But once Rhiannon had arrived at the curious eatery and was able to see Hyacinth in the flesh, she wondered if they’d both been living on different calendars. If she were to use Hyacinth’s face as a gauge, it looked as though decades had passed since their last encounter, for Hyacinth appeared old and drawn and brittle.

Rhiannon wondered if this was partly due to the strange macrobiotic diet that Hyacinth had spent the first part of their evening explaining in detail. She’d ordered queer, tiny delicacies from the menu and had requested a small pot of boiling water and an empty mug, in which she steeped some pungent herbs that she’d bundled in a small piece of cheesecloth.

“I can’t thank you enough for inviting me to dinner!” Hyacinth said. “But I can’t allow you to pay the tab.”

“Please,” answered Rhiannon with a casual wave of her hand, “it’s my pleasure. I only wish we’d done this sooner.”

“Time is a startled bird flitting away from us, as my father used to say. Well, since you insist on buying dinner, if there is ever anything I can do to repay you, you may consider it done.”

Rhiannon grew cagey once she recognized this opportunity to state her true motivation for this reunion. The opportunity was too perfect, both in timing and tone. It thrilled and unnerved her at once.

“Funny you should say that…” she began, anxiously. The words were swirling about her head, just out of reach.

Hyacinth flared her sallow eyes with interest. “Oh?” she said.

“Yes. I was hoping to pick your brain about money.” Rhiannon flinched at her poor choice of words. Hyacinth’s expression darkened.

“No, no, not like that! I’m not asking for a loan or anything of that sort!” sputtered Rhiannon. “I’m just looking for some advice.”

“Oh.”

The cord of tension that Rhiannon had felt tightening between the two of them began to slacken, to her immense relief.

“You see, Iain’s had quite a good year at the agency: four quarterly bonuses on top of his annual salary increase. We’re looking to invest this extra money, put it toward something sound. It’s not a huge amount, but Iain’s pretty convinced we can make a respectable profit if we play our cards right.”

Hyacinth shaped her sapped expression into something vaguely happy. “First off, I am truly thrilled for you; all snug with a husband and those little darlings you made. I’m tickled to hear that you have money besides. But when it comes to investing, I’m afraid I wouldn’t know one market from another.”

“But those stories in the Gazette…”

“Those…” Hyacinth said dismissively, “…those articles were inflated.”