Page 21 of Boy of Chaotic Making

“I lived there before.”

“But permanently! Won’t you get bored?”

Hulda plucked at a loose thread on her cuff. “Hardly. With the commute into Boston, I’ll barely have time to—”

“Commute?” Danielle interrupted. “You mean you’ll keep the position with BIKER?”

“Of course I will.”

“Is he poor?” She grasped Hulda’s hand. “He didn’t look poor.”

“Oh, for goodness’ sake.” Hulda pulled free and adjusted a pillow behind her back. “He is not poor, though if he were, it wouldn’t matter. Iwantto work, Danielle. BIKER has been my life and will continue to be my life until the day I die.”

“Do you plan on dying very soon?”

Hulda moved to pinch her sister, but Danielle dodged with a chuckle and situated herself on the far end of the sofa, which was still within pinching distance, should Hulda choose to lean forward. Still, the comment prickled. She knew what her sibling was thinking; Danielle had been married over a decade, and the idea of Hulda continuing to work surprised her. Was Hulda completely ignorant of the callings of a wife? Was she kidding herself to think she could keep both roles?

Smiling brightly, Danielle said, “He is not the only one who enjoys vexing you. I do think it’s my favorite pastime!”

“I’ll be sure to visit more often,” Hulda retorted. “I would hate to leave you bored. John does not seem like he would be pleasing to vex.”

“Indeed he is not.” She sighed dramatically. “But speaking of John. Or, rather, men in general—”

A flush began to work its way up Hulda’s neck. “Spare me.”

“I shall not!” Danielle bounced back to the center of the sofa so that her knees pressed into Hulda’s. “I cannot let a dear sister go into matrimony without every piece of advice and warning I have to offer.”

The flush crept higher. Hulda ignored it. She was tempted to blow out some of the candles to better mask it ... and to cool down the room. “I am well aware of what a marriage consists of, Danielle.”

“But the marriagebed—”

“Oh, for heaven’s sake.” Hulda folded her arms. Leaned toward a side table and blew out two candles.

“Hulda!”

“I read a book on it,” she admitted, softer. “Though I was well aware beforehand.”

Danielle paused. “Did Mother tell you—”

“She had less hope in me than I did.” Hulda absently fixed her hair. “It’s nothing you need worry about.”

When Danielle didn’t respond right away, Hulda glanced over to find her leaning close, eyes squinting to scrutinize her. Several seconds passed before Danielle’s face turned gleeful as a clown’s. “You’ve seen it, haven’t you!”

Hulda leaned back, desperate for personal space. “Seenwhat?”

“Seenit!” Danielle laughed. “Oh, but the way your face is blooming, I know it’s true! If only the augury blood had chosen me. I would use it for so many things!”

The room was most certainly too warm now. “I have not.”

“Yes, you have. Else you wouldn’t know what I meant.”

“I know what you mean because it’s simple deduction of the c-conversation—” Hulda stammered, trying to find her words. She hated being taken off guard! “And besides, the augury is only snippets. I hardly see enough to determine—”

“So you admit it, then.” Danielle pulled her legs onto the sofa, kneeling, and faced Hulda full on.

Perhaps some of the heat beneath Hulda’s skin was simple temper. “I admit to nothing, and if you do not drop the subject, I will retire early.”

Her sister’s face fell. “You are no fun at all.” She pouted. “I’ve so few women friends willing to discuss private matters.”

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