Mark left her home to work the first thing in the morning. Arianne, who was so exhausted by his carnal rampage last night, was unable to get up. In the end, she skipped work and slept all the way till afternoon.
When she finally woke, Mary served her a mysterious broth-like drink. “Come, dig into this special soup. Lunch’s up after this!”
Arianne sniffed it and caught a soft aroma not unlike that found in herbal alternative medicine. “What’s with this soup? It’s giving me this weird vibe…”
Mary snickered. “Oh, it’s nothing. Just a soup added with several herbs and spices that is traditionally meant to replenish your energy. No offense, but your body is pretty poo-poo, Ari! Though I think we should do the same thing for Mr. Tremont when he returns, too. It’s just good for the body,” she explained, before adding, “By the way, have you got plans later this evening? If you’re free, I’ll have to pass you the job of watching Smore in my place. I’ve got some business to do later, but I’ll be back just in time to make dinner for all of you.”
That was quite a novel turn of events. “Oh? I’ve never seen you gone out for personal reasons back in the Tremont Estate before. What’s so important that you need to go out for half a day?”
“Oh, just old man Henry inviting me out for a little walk—hiking, actually. Said he wants to train up his muscles a little or something, and I thought today’s weather is quite the right one. Besides, he finally got a half-day break today, which means he can split from seeing that old bum Mrs. Leigh and breathe a bit, you know?”
Arianne had always thought there was something between Henry and Mary, and this seemed like the right chance to tease the old housekeeper. “Took him long enough to ask you out on a ‘hiking trip’. Should have done this a long time ago, if you ask me!”
Mary slammed her hand on her shoulder a little too hard. “Bless you heart; you shouldn’t be joking about things like that! How can the two of us ever be an item? Urgh, kids these days—always looking for that gossip! I’ll bring out lunch right now. After that, though, I’m gonna have to go. Leave the dishes in the sink. I’ll handle them when I come back. You just have to look after Smore.”
Arianne nodded before taking a sip of her mysterious soup. It left an odd taste in her mouth, though she would not go so far as to say it was bad, per se—she might even call it rather tasty, if not unique.
The two of them took some time to compose themselves, but Saoirse was the first to break the spell. With a sweet smile, she greeted, “Hello, Miss Wynn! Sorry for my lapse in manners. I have something I would like to ask you about, so may I come in?”
Truthfully, Arianne was utterly against it. But even she had to admit curiosity about the depth of Saoirse’s relationship with Mark. What if he lied and downplayed it to her?
She released her grip on the door handle and stood aside. “Sure, come on in. My son’s napping, so we better keep this quiet.”
Saoirse looked around, examining her surroundings as though the furnishing interested her. “Aww, he’s napping? Bummer. I actually wanted to sneak a peek at Smore, you know, ‘cause Mrs. Leigh loves talking about him, and from the way she describes him, I bet he must be an adorable lil’ cinnamon bun,” she said. “Oh, before you take this the wrong way, let me say that I’m not here for any ulterior motive, Arianne. I simply want to know the truth… Specifically, the truth about you and Mr. Tremont, including why the two of you divorced. If it’s okay with you, can you enlighten me?”
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