Page 32 of The Ruling Class

“Justice Marquette had a problem,” I said, studying her expression, looking for some clue as to what that job had been. “You fixed it.”

Ivy met my gaze, poker face firmly in place. “Something like that.”

CHAPTER 21

Vivvie still wasn’t at school on Monday. Henry Marquette, however, was. At lunch, he sat at Emilia’s table. His posture was straighter than the others’, his default expression more intense. Every once in a while, his gaze flickered over to mine.

He stared straight through me, every time.

“What are we doing?” Asher helped himself to a seat at my table.

“Wearen’t doing anything,” I told him bluntly.

“My mistake. I thought we were brooding in Henry’s general direction. Like so.” He adopted a stormy countenance, then gestured to me. “Yours is better.”

“Go away, Asher.”

“You say ‘go away’, I hear ‘be my bosom buddy.’ ” He gave an elaborate shrug. “Seriously, though: friendship bracelets—yea or nay?”

I wasn’t sure what game he was playing. I’d been at Hardwicke for a week, and even that was enough time to ascertain that Asher Rhodes was well liked. Popular, even.

“What do you want with me?”

Asher didn’t bat an eye at the question. “Maybe I’m tragically bored and horribly lonely and looking for love in all the wrong places.”

I rolled my eyes.

“Or maybe,” he said, leaning forward and placing his elbows on the table, “I’m tired of everyone liking me all the time and it’s liberating to be around someone with no expectations. Or maybe you just looked like you could use a friend.” He didn’t give me a chance to respond. “Diet Coke?” Asher had two cans. He politely offered me one.

“No.”

“Mentos?” He held out a roll.

“Don’t Diet Coke and Mentos—”

“—explode?” Asher supplied. He opened one of the sodas. “I have a passing fondness for explosions.”

That was concerning on so many levels.

“I’m starting to see why your sister thinks you need a keeper.”

Asher rolled one of the Mentos contemplatively around the edge of the Diet Coke can. I reached over and flicked the candy at him. It pelted him in the forehead.

“I’m going to take that as a yes on the friendship bracelets,” he informed me.

Emilia had said that when Asher got bored, things got broken.Laws, standards of decency, occasionally bones.He was probablysitting here, at my table, for the same reason he’d gone up on the chapel roof.

I wasinteresting.

“Have you spoken to Vivvie at all?” Asher attempted to sound casual, but there was a stray note of seriousness in his tone.

“No.” I studied him for a few seconds. “Should I have?”

Asher’s eyes drifted to the table where Henry was sitting. “She kind of had a breakdown. At Theo’s wake.”

Vivvie.My gut had told me then that something was wrong—but wrong enough for her to break down? My stomach twisted sharply.What are the chances that her father found that breakdown embarrassing?I knew very little about Vivvie’s dad. He was a war hero. A doctor. But I couldn’t keep from thinking about the way his face had morphed when he went from talking to Vivvie to talking to me.

I stood and picked up my tray.She hasn’t been at school for four days.Back in Montana, my guidance counselor had been concerned when I’d missed five. Total.