisa gave her a look. “Really, it wasn’t. She’s not as…considerate as Bobby, but she was genuinely trying to help, I think. She held my hair back when I got sick, and she tried to get me to stop working for a little bit. Said it wasn’t good for me.”

  “See, that is so like Darcy,” she said. “Who is she to tell you when you can or can’t work?” She paused and then reluctantly added, “It was nice of her to sit with you, though. But she still shouldn’t have told you what to do.”

  Julieta tilted her head, not even trying to hide her amused smile. “I seem to remember a certain someone hiding my laptop so I’d get some sleep when we had the flu last year,” she said. “Now don’t try and tell me that was Darcy, because she wasn’t even in town yet.”

  “W-well, no, but…” Elisa stumbled over her words for a second, before giving an exasperated, “You know what I mean.”

  “Elisa, is it possible—just possible—that maybe you’re being a little hard on Darcy?”

  “No,” she said stubbornly.

  “I know she made a bad first impression—”

  “And second, and third.”

  “—but she’s been Bobby’s best friend for years. You like Bobby, don’t you?”

  “Yeah, but…”

  “If he likes her, then she can’t be that bad, can she? Not all the time, at least.”

  “I think Bobby is like you,” Elisa said. “Too nice. Too forgiving.”

  “Being forgiving is a good thing, Elisa.”

  “Yeah, in moderation.”

  Julieta sighed, leaning back against the pillows. “Well, one of us has to be,” she said. “You can be practical and cynical, and I can be naive and forgiving, how about that?”

  “Sounds good to me.”

  Bobby returned, then, carrying a small tray of food.

  “Here you go,” he said, setting the tray on Julieta’s bedside table. “I wasn’t sure if you wanted fish or roast beef, so I brought you a little of both. And there’s vegetables and bread if the meat is too much for your stomach.” He ran a hand over Julieta’s hair, kissing her on the forehead, before turning to Elisa. “I’m sorry, Elisa, you just missed dinner—I’m sure our chef wouldn’t mind fixing you something if you’re hungry, though.”

  “I’m fine,” she said. “I ate before I came.”

  “Still, that was hours ago…”

  “I promise, I’m fine. I can just hang out here with Julieta.”

  “Actually, about that…” Bobby said. “It’s already starting to get dark out. Why don’t you stay the night? We have plenty of room, and you can spend the day here tomorrow, too.”

  “I don’t want to be a bother,” Elisa said. She really didn’t want to leave, not when she’d only just arrived. “I can Uber home and come back tomorrow.” Though, she had exactly five dollars in her pocket, which might get her to the end of the road he lived on.

  “Don’t be ridiculous. You’re always welcome. You can stay as long as you like.”

  He flagged down a maid who was in the hallway and asked her to take Elisa to a room. Promising Julieta she’d come right back, Elisa followed the maid, leaving Bobby to fuss over her sister.

  The guest bedroom was amazing, almost exactly like Julieta’s, except with a forest green color scheme instead of a dusty rose. There was a queen-sized bed with at least ten pillows, a flat-screen TV, a bookshelf, a desk, and even a huge walk-in closet. If this was where they kept guests, she could only imagine what the real bedrooms looked like. (She made a mental note to ask Julieta.)

  “I think you’ll be very comfortable in here,” the maid said, fluffing one of the pillows. “I just changed the sheets in this room a few minutes ago, and Brenna vacuumed and dusted earlier.”

  “It’s perfect,” Elisa assured her. “Thank you so much.”

  “My name is Cassie, by the way. Call me if you need anything.”

  “I will. Thank you, Cassie.”

  After she left, Elisa slipped back down the hall to see Julieta. Bobby was still there, and his face lit up with a small smile as soon as she walked in.

  “Oh, I was just about to go check on you,” he said. “Do you like your room?”

  “Very much,” she said. “Thanks again for letting me crash here. I should probably call Mom so she doesn’t worry, now that I think of it.”

  “Actually, about that… Julieta and I were talking, and she—well, we—were wondering if you wanted t
o stay until she’s feeling better?”

  They both looked at her hopefully. Elisa almost laughed out loud. With Bobby sitting on the bed, holding Julieta’s hand, they looked like they were married already. And his asking as if she were a guest at their mansion, not just his, didn’t help.

  “I wouldn’t want to impose,” she said. “I mean, Bobby—I’m sure you didn’t intend on having me over for longer than a few hours. And since Julieta is feeling a bit better, I can take her home tomorrow.”

  He frowned and pulled Julieta’s hand to his chest.

  “Elisa, have you seen the size of this place?” He laughed. “I’ve gone for a week without seeing my own sisters in here. I think I’ll live. It’s no imposition at all.”

  “If you want to go home, I understand,” Julieta said. “I mean, honestly, I’m getting kind of homesick.” She glanced at Bobby and hastily added, “Not that I don’t love being here. I just miss my sisters. And Mom.”

  Elisa couldn’t deny that the idea of staying in a relative stranger’s mansion for what could potentially be weeks on end seemed a bit weird and awkward to her, but Julieta seemed to have enjoyed her stay there, even with being sick. And, honestly? A vacation away from their mother and other sisters didn’t sound half-bad.

  And she had really missed Julieta.

  “If you’re sure I won’t be overstaying my welcome…then yes. I’ll stay,” she said.

  Julieta grinned. “Oh, Elisa, that’s great.”

  “Since you’ll be staying over,” Bobby said, “how about I drive you to your apartment real quick to grab some clothes, fill your mother in, that sort of thing?”

  “Okay,” she said, as her heart hit the bottom of her stomach.

  Bobby hurried off to grab his keys and jacket, and as soon as he was gone, Julieta said, “What’s wrong? You have that ‘sudden moment of existential dread’ look again.”

  “Mom,” she said. “She’ll never let me stay here. She thought my visiting for a few hours would somehow wreck your relationship with Bobby. Imagine how she’ll react when I tell her I’m staying for at least a few more days.”

  Julieta, much to Elisa’s surprise, didn’t look worried. In fact, she was smiling.

  “Elisa, I’ve had a whole twenty-two years’ worth of experience in dealing with our mother, and you didn’t think I’d think of that?” she asked, pretending to be offended. “Why do you think I insisted Bobby drive you over instead of one of the chauffeurs?”

 

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