He swung his feet to the floor, wincing as the pile of library
books from the day before toppled onto his right foot. He’d have to return
those, get another set...and see if he could talk to Everly at the same time.
If she was ok, that is. Porter’s heart quickened - what was wrong with him? -
and he pulled a comb through his messy brown hair before pulling on yesterday’s
board shorts and a Biltmore Fund t-shirt. Then he thought better of it and
found a rumpled polo instead. Alex always said the pale blue reflected his
eyes, and half-joked that he’d better not wear it around any other girls. Ah, well.
Porter jogged down the staircase and stopped in the great room,
marveling through the massive windows at the sunrise over the water. The last
time he’d seen a sunrise was...well, maybe during graduation festivities, but
he didn’t remember much of those. Marina had loved getting up at dawn when they
were in the Hamptons, insisting that Loretta stay in bed a little longer while
she took a walk on the beach and then made scrambled eggs for everyone. The
eggs were never great, but the warmth on his mother’s face as she spooned them
out meant that Porter cleared his plate every time and asked for more. Julian
would have a few bites, then gruffly get up to burn himself some toast to take
to his study for his loud phone calls. As soon as he left, Marina and Porter
would plan their day together. Porter sighed heavily and turned away from the
window.
It was still too early to head to the library. Porter padded into
the cavernous oak study, resting a hand on the leather desk chair as he gazed
up at the bound volumes of Biltmore accounts lining the walls. It was amusing -
to him, at least - how little he still knew about Julian’s work. Porter had met
his father’s clients, attended innumerable charity events sponsored by
Biltmore, and been repeatedly told that his future lay with the Fund. But what
did they do on a daily basis? Where did the money come from? Porter pulled down
a book at random and began to read.
An hour later, his mind was spinning. It seems that JBB had spent
his entire career investing his clients’ money in the deep-sea exploration
sector. But the descriptions of the projects troubled Porter. Here were the
names of companies that had been in the news for massive oil spills, coral
destruction, irrigation projects that depleted natural seas. Yet every deal had
yielded enormous returns for the Fund and its investors. Porter shook his head.
Business really was just about profiting off other peoples’ losses, he thought,
and then smiled. Hunter would call him soft. Maybe Hunter should control
Biltmore.
Porter jumped when his cell rang, reverberating off the paneled
ceiling. Skylar. “Hey. What are you doing up?”
“It’s a beautiful day.” Skylar would never admit that she’d been
worried about what they’d seen, in case it set off the fears she saw in
Porter’s eyes the night before. She didn’t know what was going on in his head,
but clearly the strange girl had made an impression. “Let’s grab brunch out
today, give Loretta a break. Hunter will sleep till four, he’s so hungover.
And,” she cleared her throat, “I thought we could stop by the library before we
eat.”
Porter smiled tightly, gripping the phone. Skylar always knew.
“Sounds good. The library opens soon - I’ll meet you there in half an hour?”
Gravel crunched under their feet a short time later as they walked
through the library parking lot. Still no other cars, Porter noticed. How did
Everly get there?
He pushed open the door, and instantly his heart jumped into his
throat; there was Everly. Sitting at the front desk this time, her delicate
black eyebrows just visible over the top of Machiavelli's The Prince. ‘And she
mocked my summer reading,’ thought Porter.
Skylar stepped ahead of him, before Everly looked up. “Hi!” she
said brightly. "I'm Skylar Chadbourne, and this is my cousin Porter. Could
you please help me find a copy of Bleak House?"
Everly laid down the book (mostly finished, Porter noticed), and
smiled slowly at Skylar. “By...Charles Dickens, yes? I haven't yet read it
myself but I enjoy his other work. Come, I'll show you the section.” She stood
gracefully, smoothing out her gauzy dress, and her expression tightened as she
glanced behind Skylar. “I met your cousin yesterday. Finished with finance
already?” She nodded at the pile of books in his arms.
Porter's blood rose. Now that he knew she was safe, he was once
again annoyed by her barbs. He dumped the books on the counter and followed her
and Skylar through the stacks. “No, but there's nothing useful in this
library.”
Skylar shot him a warning look, but he couldn't help himself.
“What were you doing on the beach last night?”
Everly's back stiffened, but she kept walking. “What beach? I
wasn't near the beach yesterday.”
“We saw you!” Porter insisted. “We saw you dive into the water,
and I called to you but you ignored me. I thought you were in trouble in the
water. And,” he barreled on, “you're wearing the same dress as yesterday.”
Everly stopped and turned to Skylar. “I think you'll find Bleak
House around the corner of this shelf.” She faced Porter for a moment and spoke
more gently than he expected. “You must have been mistaken last night. You
probably saw someone who looked like me. And in case you didn’t notice,” giving
him a onceover, “You're wearing the same shorts as yesterday. Anyways, I'll let
you both look around.”
Before he could open his mouth, Skylar clamped her hand around his
wrist like a vice and shook her head. “Leave it alone,” she hissed at him. When
Everly had disappeared, Porter shook off Skylar's grip.
“Why should I? She's obviously lying!”
“That's just it. We don't know, but there must be a reason. You're
not going to get anywhere with her by arguing, or being an impatient jerk.”
Porter exhaled loudly. Sky was right.
“Now go find more ‘life goal’ books and I'll meet you at the front
in fifteen minutes. Don't go back to talk to her yet.”
Porter turned on his heel and stalked away, angry at himself for
his outburst, and for being too lazy to find a new pairs of shorts. Everly was
so closed off; befriending her felt like a lost cause.
After a few random turns, Porter found himself in the
Science/Deep-sea section of the stacks. Perhaps he could figure out a bit more
about what exactly Biltmore was funding. He stacked 12 or 13 books together,
with titles like “The Universe Below,” “The Deep,” and “The Hole at the Bottom
of the Sea,” and carefully retraced his steps towards the main desk. As he
approached, though, he heard Skylar's voice and stopped.
“And how long have you been working here? I love this library, it
must be a pleasant way to spend the summer.”
When Everly answered, her voice was cautious but warm. “Not long,
but I do enjoy being surrounded by books. I'm eager to learn
about...everything.”
Weird thing to say, thought Porter.
Skylar pressed on. “I'm sorry you couldn't make it to the clambake
last night; it would have been nice to have a new face. The Hamptons are
beautiful, but I'm sure you've noticed that people here are very cliquish.”
Everly paused and rolled the last word in her mouth hesitantly.
“Cliquish...where I am from, everyone is very clannish. It must be similar,
right?”
Skylar laughed. “That's right. People who think their own family
and friends are the best and most perfect.”
Everly grinned, and the transformation took Porter's breath away.
Her smile made the green eyes glow, reflecting the gold chain around her long
neck. The room actually felt warmer.
“It seems that such beings are everywhere,” she said to Skylar.
“It is interesting to see the reactions when faced with those who are
different.”
“Well, let's find out,” said Skylar. “Porter and I were heading to
Sant Ambroeus for brunch; please come and join us? I'm sure you have a lunch
break and it's just a short drive. They have amazing pastries, and we'd love to
introduce you to the usual crowd that will be there.”
Everly hesitated. “Pastries. I haven't had any...in a long time,”
she finished hurriedly. Porter could see that; she was so slender that it
looked like she lived off sea air and water. And yet she seemed athletic, her
brown arms were defined and her eyes had no hollows beneath them.
“I'm sorry, but I can't join you today,” Everly continued
hurriedly. “I have quite a bit of shelving to do. Perhaps another time.”
Skylar smiled back. “No problem, but you won't get off that
easily. I need a friend to hang out with this summer!” She leaned forward
conspiratorially. “Porter can be a pain sometimes, you know.”
That was quite enough, Porter decided. He stepped out, arms taut
under the weight of his books.
Everly's appraising look was back. “So you found something
helpful, I see?” Her face changed as she read the titles. “You're interested in
science? The sea? It's just...learning about marine biology (she pronounced the
words carefully) is a hobby of mine.”
Porter reddened. “Yes...well, I'd like to learn more. Look, maybe
you can help me? We really would like you to join us for brunch. You can tell
me which books are the best. And,” he continued quickly as she began to shake
her head, “I'm sorry if I was rude to you yesterday. Argument with my father
earlier, you know how it is.”
Everly looked at him searchingly before answering, and he felt
himself growing redder under her gaze. “Yes, I think I do. But I can't come
today, I'm sorry."
Skylar cut in. “Well then - my parents are hosting the first white
party of the summer at our house next Friday afternoon, and our friends will
all be invited. If you give me your address, I'll send you an invitation.
Please do come,” she finished winningly.
Everly bit her lip and looked at the desk. When she spoke, it was
in a low voice. “I can't actually remember the exact address right now; I just
arrived. But if you send an invitation here, I will...try to come."
Skylar clapped her hands, ignoring the strangeness of the request.
“That sounds great. I'll just bring you one later this week, and we will plan
on seeing you then!”
Before Everly could protest further, she snapped at Porter. “Hurry
up, Port, I'm starving!” Skylar rolled her eyes at Everly, and Everly couldn't
suppress another smile.
Even at his expense, Porter could have watched her smile all day.
Reluctantly, he broke eye contact and picked up his books. “Thanks again for
your help...and hope to see you soon.”
As Skylar dragged him away, he saw Everly in the reflection of the
library's glass door, watching them with a strange, half-nervous expression on
her face.
Over fancy omelettes at Sant Ambroeus, Skylar and Porter
debriefed. Maybe it was a good thing Everly hadn’t been able to come.
“Well, there’s the address thing. I don’t buy that she doesn’t
remember the address where she’s spending the summer. But she is working at the
library, so maybe she’s not rich, she’s not at one of the big houses, and she
feels awkward about it?”
Porter shook his head. “I don’t know, Sky. It seemed more like she
just didn’t want us to find out anything about her. Why would she lie about
being at the beach yesterday?”
“That’s fairly obvious - you’d invited her to the clambake and she
decided to check it out, but then lost her nerve when she saw the crowd. If the
Lattimores weren’t so brainless, I’d be intimidated by blond Amazons as well.”
“I guess...although jumping into the sea seems extreme.” Porter
frowned. Skylar’s explanation made sense, he just felt that there was something
more to Everly. “She won’t tell us where she’s from.”
Skylar nodded, thoughtfully picking the crab meat out of her
omelette. Sant Ambroeus never allowed menu modifications, so Skylar insisted on
leaving an ostentatious pile of crab on the side of her otherwise delightful
vegetable omelette. “Maybe she’s keeping a low profile, doesn’t want people
where she’s from to know she’s here. But if she were famous, chances are we’d
have had her security team coming around the neighborhoods to warn us about paparazzi.
Still, it’s possible. Anyways, you’re not going to be able to pull the Porter
Biltmore charm to get your way, for once. She clearly spooks easily, so you
have to be patient and let her tell you about herself on her own. I actually
think she could be a lot of fun once we crack her shell - she seems super
observant, which is valuable out here for making fun of people.”
“That’s true,” Porter agreed. “Who notices boy’s shorts?”
“Um,” said Skylar pointedly, “What guy memorizes a random girl’s
sundress?” Noting Porter’s discomfiture, she giggled. “You’ve got one thing
going for you. I’d stick with the marine biology angle, and you might just get
her to like you. She clearly thinks you’re interesting. And good-looking, but
that won’t get you too far with her.”
“How do you know?” Porter demanded in spite of himself.
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