Daughter of the Mara (The Mara Chronicles Book I)

Chapter 17

The following night, Jay found herself cozied up next to Edmund in the booth of a small Italian restaurant in the Pearl district. They were done with their meal but the soft, comfortable lighting of the restaurant and the feeling of Edmund's arm around her shoulders had kept her from bringing up a possible truce with Harvey. She knew she had to do it, and soon, but she struggled against the thought of ruining this perfectly romantic moment with Edmund. Jay sighed, leaning back against Edmund's shoulder.

"Is something wrong?" Edmund asked, running his hand down the length of her hair. Jay trembled at his touch and pulled out of his embrace.

"I need to ask you for a favor and I'm kind of nervous about it," she replied. She glanced up at his inquiring face, relieved to see a lack of irritation there.

"My dear, I am at your service," he replied formally. "What is it you desire?" he asked, a wry smile playing across his lips.

Jay returned the smile, her hands fidgeting in her lap, and then took a deep breath before the words came rushing out. "I need you to be nicer to Harvey. I need the two of you to get along." She found herself unable to look at Edmund while she spoke but as soon as the words were out, she focused in on his face, waiting for his reaction.

Edmund sighed. "It takes two to agree to that request, Jay. I'll do what I can but you'll need to get Harvey to agree as well."

Jay nodded. "I know. I'm going to talk to him tonight." Relief washed through her and she quietly sighed. That had been far easier than she could've hoped for. She snuggled against him, his arm settling across her shoulders once more.

After several moments of silence, aside from the soft strains of La Boheme playing in the background, Edmund spoke. "Speaking of Harvey, I have something I've been meaning to ask you that I just can't seem to wrap my mind around." Edmund wiped the corners of his mouth on the white cloth napkin even though Jay didn't see any food to be wiped away.

Jay shifted forward in her seat and let Edmund's arm fall away. "What's that?"

"You told me that Harvey helped get you out of Lakewood but neither of you ever really said how that plan came about. I mean, it doesn't seem like you knew each other before then." Edmund raised one eyebrow, a questioning look in his dark eyes.

Jay shook her head. "He knew my father. Harvey was his teaching assistant before my father left the university. "

"Why did your father leave the university? Was he ill?"

Jay knew this would come up eventually but it didn't make saying the words any easier. "He died," Jay replied simply, trying to fight the lump rising in her throat. This was definitely not a topic she wanted to discuss with her new boyfriend. It hit far too close to everything that had happened at Lakewood, and before.

Edmund leaned forward and took her hand. "Oh Jay, I'm sorry."

"It's okay," she said. "I'd rather not talk about it."

Edmund nodded. "All right. Well you see, I was just curious why Harvey, someone you'd never met, decided to break you out of an institution." He paused to adjust the sleeve of his dress shirt, then looked back at her. "And why you decided to go with him?"

The question hung between the two of them as Jay's mind scrambled for an answer. It was a logical question but she had no idea what to say. Any answer to Edmund's question would involve far too many things that Harvey didn't want her to tell him, including the way Harvey felt about her. Edmund readjusted the cuffs of his dress shirt as he waited for her to respond. Jay felt panic rising within her and she glanced around the restaurant, hoping a distraction would present itself. None did.