For The One(58)

Caitlyn frowned. “Is it true, then? Are you seeing William now?” She didn’t seem entirely happy, and I remembered her comment from a few weeks ago.

Save some of them for us homely girls.

I’d suspected that she might have a thing for William. It wasn’t out of the realm of possibility. He did have his own fangirl section, after all.

“I’m only working with him to help with his crowd issues. So he’ll have a better shot at beating that twerp at the next duel.”

Her shoulders relaxed a bit. Uh-oh. She might as well have just said, “Thank God.”

Ann sat down in the seat William had vacated. I carefully scooped up my Rider-Waite deck and slid it inside its satin pouch. We passed the next few hours talking of other things, mostly work and Ann’s new double major, African Studies and European Studies, at Cal State Fullerton.

I read for a few more people—clan members, visiting courtiers from other clans of the RMRA and “mundanes,” modern park visiters who did not participate in reenactment. I made some decent cash by the time all was said and done.

And fortunately, William returned from his walk unscathed, as I saw him visiting booths again and talking with other clansmen as if nothing had happened. Ann caught me watching him right before it was time to close up shop.

“I don’t think it would be a bad thing for you to date William,” Ann murmured.

I didn’t answer, throwing a surreptitious gaze at Caitlyn, who busied herself with tidying activities at her side of the booth. She laughed to herself after a tense stretch of minutes.

Ann’s head swiveled in Caitlyn’s direction. “What?”

“Just that I bet Jenna could date William and he wouldn’t even know they were dating.”

I stiffened. “He’s not dumb.”

“Oh no. Not even close. I just mean that he’s…adorably clueless. For example, one time he brushed me off, and I don’t think he even realized he did it.”

I stacked my cards in the satchel along with the other decks and tucked my earnings from the day into my leather belt pouch. Though I normally might have asked Caitlyn to elaborate on her story, given the subject matter, I refrained.

Ann was still staring at me while I fiddled with the cloth covering on my table. “Why do those two hate each other so much?”

Caitlyn and I both brought our heads up to stare at her.

“Who? Doug and William?” Caitlyn asked.

I’d been curious about that, too. Ann nodded and we both stared at Caitlyn, waiting for the answer. Caitlyn had been a member of the clan for several years and knew all the gossip. She cleared her throat. “William has been one of the clan pillars since nearly the beginning. He’s always supporting clansmen. Practically every member has mad respect for him. But things changed when Doug showed up. He knew how to schmooze and get into people’s good graces quickly.”

Including mine, I thought. Although Doug was a lot more charming and intriguing from a distance than he was up close. He’d been appreciative and extremely flattering, and I had been in a bit of a dark place so I welcomed the attention.

“So did he hate William from the start?” Ann asked.

Caitlyn shook her head. “No…not at all. He actually tried to kiss up to William, if you can believe it. But William doesn’t respond well to schmoozing, and Doug ended up being particularly offended by William’s blunt personality.”

She tucked her art supplies into a cloth bag and stood up, gently tipping the folding table on its side so that it was ready to load onto the truck.

“I’ve always liked William. He’s a great guy.” She was silent for a moment before shrugging and continuing. “I have to admit that I kind of used that clash with Doug to get closer to him, you know? Talk to him, give him some advice. And one night, after one of our meetings, I offered to help him pack up his stuff in exchange for a ride home, which he took me up on. But when we got to my house, he was focused on getting home and not the least bit interested in coming up for a ‘cup of coffee or a beer.’ He said it was too late to drink either and thanked me. Then he drove off.”

Ann snickered. “He really had no idea you were coming on to him?”

Caitlyn smiled ruefully. “I was offended for about five minutes, then I laughed and resolved to be more obvious. That didn’t work either,” she said with a neutral glance in my direction. “He was interested in someone else.”

Ann followed her gaze to look at me, and I busied myself by grabbing a couple of stools. “We should get these out to the truck.”

“Have you ever considered that that’s the reason Doug asked you out?” Ann asked when Caitlyn was out of earshot.