Lilith shrugged. ‘It’s nothing that’s not there for anyone to see. I just have the ability to look a little closer than most.’
‘So what about my Finn? What do you see in him that most of us would miss?’ Blaine asked, and I bit the inside of my mouth until I tasted the copper tang of blood.
Lilith
For a fleeting moment Finn’s face betrayed his dismay, then he gathered himself together and became the attentive charmer once more. It was the only sign I needed.
‘To be honest, some are harder to read than others. If I weren’t so tired, perhaps things would be clearer, but I’m afraid Finn is one of those people who can keep things better hidden than most. Perhaps another time?’
‘Of course. I’d hate to add to your exhaustion. Especially on your first day at the hall.’ Concern personified. To my left, Finn pinched the bridge of his nose as if he was fighting a sudden headache.
Once the table was cleared, Henry served us all with coffee that was espresso-strong. Despite the swift hit of caffeine I knew it would only keep me awake for another hour or so, and an image of that huge bed drifted back into my mind.
I was watching Finn tip a fifth spoonful of sugar into his cup when Blaine checked her watch. ‘If you’ll excuse me, I have a call I need to make. Business intruding on pleasure, I’m afraid. Lilith, if my companion’s found his tongue I’m sure he’ll take good care of you for ten minutes.’ She gave us a gracious smile and left the table, and I was alone with Finn.
He patted his inside pocket. ‘D’you want to grab a breath of fresh air?’
‘Sure. Anything to stop me falling face-first into my coffee. What time does she normally finish these events?’
Finn walked around the table to pull my chair away for me and as I stood he laid my shawl over my shoulders. ‘Depends on the occasion. We normally go with how the guest’s feeling, so if you need to crash…’
‘Soon.’ There was a question he needed answering first.
Finn
The lake sparkled with myriad points of light as it reflected the glowing street lamps from the village a universe away across the water. Lilith stood next to me on the patio, her embroidered shawl wrapped tightly around her. She looked like an exotic butterfly that had been blown off-course as she shivered in the chill of her first Albermarle evening.
‘Smoke?’ I offered her my pack. She shook her head.
‘I used to, when I was young and immortal, but my asthma put a stop to it – I tend to go blue and cough myself to death. Not what you’d call glamorous.’
‘D’you mind if…’
‘Go ahead.’
I cupped my cigarette in my palms to light it, and we stood for a while in silence. ‘So, what do you think of the Hall?’ I asked, finally remembering how to do the small talk business.
She gave me a sharp look. ‘Very stately. I’m sure it’s very effective at impressing its guests.’
‘Like you?’
‘But I’m not a guest, am I Mr Strachan? I’m not entirely sure of my classification right now, but I’m not a bloody guest.’
I decided to drop it. I had a far more pressing question to ask. ‘Look, while it’s just the two of us, could I ask you something?’
‘Sure.’
‘Why didn’t you say anything? About me, in there, when Blaine asked… It wasn’t because you were knackered at all, was it?’
‘No, it was because you really didn’t want me to.’ There was no malice in her words but I avoided her gaze all the same.
‘Don’t know what you mean.’
‘Look, we all have our reasons for hiding things away. Despite my recent altercation with Mr Buckle, I’m not usually in the business of destroying people.’
‘I’m not hiding anything away.’ I felt my heart quicken, and wondered if she noticed even this.
‘Then why the lie about where you’re from?’
I flicked the glowing cigarette butt over the fence and watched it fall into the darkness like a firefly. ‘What, you’re saying I’m not Irish?’ I actually managed to laugh.
‘Oh, you’re Irish, all right. I’m simply saying you’re not from where you said.’
God knew what breed of morbid curiosity drove me to ask my next question. ‘So. Where am I from?’
Lilith pulled her shawl a little tighter. ‘When I was in Dublin, I spent a couple of days doing a mural at a community centre on one of those big estates that the Celtic Tiger had galloped past without stopping. Made me feel better about what I was charging the sucker with the restaurant.’