Page 18 of Saint Céline
Katherine straightened her shoulders. “I came by myself.”
My mother looked even more worried. “That’s very kind of you, but your mother might be looking for you.”
“She knows where I am.”
That was clearly not true. My mother knew it too. Katherine kept her chin high, like she was daring either of us to call her on it. I liked her for that. I liked the strange stiffness in her, the way she could look scared and stubborn all at once.
“Mira?” Mrs. Montgomery’s voice came from outside the cottage before any of us could say anything else.
My mother closed her eyes for half a second. Katherine’s shoulders sank a little.
A moment later Mrs. Montgomery appeared in the doorway in a pale coat, cheeks pink from the cold. “Katherine, sweetheart, I’ve been looking everywhere for you.”
“I was here.”
“Yes, I can see that.” Mrs. Montgomery’s smile tightened at the corners, then softened when she turned to my mother. “Mira, I’m sorry. She has a habit of wandering when she doesn’t want to do something.”
“I don’t wander,” Katherine muttered.
“You disappear with intention, then.”
That made me smile. Katherine saw it and looked a little pleased with herself.
Mrs. Montgomery’s gaze moved to the books on the table.
“Did you bring those for Selena?”
Katherine nodded once. “She needs something to read.”
“I see.”
The cottage went quiet for a moment. I could feel my mother beside me, tense with the need to apologize again. She held the laundry basket against her hip like a shield.
Mrs. Montgomery studied the two of us.
Then she said, “That was thoughtful of you, Katherine.”
Katherine’s expression changed. Praise seemed to surprise her, like someone had opened a door in a room she thought stayed locked.
“Can Selena come to the library later?” she asked quickly.
My mother stiffened beside me.
Mrs. Montgomery looked surprised. “The library?”
“She can read there. I have homework after school.”
“That may not be the best—”
“I’ll be quiet,” I said.
The words came out before I could stop them. My mother gave me a look.
I lowered my eyes right away.
“Sorry,” I muttered.
Mrs. Montgomery watched me for a moment. I thought she would say no. Instead, she said, “Perhaps after lunch, if your mother agrees.”
