“I’m stayin’,” I say, my voice resolute. “God only knows what Serene will do next. Perhaps she’ll give them a physical fitness test by makin’ all thirty men run into town, jump into the Atlantic, and dive to the bottom for hidden treasure.”
“Diving for hidden treasure is a bit much. But a physical fitness test isn’t a bad idea,” Serene says without taking her eyes off the pocket watch.
Étienne shakes his head and gestures toward a corner of the room. “If you’re goin’ to be stubborn, I’ll wait with you.”
“There’s nothin’ stubborn about me,” I say over my shoulder. “Your wife is simply unpredictable.”
“She’s been unpredictable since the minute she came into our lives. You knew that, yet you asked for her help.”
With my back against the wall, I cross my arms. “Remind me to never, ever ask for her help again.”
“I would, but Serene has a way of placin’ herself in others’ lives when she doesn’t need to be. She probably would’ve stepped in either way.” Étienne directs his eyes at me. “Why did you ask for her help and not me?”
I focus on the floor. I can’t tell him that I hastily told Rainey I had a plan when I didn’t because I couldn’t handle her tears. Never could. He’d find that rather interesting, and I don’t want to explore interesting. At the time, Serene was the best route to take. I finally reply while I itch the back of my neck. “I came to you about the dowry, bein’ her executor, and you didn’t have a solution.”
“No one would have. It’s an ironclad legal document,” Étienne cuts in.
“Nevertheless, I presumed you were busy, so I turned to Serene,” I lie.
“Then this truly could have been avoided.”
I grind my teeth together and give a blunt nod. “Yes.”
The two of us grow silent and observe the spectacle that Serene has created with her bachelor idea. The cacophony of so many male voices in one room carries across this large space and echoes around me like an off-key tune. I can’t help but wince.
The hesitance Rainey felt at approaching the first group of bachelors has all but disappeared as she continues speaking with the third group of men. She actively holds a conversation with them, and a few times, she makes some of the men laugh. She’s … she’s dare I say it … pleasant? The stories I could tell about this woman would have these men running in the opposite direction.
Serene announces that it’s time for Rainey to move to the final group, and as Rainey takes her leave, the men’s eyes remain hooked on her.
I cock my head to the side and stand a bit straighter. Why are they looking at her in such a fashion? She’s a lady, not a piece of meat. Not to mention she’s … Rainey. This isn’t appropriate. Not at all. Has everyone lost their senses? Étienne places a hand on my shoulder. “Reste tranquille. Vous êtes fâché pour rien.”
With outrage shining in my eyes, I look at him, then gesture to the men across the room from us. “Tu vois ce que je vois!”
Étienne shrugs and crosses his arms. “La seule personne qui manifeste de la colère, c’est vous.”
My brother’s words strike a chord in me as I look around the room because he’s right. Everyone else is the very picture of calm. As for me, I feel as though I’m going to pop a vein. In fact, nothing would make me happier than to pick up the man nearest to Rainey and throw him out the window.
The next several minutes stretch out in front me like a road that has no ending. Right as I’m getting ready to push away from the wall and ask if the time is up, my sister-in-law clears her throat. “Okay,” she drawls out as she stares at her clipboard. “That’s the time!”
Rainey looks over her shoulder. I feel a sense of victory when I see that Rainey almost looks relieved that this is done, but then I’m concerned. Why is she relieved? Did someone say something inappropriate to her? She stands by Serene, and for the first time today, she looks directly at me.
I could tell by her wide-eyed expression that she wanted to discuss all the conversations she had with the bachelors. She wanted to leave the room as badly as I wanted to hear what she had to say.
I waggle my brows, drawing a giggle from her. That brings me a small sense of satisfaction. Could any other man in this room say they made her laugh? No. Only me. Serene lifts her gaze from the clipboard and looks out of the corner of her eye at Rainey. I wipe my face clean and look away.
There’s a small pause before Serene speaks.
“See? It’s over. No physical fitness test to be had.”
I snort. “That we know of. Let’s see what Serene makes them do when she narrows down the men.”
“I understand that you’re opposed to this bachelor idea, but Serene wants what’s best for Rainey.”
“And she believes this is it?”
“I helped my wife find some of those men. You know I wouldn’t agree to Serene’s idea if the bachelors weren’t men of good character.”
“Would they have been good enough for our sister?”
Étienne appears unamused by my question. “No one was good enough for our sister. Not even her husband.”
I shake my head and mutter under my breath, “And look where she’s at now …”
Nathalie’s stuck in a marriage that may seem all right from the outside, but upon closer inspection, it’s withering away like a flower without any sun or water. She would visit from Brignac House in Savannah as much as possible especially after Alex was born, but we’ve seen less and less of her. And I had a feeling her husband, Oliver, was to blame.
Étienne clucks his tongue and stares thoughtfully at the ground.
None too gently, I elbow his arm. “What is the problem?”
My brother patiently looks at me. “Hmm? Oh, I’m simply ponderin’ why a man who would’ve done close to anythin’ to rid himself of Rainey and bein’ the executor not so long ago is now diggin’ his heels in. Care to explain?”
Because none of this is necessary. I will find a way to make everything all right without Rainey having to marry a man she doesn’t know.
“No,” I say before my lips draw into a thin line. He will get nothing else from me.
Serene snaps her fingers, and the men quiet down. “All right. I think the time Rainey had with each group went off without a hitch. Now I just need you all to sit tight while Rainey and I deliberate.”
While Serene wraps an arm around Rainey’s shoulder and turns them around, several conversations break out amongst the men. Everyone’s egos are starting to surface. No one wants to believe that they didn’t make a good enough first impression.
“She didn’t speak to me once!” I hear one bachelor complain. That makes me smile.
Meanwhile, Rainey and Serene remain unaware of the chaos building behind them. Their heads nearly touch as they speak in hushed tones. I don’t think the two of them even stop to take a breath. They remain in that position for so long I’m beginning to wonder if they will ever come to an agreement, when finally, they pull away. The two of them share a look. It’s impossible for me to read what passes between them. If women become good enough friends, they just have to look at one another to share their feelings. It’s remarkably unnerving.