Chapter 11 : Guests
Auntie Whispers and her niece visited Clover's house a couple of times during the next two weeks ; however it was only now that they managed to pop up on a day Beatrice was also visiting.
Just as planned, the old woman stayed with the Woodsman while Lorna hanged out with the other teenagers.
All three of them sat around a table, the Tome of the Unknown open before them. The adults being outside, they could talk freely. Well, almost.
After a while, Clover offered to make tea for her guests, which they both accepted. She stood up and went to the well outside, leaving Beatrice and Lorna alone.
The latter finally had the opportunity she was waiting for.
"So…" she whispered to the girl in blue, "what really happened to Adelaide?"
Oh, no, this was much too direct! It could never work.
"Good question", the redhead replied.
"I won't tell."
"Of course you won't, 'cause I don't have anything to tell you."
"Auntie Whispers told me her sister never left her house", Lorna explained. "She was afraid of the outside air. She couldn't have left voluntarily. So what happened?"
"I don't know", Beatrice insisted.
"And why did you go to her house?" the girl with the bonnet enquired.
"She promised me an item but never gave it to me. We wanted to check if she was still alive. And also get the item."
"What did she promise you, then?" Whispers' niece asked.
"Why do you care?" the other girl replied.
They were soon interrupted by their host returning with the water. She apologised for the wait while she lit a fire to make the water boil.
The opportunity to make Beatrice talk was gone and Lorna had completely blown it away. Oh dear. She had most likely ruined all of her chances…
"Are your father and Whispers still outside?" the girl in blue asked her friend across the room.
"Yes", Clover replied. "I've never seen him talk to someone for that long!"
"Yeah, your father… definitely isn't a people person. He has no social skills. At all."
"Bea!"
"Just saying. Not everyone's a people person."
Lorna observed the exchange silently as she absent-mindedly turned the pages of the book before her.
"You're so sweet when we're alone but as soon as someone else is there…" the Woodsman's daughter pointed out.
"Maybe she doesn't want to show her softer side to anyone else?" the girl in the bonnet guessed.
Even Beatrice couldn't find anything to reply to that.
It was Clover who broke the silence :
"Anyway… I hope you like Endicott brand tea."
Guests and hosts alike lost track of time at some point and were only reminded of it by the sun setting down on the forest. It was a bit too late for Lorna and Auntie Whispers to go back home now, however the cabin in the woods only had two bedrooms.
The Woodsman and his daughter agreed on two points : firstly, letting their guests stay for the night was the good thing to do, secondly, sharing their bedrooms would certainly be awkward.
Beatrice wasn't happy at all about having to share her girlfriend's bed with Lorna. This wasn't what she had planned at all.
"No clearing our heads tonight I guess", she mumbled as the three of them entered the bedroom.
Lorna couldn't help the "what?" that escaped from her mouth. Clover was blushing and looking away from the others as she quickly explained :
"It's… it's just an inside joke we have… please don't ask."
The girl with the bonnet seemed actually more confused than she was before the explanation, but she did as she was told and didn't ask any more questions.
"Anyway… Watch out for Beatrice", the Woodsman's daughter warned her guest, "she steals the cover."
"I do not!"
"I always have to steal it back from you in the middle of the night not to freeze to death. Every. Single. Time."
The redhead kept denying it stubbornly.
Meanwhile, Lorna stood next to the large bed, not knowing what to do. What was she supposed to do in a situation like this?
The teenagers were interrupted by Clover's father knocking on the door and asking if she had any spare cover, which she did. Apparently, he intended to sleep near the fireplace and leave his bed to Auntie Whispers.
"Won't you be uncomfortable sleeping like this, Father?"
The Woodsman shrugged.
"I've had worse. What about you? Will you children have enough room?"
"We'll make it work", Clover replied. "If some people don't steal the cover again, that is."
Beatrice rolled her eyes.
The morning came. Hosts made breakfast for guests, everyone ate together, then it was time for Auntie Whispers and Lorna to go back home. The Woodsman decided to accompany them while Beatrice and Clover stayed to tend to the latter's vegetable garden.
"They just want to find out what happened to Adelaide", the redhead pointed out as soon as the others were gone. "Lorna asked me about it when you left us alone."
The brunette nodded. This was exactly what they had expected.
"Do you think they'll get tired eventually or not?"
"I doubt it", Beatrice replied. "At least I wouldn't."
Clover sighed.
"Can't we have friends who actually just want to be friends with us?"
Beatrice shrugged.
She then smiled when an idea struck her mind. Her girlfriend smiled back, as she had the exact same thought : they truly had the house to themselves once again, and it would last a while. They both got up and left the breakfast table.
The vegetable garden could wait.