Page 19 of Enchanted Heir
“Hi,” I offered, not even letting their anger phase my mood.
Seven pairs of eyes that had been sitting around an oval-shaped table turned toward me.
“Mr. Ellsworth,” I said with a nod.
Doing some quick math, I realized there were five men and two princes. If you counted Owen, that meant six men and two princes. This must be “The Six” I had heard Owen reference before. Though I already knew he was a disloyal, this meant the parliament member Mr. Ellsworth, Hatcher, was also one of The Six. I had a soft spot for the old man. Krew and Keir called Hatcher by the nickname of “Hatchet,” but I had only ever called him Hatcher or Mr. Ellsworth. It felt too odd to call him the name of a weapon. Whether he was one or not.
Closest to Owen, Easton was there also and that surprised me for some reason. Both of my guards had been part of this group of disloyal? Easton didn’t really have the leading-a-rebellion type attitude to me. But then again, he barely spoke around me, so maybe he did. Just not with me.
“I don’t believe we’ve met,” the one with gray hair next to Hatcher said. “I’m Anderson. Anderson Wells.”
“Hi,” I repeated.
“Apollo Rowse,” the one with long blond hair stated. He looked the same age as the princes, and I wondered how much of their military training class the two princes had recruited for their cause.
And then the last one I didn’t already know was walking toward me. He was tall and lean, with darker skin and dark eyes. He had to be almost as tall as Keir was. And if height was a requirement for this secret crew, I was out. I was way out.
“Emric Whitman,” he offered with a grin, holding his hand out.
“Jorah Demir,” I said with a nod as he shook my hand, doing the double tap, and then brought my hand up for a kiss.
“Emric,” Keir warned.
Emric just gave me a wink and then returned to his seat.
“Would you like for us to grab you a chair?” Krew asked.
I made no move to remove my coat and shook my head, resisting the urge to bounce back on my heels with excitement. “No. Then they’d have to call us ‘The Seven,’ and that doesn’t sound nearly as intimidating.”
Emric laughed while two of the others gasped.
“How’d you know that’s what we call them?” Keir asked.
Not feeling the need to ignore him for the rest of his life, I said not unkindly, “I heard Owen say it once before.”
“Owennnnn,” Apollo groaned. “Come on, man.”
“She was being beckoned to the king, the situation was dire,” Owen defended.
“Are you sure you don’t wanna stay?” Emric asked me. “These meetings are dull.”
I shook my head. “I don’t believe I meet the requirements for this group.”
Krew smirked. “Because you are not dull?”
I laughed and stole a glance at Owen. “No, I was referring to the fact that I am short while the rest of you are not. Also there are the breasts.”
Owen snorted as he did any time the mere subject of breasts was broached.
There was a choking noise and then more laughing.
The rest of them spun toward Mr. Ellsworth who was snickering away.
“Really?” Keir asked him. “You fight us and give us hell all day long, but you giggle at whatever she says?”
He shrugged. “I like her honesty.”
“Leave the man alone. He can’t help he has good taste,” I told Keir before turning back to Krew. “You are all distracting me. I’m sorry. I am not here to barge in on and disrupt your meeting at all. Except that I am. Because I need to steal you a moment, Krew.” As an afterthought, remembering how he hated to be interrupted, I added, “Please.”
