The Mistress of Black Grove Manor (99 page)

              It wasn’t that Lida didn’t find Wyatt insatiably attractive, but she couldn’t keep her eyes off Malcolm. She’d been hanging out with modern royalty for the past few days, and Malcolm was somehow different than the rest of them. He didn’t care about climbing the ranks and refused to bow down to Wyatt and the others. The two brothers couldn’t have been more different from each other. And Lida couldn’t have been more confused about the whole situation.

              Outside, the fire clicked and swayed in the wind. Wyatt’s backyard was filled with palm trees that bore fresh brown coconuts. The guests were told to steer clear of the tree bases, lest one of the fruits fall on their heads.

              Wyatt had excused himself to get a drink, leaving Lida all alone. Or so she had thought. Suddenly there was another presence beside her. Turning to her left, she noticed a pot-bellied man in a grey suit. He had salt and pepper hair that matched his scruffy face. Lida thought he looked like a drunk.             

              “You’re the new girl, eh?” he said, pointing at her.

              “I guess so,” Lida replied. She wasn’t sure what he meant by “new girl” but it couldn’t have been good.

              “It’s okay, no need to be shy. Everyone that’s a guest of Wyatt’s is welcome here. Though you should lighten up, sweetheart. You look a bit out of place.”

              Malcolm appeared a few seconds later, slapping the older man on the shoulder.

              “Leo, I see you’ve met Wyatt’s love interest, Lida. Leo is one of our oldest family friends.”

              “Is that so?” Leo said. He was definitely drunk by that point, his eyes turned glossy and cruel from the liquor.

              “I hope you’re not scaring her off now,” Malcolm said. “We wouldn’t want to have a runaway bride now would we?”

              “You’re the one getting hitched to Wyatt? Well I’ll be,” Leo said, polishing off the rest of his liquor. He stumbled off to the buffet table, which was piled high with graham crackers, dark chocolate wedges, and mint marshmallows.

              “I thought we weren’t supposed to tell anyone until later tonight,” Lida said, pouting.

              “Come on, you don’t really care that much,” Malcolm teased. Lida blushed, wrapping her arms tightly around her body. She didn’t want to let them dangle by her sides for fear of reaching out and touching Malcolm’s hands. He was wearing Bermuda shorts and a white pressed shirt. She wanted to push him up against one of the palm trees and ravage him until he couldn’t stand it anymore. The flames were casting a strange orange glow all over his face. He looked more like a jack-o-lantern than a human being.

              “What are you thinking about?” he asked. They were standing side-by-side looking out at the other guests. Serena was engaged in conversation with Wyatt. Lida stared at them enviously, wondering what one brother’s girlfriend wanted with the other.

              “We should go see what Wyatt’s up to,” she said, making a move forward. Without realizing it, she walked straight into one of the maids who was carrying a tray of melted marshmallows on crackers.

              “Oh!” the maid said, falling backwards onto Malcolm. She managed to retain her balance, but most of the marshmallows had fallen onto Lida’s chest and hair.

              “Shoot,” she mumbled under her breath, not wanting to make the maid feel bad.

              “Wow,” Malcolm said. “We should get you changed. Sorry about that Annabelle.” He smiled apologetically and Annabelle blushed.

              Lida followed Malcolm back to the house, her body warm and smelling sweet. The house was surprisingly cool, though the air conditioning only worked on the upper floors. She walked into her room, unbuttoning her shirt as she went. There was a small laundry pail next to the door in which she deposited her shirt. She didn’t realize that Malcolm was still standing in the doorway, a smirk on his face.

              “What on earth are you doing?” she asked when she saw his reflection in the mirror.

              “I was just checking out your tattoo,” he said nonchalantly.

              Lida blushed again. She’d completely forgotten about the tattoo of a whale on her upper right shoulder. It had been done back home, by a friend of a friend. The ink they’d used was a mixture of blue and black, making the whale look a bit like a bruise. She’d always loved sea life and especially adored whales.

              She threw on a new shirt, this one cleaner and a lighter color. Malcolm walked towards her, his slow gate entrancing her as if he were a genie.

              “You look ravishing,” he said.

              “Cut it out,” Lida responded, the corners of her mouth flaring up in a grin.

              “What if I can’t?” he responded, taking a step towards her. She felt the breath hitching in her throat at the anticipation of a kiss from Malcolm. He leaned towards her, stopping inches from her face. He had a devilish look on his face but when she turned her face towards his, he made no move. They stood like that for several seconds, sizing each other up.

              Suddenly, they heard a voice in the hallway. Malcolm turned towards the source of the noise, his ears perked up like a dog’s. It was none other than Serena. Her manicured hand grasped a half-empty wine glass and her eyes were dilated.

              “What the hell are you two doing?” she asked.

              “We’re not doing anything babe,” Malcolm said.

              “Don’t ‘babe’ me!” Serena said. “What are you doing with this whore? Her shirt’s not even closed!”
              “That’s because I was changing,” Lida protested but Serena was hearing none of it.

              She’d already gotten the idea in her head that Malcolm and Lida had slept together and soon she would be complaining to all her friends about it. Without hesitation she lunged forward and splashed the remainder of her wine on Lida’s new shirt.

              “I never want to see you again,” she said, pointing at Malcolm. To Lida, she threatened and told her never to come back to the Stone household. Of course, Serena had no idea what was going on. It was impossible for Lida to just pack up her bags and leave, especially because she had nowhere to go. If she disappeared, she would never see any of the money promised to her by Wyatt. And if she stayed she would feel the wrath of Serena until Malcolm either explained it to her or broke it off. Each option had its downsides but she had to choose the one that was most rational.             

              “She’s insane,” Lida commented, raising her eyebrows at Malcolm.

              “Yeah,” he said slowly. “I should probably catch up to her and see if she’s okay.”

              “Okay,” Lida said, frowning.

              She watched Malcolm walk off, tracing his back through his shirt with her eyes. For no sane reason whatsoever she wanted to call out to him. To tell him to come back, to instruct him to place his hands around her wrists to pin her to the wall. She stood in the doorway for a few extra seconds, absent-mindedly entertaining fingering herself.

             
Stop it,
Lida thought to herself.
You’re not going to achieve anything if you fall in love with both of the Stone brothers. And you’re supposed to marry Wyatt. Why can’t you get that through your thick skull? Malcolm doesn’t want you. He’s just a tease, a playboy, and you know it.

             
But Malcolm was thinking about Lida. As he walked down the hall, he thought about how ravishing Lida was. He wanted to turn around and toss her onto the bed, making her cry out in mercy for all the party guests to hear. He’d been thinking about this since the moment he ran into her in the hallway.

              He’d also been obsessing over mermaids for the past few years, and took it as a sign from the Gods that Lida had been delivered to their doorstep. If only there were a way for him to surpass Wyatt and his plans to marry her, then he would abandon Serena in a heartbeat for Lida. He’d even been drawing mermaids onto the wallpaper near his bed, using a permanent marker to draw fill in the scales. Each night he worked on it, making the oceanic scene more and more extravagant. Just like the waves crashed around in his heart, so too did the waves crash around his wall. One day he’d surely be carried out to sea by the fake papery waves, waving goodbye to everyone he’d once known.

             
This is bad,
Malcolm thought to himself.
Get a grip, soldier. You’re not going to get anywhere if you keep thinking about your brother’s fiancé.

             
Upstairs, he heard Lida’s door close, her flip-flops thwacking on the marble stairs. She was heading back outside to the party, back out to where Malcolm stood. He ducked into a laundry room, peering through the crack in the door as she passed by. He had a boner and didn’t want anyone to see it. But seconds later, someone yanked the door open and revealed his hiding spot.

Chapter 4

              “Ooh,” a voice cooed. It belonged to none other than Serena herself. She’d been searching for Malcolm all over the party and having no luck finding him, had retired to the house for a drink.

              “Serena,” he said quickly, putting his hands awkwardly on his shoulders. “What are you doing here?”

              “I think the better question is what are you doing here.”

              Malcolm swallowed once, hard. The only reason he’d been seeing Serena was because he’d been lusting after Lida. “We shouldn’t,” he protested.

              “Why not? You clearly want to.”

              “I just—I have a bit of a headache.”
              “Well I know just the cure for that,” Serena said. She unzipped Malcolm’s fly and proceeded to crouch to her knees, treating him like the king that he wasn’t.

              “What about before?” he asked. “With Lida?”

              “I knew nothing happened,” Serena said. “I was just bored with the other partygoers and needed to pitch a fit.”

             
And that’s insane,
Malcolm thought to himself but didn’t dare say aloud. He leaned back against the dryer like the good boyfriend he was and allowed Serena to do whatever she pleased. It didn’t matter, anyway; all he thought of the whole time was Lida.

              Lida found Wyatt near the fire, chatting up Eva.

              “Hey,” he said warmly, kissing her atop her head. Eva scowled and excused herself politely.

              “What did I do to her?” Lida asked.

              “I wouldn’t worry too much about it, she’s insane just like the rest of them.”
              “Aren’t these your friends you’re talking about?”
              “Mhmm,” he said. “Are you ready to retire? We’ve got an early meal in the morning.”

              “Really?”

              Wyatt went on to explain that his mother was hosting a meal for them and that he’d spread the news casually about their engagement. Lida couldn’t exactly say she felt hurt as they were engaged under very strange circumstances. But Wyatt was sweet and she found herself becoming attracted to him emotionally as well as physically. Wyatt walked Lida over to a set of large plastic chairs and handed her a s’mores bar. Lida chuckled quietly, thinking of the marshmallow incident with Malcolm.

              “What’s so funny?” he asked, pinching her cheek.

              “Oh nothing,” she responded.

              The rest of the party carried on until close to one in the morning. When Lida and Wyatt walked back to greet the others, Lida realized how exhausted she really was. She excused herself and headed off to the bedroom designated to her. Halfway down the dimly lit hallway, she noticed a light on in one of the rooms. It Malcolm, leaning back in bed and reading. Serena was passed out next to him.

             
What is it with these boys and the crazy women they fall for,
Lida thought to herself. She noticed Malcolm was reading a worn copy of a Douglas Adams compilation. He looked up at her and waved as she passed by.

              He glanced up from his book and smiled at her. Lida waved a small wave, not wanting to wake Serena up. Without warning, Malcolm stood and strode towards her.

              “No, no,” Lida protested but it was already too late.

              “Hi,” he whispered, leaning in the doorway.

              “Hey,” she whispered back.

              She didn’t want him to think of her that way. They were just friends, or rather Malcolm was her fiancé’s brother. It was weird to think Malcolm was even interested in her, especially because his sleeping girlfriend was mere inches away from them. Lida didn’t want him to think they were the same—that it was okay to be an outcast. But she also didn’t want to snuff him out.

              “I’m tired from all the partying,” she said at last. “I’m heading to bed.

              “I see that. We’ve got an early rise in the morning.”

              They stared at each other for a few seconds, neither making a move towards or away from one another. Lida’s confusion swirled around her head like an angry beehive.