Love-in-Idleness Page 9

  He left the bar fifteen minutes later and texted his father immediately.

  GOT IT. COMING HOME.

  The response from Miles was almost instantaneous.

  SEND ONE WITH THE DRIVER. KEEP THE OTHER AND GET A CAB. I HAVE A JOB FOR YOU.

  Before he got out of the car, he had one last question for Miles.

  ARE MY FRIENDS STILL THERE?

  There was a brief pause before the phone signaled a response.

  THEY CAN STAY FOR A WHILE. THE NOISE WILL DRIVE TITANIA CRAZY.

  At 920 President Street, in the neighborhood of Park Slope, in the borough of Brooklyn, Grace sat in silence with her long-time boyfriend. She hadn’t realized that Ryder’s parents were going to Cape May for a few days, but she was relieved, nonetheless. The quiet of having just the two of them there was comforting. Ryder made tea and they sat facing each other from opposite ends of the couch, quietly sipping.

  As much as Grace wanted to talk to Ryder about her night, she was stalling a bit. He had been so fragile lately that she worried it would be hard for him to listen objectively to what happened to her tonight. Every event was tied to the prospect of her involvement with someone else, and that prospect came about because of Miles’s perception that Ryder was somehow socially inadequate. Nothing about this story was anything that Ryder would be excited to hear.

  So she sat there, enjoying the quiet and hoping that when she did begin to talk, what she had to say wouldn’t throw a wrench in the status quo, even as shaky as it had been lately. True, Ryder had been pressing her for promises she didn’t feel ready to make, but he was all she had right now. She was living in unfamiliar surroundings and Theo’s attentions were elsewhere. Ryder was the only person who was completely devoted to her. She wasn’t willing to risk alienating him.

  Finally, when the excuse of the tea had run out, she set her cup on the coffee table and gave Ryder a weak smile. “Dinner kind of sucked,” she said.

  He reached over and took her hand. “I figured,” he said. He pulled her toward him and she moved to his end of the couch, snuggled in with her head against his chest. “What happened?”

  She described the dinner and the not-so-subtle efforts at manipulation exerted by Theo’s new boss. In Grace’s descriptions, Miles Oberon was a manipulative monster who had ripped her family out from under her. She described his seemingly unnatural interest in her love life, and his absolute snobbishness.

  “He has this formula for the perfect Manhattan social family. You and I definitely don’t fit in. I guess he figures he’s stuck with me, so he’ll try to get you out of the picture.”

  Ryder didn’t say anything for a minute, which made Grace nervous. When he did speak, his voice was quiet. “What about his sons? What are they like?”

  “I couldn’t tell much about Puck. He seemed like Daddy’s little soldier to me. He rattled off this whole thing about maintaining appearances. I think he’ll grow up to be just like Miles,” Grace answered.

  “And the other one?” Ryder persisted. There was a serious tone to his voice that Grace didn’t like. “The one Miles wants you to date?”

  “Cameron?” Grace stopped briefly to plan her words before she continued. “He seems like a pretty nice guy. He tried to give me a heads up about what to expect at school next year. He also said that Miles does this makeover thing to everyone. Cam says it’s not just me.”

  “Cam, huh? Sounds like you got to know each other a ittle,” Ryder snapped a bit.

  Oh crap, Grace thought. This is what I was afraid of. “Not really,” she said. It was time for a quick distraction. “He’s got this beautiful girl who’s crazy for him. I saw her outside the building tonight. She’s about seven feet tall and looks like a model. Blonde hair, long legs, the whole package. I’ve seen her in front of the Met before. Maybe it’s a coincidence, but both times, she was wearing all white. What do you think that’s supposed to mean?”

  “Does she seem pure and virginal?”

  “Hardly.”

  “Then I think she just likes white. It’s probably some queen bee symbol of social power,” Ryder speculated.

  “Yeah, you’re right,” Grace agreed. “It just seemed like an odd choice. It was strange, when I saw her, she seemed to have everything. She clearly has money. You can tell by her clothes. She’s stunning and appears to be this social powerhouse, but I couldn’t get over this feeling that she wasn’t a very happy person. There was something sad about her eyes.”

  She put her head down on his chest and was silent for a minute. She felt good about Ryder when she could just speak freely about what she saw and felt. However, the parts of her evening that she left out were troubling to her. While she had no intention of telling Ryder things that would be hurtful, she didn’t like lying. Although she hadn’t come right out and told him anything that wasn’t true, she left out enough details to constitute dishonesty. It didn’t feel right, but adding a fight with Ryder to an already dire situation didn’t seem like a great way to end the day, either. If she could just get through this night intact, she wouldn’t let anything like this happen again. Even if Ryder wasn’t the person she was going to grow old with, she wanted the relationship to run its course on their terms, not on Miles Oberon’s terms. Quietly, but firmly, she promised herself that she wouldn’t slip again. Even if it meant that she avoided the Oberon men indefinitely.

  “So, is Cam good-looking?” Ryder asked.

  “I don’t know,” Grace blurted without thinking.

  “So, he is.”

  “Why do you say that?”

  “Because,” Ryder explained, “if he weren’t, you would just say so. If you don’t want to say it, then he is.”

  Busted, Grace sat up and looked at him. “I’m with you, not him. I don’t care what anyone tells me to do. I will make my own decisions.”

  “I know you will. I’m sorry,” Ryder said. His apology made her feel guiltier than before.

  “You need sleep,” he whispered, kissing her affectionately before standing and taking her hand as if to pull her from the couch. “Let’s go to bed.”

  “It’s early, I can stay up,” she protested. “If I sleep, then I’m not spending time with you.” She had little enough time with Ryder. She didn’t want to sleep through it.

  “You’ve had a long day.” Ryder leaned over to gently smooth the hair back from her face. Grace smiled and closed her eyes for a moment. She loved it when he did that. “Besides,” he continued, “you can sleep in my room. I’ll just read until I fall asleep.”

  Grace wanted nothing more than to curl up in Ryder’s bed while he watched over her. After a day of feeling attacked and confused, he was the one thing in her life that she could absolutely count on. But, even as she pictured the warmth of his blankets and the security of his protection, the guilt crept in. Along with the guilt was the fear that if she lay down with Ryder, she wouldn’t feel the same pull toward him that she had felt toward Cam. That would be the biggest betrayal of all.

  “You’re sweet,” she said, knowing that she had no choice. Any boyfriend, even the ever-trusting Ryder, would suspect that something was up if she went and slept in the guest room.

  “You think I’m going to take advantage of your emotional state, don’t you?” Ryder grinned.

  “No, I think sex is the last thing on your mind tonight. I know it’s the last thing on mine,” she lied. Sex was on her mind, just not sex with him. “I’ll see you in the morning.” Grace knew that Ryder would turn on the news and fall asleep immediately, possibly before she did.

  And indeed, by the time she crossed the living room and turned back to look at him once more, his hand was on the remote and his head was on the sofa pillow.

  After Julius delivered a small package from the Oberon driver, Miles slipped past the teenagers boasting and posing in his great room and moved toward Titania’s room. He liked it when Puck and Cam brought friends home. The way they postured for his attention was amusing to him. All of these boys were painfull
y aware of the Oberon legacy, at least as much of it as was fit for public consumption. Any young man fortunate enough to travel in the same circles as his sons seemed to think that garnering the approval of Miles Oberon would benefit them in the future. Occasionally, just for fun, he would help one of them with a college recommendation. This group that Puck was running with lately, though, would not be benefitting from any Oberon good will. Despite the fact that they came from good families, they were intolerable buffoons. Nick Bottom, in particular, gave Miles a chill. The boy was a corpulent blowhard who revealed himself as an absolute imbecile every time he spoke.

  Miles grinned as he concentrated on the inner workings of Titania’s locked door until he heard the bolt pull back. What had formerly been a loose plan began to gel in his mind. For the first time, he made a connection between having a house full of teenagers and possessing the potion from Tadhg. He couldn’t have planned this better.

  As he crept silently toward Titania, he whispered, “Duerme,” under his breath. Only a small spell was required to deepen her sleep, as well as that of anyone who slept nearby. For a few minutes, he sat at the edge of her bed, somewhat regretful of the fact that he had extracted himself from her good graces. Knowing that she wouldn’t awaken, he brushed the back of his index finger over the line of her cheekbone. She was truly exquisite. This was a loss he would feel with his heart. He hadn’t loved anyone as much as Titania since his first wife. However, there were sacrifices to be made. It was his duty as the executor of his family’s legacy to ensure their privacy and survival. Titania was too smart to be part of that, which seemed ironic since it was partially her intelligence that had drawn him to her in the first place. Nonetheless, she wasn’t family, and therefore couldn’t be trusted, no matter how much Miles wanted to believe otherwise.

  Before he could weaken, he glanced at the little bed on the other side of the room to make sure India was sleeping and then returned his gaze to Titania. He opened the small vial that Puck had brought him and took a pinch of it between his index finger and thumb. It fell below her nose, where she only had to inhale a small amount in the course of her normal breathing.

  He replaced the cap and pocketed the vial before he picked up his son to carry him back to the nursery. It wouldn’t do for his son to spend this night in the company of his mother.

  12:00 AM

  As Puck entered Ryder’s parents’ apartment, the air was completely still. He assumed that any inhabitants were already sleeping. He focused until his forehead ached, sending the command duerme into the apartment. If anyone was home, he could be assured that they would not wake up for a least a few minutes. With Cam and Chloe on his heels, time was of the essence. He followed the sound of the television to find Ryder sound asleep on the sofa, the remote control lying on the floor where he dropped it. Puck squatted on his heels in front of Ryder and studied his face for a moment.

  So, he thought, you’re the source of all this trouble. You don’t even know what an inconvenience you’ve been tonight, do you?

  Quickly, he produced the vial from his pocket and released a small pile of dust into his hand. He took a pinch and sprinkled it next to Ryder’s nose, letting him breathe it in. However, when he was finished, he didn’t put it away. He followed his father’s orders, but he also had plans of his own. There was one more person to take care of tonight. He was forbidden to use magic on Grace for some absurd reason, but that didn’t completely limit his options.

  Bickering voices rose from the stairwell, and Puck ran to conceal himself behind the open door of a closet. Within moments, Chloe and Cam appeared.

  “How the hell,” Chloe asked Cam, “do you get lost when you have a GPS? We’ve been circling this neighborhood forever. We could have been killed.”

  “Will you just drop it?” he asked. “It must be broken.”

  “It’s probably as old as that ancient car.”

  Cam shook his head. “That ancient car is a classic, and there was no such thing as a navigation system when it was built”

  “That’s ridiculous,” Chloe snipped. “You really should look these things up before you argue with me. Besides, you’re a New Yorker. You should know your way around.”

  “This isn’t New York. It’s Brooklyn.”

  Chloe shrugged, as if in consent. Puck grinned. Nothing ended an argument as quickly as mutual disdain for the boroughs.

  Cam quickly scanned the room and immediately spotted the television and the sleeping boy on the sofa. He tiptoed over and stared at Ryder over the back of the sofa. Puck had a sudden urge to wake Ryder, and had to stifle a laugh at the thought of Ryder falling desperately in love with Cam. As much fun as that would be, though, there was a better way.

  Cam gestured for Chloe to join him, which she did eagerly.

  “Listen,” he instructed. “Watch him and make sure he doesn’t wake up. I’m going to find Grace.”

  “And say what?” Chloe whispered. “What could you possibly say that would explain you being here?”

  “I guess I have about thirty seconds to figure something out, don’t I?” Cam turned and began to investigate the rest of the apartment. Puck had only seconds to plan and execute several spells, and did so with incredible accuracy.

  Before Cam had finished his instruction to Chloe, Puck began to whisper furtively. To anyone else, it would have sounded like he was giving random instructions to no one. However, very few people would have understood what it meant when he ended with the word stasis. It was this word that caused both Cam and Chloe to freeze momentarily. Chloe was leaning over the couch, looking at Ryder. Cam was walking out of the room and into the depths of the apartment when he stopped short.

  Puck slipped out of his hiding place long enough to walk out into the apartment and push his brother to the floor. He took care to push Cam sideways. It wouldn’t do to hurt him too much. Puck needed Cam to be able to fulfill his part of Puck’s plan, however unwittingly. Cam fell like a statue, landing on his left arm. His head hit the floor, but not hard enough to be problematic. Leaving Cam on the floor, Puck released Chloe from her frozen state before he concealed himself just beyond the door the living room.

  Chloe stood behind the couch, staring at Ryder’s sleeping face. He seemed so ordinary to her. He wasn’t unattractive, but he definitely wouldn’t stand out in a Manhattan crowd. Looking around this squalid little apartment with its horrid man-made fibers and pressboard furniture, Chloe didn’t see why anyone, even Grace, would choose this regular-looking, middle class nobody over Cam. It made no sense to her.

  Upon thinking of Cam, she turned to see what had become of him, but before she could, a hand grabbed hers. Chloe shrieked and jerked back as if she had been bitten. Ryder was sitting up and looking at her as if he were deranged.

  “I’m so sorry,” she exclaimed. “Please don’t shoot me. I’m just with him.” She pointed behind her, but then remembered that there was no one behind her. Great. Now she was alone with some Brooklyn kid whose apartment she had broken into.

  “You’re incredible,” Ryder whispered, his eyes wide.

  “Yes,” Chloe responded without thinking at all. Maybe he wasn’t going to hurt her after all. However, his eyes were pretty glassy. Maybe he was on crack.

  “What’s your name, beautiful girl in my house?” Ryder leaned forward and reached a hand out to touch her hair. Chloe swatted it away like a bug.

  “Chloe. I’m here with Cam Oberon. He wants to see Grace for some stupid reason.”

  “Grace? She’s in there.” He pointed toward the guest bedroom. “She’s all his. They can run off together if they’ll leave you here with me.” Ryder kept staring at Chloe in a funny way that was making her uncomfortable. “I know who you are. You’re the girl on the street. Grace told me that you were beautiful, but she didn’t do you justice.”

  “Are you high?” Chloe tried to look at his pupils, but was afraid he would think she was going to kiss him. From where she stood, his pupils weren’t dilated, but he still seeme
d off somehow. She took a step back. Normally, she didn’t question the admiration of men, but this was Grace’s boyfriend. Grace wasn’t exactly Chloe’s new best friend. “Why are you messing with me like this? What did Grace tell you? Are you making fun of me?” That was the only thing that made sense. Grace heard her and Cam coming and put Ryder up to this as a cruel joke. There was no way to be sure that Grace wasn’t peeking out the window when she and Cam pulled up. There would have been exactly enough time between then and now to cook up a mediocre gag like having Ryder pretend to fall in love.

  “Grace, you little bitch!” she yelled. “Where are you hiding? This is ridiculous, getting your boyfriend to make fun of me.

  “I’m not making fun of you.” Ryder stood up and walked around the couch, toward Chloe, which caused her to take a step back. “Seeing you, I can understand that I’ve wasted all of the time I’ve spent with Grace. I settled for less because I didn’t understand what true beauty is. How could I know when I’d never seen it until now?”

  Chloe turned from him, ranting. “I’m in a freakin’ loony bin. Cam treats me like a dog all night and then this makes it worse. Isn’t it bad enough that everyone thinks Grace is this great beauty and I’m nothing? Do they have to rub it in?” When this was all over and she and Cam were finally together, he had a lot to make up to her.

  Chloe ran to the front door and was down the stairs almost before Ryder could start after her. She was shockingly fast, despite her high-heeled boots, and when she heard Ryder’s steps behind her on the stairs, she began to move even faster, her white clothes reflecting the streetlights as she bolted down the street.

  After Puck’s hasty departure, his friends were left with the run of the Oberon family great room. What none of them realized was that Miles Oberon was watching them from his office via the small nanny cam that had been installed several years ago when India was born and Ana was hired. Ana turned out to be great with India, so they could have packed away the camera a long time ago. However, Miles liked having it in the boys’ favorite room. It let him know what was happening with them. And tonight, it was a tremendous source of amusement.