“It’s for tonight. The Alumni Dinner.”
She opened the bag and peered inside. She saw a black garment. When she drew it out, she saw it was a lovely sophisticated cocktail dress, an elegant item that she’d never have the taste to choose, let alone the money to buy. It was one of several dresses he’d bought for her last week.
Crap. He’d noticed how awkward she’d felt in her sundress at the last semiformal event held at Castle Durand. The thought mortified her.
“There’s more,” he said, his low rumble emanating above and just to the right of her making the skin of her ear prickle.
Unable to look at him because she was afraid he’d see her mixed shame and excitement, she reached into the bag and pulled out a rectangular black velvet box. Inside nestled a beautiful rope of pearls. She just stared at the necklace for a moment before she swallowed thickly and met his stare.
“Yes. You can. They’re yours,” he said succinctly, preempting her response. He’d known she was about to tell him she couldn’t take the items.
Several days ago, Dylan had surprised her with a small yet stunning new wardrobe. That was before he’d told her about Addie Durand. It made her uncomfortable now, to consider his gifts, in retrospect.
Maybe Dylan expected her to look and dress the part of an heiress.
She wavered about whether or not to refuse the items. In the end, she accepted the dress: frowning, exhausted, and highly uncertain. The simple fact of the matter was she didn’t have anything else to wear. She’d been so distracted, she’d forgotten the Alumni Dinner, and both of her sundresses were in the dirty-clothes hamper.
“One more thing,” Dylan said before they headed out the door. “Give me your keys.”
She gave him a dubious look, but handed him her key ring. He took a key from his jeans’ pocket and worked it onto the metal ring. He lifted her right hand in both of his, pressing the keys gently to her palm.
“You know the security code. Now you have the key to get into the castle. If it feels strange to you tonight, being here as a guest, this is just a reminder that you’re anything but.”
*
A few hours of sleep were definitely not sufficient. She remained zombie-like for the entire walk through the grounds with Dylan and as she furtively entered her cabin, washed, and pulled on new clothes. She was still out of it by the time she met up with Terrance Brown for their early morning jog. The rising sun was making the eastern woods look like they were catching fire. Terrance immediately took note of her pale face and blurry eyes.
“Come on, Alice. You’re supposed to be the healthy one here. Are you hungover or something? You out partying last night?” Terrance teased her, dimpling up with a wide grin.
“Partying,” Alice mumbled with dark sarcasm. “Who’s got time for partying?”
She perked up a moment later as she joined Terrance in stretching on the white side beach. Terrance didn’t appear to be phoning it in, but genuinely trying to warm up his muscles for their run. Maybe her attempts at hooking Terrance into the benefits of exercise were paying off. At least he’d shown up independently for their early morning jogs, which was something. It wasn’t easy getting a fifteen-year-old boy up at dawn.
After they’d returned from their morning run, Alice walked into the Red Team’s cabin with Terrance, wanting a word with the night supervisor before she left. After she’d met up with Crystal, she opened the door to the nearly empty common room. Immediately, she overheard Terrance, Matt Dinorio, and Justin Arun muttering conspiratorially together where they sat at a corner table.
“They say they’ve set up some kind of secret alarm system this year to stop people from stealing it,” she heard Matt hiss. “It’s not as easy as it was for Ormitz and McCaron and those guys from the Gold Team in the past. I don’t think we can do it.”
“You’re full of it. No one would waste so much money and effort on a damn goat. You two said the Red Team has never got it! We’ve got to try,” Terrance insisted.
“I’m serious. If you get anywhere near it . . . Boom. Alarms start blaring, and the next thing you know, you’re behind bars at the Morgantown jail.”
Alice stilled, both concerned and mystified by the boys’ conversation. Justin and Matt were both “expert” Durand campers. They were bright, energetic, and often mischievous, but not any more so than most teenage boys. She considered Terrance in the same light. Alice didn’t think any of them were capable of serious law breaking. True, Matt had been involved in several petty crimes years ago. He came from a pretty rough neighborhood and had fallen in with a bad crowd. But since first attending Camp Durand, Matt had been clean as a whistle and his grades had significantly improved.
“What are you guys talking about?” Alice demanded loudly, fully entering the room.