Victoria swirled her teaspoon around the cooling liquid in the cup. It was a couple of hours until Gideon was due to come for brunch, and she was already dreading it.
Holly knew everything. That much was clear. She could feel the younger woman slipping away.
Ever since they went to the damned storage unit and found those blasted journals, Holly had been squirreled away in the basement guestroom. She didn’t even come upstairs for lunch, despite previously saying that she had been hungry.
Eventually Victoria had gone down under the guise of telling her that Gideon had called about brunch the next day. He hadn’t. It was an excuse to see Holly and figure out what was going on. It was fruitless, and she had to call Gideon and order him to come over for brunch regardless of any existing plans.
The girl didn’t show up for dinner either. Eventually Victoria took a sandwich downstairs. Holly must have read all about what an evil monster she was. That explained why she was hiding in the safety of her room. Regardless, Victoria wasn’t about to let her starve.
During the two brief occasions she ventured downstairs, Holly gave little away. She was pleasant. She smiled. But nothing else. Said nothing of the contents of the diaries. Nothing of when she would be leaving. Because, of course, she must be planning her immediate escape.
Victoria tried to focus her attention on the newspaper in front of her. Just because things were again falling apart, it didn’t mean she wouldn’t keep up her usual breakfast routine.
Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Holly enter the kitchen.
Victoria raised an eyebrow. “Ah, she returns,” she said without feeling.
“Yes, I’m back,” Holly said. “Still getting caught up. But those journals are amazing. I’m learning so much about, well, me.”
Victoria hummed in agreement. She saw Holly making herself some tea and returned to her newspaper. A thick atmosphere clung to the room. She didn’t know what to say, nor did she have any intention of being the one to break the silence.
After a while, she realised that she felt watched. She glanced up and saw Holly had been looking at her. Holly looked away, a blush appearing on her cheeks as she did.
Victoria angrily returned to her newspaper. No doubt Holly was remembering some terrible thing she’d said or done. Presumably wondering when the evil dragon would be making a reappearance. The next few hours or days were going to be unbearable.
By the time the doorbell rang to signal Gideon’s arrival, both women heaved a silent sigh of relief. Holly had no idea what she had done to offend Victoria, but the woman was definitely doing her best to avoid speaking to her. Holly was looking forward to the presence of a third person to try to put the day back on track.
Victoria opened the front door while Holly stood by the stairway anxiously. Gideon was a tall man with a bald head and glasses. He was impeccable dressed in a three-piece suit, and Holly suddenly felt underdressed.
Victoria and Gideon said hello and air-kissed in greeting. Gideon held two red roses, one of which he handed to Victoria as he stepped into the hallway.
He noticed Holly standing shyly in the corner and smiled warmly.
“Well, let me look at you,” he said excitedly.
Holly approached him. She felt nervous but excited. Gideon was another piece of the puzzle that was her previous life, and she was anxious to find out more about him.
Gideon looked at Victoria with a smile. “She’s as gorgeous as ever, isn’t she?”
Victoria smiled politely but remained silent. She was looking from Gideon to Holly, presumably wondering if Holly would remember him.
Gideon turned back to Holly. “You have no idea who I am, do you?” he said with a jovial grin.
“No, I’m sorry… there’s nothing,” Holly apologised.
“Well, in that case we simply have to talk about the hundred dollars that you owe me.” He winked and handed her the other rose.
Holly accepted the rose and laughed. “Oh, I see! That’s why you were so keen to see me.”
They shared a laugh. Victoria smiled but didn’t make a move to join them, holding back and giving them space.
“Well, the first thing that you need to know about me is that I’m a hugger.” He held his arms open.
Holly beamed with happiness. She, too, was a hugger. Not that there had been much opportunity for human contact over recent months.
They hugged, and when she stepped back, he looked her up and down with appreciation.
“You’re looking divine, if a little underweight,” he told her. “I’m loving the hair.”
“Thanks, I’ve seen some photographs of myself with long hair now. I’m wondering if I should grow it long or keep it like this.”
“One of the last things you said to me was that you were looking for the new you,” Gideon said. “I think maybe the shorter hair is the new you.”
“Yes!” Holly said with excitement. “I was reading my journal and I mentioned that conversation I had with you. We were at that club… where was it?”
“Bar 29.” Gideon smiled. “But hold on, a journal? This sounds intriguing.”
“Bar 29, that was it. And, yeah. I seem to have written down everything that’s ever happened to me.”
“Bet you didn’t write anything down about that hundred dollars.” He laughed.
Holly cocked her head to one side, pretending to search her memory. “No, still not ringing any bells.”
“If you’ll excuse me,” Victoria said as she glided past them, “I will prepare brunch. Please use the sitting room upstairs to get reacquainted. It’s not Bar 29, but I’m sure it will do.”
Once the older woman had vanished into the kitchen, Gideon turned and looked at her with a raised eyebrow.
“Oh dear,” he muttered.
“Yeah, that’s my fault.” Holly sighed. “It’s been weird lately.”
Gideon put his arm around her and guided her towards the stairs. “Oh, honey, it’s always been weird…”
Brunch was awkward. Holly immediately felt an affinity for Gideon, but, while they laughed and joked, Victoria remained silent. Each time Holly tried to include Victoria in the conversation, she was shot down with a sarcastic comment or a scathing remark. Usually followed by an apology and an insistence that she was simply tired.
Eventually, Victoria excused herself from the dining room, saying there was an urgent call that needed to be made.
As soon as she was gone, and the study door was closed, Holly turned to face Gideon.
“Gideon, can I ask you something?”
Gideon leaned on his hand and looked at her with a grin. “Yes?”
“I get the feeling we were close. I know from my journal that we were friends, but… I need to know; did I confide in you?”
“Like what?” Gideon looked like he was playing dumb. He was clearly enjoying Holly’s discomfort. She had to smile, he was just the kind of friend she’d be attracted to.
“Anything I need to know about,” Holly pressed.
“Such as?” Gideon picked up a scone and cut it in half.
The ball was in her court. If she wanted an answer, she’d have to ask the question.
“Did I ever mention my feelings for Victoria?”
Gideon didn’t look surprised by the admission. He shook his head. “Not directly, no. But I certainly had my suspicions.”
Holly nodded and stared into her empty teacup. She’d hoped that she might have confided in Gideon, that he might be able to offer her some guidance.
“Is that what’s going on here?” He indicated Victoria’s empty chair with his knife, then dipped it into the butter dish.
“No, nothing like that. I’m not sure what it’s about to be honest.”
“I see.” He buttered his scone. “So, what do you propose to do about it?”
“About what?”
“Your feelings for Victoria.”
“Shh!” Holly cried out. She craned her neck towards the closed door to the hallway, in case Victoria was there.
Gideon laughed. “Come on, where’s the brave Holly I know and love? Hm? The one who was starting a brave new life. I don’t want to downplay what happened to you, please don’t think that, but this could be a gift. A rewrite, a clean slate. What happened to the girl who didn’t want to waste another second?”
“I did say that, didn’t I?”
“You did. You were so miserable with Kate that when you finally decided to make the break, you wanted to become a new person. To retake control of your life. You had big plans.”
“I did. I do. I still do,” Holly admitted. “I read those entries in my journal. My relationship was falling apart, the only stability I had was Arrival. Well, Victoria. Even though she was awful to me.”
“How has she been now?”
Holly smiled. “Wonderful. Well, moody, too. But she has been there for me through everything, dealt with everything. The guestroom, oh my god, Gideon, I never want to leave. It’s like heaven. She’s thought of everything. Even if she doesn’t want to admit it or make a big deal of it.”
“So, considering what you read in your journal and what you have seen now… what do you think?”
“That Victoria has lost her mind?”
“Maybe.” Gideon chuckled. “But let’s suppose she hasn’t. Let’s suppose she is actually being nice to you. Building a friendship. Why would she do that?”
Holly opened and closed her mouth. “No… I know what you’re thinking, but I can’t… I can’t take that risk. Maybe she’s just being nice.”
“Of course, yes, she’s well-known for her kind deeds.”
Holly stared at him. “Do you know something?”
“I know lots of things.”
“Anything relevant to my current situation?” Holly asked.
Gideon sighed. He lowered his scone to the plate and steepled his fingers. He looked at her seriously. “Holly, I would never break a confidence. I wouldn’t tell Victoria anything you told me, or even anything I suspected. Likewise, I wouldn’t tell you if Victoria had told me anything. Even if it would be ever so relevant to your current situation,” he emphasised.
Holly felt her mouth run dry. He knew something. She wanted to reach across the table and grab him by the collar and force him to spill whatever secrets he knew.
“Victoria is surprisingly nervous when it comes to matters of the heart,” Gideon continued. “In all the years I’ve known her, she’s never been comfortable with the thought of anyone loving her. The confidence, the bravado, is all fake. She is so keen to protect herself that she often pushes people away.”
Holly held her breath, silently begging Gideon to continue. Any insight she could get would be welcome.
“She also often makes assumptions,” Gideon said meaningfully.
“Assumptions?” Holly asked.
“Yes. Think of your most negative view of a situation, that’s Victoria’s default position. And with that, I should stop talking. I consider her one of my dearest friends, but I know she’d happily bus me down to the mail room if she heard me talking about her like this.”
Holly understood. Victoria seemed to be a knee-jerk reaction kind of person.
Gideon looked at his watch and sighed. “Sadly, I have to leave. But I want to see you again soon, if you’re agreeable?”
“Absolutely, you feel familiar to me, and it’s so nice to be able to talk to someone.”
They shared contact details, and Holly gave him a farewell hug. Gideon stepped into Victoria’s office to say goodbye before he left.
Holly cleared away the brunch things before returning to the guestroom to immerse herself in more journals and to process what Gideon had said. She wondered if it could be possible that Victoria had feelings for her, too. It didn’t seem likely with the foul mood Victoria had been in.
But Gideon was hinting at something. She wondered what he meant by alluding to Victoria making assumptions. Was he suggesting that she had made an assumption? If so, what was it?
She decided that she needed to spend more time with Victoria to get an idea what the older woman was feeling. Victoria certainly wasn’t going to come to her, so she needed to make the first move.