Page 14 of Brix

“Mother, you will never be a duchess. That is a hereditary title or granted by the King or Queen. Are you mad?”

“I am not mad. I will be a duchess one day. I don’t think it would be wise for you to come for the gala after all.”

“Actually, I do,” said her father. “I want my daughter there. I want to introduce her husband and his family to everyone. Will you come, Daphne? Brixton, will you please bring everyone?”

“We will come,” said Brix, looking at Daphne. “I would respectfully request that we not stay in your home, sir. I don’t want my wife under any stress at all.”

“I understand. I’ll extend an invitation to the head of the auction house as well, Daphne. I know that she’s asked how you were doing.”

“Thank you, Father.” She watched as her mother stood and stormed from the room, slamming the door. “I’m sorry, Father, but I’m very glad to know that you weren’t aware of any of this.”

“I assure you that I was not,” he said. There was pain in his eyes, and he looked away for a moment. “I knew that your mother was ambitious, but I didn’t think she would be ruthlessly so. I should have watched her, been involved more in the decisions with you and your sister.”

“Thank you, Father. I’ll let you know when we’ll be arriving. There will be at least a dozen people, Father.”

“A dozen or a hundred,” he smiled. “I’ll be happy to see you all.”

CHAPTER NINE

“She didn’t deny any of it,” whispered Daphne to the group. “Not even her rejection of care for my sister. How? How could a mother do that?”

“I don’t know, sweetie,” said Gabi. “There’s no training for becoming a parent, and I think your mother would have skipped that class anyway. I’m not sure she attended the classes on humanity either, but unfortunately, it’s too late.”

“Can charges be brought against her?” asked Daphne. “I mean, technically, she killed my sister. Right?”

“I’m not sure about that. The records were very clear about what was told to her and the treatment options. But I would bet that her attorney would argue that your sister would have died either way,” said Gabi. “I’ll get with Kari and the others and ask, but I’m going to bet that she claimed some sort of religious or moral reasons for not giving her daughter the treatments to the doctors. There are some notes I can’t read.”

“All the lies,” whispered Daphne. “All the years of lies, pushing me to marry Marshall the way she did. Why? What was all this for?”

“I don’t know, babe, but we’ll figure it all out. She’s not going to just walk away from this,” said Brix.

“Any reason to believe this is some sort of a trap?” asked Walker. “I mean, what if she’s planning something once Daphne gets there? She might try to force you to divorce Brix or claim the marriage isn’t real.”

“There’s no way,” Daphne said, shaking her head. “I made sure my divorce with Marshall was final by having my own lawyer. My father. I won’t allow her to bully or intimidate me again. Not ever.”

“Smart girl,” smirked Hazel. “Either way, we’ll all be with you, Daph. Remember not to go anywhere without one of us with you.”

“I won’t. I promise.”

“Daphne, what do you know about your parents before they came to England?” asked Zulu.

“Honestly, not much,” she said, shaking her head. “I know they were from West Africa. Mother was from Ghana, and I think my father was from Nigeria. His parents were both doctors and had been able to send him to school in England. I think my mother was there, in England, on a vacation with friends and met him while he was finishing law school.”

“Your father said he was a barrister and an engineer,” said Sebastian. “That’s quite an accomplishment. Why both degrees?”

“I’m not sure. I wish I could tell you that I was curious about his work, but I wasn’t. He always just said that his work was critical to the crown. I know that he never personally met with the Queen, but he did meet with her envoys and staff often to discuss things he was working on. My mother hated that she wasn’t invited to those meetings or dinners. I guess I should have seen this sooner,” she frowned.

“There’s no way you could have known, Daph,” said Leif. “I just have this feeling that it isn’t all about title and class for your mother. There must be something else that your mother wants or needs, and it has to do with you.”

“Alright,” said Zulu. “I’ll regroup with Luke, Cam, Hex, and Eric. Pack heavy. You’ll need suits, tuxedos, everything. We’ll leave in the morning. Daphne, where should we book rooms?”

“I’ll take care of that,” she smiled. “Don’t worry.”

“I can’t believe you’re leaving already,” frowned Victoria, looking up at Hayes. “I’m going to miss you so much. We’ve been together since we were kids in that orphanage and now here.”

“I’ll be back, Vic. You know I will. I have basic and then some advanced training that won’t make a difference for me. Then, I’m going to work with the teams. I think I might request to be on one of the teams our men are currently on.”

“You still have to be careful, Hayes. You’ll have to train in weapons, train in everything just like the rest of the guys,” she said nervously.

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