Out of everyone present, my cousin would be the only person who could stop her mother from trying to railroad proper procedure or prevent her from unseating Nana from the high seat. I mentally high-fived her, reminding myself to give her the biggest hug ever after the meeting.
“I second what my wife proposes,” Tucker agreed, his face relaxing. “There should be more discovery about all the problems brought up tonight, and then if we as a full council deem there to be a true necessity for a leadership change, we can consider an election.”
Thwarted by her daughter and son-in-law, Aunt Nora had no choice but to acquiesce for fear of losing face in front of the whole town. “Fine. One council member vote for delaying the decision on the high seat. Mr. Hollyspring?”
“Aye, I agree with Tucker and his fine wife.” Flint stroked his beard in satisfaction.
My aunt controlled her reactions to the sudden opposition. “So be it. We will adjourn the meeting for now, but please be vigilant and report anything out of the ordinary, violent or otherwise, to the council. And be on the lookout for any future meetings.”
After her dismissal, Aunt Nora exited the stage with hurried steps, no doubt to nurse her wounded ego. Tucker went to the front of the stage and jumped down to hug his wife. Residents filed out of the rows, many of them busy discussing the proceedings and possible ramifications.
Lee excused himself with his nose buried in his spell phone and Alison Kate offered her apologies as she followed her husband out of the auditorium.
Blythe clutched her notebook to her chest and scooted past us. “I’ve got to go make myself available, but I don’t want to miss out on any discussion.”
“I guess we could all meet at Nana’s?” Despite my grandmother’s condition, it felt right to figure out how to prevent my aunt’s long-awaited coup for power at Nana’s house.
As Blythe shimmied past me, I let her know my offer to house anyone needing accommodations since Bea moved out.
“Would you be willing to let Fenwen come to your place? She’s been asking to move out of the Wilkes house, and you two might be a good fit together,” my friend checked.
I liked the sprite, so I agreed immediately. “Why do you think we’re a good match?”
Blythe paused as she made it to the end of the row and into the aisle. “Let’s just say you two are kindred spirits. Feisty and willing to fight for what you want.”
Matt stayed behind after insisting TJ go on without him. He turned around to face us, bewildered. “Well, that almost turned into a disaster.”
“Thank goodness for Clementine’s bravery,” I crowed with pride, glancing through the thinning crowd to find her. “Lucky and Lady Eveline also deserve some thanks.”
“I would gladly take your gratitude,” the impeccable vampire said with a slight bow. “But I would much rather speak with you, Mr. Raynor, if you have a moment.”
Despite the presence of his girlfriend next to him, Lady Eveline’s stunning beauty cracked his rational shell, and he faltered in response. “Please, call me Bennett. Or Ben. Or Mr. Raynor. Whatever you prefer.”
Lily elbowed him in the stomach, and the slight pain shocked him out of his initial reaction.
“My apologies for interrupting your conversation with your friends,” the vampire said. “But I fear haste may be necessary, plus I believe that Ms. Charli here can vouch for my assertion based on her knowledge of my relationship with her dearly departed uncle.”
Without knowing her true purpose, I gave her my silent approval with a slight nod.
“Many prefer to think of us vampires as an aberration to be ignored rather than the ageless beings we are with long memories,” she started. “I have been a resident far longer than most like to consider, and so they forget that I have experienced much and remember a good deal more.”
“Is there something from your time living in Honeysuckle that bears relevance to the current predicament of power Charli’s aunt has stirred up?” Ben asked.
Not a single strand of her hair wavered out of place as she nodded. “Mr. Hawthorne the third attempted to overthrow Tipper from his high seat position more than once. He admitted to me that he should have pushed for Vivian to take over long before he stepped down.”
“Sounds like Uncle Tipper,” Matt said. “To Charli and me, he was always a jolly old man, but Nana used to speak about him like he’d been a force to be reckoned with.”
Lady Eveline grinned at the memory of her former intimate acquaintance. “Even to the last, he was exactly that. In my long life, I have not met many to rival him. But let me not stray from my point. Tipper spoke of the necessity to be familiar with the town covenant and laws governing the council. He said he kept a copy of his own to use as a shield against Hollis. He liked to tease me that he possessed the rules of ruling. Our little in-joke based on his assumptions about my past.”
My curiosity to interrogate her about her life almost distracted me, but I focused on the important details. “Wouldn’t the town covenant signed by the three founders be on file somewhere?”
Ben grunted in realization. “I think I know where this is going. Jed warned me that some of the original papers that belonged to the town had gone missing. With all of the disarray of him transferring the advocate’s office to me, I wouldn’t know where to start looking.”
“And this is why I address more than just you, Bennett,” Lady Eveline said, ignoring Lily’s cringe at the use of her boyfriend’s formal name. “Charli, I could never tell if Tipper was being serious or not, especially closer to his demise. But if he did
