Total pages in book: 127
Estimated words: 129951 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 650(@200wpm)___ 520(@250wpm)___ 433(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 129951 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 650(@200wpm)___ 520(@250wpm)___ 433(@300wpm)
“She was eighty-seven at the time,” Temperance replied. “And it was twenty years after her husband met his untimely end by the same means, if in different places doing entirely different things. So yes, I would say it was a coincidence. An unfortunate one, but for her part, she’d lived a long life.”
“A goodly amount of it without her husband,” Chastity whisper-added.
Temperance made no reply.
“All right. Then explain grandpapa and grandmama,” Prudence challenged.
In order to keep track, that was Cannon Talyn and his wife, Victoria.
Temperance, clearly having had enough of this topic, leaned forward and dropped her delicate china teacup and saucer with a clatter on the table, snapping, “For goodness’ sake, Prue. They both got food poisoning from eating the same food. Three of the staff died too.”
For once Chastity met someone’s gaze.
And it was Temperance’s.
“And Father and Mother?”
That would be Atlas and Rebecca.
Temperance appeared to be attempting to shoot laser beams out of her eyes at her youngest sister.
“Ah-ha!” Prudence crowed to Temperance who appeared to be stymied. “You don’t have anything to explain that away.”
Temperance sat back, aimed her chilly gaze at her second youngest sister and stated, “He was an ass. She was a spoiled brat. They were a match made in heaven, meaning they deserved each other. The problem was, they couldn’t stand each other, so after she gave him the issue required of her, she buggered off to Corfu to live in a fabulous villa and fuck copious Greek men who were built like gods, something, as far as we know, she’s still doing. As such, he was free to open his revolving door of whores anywhere he wanted on British soil, until he died of a heart attack whilst fucking one of those whores.”
Again, all true.
Even that last part.
Regardless of how hard the Talyn line did their best, and mostly succeeded, to work to guard their privacy, that particular tidbit had been spread widely.
Though, what hadn’t been, but what I’d learned from Prudence, was the fact that Rebecca had not that first thing to do with her children after she left for that Greek island, something I’d come to learn affected Prudence very much, as it would do.
I couldn’t imagine not having a mom who loved and adored you, got frustrated by you acting like an idiot, but allowed you the freedom to do it so you could learn from it, shared her wisdom with you, and then when you finally got to a certain age, became the best friend you could ever have.
No, I couldn’t imagine that at all.
Prudence turned to me. “Don’t listen to Tempie. Although she has no excuse to be this way, she’s as cynical as they come.”
“Did I lie?” Temperance demanded. “Well?” she pressed in Prudence’s and Chastity’s directions when neither said anything.
“Not really,” Chasitity finally whisper-admitted.
Temperance turned to me. “You write this kind of thing for a living. Therefore, you know, in our world, we don’t marry for love. We marry for money. For status. For alliances.”
“That’s hardly been the case for the last sixty, seventy years, or even longer,” Prudence contradicted.
“If you don’t think Mother married Father for his title, his money and this damned house, you are a bigger dreamer than I thought,” Temperance shot back.
“Tempie,” Chastity whisper-admonished.
But if that was a hit to Prudence, she didn’t show it.
Instead, she lifted her chin. “If it was for this house, why did she leave him?”
Temperance didn’t miss a beat. “I’ve already answered that. Because he was an ass.” She returned to me. “It’s a thing, tonight, because you’re here. It’s a tradition we all enjoy. We’re all going to dress up for dinner. Did Prue tell you?”
I nodded.
Prudence had warned me my first night there would be formal, and to be prepared, because if they had other guests, it might happen again.
Since I didn’t have a closet full of evening dresses, this required me to hit some online designer resale sites, but that had been a blast, as it always tended to be, and score: I’d found some awesome things, and not just evening dresses.
Temperance continued, “But that’s not a thing for us. At least not when we don’t have visitors. Of course, Chassie doesn’t sidle into the parlor for pre-dinner cocktails in mud-splattered wellies with dirt under her fingernails. And we are not normal. We’re rich. People say the word ‘lady’ before our names. Someone cooks our food. Someone else serves it. I have never cooked a meal in my life, nor washed a dish. And I don’t intend to do either.”
Suddenly, I strived for yet another goal in my life, the dish thing.
Though, I liked to cook.
Temperance wasn’t finished.
“But we’re not weird. We eat dinner as a family, normally. But if we don’t want to pitch up to the table, we have a tray in our room or wherever. Though, back before he died, under Father’s edicts, you’d think it was still nineteen-oh-two.”