Brightly Burning(46)
Jessa was even more reluctant to wear a dress that evening, though eventually I cajoled her into a blue frock, to which she agreed only on the condition that she could wear pants underneath it. I chose my battles and managed to bring a presentable ten-year-old along with me to the drawing room earlier than the night before. The mood was more subdued, either because of the earlier hour or because several people were still hungover from the night before.
Hugo’s happiness at seeing his sister seemed genuine this time, which indicated he was likely sober. And he almost fully redeemed himself by pulling a wrapped package from the recesses of his chair, presenting it to Jessa with a flourish.
“Consider this both a sorry-I-left present and a gift for your impending eleventh birthday,” he said as Jessa ripped into the brown packing paper to reveal a slick new tab unit and stylus. Jessa cottoned onto it as soon as I did.
“Is this a drawing tab?” she asked breathlessly, looking back to me with a grin. “Just like Stella’s!”
“Yes,” Hugo replied. “I stopped by the Nikkei and got you one. And after you get the hang of things, send me your favorites, and I know a printer who will put them on canvas.”
I allowed myself to observe the rest of the company besides Hugo. I found Bianca with a smile plastered upon her face, but it was obvious she thought the display something of a bore. Indeed, she wrested focus back onto herself by asking Hugo a question about some story for which I had zero context, and I took this as my cue to move with Jessa to the back of the room.
We powered on her new drawing tab, and I showed her the basics, from all the different drawing tools she could employ to how to pull up the tablet’s built-in photo-reference aid. This model was much newer than mine, so I found more bells and whistles that I was eager to explore, but I resolved not to snatch it away like a toy from a child. Like a grownup.
Xiao came to collect Jessa not even an hour later, much to my surprise and consternation. “Oh, I can put her to bed,” I assured her, but she waved me off.
“Captain’s orders. He wants you here.” Xiao took Jessa by the hand and left me to fume. Jessa’s bedtime had been my out, but instead Hugo was tethering me to the drawing room for some reason. Ritualistic torture, I was sure.
The party moved around the table tab to play a game, while I sat in the shadows, plotting how I might escape. I needed a sound excuse, or else Hugo would just hail me on comms again, ordering me back. So preoccupied was I in my scheming that I lost sight of Hugo, allowing him to take me completely by surprise.
“I have a present for you, too,” he said, sitting next to me, leaning close, his voice low and conspiratorial. I sat straight-backed and stiff, just inclining my head to acknowledge him. He handed over a rectangular wrapped package. I tried tucking it away to open later, but Hugo would have none of it. At his urging, I peeled back the paper to reveal a new drawing tab, identical to the one he’d given Jessa. It stole the breath from my lungs.
“This is too much,” I said, forgetting myself and turning full on to face him. He looked to me eagerly, biting his lower lip. “How much did this cost you?” I asked, turning the tab over in my hands, my heart swelling two sizes.
“Don’t worry about it. I saw it and knew I had to get you one. Now you and Jessa can draw together.”
It was like he’d taken a pin to me, deflating me back down to size. Matching gifts for me and his sister. I was like a sister to him. It was all clear now. I smiled, thanking him genuinely, if a bit sadly.
“You should draw our guests,” he suggested, pointing to Captain Ingram, again in his ridiculous naval attire, then to Lucy and Bianca. “Put your time in here to good use.”
“Why do you want me in here? I’m not contributing anything. No one speaks to me.”
“Frex them. You’re here for me. I missed our evenings together.”
“I would be more comfortable elsewhere,” I insisted. “With Jessa, or the other junior crew. I don’t belong here.”
“I happen to disagree.” Hugo remained stubborn. “I want you here every evening, for at least two hours. There’s an hour left tonight.”
“Fine,” I said, acquiescing, pretending it wasn’t an order, “but only if you agree to actually talk to me for at least a half-hour every night. And speaking at or about me doesn’t count.” It was my small piece, my line in the sand.
“Agreed.” His gaze flicked away, over to the table tab, where the Ingram family was playing a game, catching on Bianca, who beckoned him back over with a measure of haughty aggression. But Hugo waved her off and turned back to me. “Then I should start with an apology about your room demotion.”
My heart sped up. “It’s okay. Not a big deal,” I said.
“No, it is a big deal,” Hugo insisted. “I want you to know that I had no idea. I was still asleep when Bianca and her father strong-armed Officer Xiao.” Translation: he’d been hungover. “If I’d been awake, I might have stopped it. I still could. Say the word, and I’ll change it back.”
Why did he have to put this on me? There was no scenario in which I could assert myself and come out the winner. “No, really, it’s fine. I hadn’t realized two of the cousins were doubling up, and that room is bigger than I could ever need. Please don’t make a fuss over me.”