Read Online The Last Maharajan (Romantic Thriller/Women's Fiction) by Susan Wingate - Free Book Online
Authors: Susan Wingate
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from her slip in elementary school, they were no worse for the wear.
In college, there was a wild mix of ethnicities shapes and colors and Euly no longer stood out as odd. Plus, when she did reveal her background, people didn’t seem to care or, at least, it wasn’t profound like it was when she and her friends were seven. Anyway, those days it was the blacks and Jews getting the brunt of bigotry, they were the ones collectively treated as second-class citizens, not people like Euly and Enaya, not then. Sometimes honesty didn’t pay. The memories flooded back as she watched the sun closing out another day.
CHAPTER SIXTEEN
She looked older. Euly detected the finest lines around Enaya’s sea green eyes but she still looked good. She wondered why someone with the color of her eyes didn’t live near the ocean the way Euly did. Backwards, she thought. Enaya, the one with ocean-eyes, living in the desert and Euly, with her brown eyes, living on an island. It was backwards. Euly pulled at her sleeve when she noticed wrinkles set in at her shirt’s elbows. She compared how Enaya was ordered, the proper way she sat in her chair, her beige linen suit looking fresh, her short cropped hair thick and pulled perfectly behind her ears and, her earlobes, studded with what looked to be two-carat diamonds in each. “Jimmy.”
Euly’s attention was distracted and she looked into her sister’s eyes. “Hmm?”
“Jimmy, he got them for me.” She flicked at one of her lobes. She’d seen her looking at the earrings. Euly angled her eyes down to the table. “Said they put him back a pretty penny.” There it was, the expected jab to let Euly know in one of her many ways how much money they made.
“Well, they’re lovely.”
Right away, Euly felt uncomfortable. She didn’t have clothes for the desert anymore. She wore a long-sleeved jersey top and jeans. Her boots looked urbane but were more suited for Seattle than Phoenix. She had a tight silk scarf around her neck that began to get hot, even hotter, so she untied it and let it hang loosely on her shoulders. She was tired from traveling. The waiter came back to the table expecting them to order.
“I’ll have the Pinot Gris.” Enaya folded her menu and handed it to the waiter making sure not to make eye contact with him. Euly couldn’t help but feel a pang of disgust.
“I’ll have the Cab, thank you.” She smiled directly at the man and he thanked them both for the order with a tip of his head, first at Euly then at her sister.
“You’re on a fact-finding mission, are you?” Enaya sipped her water then dabbed the corners of her mouth.
“Yeah. Yes.” Euly folded and re-folded her napkin.
“What facts are you trying to scare up?”
She looked at Enaya. Her older face was no less critical. Squinting her eyes the way she did when she didn’t believe something you said, added to her age. A busboy came with a silver pitcher to fill their drinks. Euly whispered thanks to him and grabbed the glass not so much because she was thirsty but to still her thoughts before speaking to Enaya. She wanted to tell her what a bitch she thought she was – how she’d always been an uppity bitch – but Euly took a sip instead.
“Things about our past.” She dug into her bag and brought out the journal and set it next to her plate.
“Things…”
“Yes, things about our family. What really happened.”
Euly sensed her sister’s skepticism grow by the look on her face. Enaya shook her head.
“You’re funny. Always trying to make something out of nothing.”
“You think mother and dad’s divorce is nothing?”
It never failed. Whenever they got together, they got to the meat of it.
“Nothing? No. I wouldn’t say that, Eu.” Euly bristled at the way her sister shortened her name. She was testing her patience. “Not nothing but not something either.”
“Wow, Enaya. You really have a talent for words.” Now, she dug in. Enaya had always been jealous that
In college, there was a wild mix of ethnicities shapes and colors and Euly no longer stood out as odd. Plus, when she did reveal her background, people didn’t seem to care or, at least, it wasn’t profound like it was when she and her friends were seven. Anyway, those days it was the blacks and Jews getting the brunt of bigotry, they were the ones collectively treated as second-class citizens, not people like Euly and Enaya, not then. Sometimes honesty didn’t pay. The memories flooded back as she watched the sun closing out another day.
CHAPTER SIXTEEN
She looked older. Euly detected the finest lines around Enaya’s sea green eyes but she still looked good. She wondered why someone with the color of her eyes didn’t live near the ocean the way Euly did. Backwards, she thought. Enaya, the one with ocean-eyes, living in the desert and Euly, with her brown eyes, living on an island. It was backwards. Euly pulled at her sleeve when she noticed wrinkles set in at her shirt’s elbows. She compared how Enaya was ordered, the proper way she sat in her chair, her beige linen suit looking fresh, her short cropped hair thick and pulled perfectly behind her ears and, her earlobes, studded with what looked to be two-carat diamonds in each. “Jimmy.”
Euly’s attention was distracted and she looked into her sister’s eyes. “Hmm?”
“Jimmy, he got them for me.” She flicked at one of her lobes. She’d seen her looking at the earrings. Euly angled her eyes down to the table. “Said they put him back a pretty penny.” There it was, the expected jab to let Euly know in one of her many ways how much money they made.
“Well, they’re lovely.”
Right away, Euly felt uncomfortable. She didn’t have clothes for the desert anymore. She wore a long-sleeved jersey top and jeans. Her boots looked urbane but were more suited for Seattle than Phoenix. She had a tight silk scarf around her neck that began to get hot, even hotter, so she untied it and let it hang loosely on her shoulders. She was tired from traveling. The waiter came back to the table expecting them to order.
“I’ll have the Pinot Gris.” Enaya folded her menu and handed it to the waiter making sure not to make eye contact with him. Euly couldn’t help but feel a pang of disgust.
“I’ll have the Cab, thank you.” She smiled directly at the man and he thanked them both for the order with a tip of his head, first at Euly then at her sister.
“You’re on a fact-finding mission, are you?” Enaya sipped her water then dabbed the corners of her mouth.
“Yeah. Yes.” Euly folded and re-folded her napkin.
“What facts are you trying to scare up?”
She looked at Enaya. Her older face was no less critical. Squinting her eyes the way she did when she didn’t believe something you said, added to her age. A busboy came with a silver pitcher to fill their drinks. Euly whispered thanks to him and grabbed the glass not so much because she was thirsty but to still her thoughts before speaking to Enaya. She wanted to tell her what a bitch she thought she was – how she’d always been an uppity bitch – but Euly took a sip instead.
“Things about our past.” She dug into her bag and brought out the journal and set it next to her plate.
“Things…”
“Yes, things about our family. What really happened.”
Euly sensed her sister’s skepticism grow by the look on her face. Enaya shook her head.
“You’re funny. Always trying to make something out of nothing.”
“You think mother and dad’s divorce is nothing?”
It never failed. Whenever they got together, they got to the meat of it.
“Nothing? No. I wouldn’t say that, Eu.” Euly bristled at the way her sister shortened her name. She was testing her patience. “Not nothing but not something either.”
“Wow, Enaya. You really have a talent for words.” Now, she dug in. Enaya had always been jealous that
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