Sub Rosa 4
After that little incident, she thought it best that she get some distance. She even tried to be out of the house more, and poor Eddie had to run his little legs off to keep up with her on their frequent walks.
Maybe Niles wasn't exactly happy in his marriage, and maybe his little crush on her had a bit more depth to it than just physical attraction. None of that changed the fact that he was completely off limits. Besides, she told herself, it wasn't as if she were pining away, a lonely old spinster. Maybe she didn't date as much as Doctor Crane, but she did all right. And all right, none of them seemed to last that long, but so what? She had fun, there was nothing wrong with having a social life while she waited for…
Daphne paused, sitting on a park bench as she watched Eddie run and play with the other dogs. She had been lost in thought, something that happened all too often lately. Ever since that evening when Niles made his little speech (she excited him and made him feel alive? Really?) she couldn't quite get it out of her head. Maybe it was time to admit that what she was really waiting for. He was so plainly unhappy with Mrs. Crane, that marriage couldn't last forever.
She huffed a frustrated sigh and crossed her arms, scowling. What kind of a thought was that to have? Hoping for his marriage to fail, really! Didn't exactly make her a very good friend.
Daphne told herself firmly to stop thinking about it. After all, it had been months since then, maybe things had changed. Maybe Niles was happy in his marriage again and didn't even think about her that way anymore.
That idea didn't make her feel better at all.
"Come on, Eddie!" she called, clipping the leash back on him when he came running. They'd stayed out long enough, it was nearly evening and she had supper to prepare.
It was just her luck that Niles was in the apartment when she got back. He and his father sat at the table, parts of a model ship in a box in front of them. She gave them a quick greeting and disappeared into the kitchen. Niles was in his shirtsleeves again. Nobody had any right to look that endearing in suspenders.
She leaned against the counter, listening to them argue about building the model, and laughed softly. Niles got especially cute when he was scolding; something about the way his voice got all crisp and authoritative.
"Stop it," she told herself, and took a deep breath. It was just a silly crush and it had probably ended long ago. There was no reason to assume he was carrying some kind of torch for her just because of a few errant comments. And longing looks. And quick peeks when he thought she wasn't watching. And what his brother had said, that time he was sick.
Daphne tugged irritably at her skirt and gave an impatient huff. Fine, there was one way to find out if he was still interested. Not that she wanted him to be. Because that would be awkward and difficult.
"Oh, look at that," she said, walking into the room with them. "What a beautiful ship. I bet you'll have fun building that."
"Not as much fun as we're having reading about it," Mr. Crane muttered.
Here goes nothing, Daphne thought. "Did I ever mention one of me ancestors was a mutineer on the HMS Bounty?"
"No kidding?" Mr. Crane said, interested.
"Yeah, well, from what we could gather, he made it safely to Pitcairn Island, where he was quite fruitful and multiplied." She dared a sly glance at Niles from beneath her eyelashes. He was definitely paying attention. "For all I know, there's some girl who looks exactly like me running around the south seas, frolicking in the surf, all brown skinned and bare breasted."
There was a snap as the model part Niles had been holding broke in his hands. He fumbled and dropped it, and laughed nervously. "Well, I guess it's a two masted schooner now," he joked weakly.
Daphne laughed and made her escape, heading to the balcony to water the plants. Once the sliding glass door was closed behind her, she leaned on the railing and took several deep breaths of fresh air. Well, that answered that, didn't it? She didn't know about his heart, but apparently there were at least a few parts of him that were still interested.
She stayed out on the balcony, trying to clear her head, and when she glanced back inside she saw that Doctor Crane had arrived home and was talking to his father. She opened the door, but paused on the threshold when she realized they were talking about Niles; he'd disappeared into the bathroom after getting a model part stuck to his hand.
"Dad! I have to talk to you about Niles," Doctor Crane said in a hushed voice. "I got a call on the show today from a German woman whose husband is a fencing instructor who she suspects is having an affair with his wealthy new client."
Daphne put a hand over her mouth, understanding the implication. She was surprised to realize how angry the idea made her. How dare Mrs. Crane cheat on Niles! He was nothing but kind and generous and patient with her and her strange little episodes.
Mr. Crane didn't seem convinced, though. "And?" he asked.
"Don't you find that the least bit incriminating?" Doctor Crane replied.
"No! I find it a coincidence."
Daphne knew she shouldn't be eavesdropping, but this was too important to miss. She stood against the wall of the building and kept listening through the open balcony door.
Doctor Crane seemed certain that Mrs. Crane was the woman his caller had suspected, but his father managed to convince him it was just a coincidence that Mrs. Crane happened to be taking fencing lessons. Daphne wasn't so sure. This would crush Niles if he knew. She rubbed impatiently at her eyes when they started to well up. This was no time to fall apart, and she had to look composed when she walked back in the room or they'd know she had been listening.
She cocked her head to one side; they were talking about models now. She walked in just as Doctor Crane said, "Yes, well, Niles was getting on my nerves and I had to go in and steal his ovaries."
"Now there's a conversation I'm glad I missed the beginning of," she said as she walked past. Of course, she hadn't missed a word.
TBC
