Queen V.'s Arc

Chapter 12 of 13

Queen V. slipped away from the rosé table while the guests were still reading the article aloud. She crossed the lawn and entered the garden house, closing the door behind her. The amber bottle sat behind the chair where she had left it. She picked it up and turned it in her hands, feeling the weight of it. Paul appeared in the doorway. She set the bottle on the vintage rug that covered the garden house floor and stepped away from it. Paul's face told her everything. Alan James had already spoken. Paul walked inside and stopped at the edge of the rug, looking down at the bottle, then at her. She could see him choosing his words. She waited. He picked up a muddy pair of work gloves from the bench and set them aside, then turned back to her. "How long?" he asked. She didn't answer. He nodded slowly, as if she had. Paul crossed to the brick bench and lifted it. The cellar door lay beneath. He opened it and descended the steps. Queen V. followed him down. He stood among the shelves of beer cases, looking at the recliner, the empty bottles she had missed. He didn't touch anything. He climbed back up and held the door open for her. She came up last. He closed the door and replaced the bench. "I'm not asking you to stop," he said. "I'm asking you to tell me when you need help." Queen V. looked at the bottle still sitting on the rug. She had built the garden house to control the weather. She had hidden the cellar to control the evidence. Paul had found both. She picked up a case of Molson Canadian from the shelf near the door and handed it to him. "Take this to Hank," she said. "Tell him we're even." Paul took the case and left. Queen V. stood alone in the garden house. She had lost the leverage Hank held over her, but she had also lost the weight of carrying the secret from Paul. The event would continue. The guests would stay. But she would not go back to the cellar tonight.