Manservant

13

That night, after everyone was asleep, I wobbled down to the dining room in the dark. I was well aware that I couldn't go and see Theo anymore, now that I'd sworn off him.

But with everything that was going on, especially Dale's sort-of marriage proposal, I felt like I just needed something to help me relax. And I knew just where the liquor was kept.

I froze in the entryway, surprised to see someone already there at the concealed cabinet, a bottle in hand. "Maia?"

Her jaw dropped over. "Alicia! I was just ... " she trailed off helplessly.

" – getting a drink," I realized.

She clamped her lips tightly together, waiting to see what I would say.

"Just like me. Is there anything good?"

She blinked, looking taken aback for a second. "Well ... there's this bottle of rum that belongs to Mr Colby."

"How about we share it?"

She twisted slightly to face me, holding the bottle by the neck. "Are you supposed to be drinking, Alicia?"

"Please. You're only a year older than me."

"That's true."

"I won't tell if you won't," I said smoothly.

A small smile tugged at her lips. "It's a deal."

A few minutes later found us seated by the pond, a glass in hand each as we looked up to the moon.

"Should we make a toast?" she suggested.

"To what?"

She paused, her features going all squiggly as she thought hard. "To getting over heartbreak."

I stared at her for a moment. Was this her way of trying to comfort me somehow? I wasn't sure whether to be touched or insulted.

"There seems to be a lot of that going around right now," she mused.

"Yes," I said, a little stiffly. "It might hurt for a while, granted, but before long, everything will be as it once was."

"I hope so."

I couldn't believe it. She felt pity for me? My cheeks burned with humiliation, but I willed myself not to get angry.

I clinked my glass against hers, and we both drank.

"You've been doing a good job taking over for your mother," she said to me after a long moment's quiet.

"Hardly. I've been doing more stalling than anything else."

"Still. We're all glad you stepped up."

"We?"

"All the staff. And you're so young too. We know it can't be easy."

"Well ... I suppose I might as well learn the ropes now. After all, I might be married before the year's out."

"Only if your mother insists on it, and right now, I daresay she's forgotten all about that."

"But I haven't." I paused, meeting her eye. "Dale proposed to me."

I was surprised that she didn't seem surprised. She even giggled as she took another sip, "Of course he did."

"What do you mean 'of course he did'?"

"Oh, Alicia. He's had a crush on you for the longest time. Didn't you know?"

"What?? No! Wait ... who else knows?"

"Oh, well, just about everyone, I suppose. Of course, when he went off to war, no one knew what would happen. But when he came back and became part of your life again, we all knew it was just a matter of time before he made a move. Took him long enough, really."