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“You do spoil us.” I grinned at her as she set the cake in front of me.

Diesel reared up and put his front paws on her arm as she took the chair opposite mine. “You’re both worth spoiling.” Those blue eyes sparkled, and I thought for the umpteenth time how beautiful they were.

“Here you go, Diesel.” Helen Louise tore the chicken into smaller pieces and held her hand out to the cat. Diesel wasted no time in scarfing the food out of her hand, and she laughed. “Charlie needs to feed you more, sweet boy. You’re obviously wasting away into nothing.”

My mouth full of sinfully delicious cake, I groaned as Helen Louise doled out the rest of the chicken. We exchanged glances as she wiped her fingers on a napkin. Diesel popped up on his hind legs again, head over the table, searching for more chicken.

“That’s all, Diesel.” I spoke in a firm tone, and my cat stared at me. For a moment I had the strangest feeling that he was going to stick out his tongue at me, but instead he blinked a couple of times and sat back on his haunches.

“How did the board meeting go?” Helen Louise leaned back and regarded me with an amused expression. “All-out catfight?”

I set my fork down. “Don’t you know it. I’ve never seen Miss An’gel and Miss Dickce strip someone to the bone, but they sure did it with Vera.”

“Vera brings it on herself.” Helen Louise sighed. “I do feel sorry for her sometimes, but honestly, if she’d just relax and not get so caught up in trying to be the doyenne of Athena society, people might cut her some slack.”

“Not to mention that she tends to order people around like her personal peons.” I recalled her behavior every time she’d visited the public library when I did volunteer duty. She sent staff scurrying like Cleopatra giving orders to her slaves.

“There’s not an ounce of grace in her.” Helen Louise shook her head. “She came up from nothing, and she thinks she can bulldoze people into forgetting it. Sad thing is, most people couldn’t care less.”

“She should be proud of what she and Morty have accomplished.” I licked the fork, hoping for one last taste of that amazing chocolate. “But you know what people here are like. She’s never going to be one of the Ducotes of River Hill, no matter how hard she tries.” The populist in me thought it ridiculous, but attitudes about class and position changed slowly in Athena.

Helen Louise snorted. “Let me guess what happened. She wanted to host the gala at Ranelagh, but Miss An’gel and Miss Dickce declined to agree.”

I laughed. “You sure you didn’t hide in the corner of my living room tonight?”

“Honey, they’ve been fighting that same battle for the past decade or more. And the outcome never varies. I bet you anything Miss An’gel already sent out the invitations.”

“She handed me mine before she and her sister left tonight.”

“The Ducote sisters could teach the military how to maneuver,” Helen Louise observed.

Diesel warbled as if he agreed, and Helen Louise and I both laughed. “I don’t want to be anywhere around when Vera finds out.” I could just imagine the explosion.

“Vera ought to be expecting it.” Helen Louise shook her head. “But she always thinks she’s going to outsmart them, and of course, she never does.” She paused. “Sissy Beauchamp show up?”

“She did.” I grimaced. “She and Vera went at each other like two cats. I swear, if every board meeting is going to be like that, I may have to rethink being a member.”

Helen Louise regarded me with a concerned expression. “Now, Charlie, honey, I know it makes you nervous when people carry on like that around you, but you can’t let it upset you. They need you on that board, and I know Teresa appreciates your support.”

I nodded, feeling slightly ashamed. “You’re right. I should stop whining. As long as they don’t try to pull me into too many of their arguments, I guess I can manage.”

Helen Louise leaned forward to squeeze my hand. Diesel rubbed hard against my legs and meowed a couple of times. Helen Louise and I shared another laugh as I reached for the cat’s head and scratched it. Diesel’s rumbling purr sounded loud even against the light background noise from the customers.

As I glanced over Helen Louise’s shoulder, my attention caught by the opening door, I blinked to focus. Sissy Beauchamp strode in, her younger brother, Henry Ainsworth Beauchamp IV—better known as Hank—right behind her. He spoke to her in an undertone, his words unintelligible, but the tension between them fairly vibrated.

Sissy’s mulish expression changed quickly when she spotted me. She smiled and waved, then elbowed Hank in the stomach. He stopped talking and followed the direction of Sissy’s nod. He scowled at Helen Louise and me briefly before he managed to smooth his features into the bland mien he usually presented to the world.

Helen Louise cast a quick glance at me, one eyebrow raised, as she left our table and took her place behind the counter. “Evening, Sissy, Hank, how are y’all doing? What can I get for you?”

“We’re doing just fine, Helen Louise.” Sissy gave no sign now of anything amiss between her and Hank as she slipped into gracious belle mode. Hank nodded, but I couldn’t see that he relaxed at all.

“I’d like a couple of those wonderful éclairs and a café au lait.” Sissy turned to Hank. “What about you, darlin’?”

“Same for me, I reckon.” Hank’s deep voice always surprised me because it seemed bigger than he was. Only about five-nine, he had a slight figure and looked like a good breeze could send him reeling.

“Coming right up.” Helen Louise entered their order in the computerized register and gave them the total.

Hank paid with a credit card, but when Helen Louise spoke after checking the register, her voice held a hint of compassion.

She pitched her voice low, and I barely heard her. “Sorry, honey, but it didn’t go through.”

Hank stared at her for a moment, then uttered an obscenity. He turned and stomped out. Sissy called after him, but he never looked back.

THREE

“Hank, come back here,” Sissy called out to her brother, but he didn’t falter. Throwing an apologetic glance at Helen Louise and then at me, Sissy scurried after Hank. The door clanged shut behind her.

Helen Louise shrugged and punched a couple of buttons on her cash register. She strolled back to the table and resumed her seat.

“What was all that about?” I asked. Diesel chirped several times as if to indicate he wanted an answer as well. I rubbed his head, and he quieted.

An excited babble of voices startled both of us before Helen Louise could answer my question. She turned as I looked past her toward the door. A group of eight young women poured inside, all talking at once. The din struck my ears and made me wince. Diesel hunched against my legs, frightened by the clamor.

Helen Louise offered a wry smile as she stood. “Sorority sisters in desperate search of sugar and chocolate. Sorry, my dear, I have to get back to work.” She leaned down and gave me a quick kiss.

“Okay, we’ll talk later.” I wanted to hold her for a moment, but I didn’t get to my feet in time. She darted behind the counter and attempted to dim the roar to a more acceptable level.

“Come on, boy.” I rubbed the cat’s head. “Let’s go home.”

Diesel couldn’t get out the door and into the car fast enough. As I drove I considered the reasons for Hank Beauchamp’s less than gentlemanly behavior, but I reached no conclusions by the time I pulled the car into the garage.

Once inside Diesel headed straight for the utility room and his litter box. I let the peace of the house settle around me as I gazed at the empty kitchen. More than likely Diesel and I had the house to ourselves, except for Stewart Delacorte in his aerie on the third floor. I’d spotted the lights in his rooms as I drove in.

Justin Wardlaw, my other boarder, was probably still on campus, studying with friends in the library. Final exams loomed as the semester drew to a close, and Justin always made sure he was prepared.