Evie nodded, but it was Olive who answered him, “They’re horrible! I don’t understand how they think everyone should go back to the old ways. Even now, they still turn a blind eye to the way people were being treated as slaves!” One of Beryl’s friends, Xander, stiffened in the corner. Like Sergei, she’d hired him on in the kitchen to help him pay the bills after the revolution upset his income.
“Maybe it’s more about how they’re used to a certain lifestyle,” Jeremiah countered carefully, trying to be gentle. It was a touchy subject. Beryl was one of the only former high Numbers who’d supported the revolution before it ever came to pass. “I could understand how someone might feel their wealth and status is being taken from them. It’s not the intention of the revolution, but it is a side effect.”
“It’s hard for people to change the way they think about themselves,” Evie surprised him by agreeing. When she ducked her head to focus on her plate, Jeremiah realized he’d been staring.
He directed his attention to his next bite, trying to think of a way to keep her talking. Just last week he’d watched her on television discussing how Eden would finally begin trading with other countries again. It was a brilliant move.
“Your trade policy was an intelligent step toward resolving a lot of issues,” he said, then stabbed another bite, frustrated with himself. “I mean, it will provide new streams of revenue for those who’ve lost their income.” What was this, a business meeting? Beryl raised a brow in his direction and he wanted to roll his eyes and say, I know. But what was he supposed to do? He couldn’t exactly say, I love when you wear your hair down or I’ve missed you like crazy when he had an audience.
But as ridiculous as he sounded, his compliment was sincere. The former high Numbers were primed and ready to stage a revolt of their own. They’d lost their free labor. And it was a heavy loss. Trade with other nations would breath fresh life into what had been a dying country.
But Evie just shrugged. “That was mostly Joren,” she told him, “I just gave the speech.”
“Oh,” he said. An awkward lull in the conversation settled over them. Xander removed their salad plates—his face red with held back opinions—and the next course was served.
“Did Jeremiah tell you he’s taking up flying?” Beryl asked as everyone began eating again. The urge to groan came over Jeremiah.
Beryl only paused a moment to allow Evie to shake her head no, before continuing, “I’m scared to death of it, I’ll tell you that much. No, I’ve learned my lesson for sure. I’ll never forget the day he learned to drive.”
Everyone leaned forward eagerly as Beryl began another story. “My first husband collected old world sports cars. Jeremiah was taking it for a spin, getting the hang of it. Well, what do you know but he comes barreling up the drive to the house so fast—I about died. And he waits to stop until the last second!”
She pitched her voice to a stage whisper, “He liked how they could stop on a dime, wanted to show off a little.” Her voice returned to normal volume as she raised a dramatic brow at Jeremiah. He just smiled and shook his head. “Anyhow, it rained that morning, which meant there were still a few puddles. So, Jeremiah hits this enormous pool of water.”
“Oh no!” Olive gasped, and Evie’s fork stopped halfway to her mouth as they envisioned the picture Beryl painted. Jeremiah noticed the corners of Sol’s mouth twitching in amusement. Beryl’s stories could make even a seasoned Regulator smile.
“Right when he hits the puddle, he steps on the brakes, and oh, did those wheels spin! Mud flew everywhere! My nice dress was covered, the white marble steps—nearly the entire front of the house!”
A gross exaggeration, but Jeremiah chuckled softly, looking down at his hands. The story grew wilder every time she retold it, but the last part, her favorite part, was unfortunately true. “He slid right through that puddle, tires squealing loud enough to break your eardrums, and smashed into our beautiful marble fountain and the cherubim in the middle. That stopped him alright!”
Both girls gasped, looking to Jeremiah for confirmation. He didn’t know what to do except shrug and nod. He spoke the last line of the often-repeated tale in unison with Beryl, “Tomas turned over in his grave that day.”
Beryl burst out laughing. “Oh, if you only knew. You’re lucky he wasn’t around to witness that moment. All his precious car babies.” She shrugged. “They’re all gone now. If the heart attack hadn’t got him, that day certainly would’ve done the trick.” Her eyes met Jeremiah’s over the plates of food, growing serious. She didn’t add what happened to the rest of Tomas’ collection of ancient sports cars later. How she’d given them to Jeremiah’s soldiers in the revolution. How they’d been sprayed with bullets until they were unsalvageable. Thankfully, Beryl wasn’t nearly as attached to those cars as her late husband had been.
Though she’d left the end of the story out, Jeremiah remembered the moment like it was yesterday. He’d crawled out of the car into the shattered glass all around him as the engine caught on fire, covered in cuts and bruises. But he hadn’t even noticed, so great had been his fear of punishment. He’d been utterly convinced Beryl would finally throw him out.
But she hadn’t.
“Do you have any more stories of Jeremiah growing up?” Evie asked Beryl in a light-hearted tone, grinning over at him. Her smile made his heart beat faster. He didn’t move, didn’t want to lose the moment. But her smile faded and she looked away. He should’ve smiled back. Why hadn’t he smiled back? He shook his head slightly. He was 23 years old, why was he acting like a teenager with a crush?
“Oh yes!” Olive chimed in, “Please tell us more!”
Beryl obliged. “I wonder if he told you about his first month here? No? Ah, let’s see…” she settled back into her chair as they moved from the main course to dessert. “I’d never met a more angry, rebellious young man.” She shook her head as if disapproving, but her smile gave her away. “He was caught with practically half my household under his bed, a few weeks after his arrival.”
“That’s a bit of an exaggeration,” Jeremiah said, rolling his eyes at her. But not by much. He’d planned to run away, sell as many expensive items as he could carry, and live on his own. Beryl made him sound clever as she described it to the group. But Jeremiah grew quiet. Thank God he’d been caught. Beryl had convinced him to give this new home a chance. Jeremiah couldn’t imagine where he’d be today, if she hadn’t.
Olive turned to Beryl at the end of dessert, and shyly asked, “How did it come about that you adopted Luc?” Jeremiah smiled a little. He was surprised it’d taken Olive the entire meal to mention Luc. Jeremiah thought he detected a flicker of emotion on Sol’s face at the mention of Luc’s name, too quick to name.
“Jeremiah and Luc were very close before Jeremiah came to live with me,” Beryl answered, “When he told me Luc needed a home as well, we made room for him immediately.”
Such a diplomatic answer. She revealed next to nothing, allowing Jeremiah his privacy, which he usually kept close. But Jeremiah cleared his throat and added a telling detail, “Luc was my best friend at the orphanage.”
Evie’s eyebrows rose at the word. He’d told her that friends of his parents had taken him in after their death. Though he disliked the audience, he looked directly at Evie. “I misled you when we first met. I knew it would reveal my old Number… I’m sorry.” A poor apology.
She bit her lip and nodded, and when she spoke it felt like the conversation was just between the two of them, “I understand.” Two simple words, yet the tension in him melted away. She forgave him.
“I had no idea you’d lived in an orphanage,” Olive spoke over their moment, not realizing the weight of it, and the rest of the room came back into focus, reminding him they weren’t alone.
“For a little over two years,” Jeremiah told her, nodding. He saw her mouth open to ask the next question, and knew what she was about to ask. “Luc was there most of his life. He doesn’t know what happened to his parents.�
� But they could guess. Most of the children in the orphanage knew their parents had gotten on the government’s bad side. Whether their parents had simply gone “missing” or they’d witnessed their supposed trial and death, they all knew who was to blame. Just one of the many reasons Luc was so adamantly against the old government.
Sergei, Xander, and the other servants cleared away their dessert plates. Beryl stood, and the others followed her lead. It was late. “It’s time for me to call it a night,” Beryl told them, politely covering a yawn.
Jeremiah nodded to her and stood. “I’ll show our guests to their rooms.” They bid Beryl goodnight, and Jeremiah led the others out of the dining room, down the hall toward the guest rooms.
At the first room, he turned to the former Regulator. “Sol, right?” he asked. The quiet man nodded, and Jeremiah waved him in. “Breakfast is laid out in the dining room, whenever you wake up, help yourself.”
They moved on to the next guest room, and he smiled at Olive as he opened it for her. “It’s been a good surprise to see you,” he told her. “We’ll have to talk more in the morning so you can tell me what you think of Eden now.”
Olive grinned, stepping inside the room, “Oh yes, it’s wonderful, I have so many stories!”
Jeremiah pulled the door closed for her as they said goodnight. Walking down the long hallway with Evie to the third room, Jeremiah heard a soft click behind them. Sneaking a peak over his shoulder, he saw Olive’s head pop out into the hallway. Raising a brow at her, he held back a laugh as she darted back inside and the door latched firmly behind her.
He stopped with his hand on the doorknob to Evie’s room. It was just the two of them now. This was his chance to tell her how he felt. Usually he was good with words, but now he was at a loss.
He took his hand off the doorknob, and spoke the first thing that came to mind. “I’ve decided to accept your offer and be your guide.”
The hope in her eyes as she looked up made him wince. He rubbed his neck out of habit. “Evie… The Divided States is enormous. I need you to understand how difficult this is going to be. The trail’s been cold for almost 10 years…” He struggled to meet her gaze. “Before we do this, I have to ask: what will you do if we can’t find her?”
Evie swallowed, blinking rapidly as she looked away. But Jeremiah waited. He needed to know. After a moment, she met his gaze again, a sheen of tears in her eyes. “Honestly,” she admitted, “that doesn’t worry me nearly as much as the idea of finally seeing her again, and then finding out…” Evie’s voice broke as she whispered the last words, “that she doesn’t want to be found.”
5
Evalene
EVALENE STARED INTO JEREMIAH’S eyes. She’d never said it aloud until this moment. But now that she had, she couldn’t escape it. The awful possibility stared her in the face. Hot tears pricked her eyes. She blinked them away.
“That’s not possible,” Jeremiah said softly, stepping closer, just inches away now. His voice was as soothing as his words. “She’s your mother. If she’s still—” Jeremiah cut off, and Evalene wondered if he’d been about to say, ‘if she’s still alive.’ That was another fear she wasn’t ready to voice yet. Fortunately, neither was he. Instead he said, “If she heard about the news of the revolution, she could easily be planning a trip of her own back here to find you.”
That possibility hadn’t even occurred to her.
“Thank you,” she said softly. After so many months, he was right here in front of her, close enough to reach out and touch. The urge to reach out to him was strong, but she spun to face her door instead, twisting the knob to enter. Once inside the guest room, she turned, holding the door half open, not quite willing to close it. “Thank you,” she repeated, wishing there was a stronger word, “for everything.” For agreeing to help. For encouraging her. For saving her six months ago. She would owe him forever.
“No problem,” he said with an adorable lopsided smile. “Goodnight.”
“Goodnight,” she repeated, and it took her a long second to remember to close the door. It shut gently, and she stood staring at it, mulling over his words. He seemed convinced her mother would want to see her. He was probably just saying that. Because how could he know really? But she felt warm, happy.
She crawled into the huge canopy bed, exhausted. It had been a long day. But despite her fatigue, she couldn’t sleep. Crawling out of bed, she tiptoed down the hall to Olive’s room next door, tapping so softly she worried Olive wouldn’t hear.
Feet shuffled inside the room and the door swung open. “Tell me everything!” Olive hissed as she pulled Evalene inside and let the door click shut. Evalene followed Olive over to the enormous king size bed that mirrored the one in her room, hopping onto the other side, flopping onto her back to stare at the ceiling.
The bed shook as Olive jumped onto her side and crawled under the covers. “Did he say anything about the note?” Olive demanded, “Did he say why he never came to Delmare?”
Evalene took a breath to answer, but Olive cut her off. “Oh! I bet he went to Hofyn, didn’t he? Probably thought you were still there. But… no, that doesn’t make sense, because he said he saw you on the news…”
She trailed off, flopping on her side to face Evalene. “Please tell me something happened! Maybe a romantic kiss? Or a touch? I’ll even take a drawn-out stare.”
“No, nothing like that.” Evalene bit her lip. “He was the same way he would’ve acted with you.”
“He seriously didn’t bring up any of it? Didn’t even tell you where he’s been the last six months? Nothing?” Olive’s voice rose.
“Shh!” Evalene shushed her.
Olive continued in an outraged whisper. “Do you want me to talk to him? I’ll talk to him!”
“No. No!” Evalene reached for the blanket at the end of the bed, pulling it over her up to her chin, cocooning herself in it and avoiding Olive’s stare. “If he still had feelings, he would’ve said something. I’m not going to bring it up now and just embarrass both of us.”
“Mmmhmm…” Olive rolled her eyes, unconvinced. “Well, it can’t hurt to be prepared. Just in case.”
“Is that so?” Evalene smirked, rolling on her side as well, grinning. “Are you prepared?”
“What do you mean?”
Now it was Evalene’s turn to roll her eyes. “You do realize Sol is in love with you… right?” She hadn’t meant to say anything, but the words flew out of her mouth before she could stop them.
A mix between a snort and a laugh came out of Olive. “What? Where did that idea come from? That’s ridiculous!” But she bit her lip, growing quiet as she stared up at the canopy ceiling, a tiny smile forming.
Evalene levelled a look at the younger girl. “Why do you think he’s on this trip?”
“I don’t see it.” She chewed on her lip, fighting a grin. “He’s just a friend. I mean, I like him, but I think you’re reading too much into things...”
“Then why are you so excited?” Evalene teased.
Olive wiped the smile off her face, feigning seriousness, as she gestured toward her face. “This is the face of pure shock, not excitement. I’m in love with Luc, you know that.”
Evalene held back a groan. They’d had this conversation many times before. “Has Luc finally mentioned having feelings for you?” She knew the answer. If he had, Evalene would’ve heard about it within five minutes.
“No…” Olive admitted. “But I can tell. We spend a lot of time together.” Usually Evalene dropped it, but tonight she pictured Sol’s face every time he watched Olive fawn over Luc, and she pushed further.
“What made you fall in love with Luc exactly?”
“It’s his… well, I think it was when…” Olive frowned, rolling onto her back as she thought. “I mean it’s a lot of things, and it’s just… we have a history. You can’t put love into words!”
Evalene didn’t quite believe her, but she couldn’t argue. She’d never officially been in love. But she though
t she could find quite a few words for one person in particular…
6
Evalene
THE MID-MORNING SUN STREAMED in through the canopy bed’s curtains, which they’d never closed. As Evalene blinked awake she realized she’d fallen asleep in Olive’s room. But the opposite side of the bed was empty.
This didn’t surprise Evalene. In the last six months of being roommates, she couldn’t remember the last time she’d woken up before Olive, who’d been born and raised on a farm. A lifetime of rising early was a hard habit to break.
Dressing quickly, Evalene wandered back to the dining room to find Jeremiah sitting with Olive and Sol at the far end of the dining room table. As she entered the room, they burst out laughing.
Feeling a little bit like an outsider, Evalene quietly made up a plate of food from the buffet table spread out by the door, before making her way across the room to join them and say good morning.
“I just told them my decision to help a few minutes ago,” Jeremiah told her as she sat down. Olive cheered a little, clapping. But Jeremiah’s face was solemn, and she quieted.
“It will take a lot of planning,” Jeremiah began without any preamble as soon as Evalene picked up her fork. “We’ll need to gather info on currencies and territories in the Divided States, and request a flight, which likely means a trip to Delmare and finally facing the Council… But I’ll show you what I know so far.” He pushed his plate aside to unroll a long tube of paper resting in the center of the table. Once unfurled, it revealed a detailed map of a continent Evalene didn’t recognize. “This is the most updated map of the Divided States that I’ve found in Eden.”
Olive reached out with her fork to point to the vast blue ocean near her plate. “I recognize this part of the ocean. But where’s Hofyn?” The island she’d grown up on was nowhere to be seen.
Pearl's Number: The Number Series Page 4