A FIRE IN THE WIND
Chapter Twenty-Five
"Wh-what are you doing here?" Rose
asked, now scared.
Victoria smiled, delighted that she had
caught her cousin in such an awkward situation. "I saw you and Allison
exit through the servants' door, and I got curious, so I followed you. You
could imagine how surprised I was to find you in the alley. If that wasn't odd
enough, I saw you holding hands with a complete stranger!"
Rose and Jack instantaneously let go of each
other's hands.
Rose eyed Jack and looked towards Victoria.
"We're just friends."
Victoria laughed slyly. "So, you
wouldn't mind me telling Cal about this friend of yours."
Victoria started to walk away, but was
blocked by Rose's hand in her face.
"Victoria!" Rose cried out
desperately. "Please don't. Don't tell Cal. It's vitally important that
you don't. I know, by all means, that we haven't had the best relationship as
cousins, but please, just this once, don't. I promise I'll make it up to you,
somehow. In the future, you may need help too."
Victoria kept her smirk on her face and
nodded. "Why, Rose, of course not! I would never dream of doing such a
thing. You have my word."
Rose didn't like the sarcasm in her cousin's
voice. She didn't feel that she could trust her, but Rose didn't have a choice.
"I was just wondering, though,"
Victoria started off. "Who in heavens name does this suitcase belong to?
Is someone going on a trip?"
There was a moment of silence. Then, finally,
Jack spoke up. "It's mine. Uh, yes. I just came to Philly a few weeks
ago."
"Oh," Victoria replied. "Then
how, may I ask, do you know Rose?"
"We met in the park!" Rose
exclaimed. "Really, Victoria, it's quite all right. We're just
friends."
Victoria looked towards Jack. "Oh, I
see. I'm sorry, I didn't quite catch your name."
"It's David," Jack replied, playing
along with the game.
"All right," answered Victoria, in
a cunning voice. "Oh, and Allison, when do you come into play? May I ask
if you know this David boy?"
Allison nodded, using her best acting skills.
"Yes. Yes I do, in fact. You see, Rose was with me when she met David in
the park. He was really kind, I might add. You see, Rose tripped and hurt
herself pretty badly. David helped her up, and helped wash out her cut. We
wanted to repay him for his generosity, so we took him out for lunch. It's
ironic how things work out, isn't it?"
"Quite," replied Victoria, secretly
not believing one word of the story. "Well, if you'd excuse us, David, I
believe we have to be heading back to Rose's wedding shower. You were aware
that she was getting married this Sunday, weren't you?"
Jack nodded, hiding his sorrow. "Yes, I
was. I have a girl of my own, I do."
"Well, then." Victoria smiled,
heading for the gate. "Would you mind taking your suitcase and leaving? I
don't mean to be rude, truly, but there is a party being held, and I just
wanted to put the bride in her proper place. So if you would excuse us, David,
we really must be leaving. Good-bye."
Rose gave Jack one last, desperate look,
before reluctantly following her cousin and Allison back into her house.