Silver Linings

she felt tension dissolve throughout her body. “So relaxing.”
    “I had a hunch you'd enjoy it. You've been under an unusually high level of stress yourself, lately. Hugh gave me a full report on what you went through on Purgatory. I was absolutely shocked. Poor Mr. Cormier.”
    “I have to tell you, it certainly made me wonder if there wasn't some truth to the old legend surrounding that sword, Aunt Charlotte.”
    “You mean that bit about ‘Death to all who dare claim the blade until it's been taken up by the avenger and cleansed in the blood of the betrayer’? Typical medieval nonsense. All first-class ancient swords like Valor have legends and curses attached to them. Part of what makes them interesting. No, I'm afraid Mr. Cormier's problem was a combination of the usual, bad luck and bad timing.”
    “It was bad, all right,” Mattie agreed with a small shiver of memory.
    “You needn't have stumbled into the middle of it, you know. Why on earth didn't you stop at St. Gabriel, the way you were supposed to? You could have avoided that nasty little scene on Purgatory altogether. Hugh would never have walked into that sort of thing with you. He has an instinct for trouble.”
    “You know why I changed my reservations.”
    Charlotte sighed. “So much for my attempt at playing matchmaker. Still, on the whole, I didn't do too badly, did I? Hugh tells me you're engaged.”
    “Don't look so satisfied, Aunt Charlotte. I don't think I'd go quite so far as to call our present arrangement an engagement.”
    “That's what Hugh's calling it, so that's what I'll call it.”
    “I see. You two took a vote and I've been outvoted, is that it?”
    “Now, don't go getting tense again, Mattie. You'll undo all the good work these nice women are accomplishing. When do you think you'll move out to St. Gabriel?”
    Mattie stiffened and her masseuse responded by digging her thumbs into a pressure point. “Ouch. I'm not moving out to St. Gabriel. Didn't Hugh explain that part? He's decided to move to Seattle.”
    “Not permanently.”
    Mattie smiled grimly. “Then you'll have to ask him when he's leaving.”
    “Mattie, you know you can't keep him here long. Hugh Abbott will never be happy in the city. He's like a wild animal. He'll never become completely civilized, no matter how much sushi and white wine he consumes. All his hopes and dreams are waiting for him back on his island.”
    “I know. I'm waiting for him to admit that and go back to St. Gabriel.”
    “He won't go back without you.”
    “Then he'll wait until hell freezes over.”
    “You're tensing up again, ma'am,” the masseuse said, sounding annoyed.
    “Sorry,” Mattie mumbled.
    “The thing is,” Charlotte said gently, “you're part of his hopes and dreams now. He won't leave you behind.”
    “He did once before.”
    “Are you going to hold that against him for the rest of his life?”
    Mattie thought about it. “Maybe. At least until I can be sure I'm not a stand-in for Ariel.”
    “I don't believe it. That's not like you, Mattie. Hugh made a mistake a year ago, but that's because he was mad as hell and didn't know his own mind. For heaven's sake, dear, he's man. Men aren't very good at analyzing themselves, you know.”
    “I know. But I'm tired of analyzing him, too. I thought I had him figured out a year ago. I thought I understood him and that once he was free from Ariel's spell he'd see the light. But he didn't, Aunt Charlotte.”
    “It only took him a couple of months to come to his senses. Be reasonable, Mattie.” Charlotte sighed. “He was really thrown for a loss when Ariel broke off the engagement. He needed time to get his act together again. Poor Hugh, he thought he'd wrapped everything up in a nice, neat package for himself. All his plans were in order, and he's very accustomed to making things work out according to his own plans, you know. Even if he has to sort of hammer them into place.”
    “You can say that again.”
    “I blame myself, in part. I should never have arranged for Hugh and Ariel to meet.”
    “Why did you?” Mattie asked tightly. “You've made no secret that you'd like him in the family, but why choose Ariel for him the first time around? Why didn't you toss me into his lap?”
    “Oh, dear. I had a feeling you might be harboring some resentment on that score.”
    “Forget it, Aunt Charlotte. I'm used to Ariel getting picked first. I've always been her understudy.”
    “Really, dear, must you sink back