“That wasn’t the part that worried me.”
“No?”
“No.” He opened the pack. “I held off on the explanations because this is a small town. It’s even smaller now that the few locals who are still here are all hunkered down. I trust everyone at that table tonight, primarily because Harry told me that he trusts them. But there are no secrets in small towns. If word gets out that our marriage is a fake, there’s no telling who will find out.”
Alice looked out the window. The dark mist had closed in on Shadow Bay. Here and there she could see the weak light of an amber lantern in a window or the flames of a hearth fire, but the rest of the scene was drenched in dark, disturbing energy.
“I don’t think that any gossip will get off this island as long as it’s locked in this fog,” she said.
“We can’t be sure of that. I’d rather not take any chances.”
“Are you going to tell your brother the truth about our marriage when he returns?” she asked. Assuming he does return,she thought. But there was no reason to sound pessimistic. Drake had enough to cope with at the moment.
“I’ll have to explain the situation to Harry.” Drake removed his overnight kit from the pack. “He’ll know there’s something off about the marriage as soon as he finds out about it.”
Alice wrinkled her nose. “Because we don’t look like a happily married couple?”
“No.” Drake studied the fog-bound scene through the window. “Because in our family we don’t do MCs.”
Her insides clenched but she tried not to let him see the effect his words had on her.
“I suppose MCs are way too tacky for the Sebastian family,” she said, going for flippant. “Always nice to meet a man with such high standards.” Guilt flashed through her. “Sorry,” she said gruffly. “That was uncalled for under the circumstances. Our MC is certainly not typical.”
“It’s not so much a question of standards—more like a definition. In my family, marriage is marriage. An affair is an affair. There is no middle ground.”
“In other words, in your family, when it comes to making a commitment, there’s no gray area. You either make a commitment and keep it or you don’t.”
He gave her a wary look. “Something like that.”
“What a lovely, noble tradition. Very admirable. Yet here you are, stuck in a low-class MC thanks to me. Yep, I can see why you feel like you have to explain things to your brother. Sorry about that, but if you will recall, it was your idea.”
“Yes,” he said a little too evenly. “It was my idea. And it’s not like Harry did things perfectly, either. He went through a full-blown Covenant Marriage ceremony, but his wife divorced him three weeks after the wedding.”
“Really?” Alice stared at him, astonished. “I didn’t hear about that.”
“Probably because a lot of money was spent keeping the scandal out of the media.”
“I see. Wow.” Alice thought about that. The dissolution of a Covenant Marriage was not unheard of, but it was rare because it was a legal and financial nightmare that always left a social stigma. “Mind if I ask what the grounds for the divorce were?”
“It was granted under the new laws governing divorce. Harry’s ex claimed intolerable psychical incompatibility.”
“Geez. Must have cost a fortune.”
Drake smiled wryly. “Like I said, money can’t buy everything but it comes in handy at times.”
“That’s for sure.” Alice took a deep breath. “Okay, thanks for the family background. That makes me feel a little better about getting you into this mess.”
Drake stopped smiling. “You didn’t get me into it. The MC was my idea, remember?”
“I know, but—” She stopped because she did not know where to go with that.
Drake surveyed the room with a grim expression. “And while we’re on the subject, I apologize for the accommodations.”
“Not a problem.” Alice sat down on the bed, leaned back, and braced herself on her hands. “I’ve lived in worse places. You saw that apartment I was renting in Crystal City. This is a real step up. It’s . . . cozy.”
He watched her through his glasses. “I was apologizing for the lack of privacy, not the lack of luxury.”
“Oh, well, that can’t be helped. You heard the woman at the front desk. This is the last available room. We’re lucky we’re not going to be sleeping on the floor in the lobby. What do you say we go downstairs to the tavern and get some dinner? Don’t know about you but I’m hungry.”
Drake seemed to relax. “Sounds like a plan.”
“Also, I could use a drink.”
“That, too, sounds like an excellent idea.”
THE TAVERN ON THE FIRST FLOOR WAS LIT WITH AMBER lanterns and crowded with locals who were spending the night at the inn. The mood was that of a community under siege, Alice thought. In spite of the fact that almost every table was filled, a dark, subdued atmosphere pervaded the rustic space. Some of the booths and tables were occupied by families. The parents talked in hushed tones. The kids were unnaturally quiet.
A boy who appeared to be about thirteen sat at a table with a woman who looked the right age to be his grandmother—a young grandmother. She was blonde with a fit, athletic figure and she wore a police uniform complete with a mag-rez pistol. There was another person at the table, a young man in his early twenties. He, too, wore a uniform with a patch embroidered SBPD.
The kid brightened when Alice walked in with Houdini on her shoulder.
“Hey, look, the lady has a dust bunny,” he said to a friend.
The other youngsters in the restaurant turned around to look at Alice. The little ones jumped up and came running.
“Can we pet him?” a small, dark-haired girl asked eagerly.
“What’s his name?” an older boy asked.
Sensing that he had an audience, Houdini went into high-rez cute mode. He bounced a little and chortled a greeting.
Alice found herself surrounded by a small throng of excited children. She took Houdini off her shoulder and set him on the back of a chair.
“His name is Houdini,” she said. “And I don’t think he would mind if you pet him.”
Drake looked at her. “You and Houdini entertain the kids. I’ll get us some food.”
He went to the counter to put in an order. There was a harried-looking cook laboring over an old-fashioned stove that was operating off an ancient amber-fueled generator.
The kids gathered around Houdini’s chair. The small girl reached out to give him a tentative pat. Houdini chirped encouragingly.
“Houdini is a magician,” Alice said. “He can disappear.”
“Yeah?” The boy who had been sitting with the police officers looked skeptical. “Will he do it for us?”
“I think so, if you ask him nicely. What’s your name?”
“Devin Reed. That’s my grandmother over there. She’s a police officer. Her name is Myrna Reed. And that’s Officer Willis with her. They’re in charge because the chief is gone for a while.”
Alice glanced at Myrna, who nodded and gave her a grateful smile. The adults in the room were quietly scared, Alice thought, and trying not to show it for the sake of the children.
She turned back to the small audience and put a hand on Houdini. “What do you say, Mr. Houdini? Will you do your vanishing act for us?”
Houdini chortled happily.
“That means yes,” Alice said.
She kicked up her talent, generating a little energy through her hand.
There was a collective gasp when Houdini vanished. He chortled again. The sound, coming as it did out of thin air, caused an excited murmur to run through the crowd. Alice realized it wasn’t just the kids who were watching now. Several of the adults in the room were also paying attention.
“How did he do that?” Devin asked. “Tell us how the trick works.”
“Professional magicians never give away their secrets except to students of the art who are serious about becoming professional illusionists,” Alice said. “Besides, if you knew how it worked, it wouldn’t be any fun. Houdini, please reappear.”