Day Four

8:00pm

The Williams Inn

"So, where have you been?"

Jasper's voice cut through the murmurs of the dining room, making Ariel's heart skip a beat. Typical Jasper. Her cheeks flushed with a surge of irritation. Why now?

Beside her, Leroy shifted slightly in his seat, exuding a calm confidence Ariel envied. "Out for a walk," he replied evenly.

Ariel glanced at the monk, marveling at his unflinching composure despite Jasper's piercing glare.

"To the theater?" Jasper's tone was sharp, accusatory.

"Perhaps we walked past it..." Leroy's response was nonchalant, but the tension between him and Jasper was palpable.

The silence grew thick until Taylor broke it with an exasperated cry. "For a walk? We're all starving in here, and you choose to go out for a leisurely stroll?"

The monk met her fiery gaze without hesitation. "Remind me not to come between you and your hunger."

Safely seated away from Taylor, Leroy didn't have to face the immediate wrath of the priestess, but her eyes gleamed with a promise of revenge.

"A walk, eh? That sounds refreshing, actually. I'm sure Mandy and I would have liked to have joined you," Mr. Warner interjected, casting an affectionate glance at the medium and a wounded one at the monk.

John, sitting next to Ariel, gave her an imploring look, as if he too would have preferred to join them. Ariel's stomach churned with guilt. She had left John to face the dining room alone while she gallivanted with Leroy.

Ariel's hands fidgeted, longing for the comfort of a hot cup of coffee, but the food had yet to arrive. She glanced around the table, her eyes meeting Mandy's. The medium's pale lips were pursed for a moment before curving into a slight smile. Ariel braced herself for the inevitable.

"Did you enjoy your walk?" Mandy's voice was smooth, almost too casual.

Ariel felt Jasper's gaze intensify. Underneath the table, Leroy's foot bumped against hers, a silent reassurance. Ariel forced a brittle smile. "It was fine."

Mandy remained undeterred. "I trust my dress kept you warm?"

Ariel's smile faltered for a moment before she recovered. "Certainly more than that piece of tissue is doing for you."

A flush of color appeared on Mandy's cheeks. "It's tulle, actually. And perhaps... but I'm not worried. I'll find a way to keep warm," she replied vaguely, her gaze drifting to Jasper.

Ariel's cheeks burned, but she managed to control her anger, turning her attention to Mr. Warner. "Surely," she agreed, sending a knowing look to the playwright.

The medium snapped her attention back to Ariel, barely managing to keep her expression neutral at the implication. Ariel, not bothering to contain her triumphant smile, was shaken in the next moment by an approaching waiter. Instead of carrying delicious food and long-awaited coffee, he brought with him a single magnolia and a slightly sheepish expression. His arrival at their table brought silence.

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"Compliments of the gentleman at table twelve," he announced.

A rush of heat crept up Ariel's neck. Not for me...please, not for me...

Across the table, Mandy broke her intense glare away from her rival to look up innocently at the uncomfortable waiter. That Mandy.

A small smile grew on Taylor's red lips. Discreetly, she mouthed, "Noah," in Ariel's direction. A second heat wave flushed Ariel's cheeks, and vengefully she sought out the priestess's foot under the table. The young man cast a look over his shoulder, as if to get confirmation from the mysterious gentleman as to which woman should receive this token of admiration. With a slight nod, he faced them all once more and extended the magnolia.

Ariel watched his hand move forward almost as if in slow motion, past Max—it was going near Mandy now... The medium's wrist was on the rise, ready to modestly cover her mouth—but it went on (and the medium's wrist fell limply), moving by Jasper who, Ariel noted, looked especially deadly tonight, his sharp eyes staring at the magnolia as though his gaze could obliterate the flower.

Ariel swallowed. The progress of the magnolia was approaching her, and now more than ever she wished she had a cup of coffee to escape in. Those five seconds of suspense ticked by painfully—but then, with great relief, Ariel saw that his hand wasn't going to stop at her. It continued across the table to rest finally at Taylor.

"For you, ma'am," the waiter said, offering the priestess a self-conscious smile.

Taylor returned this smile with one that seemed to say such flattering attentions were paid to her all the time, but Ariel could see the surprise in her eyes. "May I inquire the gentleman's name?" she asked, holding the magnolia up to her nose, enjoying its perfume.

The waiter shifted where he stood, looking as if he wished to glance behind himself, perhaps at table twelve, but merely answered, "My instructions were only to deliver the magnolia, that is all."

"Hmm," Taylor murmured. Then, setting down the magnolia, she stood. "I will ask him myself."

The waiter looked as if he wanted to protest, but upon seeing the determination in the priestess's eyes, shrugged and stepped aside. He had done what he was ordered to do; it was out of his hands.

With their view no longer obstructed, everyone peered across the emptying dining room towards the mysterious table number twelve. Leroy went so far as to stand up for a better look. The monk sat down the next moment, a strange look on his face, something almost like an amused smile. He seemed almost satisfied. Studying him closer, Ariel could almost call it relief. Most of the table returned their attention to themselves, but Taylor remained standing.

"Is this your idea of a joke?" she demanded, her voice tinged with annoyance and curiosity.