Page 105 of Worthy Promises
“I smoked my first cigar on the day Boian was arrested,” Ismay replied with a chuckle. “He’s an awful person, but he paid me well. As Onora had taught me, I was only good for one thing. Until I find my mate, my lone skill is having children.”
“How many do you have?” Worth asked.
Ismay’s brow arched in an expression so like Noirin’s that Worth was taken aback. “Ah. That’s why you’re here. I should’ve guessed. What does it matter?”
Worth leaned forward and narrowed his eyes. “Because your life wasn’t easy. But neither was mine. I live at a sanctuary, and I value family above everything but my mate. If I can help someone out of a situation like mine, I’ll do whatever it takesbecause no one should be locked in a house by themselves for a century. That’s what he did to me. I had no one. Nothing. I couldn’t escape because Duke Drogo was in charge. He caught me again and again when I tried to leave. I got away because he let me, and I found happiness. That was because of your firstborn. Aleksander is one of the finest people you’ll ever meet. He takes care of people. Every D’Vaire does. If Aleksander and I have siblings, we want them with us if they are suffering as we did.”
Ismay’s jaw clenched. “Why did he imprison you?”
“To him, the color pink is detestable.”
With a haughty lift of her chin, Ismay pursed her lips as a shadow of emotion Worth couldn’t interpret flicked in her purple gaze. “For whatever it’s worth, I’m sorry for what happened to you and Aleksander. It must please Onora to know her children are with you. Her daughter is the only female Duchess. An honor, to be sure. I enjoy knowing it wasmychild who gave her daughter that title. But it altered nothing. She’s still the lone Duchess. Dragons change little. Whatever children I had, they must find their own path. As you and Aleksander did. If they find you, that’s wonderful. But I’m sorry. I had to carve out a life. So must they. So must everyone. I think you should go find King Mardas and finish the tour with your friends.”
Without another word, Ismay marched out, and Worth waited until the sound of her heels clicking against the hardwood floor disappeared. He sighed heavily.
“That was…interesting.”
“She’s a hard woman,” Oliver said. “Yet I feel terrible for her.”
“I think we all put Onora up on this pedestal, but maybe it was undeserved. The question is, do I tell her children that or not?”
“Neither you nor Aleksander will allow anything but the truth in our home,” Oliver replied, brushing his lips against Worth’s. “It was a different time, and women aren’t treated equally by dragons. Onora may have had her reasons, but Ismay was her responsibility. She let her down.”
“I’m not sure whether to be sad Aleksander missed out on a chance to have Ismay as a mother or to be grateful she was turned away so I could be born centuries later,” Worth lamented.
“As Ismay might argue, there’s no sense in rewriting the past. We must deal with things as they are and not how they could’ve been,” Oliver replied.
“You’re so smart, Owliver. Well, should we get going?” Worth asked, irritated that he had learned nothing of importance.
“Hang on a second,” Gedeon said as Worth rose. “There’s someone headed this way.”
A moment later, a woman poked her head into the room. She had black hair and the warm blue-gray eyes of an already-shifted dragon, and although she was a stranger, her features were familiar.
“Duke Argent Worthington?” she asked in a near whisper.
“Yes?”
Lifting a hand, she pointed to the front door. “Could I speak to you outside, Your Grace?”
Worth glanced at Oliver, who shrugged. “Sure.”
With the sentinels on their heels, Worth and Oliver followed the jean-clad woman outside. She led them past the front windows of the house and didn’t stop until they were obscured from view by the tall shrubs of a formal garden.
“Worth,” Gedeon stated in warning, apparently not liking the way she’d led them to a quiet spot hidden from everyone else.
“I’m not about to get stabbed, am I?” the woman asked, recoiling until her back hit the brick wall behind her.
“What do you want with the Duke Argent?” Gavrael asked, his bronze gaze fixated on the stranger. It would only take the tiniest threat to have the skilled sentinels grabbing their poisoned daggers, so Worth had no worries for his safety.
“My name is Imogene. You…um…well, you just talked to my mother.”
Some of Worth’s frustration slipped away, and he smiled. “It’s nice to meet you, Imogene.”
“This is going to sound nuts,” Imogene replied. “But…honestly, I listened to your conversation. I don’t usually eavesdrop, but when I heard you were coming, I couldn’t help myself. You have a sanctuary, right? Is it hard to apply? I’m not in danger or anything. But my life is controlled. My mother means well, but she was raised to believe women had no use besides their wiles and wits. I’d like to pursue my dreams. Well, I need some dreams. I don’t have time for them. I don’t want a rich man in my bed, so I have this huge list of household duties. Mostly in my rare hours off, I sleep. I had my first shift last year. Nothing changed. Could you…maybe…send me an application or tell me how to find one?”
“Or you could go pack your things and come home with me today,” Worth suggested.
“Brogan had a surge of horror hit him and he doesn’t know why,” Gedeon mused.
