After the War: Military Dystopian Thriller (Friends of my Enemy Book 2)

by Autumn M. Birt

  The late afternoon sun blazed in a blue sky. The estate rested in a brief lull between preparedness and the first guest’s arrival. Twitchy, Derrick paced to his study overlooking the garden full of tables, flowers, and lanterns ready to be lit. He poured himself a glass of Scotch but set it down after raising it to his lips.

  “Do you like her because she is with the Guard or because of who she is?” Byran asked from behind him.

  “You make it sound like the two are separate,” Derrick answered without turning. Byran snorted.

  “Fine. Are you over there because you miss the Guard or because of her?” Byran asked instead, walking over and picking up the Scotch Derrick had abandoned.

  The question hung between him.

  “Her,” Derrick finally answered. “Byran, I—”

  “No. Don’t make excuses,” Byran snapped, setting the glass down with a hard click. He paced away before turning back. “I have loved her for over ten years. And no, it isn’t fair. I have Isabella. I love her and my family. I cannot have both. I know that ...” Byran clawed fingers through his curls.

  “Leave it,” Derrick told Byran, placing both hands on his shoulders. “You’ll look like a madman when the guests arrive.”

  “There’s a rumor we haven’t tried,” Byran said with a sigh. “I have no right to tell you to leave her alone.”

  “And you assume she would have any interest in me? We are not together. This is not something we’ve discussed, and the politics of it are all wrong,” Derrick said, the excuses he’d found flowing one after the other.

  Through the open windows, horses neighed to new arrivals. Byran picked up the Scotch and drained it. “I know her too. She does like you. I’ve seen the way she looks at you,” he said as he walked to the door. “But it might be worth it if you finally get rid of Danielle.”

  “Then tell me, you offered Arinna everything. I know it. She cares for you. Why did she say no?” Derrick asked.

  Byran stared at his feet. “Because I hate that she is military, and she hates I sleep around. I don’t want to accept it, but she has a point. Affection would not survive that. The two of you, though, you’d do well.” Byran frowned when he spoke, taking away the depth of the sentiment.

  Voices clamored down the hallway, highlighted by Isabella’s laughter. The party he wasn’t ready for had begun. Neither he nor Byran was there.

  “Come on, we’ll figure it out later. If there is anything to figure out. We are probably both simply making fools of ourselves,” Derrick said, taking Byran’s elbow to haul him out of the room.

  “A return to old times then?” Byran asked in a spate of humor. Derrick grinned back. For the craziness of it all, Derrick had to admit he loved life again. It was a nice change.

  The party was over three-quarters of an hour old when Arinna paused in the door leading to the garden. Derrick watched, fighting an urge to join her. As host, he’d moved between the three-dozen attendees already while checking on the details he’d ignored all day. Food was being brought to the tables, and the musicians were setting up on the stone patio above the formal garden. Taking care of both so that Isabella didn’t have to was the best thanks he could give her. So it was another fifteen minutes before his attention was free, and Derrick turned to find Arinna approaching.

  “I thought it best to forgo manners to thank you for the invitation until you looked unencumbered with details,” Arinna said, offering her hand.

  “Thank you for accepting the invitation,” Derrick said with a formal bow. “You look lovely though I liked the exercise pants better,” he added in an undertone.

  Arinna stifled a laugh, glancing away as she blushed. “Things must be going well for you to be in such a mood.”

  “Or they could be such a disaster, and I’ve given all hope of salvaging the evening,” he countered, offering his arm. She placed her hand on his forearm, walking beside him as he led the way across the garden. “Would you like a drink?” She nodded acceptance and gave him a questioning look when he smiled. He shook his head. “Did you talk to the Captain and solve the issue bothering you?”

  Arinna took the glass of wine he offered, sipping from it as the musicians began a sedate piece to warm up. “Yes. Sometimes his perceptions are not as misplaced as I imagine. He speaks highly of you and sent his thanks for a bottle of cognac?” Arinna gave him an amused glance.

  “I didn’t realize he was such a fan,” Derrick replied, dodging the question.

  “You’d be surprised,” she said, more serious than teasing. “My lord, may I ask you a question?”

  Arinna’s expression was one of pleasant chatter, but her eyes were somber. It made him glance nearby to see that most people were gathered in small knots enjoying the food and company. Where they stood opposite the musicians, no one was within earshot.

  “Of course.”

  She hesitated to speak, biting her lip as she glanced across the garden. The summer sun glowed in golden bliss, painting the flowers and hedges into ethereal timelessness. Arinna took a steadying breath.

  “Renault le Marc, you know him. Do you trust him?” she asked, blinking quickly before she turned her gaze to Derrick.

  Derrick’s mind had gone blank. It was the last person he expected to hear her mention. The direction the answer lay in was not one he wanted to wander down, not tonight. Derrick couldn’t hold her sincere gaze. He looked away, watching Corianne accepting a drink from a man whose name Derrick couldn’t recall though he’d spoken to him minutes before.

  “I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have asked,” Arinna said, her hand loosening on his arm.

  “No,” he said, placing his hand over hers before she slipped away. “It’s fine. I ... it just took me by surprise.” He smiled at her, finding real warmth in the automatic action when he met her sky blue eyes. “I cannot say I really know him. I know what Danielle has said, but she is trying to manipulate me on his behalf, as much as her own. He is cunning and careful, beyond that, I don’t know him at all. Why?”

  Arinna’s face flickered with emotions: surprise, consternation, and bafflement. Derrick started to chuckle as Arinna went to speak and then stopped, staring at him again. She blushed; a deeper rose this time.

  “I did not expect quite that answer,” she said, giving him a sidelong glance. “I would say there is a lot more there to be told.”

  “I’ll tell you another time when we can have drinks and can talk without pending interruptions.” Derrick nodded to a frantic server hovering near a table. “You cannot tell me why you mention him?”

  “He told Jared something, something troubling.”

  “You don’t believe it?”

  “I’m afraid to,” she answered, voice a breathy whisper.

  Chapter 27

  TATIANA GREKOV

  CORIANNE’S OFFER

  “A letter came for you, Corianne,” Aunt Linda said as dinner wound down.

  Corianne, still sulking from dozens of imagined slights, and a few real ones, that occurred at the evening party at Kesmere estate two days before, perked at the news. Tatiana flashed her cousin an excited smile. The round of parties as the summer reached its height had become exhausting, and even though follow-up invitations for luncheons or more private dinners added to the cramped schedule, any new invitation brought hope.

  “May I be excused, Mama?” Corianne asked as she rose.

  Corianne’s mother nodded with an amused smile, most likely not telling Corianne about the letter until dinner was finished as she knew her daughter would not be able to wait to see what it contained after hearing the news. Corianne signaled Tatiana to join her with a flick of her fingers. Tatiana was on her cousin’s heels as Corianne retrieved the letter from the hall table.

  They both arrived breathless in Corianne’s room, perching on opposite sides of the bed. Corianne held the letter of creamy paper between them.

  “Who’s it from?” Tatiana asked, trying to read the neat script on the envelope.

  “It doesn’t say. W
ho do you think?” Corianne asked, yielding the letter to Tatiana.

  Tatiana took it, admiring the heavy paper as much as the handwriting. “Maybe Sir Calavry’s younger son? He couldn’t take his eyes off you the other night.”

  Tatiana knew better to say Kesmere lest she send Corianne into another pout. Corianne sighed at the name anyway. “He was barely sixteen!”

  “And wealthy!” Tatiana pointed out. “Hopefully, it isn’t from a secret admirer since it doesn’t have a return address. We don’t need more poetry.”

  Corianne rolled her eyes. “I have enough poems to fill a book, and I’m still sitting here in the countryside. And anyone who is anyone will be going to the continent at the end of the month! Well, there is only one way to find out.” Corianne took the letter back.

  She used a penknife to slit the heavy paper, pulling out two sheets of writing in the same steady hand as the address. Corianne smoothed the pages against her bedsheet; brow puzzled as she read the first sentence.

  “This isn’t a poem or an invitation.” Corianne flipped to the last page. “It’s from Secretary Eldridge,” she said, blue eyes wide as she stared at Tatiana. “He wrote back.”

  They shifted like conspiring schoolgirls to be able to read the letter at the same time. Gratitude for the information regarding Derrick flowed to praise of Corianne’s carefully worded, and sensibly private, correspondence on the matter.

  “That was you,” Corianne said to Tatiana as her blush deepened to a hot rose. “You wrote the letter. It was your idea.”

  “It was our idea,” Tatiana assured Corianne. “What else does it say?” she prompted Corianne so that she’d flip to the final page.

  “He wants me to come to Prague and work as his personal assistant,” Corianne said as they read the last page together.

  The last of the letter was information on pay, lodging, when she should arrive, and how to let Mr. Eldridge know so that he could make the arrangements for her. The last paragraphs blurred as Tatiana stumbled on the details. Corianne was going to be able to leave. But not how they expected, not as a wealthy wife. Tatiana would be left behind without anyone to open doors for her to an easier life. Without her cousin, Tatiana doubted she’d even receive invitations to parties where she could meet someone who might be able to offer her more than the lot of a poor farmer’s wife.

  Corianne was staring at Tatiana when Tatiana stopped imagining the horrible chain of events unfolding. “You must come with me. I can’t go alone. Mother would never allow it anyway. And he doesn’t know about you! I’ll write him back and say I simply couldn’t come without you. Even if we have to split the pay. It was your letter, after all, that impressed him. I’d fail without you.”

  Tatiana didn’t know what to say other than to hug Corianne with all her might.

  Corianne took the letter to her mother that night. Tatiana paced, waiting to hear what Aunt Linda thought, but the afternoon spent with Eloise finally won over anxiousness. Tatiana fell asleep before learning Aunt Linda’s thoughts.

  There was no doubt of Pyotr’s impression, though. He grinned at her when she came downstairs to breakfast. “Prague,” he said with a teasing shake of his head. “I’d be jealous, but I would never get along with the dandies there.”

  “You really think Aunt Linda will say yes? And then Mr. Eldridge would need to agree,” Tatiana said, reaching for the bread pudding. Pyotr’s acceptance of something that had seemed like a dream when she opened her eyes made it feel real. Nerves warred with hope so that Tatiana wasn’t certain she’d be able to keep down her breakfast.

  “Aunt Linda will only agree to it if you go too. Corianne can’t go alone, not to the continent and a strange city. I suppose she’ll know a few people, but Aunt Linda trusts you to watch over her.”

  Tatiana nodded, but couldn’t help wonder if Corianne was supposed to watch over her. “Eloise Waldrope will be there. We’d have connections, I suppose. And Mr. Eldridge will surely introduce us.” Tatiana paused, blushing as her brother leaned back to stare at her with a smile.

  “Yes, I think you’ll manage quite well,” Pyotr said. “At least one of you’ll be engaged by Christmas, I’d bet.”

  Tatiana’s heart flipped. She pushed her bowl away, unable to eat. Pyotr’s teasing and good mood encouraged only a few mouthfuls of food by the time Corianne came down nearly fifteen minutes later. She wore one of her best dresses and a sun hat held back in golden curls. Pyotr lost track of his jest at the sight of Corianne though Corianne didn’t appear to notice.

  “Mother sent a request to Duke Waldrope last night, and he’s already replied this morning,” Corianne said, sitting next to Tatiana. “He will help us call Mr. Eldridge to verify the arrangements and to tell him you will be coming along as well.”

  “I should get dressed,” Tatiana said, scurrying to her feet.

  “There isn’t time, dear, and without me here today your help will be needed to manage everything,” Aunt Linda said, walking into the room wearing her best traveling coat. “I’m sorry to leave you to chores, but we’ll be home with news soon.”

  She cupped Tatiana’s cheek affectionately before shooing her daughter out of the chair. Corianne gulped down Tatiana’s uneaten breakfast as she made her way to her feet. “We’ll be home soon, I promise,” Corianne said around a mouthful.

  “She must be excited. I’ve never seen Corianne talk with food in her mouth before. That was the one way to keep her quiet,” Pyotr said.

  Tatiana was torn between annoyance and agreement, excitement and fear. She raced through chores only to find herself pacing with nothing to do in the afternoon. Despite promises, Aunt Linda and Corianne weren’t back quickly. Tatiana feared that only meant bad news because surely Duke Waldrope could just as easily, more easily, take Corianne when he left for Prague than it would ever be to arrange for Tatiana to go as well. Corianne would have Eloise to look out for her. Dispirited, Tatiana helped peel summer squash for dinner and tried not to bemoan her lot in life.

  The family carriage returned just as Tatiana and the maid stared at each other in the kitchen over a ready dinner for an absent family. The few servants Aunt Linda employed rose to help as packages were unloaded, the horses unharnessed, and the open-air buggy slipped into the barn. Loaded with wrapped bundles to take upstairs, Tatiana found Corianne in the hallway unpinning her hat after the flurry died down.

  “It’s all arranged,” Corianne said tiredly. Tatiana held her breath, hoping that included her while too afraid to ask. “We’ll leave with Eloise and her family in three weeks. They’ll take us to Prague where Mr. Eldridge has arranged lodging for us.”

  “I’m going too?” Tatiana said, believing the idea for the first time.

  “Of course, you silly goose, I couldn’t go without you! Mr. Eldridge is delighted to have you employed as well. I told him you’d written the letter and were so much more clever than me, I,” Corianne corrected as she swept arm in arm with Tatiana into the dining room. “We are going to Prague!”

  Tatiana could have danced around the table, but Corianne and Aunt Linda both looked ready to fall asleep in their chairs. Aunt Linda gave the briefest of narrations of the day before excusing herself, more tired than hungry.

  “Tomorrow,” Corianne said to Tatiana with a yawn. “We have so much work to do and only three weeks!”

  The packages turned out to be material and patterns.

  “We couldn’t afford nice dresses, not really nice ones, not for both of us and not all we’d need to get us into the fall when we’d be able to buy our own,” Corianne explained as she opened packages to show Tatiana while both girls still wore their nightclothes.

  The fabric was lustrous. “I thought you were going to be assistants, not debutants,” Pyotr said from the doorway.

  Corianne stuck out her tongue. “That is for evening wear as I’m sure we’ll be going to society parties—to meet dashing and connected young men,” Corianne added with a conspiratorial glance at Tatiana. “We have nice, but
more professional fabric as well.”

  “We have to sew it all ... in three weeks?” Tatiana asked.

  “And pack, and go to Prague, and still attend all the end of summer events.” Corianne flopped down next to Tatiana, wide-eyed and breathless. They stared at each other until both started to laugh, falling over chuckling.

  “Girls,” Pyotr said from the doorway before leaving them to their strewn packages and giggles.

  Every day was busy. Aunt Linda and Pyotr still had the farm to run, produce to harvest and sell as well as put away for their use. Firewood needed to be purchased and laid up. And amidst it all, Tatiana, Corianne, and the maid Ellen had to sew dresses and outfits. Eloise came to help as well, proving herself to be a fine seamstress and a bit of a fashion designer. With her eye, rather bland outfits became something fetching.

  Pyotr dropped by to watch, Eloise either pointedly ignoring him or glaring angrily. He never looked ruffled, though, and when he pointed out an easy modification to make a few of the outfits interchangeable, he won a smile from all three women. Pyotr came by more often after that, and Tatiana doubted it was because he’d miss her as he claimed. When she saw Eloise and Pyotr talking under a shade tree, it reminded Tatiana that she had someone she needed to tell she was leaving. Still, Tatiana put it off for three more days.

  Phillip waited for her under the tree where they’d met in the spring. The night air was heavy, and lightning flashed in the distance. Though the sky remained star-filled over the rolling hills around Aunt Linda’s farm.

  “You said you had something to tell me?” Phillip asked, taking Tatiana’s hand in his good left one to lead her to where he’d spread a blanket so she wouldn’t have to sit on the grass.

  Tatiana had debated telling Phillip she was leaving in the letter but decided her one friend outside of family deserved to hear of it from her. Now she regretted that as tears stung her eyes at the kindness he always showed. She decided to start with good news first.