The Last Night in London by Karen White (reading list .TXT) 📕

Alex held the door open for Precious and then for Eva, leaning close to her ear. “You smell divine,” he whispered. She almost stumbled as she stepped into the car, but managed to hold on to her composure and greeted Sophia with a wide smile. David and Alex took the jump seats facing them, Alex directly in front of Eva.

Sophia seemed unusually subdued during the drive to Leicester Square. She was usually the one to lead conversations, and after she assured Eva that she felt fine, Eva was at a loss. David, his expression changing by the minute from pent-up excitement to confusion when he looked at his bride, kept time with the rhythm of the tires, his fingers tapping nervously on his knees.

Alex seemed to notice, too, and raised his brows at Eva. Desperate for a distraction, Eva opened the green box bag and pulled out her cigarette case. Precious had finally given the purse to her as an early birthday gift, seeing as how she’d never used it because it was always on Eva’s wrist.

She had barely placed the cigarette between her lips before Alex offered a match. She reluctantly met his eyes, his mocking smile seeming to remind her that she was using the cigarette case and wearing the perfume he’d given her. You have a fondness for beautiful things. Some might see it as a weakness. Her hand shook as she pulled back, belatedly offering cigarettes to the other occupants.

Precious refused, as she always did. She was the only one of all Eva’s friends who didn’t smoke, seeming almost virtuous as everyone else puffed away while she blew the smoke away from her.

“I say, that’s a very nice case, Eva. May I see it?” David reached across the car, and Eva had no choice but to give it to him. He tested its heft in his hand. “Sterling, yes? It’s quite heavy. But it’s the bee on top that caught my eye. A queen, isn’t it?”

“Is it?” Eva asked, blowing out smoke in an attempt to appear nonchalant. “I hadn’t noticed.”

“Oh, yes. Definitely a queen. She has a stinger, see? She’s not a worker bee, as she’s quite wide.” Eva tried not to wince as he flipped it over in his palm and saw the inscription. “‘Nil credam et omnia cavebo,’” he read out loud. He looked up at Eva, his head tilted. “Extraordinary. Wherever did you find this?”

The pause was so long that Alex finally spoke up. “I believe you said you found it in an antiques store on the high street. Isn’t that right?”

Eva felt Precious’s gaze on her but wasn’t worried her friend would blurt out the truth. Precious was very good at keeping secrets. Eva looked over at Alex, too wary to be grateful. “Yes. That’s correct. My other one broke, and I thought the bee was pretty.”

“Ah,” David said, satisfied. He handed the case back to her. “I wonder who the original owner might have been. That’s a rather prophetic inscription, isn’t it?”

“Yes, I suppose so.” Eva stuffed the case back into her purse and snapped the lid shut. “I just found it pretty,” she said, smiling as she looked up, aware of a pair of silver eyes watching her.

Precious turned from the car window. “I love London at night,” she said, smiling. “All these lights! And people everywhere! At home we lived so far down a country road that we might not see another person until church on Sunday. I think that’s why I always had this antsy feeling that I was missing something. I guess that’s why I’m here.”

She turned to look at her seatmates. “I hear the band at the Café de Paris is the best in town. I swear my feet are already jitterbugging.”

As if to add credence to her words, her feet moved to their own beat beneath the hem of her long gown. Her accent had become stronger when talking about home, causing Alex’s lips to turn up in a sardonic smile. “You’re from Tennessee, is that correct?”

Eva wanted to tell Precious not to respond, that she doubted Alex was simply making idle conversation. Everything he did and said seemed to have more than one purpose.

“Yes. I always say Memphis, but we’re really from a tiny town in the sticks about an hour away. Nobody knows where that is, so I just say Memphis.”

Alex sat back, crossed a leg over his knee. “You’re so very far from home. You must miss your family very much. Do you think they’ll ever come here to visit?”

The brightness in Precious’s eyes faded slightly. “I’d love that, but they don’t have a lot of money, and my daddy has to take care of the farm. My little sister is too young to make the trip by herself. I sure do miss them.”

Alex nodded, appearing sympathetic, but Eva felt something cold slithering up the base of her neck. “Well, never say never. I’m a strong believer in making the seemingly impossible possible.” He turned to Eva. “Don’t you agree? Wouldn’t you love to see your family from Devon again?” A look of mock sadness came over his face. “Oh, Eva, I am so very, very sorry. I didn’t mean . . .” He almost sounded genuinely apologetic. “I hope I didn’t bring up unpleasant memories.” He brightened. “Of course, now you have good friends, and I daresay sometimes one prefers friends to family, anyway.”

He sat back with a satisfied smile as if he’d just solved the world’s problems. But all Eva felt was icy cold. She glanced over at Sophia and David, who seemed to be aware only of each other and the strange staticky hum vibrating between them.

Sensing her discomfort, Precious reached over and squeezed Eva’s hand. “That’s very true. Although sometimes good friends can become more like sisters. Isn’t that right?”

“Absolutely.” Eva smiled and nodded, avoiding Alex’s gaze by stabbing her cigarette out in the ashtray in the