“You forget that people lived entire lifetimes before you existed,” Nick mused. “It must have been hard for her when he died. They hadn’t been married very long.”
“Long enough for three whole babies,” Freddie said, bounding into the hallway.
“Thanks for finally joining us,” Nick said.
“I’m not late. I’m ninety seconds early,” he huffed. “In any case, blame Father. We were having lunch, just to catch up, and it went long.” Freddie straightened proudly. “He’s sending me to Portsmouth later this month for a thing with the Navy.”
Nick looked confused. “I thought I was going.”
“Father felt it only fair, since I’m the one still in the Navy.”
“Certainly,” Nick said. “I’m extremely busy anyway. Did Father mention that he’s giving me the patronage of the Imperial War Museums?”
“No,” Freddie said evenly. “We’ve been too busy discussing how I’m taking over the British Society for Early Childhood Development.”
“That’s a big one,” Nick said pleasantly. “Bex and I are being given Pediatric Blindness. Maybe we can collaborate on something.”
“Maybe,” Freddie said. “I’m going to be rather occupied with Children’s Anemia but perhaps we can work Blindness in.”
“That’d be fantastic, assuming our Lyme Disease schedule allows,” Nick said.
“Anything for the children,” Freddie responded.
“You’re both being ridiculous,” I said.
Freddie scrunched his face up, as if I’d asked him to do high-level calculus on the fly.
“We were just having a conversation, weren’t we, Knickers?” His phone buzzed and he fished it out and brightened. “I’ve got to take this. One second.”
As he stepped away, I turned to Nick. “Our Lyme Disease schedule?”
“It was just—”
“Do not say it was just a conversation, because we both know that’s bullshit.”
His cheeks reddened, and he cast a furtive glance at Freddie’s back. “I’ve been working myself ragged trying to do right by my place in this family, and still there was a headline a few days back that said Freddie has been the real champion this year,” he said softly.
“So? You’re always telling me that stuff is meaningless.”
“Well, I saw it and thought, Right, then, I’ll piss off again if that’s how you want it,” Nick said. “I cannot believe he’s come out of a scandal he caused looking so fucking golden.” He again looked over at his brother, who was plugging one ear while carrying on a conversation. “I used to want our old relationship back. But right now, what I want more than that is to make the public see what it’s got in me.” He looked up at me, eyes blazing. “And sometimes, I want Freddie to shove it.”
I told you so, Eleanor’s voice said in my head.
Before I could respond, a tall man with dramatic eyebrows scuttled into the hallway. “We’re ready to start,” he said. “Is everyone prepared?”
Freddie hurriedly ended his phone call. “All set,” he said.
“Do you need to practice with the tiny curtain, Your Highness?” the man asked Freddie. “My notes here say that you’re to pull the cord.”
“I’ve gotten very adept at these, thanks,” Freddie said.
“I’ve been looking forward to this,” Nick said. “The painting is really beautiful.”
“I started a terrific biography of this artist,” Freddie added.
“I finished that biography last night,” Nick noted.
“Yeah, well I wrote that biography, so I win,” I said.
Nick and Freddie turned to me, startled, as if they’d already forgotten I was there, whereas Eyebrows knotted his and appeared to be considering correcting me on that point. “Shall we perhaps get started?” he asked instead.
I smiled wide. “Yes, we are definitely done here,” I said. “Lead the way.”
* * *
“He did what?” Lacey stopped rummaging inside her suitcase, her mouth falling open.
“I couldn’t believe it, either,” I said, flopping down on her bed. “The dude specifically said Freddie was opening the curtain, but when the time came, Nick charged on over and pulled.” I buried my face in my hands. “Petty Curtain Shenanigans is a band name, not a lifestyle.”
Lacey chortled, her laugh echoing through Guest Room Number Four—the one with the best Wi-Fi signal, but also the ugliest bedspread. “That is some passive-aggressive shit right there from Nick,” she said. “It’s almost aggressive-aggressive. Did Freddie freak out?”
“He just acted like it was always in the plan, and then backstage he said he had a date and left,” I said. “Nick swore it was a brain fart, but I don’t believe it.”
Lacey curled up on the bed and propped her head up in her hand. “A brain fart seems very unlike him, but so are petty curtain shenanigans,” she said. “Have you talked to him about it?”
I rolled onto my back and stared up at the ceiling, which featured an incongruous fresco that would have looked more at home in an Italian villa. “He told me that sometimes he wants Freddie to, and this is a direct quote, shove it.”
Lacey made the universal yikes face.
“I know,” I said. “And he’s so laser focused on getting back into everybody’s good graces that he’s hardly ever home.”
Lacey started to braid a chunk of my hair, the way she often did when we were sitting around sharing confidences like this. She was back from Kenya for a visit pinned to our birthday, and although I’d done a sterling job convincing myself the long distance had been no big deal, I had nearly cried with relief when she climbed out of the Range Rover.
“It’s really good to see you,” I said. My voice sounded shaky. “Sometimes I feel disloyal dragging Cilla or Bea into all this, because they were Nick’s friends first. And obviously I can’t go to Freddie.”
“Yes, you’ve been down that road before,” Lacey said. “You need healthy boundaries there.”
“We’re always going to be close,” I said defensively. “We can’t pretend for the rest of our lives that we’re only mild acquaintances.”
Lacey lifted her hands as if to surrender. “I’m just saying, you and Nick know better than anyone that sometimes space is what you need to move on.”
“Nick
