Hush (Black Lotus #3)(32)

I remove my sunglasses and begin to scan the racks and pull items I’m in need of. Davina wanders off to shop a few racks over. I fill my arms with jeans, slacks, casual tops, and soft cashmere sweaters before a sales associate takes them to start a fitting room for me.

We keep the chatter among us light as we try on clothes. She talks to me about one client of hers that’s a widow of an aristocrat who she swears is draining the family inheritance on a remodel.

“Her children are going to be bloody mad when they find out she’s pissed all the money away,” she says.

“How much money do you suspect?” I ask, tossing another top onto the yes pile.

“Around two hundred and fifty thousand pounds!” she exclaims. “The old woman has lost her mind.”

Once we’re dressed, we make our purchases and head to the second floor where Davina was able to get reservations on short notice at Bond & Brook. The restaurant is glamorous, gleaming in stark whites and silvers. We’re seated at a table next to the windows that look down on the street filled with people who are anxious to spend money.

“I could only get us in for the afternoon tea seating, I hope that’s okay with you.”

“Of course.”

Our waiter promptly sets our table with hot tea and Pommery Rosé champagne along with small bites, consisting of crab tartlets, butter pear beignets, and celery-cucumber sorbet.

“This looks amazing,” I say. “Thank you for doing this.”

“Of course. I’m just happy to see Declan sharing his life with someone. I was starting to worry he’d forever be alone.” She gives a whisper of a laugh, but I know she means the words she speaks. “It must have been love at first sight then?”

“Why do you say that?”

“He said the two of you met at the opening of Lotus. That was the beginning of December, wasn’t it?”

“Yes,” I answer and then take a sip of tea.

“It’s April, and he’s already moved you in.”

“I guess you’re right.” I’m a bit surprised, but hide it. It feels like so much more time has passed since the night I met him. “I can’t believe it’s only been four months.”

“And I can’t believe he’s kept you a secret from me,” she quips with a smile before biting into one of the tartlets. “Well, I know you’re not working here in London, but what was it that you did when you lived abroad?”

“Um . . .” Declan told me to just answer the questions as Elizabeth, but I can’t do that. I dab my mouth with my napkin, stalling time, but it moves forward regardless. “I did a little bit of . . .” I think back to how I met Bennett and continue, “I worked in catering for a short period.”

I’m not sure if she picks up on my hesitation, but she goes on, saying, “That’s so funny. I worked in that realm after university. I was a bartender for a catering company in Edinburgh.”

“Really?”

“My parents aren’t like most. They paid my way through my studies, but once I graduated, they cut the credit cards, and I was on my own. It took me a while to find work, so in the mean time, I bartended,” she explains.

“Did you go to school with Declan?”

“No. Declan was an impeccable student. Me, not so much. I attended the University of Dundee.”

“Where’s that?”

“Just north of Saint Andrews where Declan went to school. Less than an hour’s drive, actually,” she tells me. “And what about you? Where did you go to University?”

“Where did I go?” I can’t possibly tell her the truth, so I cover my ass and lie. “Kansas State.” It’s the university I told Declan Nina attended, but I immediately kick myself for lying when Declan made it clear not to, and when I continue, I stumble over my words, knowing I need to right the lie. “Well, I mean . . .” Fuck!

“Is everything okay?”

She sees right through me. When she stands, I wonder if somehow she knows I’m a fake. She comes to sit right next to me.

“Let me apologize,” she starts, and I don’t respond. I just let her continue. “I don’t mean to pry. I can see I’ve made you uncomfortable.”

“No,” I say, attempting to cover myself. “I’m just a little on the private side.”

“I can understand that. It’s just, well, after Lillian’s death, Declan changed a lot. He isolated himself from nearly all the family. The two of us managed to keep close though, and we’ve remained that way,” she reveals. “I love him dearly, and when I spoke to him after our dinner the other night, he told me that you were an extension of him. So, I can’t help but love you as well because of that.”

Her words are heartfelt and take me aback. I can see no other motivations on her part aside from genuinely wanting to get to know me. Declan was right when he told me she was a good person, because that’s the very impression she’s giving me right now.

“I never went to college,” I admit to her, needing to erase the lie. “I’m sorry I lied. I guess I was just embarrassed.” Airing my truths is not what I’m used to. I’m a liar, a manipulator, an imposter. Or I was. But I’ve always been running from something, a runaway at the age of fourteen. Always dodging the law in one way or another. But today, right now, I’m going to choose to take a step forward as Elizabeth. If Davina believes as Declan does, that I’m an extension of him, she won’t judge. “I was a foster kid. I didn’t come from money, so college was never an option for me.”