Page 60 of Murder on the Upper East Side
Really, aboutAmi, but saying so might scare Beatrice away.
In the Orchard & Vine aftermath, Ami and Bash had remained cosy – which made Hannah all kinds of uneasy. Worse, Ami had been giving Hannah the silent treatment, and Hannah couldn’t entirely blame her. Ami was still grounded from anything resembling a Prescott party, while Hannah, aged eighteen, a second semester senior and the ‘responsible one’ in their parents’ eyes, enjoyed a relative degree of freedom.
‘Oh.’ Beatrice’s frown deepened. ‘I’m heading upstairs for French. Walk and talk?’
‘Great, me too,’ Hannah lied. Her next class was right around the corner, but one late arrival wouldn’t lessen Ms Briar’s impression of her.
This conversation might be Hannah’s best chance to learn something about her sister. And Beatrice knew Bash better than anyone at Prescott.
‘You’ve been friends for ever, right?’ Hannah began.
‘Me and Bash? Yeah, we go all the way back to binkies and diapers. Bash’s dad hired my father’s firmto represent Beaumont Capital in some nuisance suit back when we were babies. Dad became Beaumont’s attorney, and our families have been tight ever since.’
‘So, you know him really well, right? You’d know if something was going on between Bash and Ami?’
‘Like, somethingamorous?’ Beatrice laughed. They were exiting the stairwell now, onto the second floor. ‘No, honey, it’s nothing like that. Bash hooks up with scads of Prescott girls, it’s disgusting, we can all agree. But Ami’s what, sixteen? He’s not a creep.’
‘Okay,’ Hannah said slowly, a tiny bit reassured. ‘She’s fifteen actually. Summer birthday.’
‘Yeah, nothing to worry about there. He has a heart, not that he’d want me spreading that around. Plus, he’s growing up. Probably because he’s found someone he actually cares about.’
‘Not Ami?’
Beatrice stared at her. ‘Girl,no.’
‘Oh.’ Hannah felt stupid, the realisation dawning. ‘You and Bash are together?’
Beatrice sighed and shook her head. ‘You do go to school here, right? Do you not pay any attention?’
Hannah swallowed, taken aback. Clearly, she’d missed something big.
They were standing outside Beatrice’s AP French class now. The bell was about to ring.
‘Diapers and binkies, remember? I would never. Besides, I’m not into boys?’
‘Oh, I didn’t… I mean, right, of course not.’ Now shereallyfelt stupid. If she’d taken five minutes toget to know Beatrice before today, she probably would have known that already.
Beatrice took a step towards the classroom door. Hannah blocked the doorway.
‘Wait. I… I’m sorry, you’re right, I wasn’t paying attention. Are you seeing anyone?’
‘Not your business?’ Beatrice’s eyebrows arched.
‘Sorry, right.’ Hannah’s cheeks burned. Could this be going any worse?
‘Anyway. You asked about Bash, and it’s not exactly a secret. He’s in love withElle. Obviously.’
Hannah’s eyes widened.Of courseBash was in love with Elle. How had she never seen it before? But Elle was still hung up on Theo, and the boys were best friends.
Her twinge of sympathy for Sebastian Beaumont was short-lived. His unrequited crush on Elle didn’t change the fact that he was an incorrigible womaniser who did not deserve Hannah’s sympathy – no matter what Beatrice said about him growing up. Nor had this conversation given her any further insight into what had really been going on with her little sister these past few weeks.
The second bell rang, and she gave Beatrice an imploring look. Surely, Beatrice knew more about Ami than she was letting on.
Beatrice adjusted the strap of her vintage tote across her shoulder and stepped around Hannah and into the classroom. ‘Look, maybe youshouldbe worried about Ami, but her business is not my secret to tell,and it doesn’t have anything to do with Bash. If you really want to know what’s going on with your sister, you need to talk to her yourself.’
At that moment, Madame Girard leaned her head into the hall and gave Hannah a pointed look. Then she swung the door shut, leaving Hannah in the deserted hallway, thoughts spinning.
Whatwasn’t Beatrice’s secret to tell?
