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We’ll be sure to keep him far from you.”
    Bertie sniffed in disdain—I wasn’t sure if it was directed at her friend’s loyalty to a cat or to Mary’s health misfortunes or even at me. Maybe all of us at once? Her little dog whimpered, and she absentmindedly kneaded its knobby head.
    Mary set her purse on the counter, digging through an array of pill bottles, muttering the whole time. “I’m also prone to dusts and mold. This is an old place, I take it.”
    “Yes.” I pulled behind the counter. “This Queen Ann Victorian has been a resort since the sixties. It was first turned into a bed and breakfast in the twenties. Before then it was a family estate, built in 1887.”
    Mary yelped in distress. “You must have all sorts of allergens here.” She took out her nasal spray and began to apply in earnest. Bertie drew out a long sigh. I tried to reassure Mary that she was staying in one of the bungalows built outside the property, which was newer than the main building, but she downed a handful of pills just as Ann-Marie came hurtling into the room in her usual heedless fashion.
    I pretended I wasn’t desperate to see her. “Ann-Marie, would you please take these ladies to their bungalows? They’re in the Southerton and the Uppercross. I’ll have their luggage sent after them.”
    “Yes, of course.” Ann-Marie’s eyes drew to the four pill bottles Mary stuffed back into her purse. Mary then collided into Bertie’s arm on her way to the door, making Bertie’s purse yip in response.
    Mary backpedaled in horror. “Oh dear. That houses a dog? He looks just like a little bear, but he’s the size of a rat. A little rat-bear!”
    “ She is a micro-teacup Maltese,” Bertie corrected in chilly tones. “My mother’s favorite. Do you know how much these little rat-bears cost?”
    Mary’s manner immediately changed and she became more fawning. “I bet that little rat-bear is worth more than my four sons combined. Why, just the cost to the vet alone.” She wiped at her drooping eyes as if she was having an allergic reaction, but so far no tears had come. “Of course you’ve already shot the little guy up with all sorts of vaccines to keep back all the diseases that he carries.”
    Bertie’s glare dripped icicles. “My baby is tired,” she addressed Ann-Marie. “Could you please show me where I’m staying before I sprout roots and grow leaves in here?”
    “Yes, of course.” Ann-Marie exchanged a stricken look with me and led the way from the lobby.
    “So brave of you to take on the puppy,” Mary said to Bertie, following her out. “Does it shed? I wish I had the money to throw away on such odd things.” I listened to Mary’s voice fade as she persevered in the face of Bertie’s silent treatment. “That’s why Taylor is paying for my stay here. My husband said, ‘go,’ I deserved the break. My boys are a handful. Dirty, too. They do nothing for my health.”
    I let out a breath as soon as they were out of earshot. Two bridesmaids down, only one more to go. I wasn’t eager to see Bella Thorne’s entrance, because so far I couldn’t see how Taylor associated with any of her friends. They made her look . . . well . . . normal.
    Maybe that was the point.

Chapter 4

“Can he love her? Can the soul really be satisfied with such polite affections? To love is to burn – to be on fire, like Juliet or Guinevere or Eloise . . .”
     
    —Jane Austen, Sense and Sensibility

    I wrestled the baggage onto the cart. Bertie had brought enough for a month instead of her allotted week here. Silently, I prayed that didn’t mean she planned on extending her stay. I scooted the cart to Mary’s minivan, and after pushing past four sticky car seats, I found her one worn bag. It was wrapped in plastic. I didn’t want to know why as I hauled it next to Bertie’s matching designer luggage and shoved the cart back into the lobby.
    There was no sign of Freddy inside. Knowing my luck, I’d have the whole job