Eve could tell there was something wrong immediately. Jenkins was trying to stay as far away from Cassandra as he could without drawing attention. But Eve had been trained to assess the body language of those around her.
These two weren't acting like a couple on their honeymoon. Jenkins, in particular, was acting… guilty.
She let them "pretend" everything was alright through breakfast. Even Flynn was fooled, though Eve was pretty sure that was simply because he was trying hard to ignore the situation under a false sense of leaving Jenkins his dignity rather than being actually obtuse. Ezekiel was just being himself, stuffing his face. But Jake….
Eve had been a bit worried about how Jake was handling this. Eve knew Jake blamed himself for not forgiving Cassie's "sell-out" in the beginning- it had taken him too long to repare the friendship for any other kind of relationship to blossom. She worried that Jake was now jealous. Well, no, actually she was certain he was jealous, just from the way he stared at Jenkins while eating. But how jealous, only time would tell.
Cassandra's parents kept up the conversation around the table, asking them all in turn about their "library job." Zeke actually handled it like a pro, making up a "security" job at the library and an American-born mother and an Australian father. Eve needed to remember to commend him on being able to create such a good lie on the fly.
Eve saw her chance come when Cassie got up to use the bathroom. "I'll go with you," she said with a smile. They both headed to the restroom in silence.
She looked at Cassie as the main door to the bathroom closed. "Everything ok?"
Cassandra nodded, but then shook her head.
"He didn't… hurt you, did he?" Eve asked. Cassandra's eyes widened in surprise.
"No, of course not!" she said vehemently, which assured Eve somewhat.
"Well, then, what's going on? Because you two are not acting like lovers on their honeymoon."
"I don't know…." Cassie started, and then paused. "I think I…might have hurt him, somehow. Not physically-" here she blushed while trying to explain, "but I think I did something wrong. Or just, this whole situation is wrong. Jenkins isn't…adjusting well."
Eve heaved a sigh. "It's a lot of change for him in a short period of time," she said, talking it through, "and he's not the type of person that does things without thinking them through."
"Exactly," Cassie said, nodding her head. "We have to talk and make up ground rules while…taking care of things…." She looked at the floor, still embarrassed. She didn't think Jenkins would like her telling Eve too much about their personal life. "But honestly, I'mworried now that… he might have… liked you better." Her voice had gotten quieter, until at the eend of her sentence, she was nearly whispering. Tears swam in her eyes.
Eve shook her head. "No way," she said. "I respect Jenkins, hell, I probably even love him in a fraternal sort of way, but I don't think I'm what he needs. You care for him in a way that would take me too long to develop. And that's what he needs right now."
As they came back into the restaurant, Eve reached to touch Cassie's arm. "I get that you can't take things too slow," she said, "but maybe…letting him get to know you on a more personal level?" Cassie hugged her quickly, trying to keep the lump in her throat from bursting.
"But the offer stands: let me know if there's anything I can do to help," she said, looking Cassandra straight in the eye. Cassie understood. Eve would be there for Jenkins, if she couldn't be.
Jenkins watched them both from the other side of the restaurant. He was certain Cassandra had not been satisfied with his… performance… this morning, coupled with his own feelings of impropriety, made for a rather awkward breakfast. And now she was telling Baird. Jenkins could barely choke down his food at the idea.
His eyes swept across the table, and made contact with Jacob's. The men stared at each other over for the briefest of moments, but Jenkins understood. Not everyone was as willing to trust him as Flynn was.
Breakfast wrapped up, they saw Mr. and Mrs. Cillian off to the airport before using the remote control for the door to the Library. Jenkins and Cassie then said their goodbyes to the rest of the team, and took another door to the Anglesey airport in Wales, blending in with the debarking passengers as they headed to the car-rental counter.
Jenkins spoke the gentleman at the counter in Welsh, which brought Eve's advice to the forefront of Cassandra's thoughts. She had thought she knew this man reasonably well. She was learning quickly that she truly knew nothing about him at all.
It was a beautiful spring day as they drove through the countryside to the castle that Zeke and Flynn had booked for a week for them. It was actually fun to watch Jenkins drive – another skill Cassandra had nearly forgotten he possessed.
They made meaningless conversation until they arrived at the smallish (but still impressive) castle. Jenkins had actually called Flynn to create a door at a rest stop along the way to collect the rest of their luggage. It would probably be a bit too much for the staff to believe that they were planning to stay for a week with only a couple of duffle bags between them.
Cassie forgot her troubled thoughts for a moment upon arrival. The staff had been expecting them, and treated their arrival as if they were the masters of the house, lining up for an old-fashion greeting of lord and servants.
Cassandra suspected Jenkins was as surprised by the reception as she was, though he hid it better- he spoke Welsh exclusively with the staff, giving her enough time to try to start picking up the language. The staff were enchanted with Jenkins' fluency, as they had thought they were dealing with rich Americans, and even with her own attempts to speak a language she had only really heard a couple of hours ago. This might just be fun, she thought as the footmen took in their luggage.
After a brief meeting with the head housekeeper and butler about such things as mealtimes, they both made their way up the stairs to the "main quarters", guided by yet another servant.
The door finally shut, they were finally alone, with nothing else to do. It was time.
Cassandra turned to Jenkins. "We need to talk."
