The Priest (The Original Sinners #9) - Tiffany Reisz Page 0,115

nursery, Céleste still in her arms, the ivory crib before her.

“You left?” Nora said from the doorway.

Juliette nodded. She kissed Céleste’s sleeping forehead.

“You left before you could vote,” Nora said. “What’s your vote?”

Juliette said nothing. Nora went into the nursery and stood at Juliette’s side in front of the crib.

“I hope you like it,” Nora said.

“It’s perfect. Everything’s perfect. Especially the color.”

“King will get used to it. Having a boy, if it’s a boy.”

“He’s afraid to have a boy,” Juliette said. “Because Céleste is so dark, he’s afraid our son will be dark. And if our son is dark, he’ll be… Well, you read the news.”

“Yeah,” Nora said. “I read the news.” She didn’t mention Cyrus downstairs, a black man, a former police officer who’d been shot by a white police officer.

“And I’m afraid to have another girl,” she said, “because of men like Father Murran. But boys aren’t safe either.”

Juliette blinked back tears. “I will never forget the blessing S?ren said when he christened her. Do you remember it?” she asked Nora. “‘Here is the world. Beautiful and terrible things will happen. Don’t be afraid.’” Juliette dropped a kiss on the top of Céleste’s head. “But I am afraid.”

“Let me take her,” Nora said. Juliette passed Céleste to her carefully, and Nora felt the familiar weight of the little girl in her arms. “I’ll put her in bed.”

“Thank you.”

Nora turned to leave. Before she stepped out of the nursery, Juliette said, “Nora?”

She looked at Juliette, who was standing by the crib, her hand on her stomach. Juliette said nothing. She didn’t have to. She’d cast her vote.

Nora went to Céleste’s little pink bedroom, holding the girl with one arm, while she pulled the covers down on the bed. She lay Céleste down on her pillow and pulled off the girls’ shoes. She put the covers back over her and turned off the lamp and turned on the pink ballerina nightlight.

On the door, Nora noticed Céleste had gone wild with her stickers again. Stars and moons, flowers and trees, birds and bees and butterflies. Nora went back downstairs to the sitting room.

Nora said, “Juliette and I vote to call the press.”

“Bad idea,” Kingsley said, though he sounded resigned. “And the vote is still three against two.”

“No, it isn’t,” Nora said. “You don’t get a vote.” She looked at S?ren. “And neither do you.”

S?ren stood up and looked at her, stared at her.

“Eleanor,” he said. “Cyrus works with the police. Do you have any idea how much this could damage his working relationship with them?”

“You take care of your business,” Cyrus said to S?ren. “I’ll take care of mine.”

Nora had liked Cyrus up to that point in their acquaintance. At that instant and forever after, she loved him. Cyrus stood up and walked over to her, looked her square in the eyes.

“If this is what you want, I’ll do it,” Cyrus said. “You sure?”

Nora looked past him and at S?ren. “I’m sure.”

Chapter Forty-Four

Sunday.

The housewarming party at S?ren’s new place was canceled. Nora skipped Mass.

Monday.

Another article about Father Isaac Murran. Closer to the front. The papers weren’t dropping the story yet. That meant they knew there was more to it.

She didn’t sleep very well that night.

Tuesday.

Nora got an email from Grace in London asking if she was okay. That was all. Just Nora, Are you all right?

Nora replied, We’ll survive. Kiss Fionn for me. And your husband.

Later that day, Nora got a text from Cyrus. Hey, is your Viking okay?

She replied, I doubt it. Why do you ask?

I shouldn’t tell you this but I’m paranoid now, he wrote. He asked me for the name of my therapist.

Nora stared at the text a long time, certain she knew what it meant. She closed her eyes, saw her and S?ren together again in her mind’s eye. They were standing side by side in front of a church. He broke away from her, and approached the double red doors alone. One opened and he walked inside. He looked back, and instead of following him inside, she turned and walked away.

When she opened her eyes, she knew what her cards meant—leaving the High Priest.

Don’t worry. He’s not going to kill himself, Nora replied. He’s decided to go back to the Jesuits.

Wednesday.

Nothing in the news. Nora texted Cyrus about that. He told her to sit tight, the tea was brewing.

She waited though the wait was hard and lonely. They’d all seen little of each other since last Thursday when Nora had made her choice. Kingsley, Juliette, and