A Bad Bet at Château Bleue

by Liv Strom

About the Author: You can find dLiv Strom's stories in (among others) The Mystery Magazine, Hexagon SF Magazine, and The Martian. Her debut novel "The Last Spiritwalker" was published in 2022. Find out more on https://www.livstromwrites.com/

Excerpt

I am the second Madame Toussaint. La Deuxième—that is how the house staff referred to me when I arrived at Château Bleue, my new husband’s French family estate on an island of Côte d’Azur. Each time I heard the words, I wondered if they had called Julia—who used to be my best friend—The First?

Not that they did it to my face, they were too proper for that, but I heard them as I drifted through the castle searching for company. We were supposed to stay a week before continuing on our European honeymoon of old cities, pearly beaches, and yachts. That was a month ago. At least there was plenty of Champagne as Victor, my husband, completed ever-pressing business he said was too boring to speak of when he made time for dinners and kisses.

We had met over Julia’s empty casket, comforted each other through grief, cursed the sea for her drowning, and ended in each other’s beds. Should I have known better? Perhaps, but Julia would not have minded sharing her good fortune. We both came from the same trailer park, after all, and when you got dealt an ace you didn’t throw it back no matter where it came from.

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