Susy glanced at Marina, catching the self–satisfied grin on her face.
Meanwhile, Niamh quietly set about cracking open her crab.
Sure, women aren’t as strong as men, but with two sturdy steak knives, she could use leverage to pry open the shell; the sharp blade made quick work of the joints in the crab legs. As for the claws–those took some muscle, but a well–aimed strike with the knife handle right at the weak spot did the trick.
Thankfully, Elmer had once taught her how to break down a king crab with nothing but a paring knife.
That was back in high school, the first time she’d ever skipped class. Elmer, the straight–A student and model citizen, had dragged her out for a little adventure–a private house party, just the two of them.
Normally, parties were all about big crowds and chaos. But that night, it was just her and Elmer.
He’d somehow gotten hold of a massive king crab.
Niamh had eaten king crab plenty of times as a kid, but always at restaurants, never at home.
This was her first time handling one herself.
Elmer proved to be a patient teacher, and she caught on quickly.
She could still remember exactly what he said to her that night:
“You’re a natural in the kitchen. One day, you’ll make an amazing wife. Whoever marries you will be the luckiest man in the world.”
Back then, Elmer’s smile was impossibly bright.
But now…
Lost in memories of those high school days, Niamh slowly set her knife down.
She’d finished with the crab–the meat came out perfectly intact, every bit of flavor preserved.
Queen Elizabeth couldn’t help but cheer. “That was incredible! It’s like watching a magic trick… Ms. Fraser, is this lady your head chef?”
Susy forced a smile, struggling to keep her composure.
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Queen Elizabeth kept showering Niamh with praise, and Susy and Marina had no choice but to chime in.
Only Jonathan stayed silent.
While Niamh worked, he watched her intently.
At first, he was simply curious–how was she managing to break down such a huge crab with nothing but table knives?
But as he watched, his attention shifted.
Niamh was smiling as she worked, lost in some happy memory.
The brighter her smile became, the more unsettled Jonathan felt.
He had a gut feeling: whatever memory was making her so happy–it had nothing to do with him.
He didn’t know what she was thinking about. Or maybe, who.
That uncertainty gnawed at him.
By the time Niamh finished, her smile had faded. Now, her eyes were full of sorrow.
Jonathan caught every change in her expression. Suddenly, he stood.
“I’m sorry, if you’ll excuse me for a moment,” he said to Queen Elizabeth, then left the dining room.
At the door, he paused, stealing one last glance at Niamh from the corner of his
eye.
She didn’t look back.
As soon as Jonathan left, Queen Elizabeth let out a startled gasp.
“Oh dear, a diamond’s fallen out of the crown!”
Marina shot to her feet as if struck by lightning.
“That’s impossible!”
She snatched the crown for inspection–and sure enough, several of the small round diamonds set as angel wings beside the main stone had come loose.
Marina’s face went deathly pale.
Queen Elizabeth looked displeased too. She’d been impressed by Marina’s design, but if the stones were already falling out, it could only mean the craftsmanship
gout, it could only
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was lacking.
At that moment, Niamh’s voice rose from behind Marina–slow, cold, and cutting:
“You tried to do an invisible setting with round diamonds? Really?”
