Page 35 of A Lesson in Thorns (Thornchapel 1)
Which is when Delphine pops over, her cheeks rosy with booze and fire. “You two are being so secretive over here,” she scolds. “Come back to the fire, I have a game for us to play.”
Rebecca sighs a certain sigh I’ve come to identify as her Delphine Sigh. “I don’t want to play a game.”
Delphine gives Rebecca a pout, and I do believe if she were any younger she would be sticking her tongue out at Rebecca. As it is, she just grabs my hand and yanks me back toward the group, and Rebecca follows with another Sigh.
Chapter 11
“Let’s play Spin the Bottle!” Delphine declares once we’re back in the glow of the fire. Her voice has the fearless optimism that only comes from a lifetime of cosseted extroversion and a bottle of champagne mixed together.
“Are you insane?” Rebecca demands from behind us. “We aren’t children!”
“Of course we aren’t,” Delphine says in a voice that says well, obviously. “That’s the whole point.”
When I glance over at Auden, he’s looking at me, but he looks away as soon as he sees me looking at him.
Saint is still staring at his whisky glass like he’s wondering if he can drown in it.
“Delphine, be reasonable,” I say, although I’ve had just enough Scotch that kissing beautiful people by a fire sounds like heaven. “You and Auden will have to recuse yourselves and so will Becket. And without the engaged people or the priest, there are only three of us left, and that’s hardly enough for a game.”
Delphine turns to us, bottle in hand and eyes narrowed. “Who said anything about recusing?”
“Of course we can’t play, Delly,” Auden says. “Becket can’t either.”
She sets the bottle down on the low table between all the sofas and chairs, and then puts her hands on her hips. “And why, exactly, is that?”
Auden looks surprised, then swiftly protective. “I won’t kiss anyone but you. And our priest has his vows.”
The priest in question polishes off his flute of champagne. “Actually,” he says, “I don’t see the harm in it.”
Now we’re all surprised, staring at him with open mouths and slack expressions. He regards us with amusement. “Well, it is just kissing, after all; I don’t plan on breaking any vows for real. I haven’t had that much champagne.”
“Isn’t kissing against the spirit of the vow though?” Saint asks quietly. It’s the first he’s spoken in at least an hour, if not more.
“Jesus kissed his friends,” Becket replies, his words untroubled, but I didn’t miss the barely there flinch he gave at Saint’s question. It makes me wonder exactly how Becket feels about his vows—and kissing—and his friends.
“It doesn’t matter because we are not playing,” Rebecca announces. “We are too old—”
“That’s exactly it!” Delphine interrupts, glowering at Rebecca. “We are too young to be so old! I’m so tired of not doing anything fun ever.”
“You are such a child,” Rebecca accuses, crossing her arms and glaring at Delphine. “The minute people aren’t falling all over themselves to entertain you—”
“Erroneous! I’ve been entertaining myself just fine while you and Auden spend hours and hours talking about the house stuff. I do have a job too, you know, and—”
When Rebecca cuts in to disagree, Becket stands up. “We all know you two can go like this for hours,” he says kindly. “But we also all know the secret, and the secret is that you don’t actually hate each other.”
The glares Delphine and Rebecca trade between them would suggest otherwise, but Becket keeps going. “I think it does sound fun. And I’m not ashamed to admit I miss the feeling of being kissed, even if it’s by a friend.”
I try to sound very Sober and Adult when I chime in, “I also think kissing sounds fun!”
“Of course you do,” Delphine replies. She walks over to Auden and stands between his knees, taking his hand in hers.
“I know you love me,” she says, and she sounds less tipsy now, and more wise. “I know how faithful you’ve been to me and at what cost. Just like we all know that Becket loves God and has been faithful to him. Kissing someone in a game doesn’t change any of that.”
“What if it does?” Auden whispers up to her. His hand is tight in hers and his eyes are more brown than green in the glow of the fire.
And then they slide to me.
And then to Saint.
