Page 30 of Unbroken
Rupert straightened, returning to the stern man he’d been when they arrived. “That is family business.”
“I’ll show you out,” Irene said. As the door shut behind them, Sebastian caught a glimpse of Rupert slumping in his chair, looking as though he’d aged a decade in the last hour.
CHAPTER 14
By the time they left the Endicott estate, it was quite late, meaning they’d have to put off their visit to Rulkowski for another day. While the rest of the household slept, Ves perched high in one of the trees overhanging Bonnie’s house, Noct tucked into the crook of a branch beside him. He’d relayed everything Ambrose said to his brother, along with the encounter with Grandfather.
The night was warm, the heat wave refusing to relinquish its grip. Crickets chirped stridently, and the perfume of summer flowers floated on the breeze. The moon was hastening toward new, and only a thin crescent hung in the eastern sky.
“I’m not entirely surprised,” Noct said, when he’d finished. “The Endicotts have a long history, and it would be ridiculous to expect all of them to accept us.”
“I know, but…” Ves trailed off. Somehow, after Rupert accepted them, he’d expected the rest of the family to do more than simply fall into line. To change their hearts, perhaps, despite the weight of centuries of tradition.
“It sounds like Ambrose was drunk,” Noct went on. “I’m not saying he wasn’t sharing his actual feelings, but he was also embarrassed by not having realized Grandfather wasn’t just a friend to trade old war-stories with. That combination tends to make people more aggressive than they might be otherwise.”
Ves looked at him skeptically. “And how many drunk people have you known?”
“Don’t tell me you’ve forgotten the apartment with the family next door who fought all the time?”
They’d lived in any number of dingy apartments and boarding houses. “Which one?”
“The…” Noct frowned, then snapped his fingers. “The Hilman family.”
“Gods of the wood, I haven’t thought about them in years.” It was one of the first places they’d lived, back when Ves was still trying to find steady work. “Talk about two people who should never have been together. What a nightmare.”
“I didn’t have much to do but listen to them carry on. And they were both very fond of drink. I heard everything from drunken lovemaking to Mrs. Hilman threatening to kill Mr. Hilman with a frying pan and serve him up for dinner.”
“Lord of the trees.” Ves shook his head. They’d been two people in desperate poverty, struggling to survive, and with no one to take out their frustrations on but each other. “I wonder if she ever did.”
“Let’s hope not.” Noct pushed aside some leaves to study a patch of stars. “At any rate, I stand by what I said about Ambrose.”
“I’m glad we know how he really feels, at least.” Ves drew up his legs and wrapped his arms around his knees. “It makes me wonder how many of the others think the same, though. They won’t go against Rupert, but they aren’t happy with us.”
“Specifically, with me,” Noct corrected with a wry smile. “Don’t fret—I’ll win over those who can be won.”
“If anyone so much as speaks unkindly to you?—”
“You’ll come charging to my rescue. I know.” Noct smiled again and reached out some of his tentacles.
Ves reached back with some of his own, twining them together. “Assuming Irene doesn’t get there first. I love you, brother.”
Noct’s tentacles squeezed his. “I love you, too.”
“Let’s hope the clothes have time to dry before the thunderstorms arrive,” Bonnie said, wiping sweat from her face.
The day had dawned hot, and kept getting hotter as the hours rolled past, until the late afternoon was practically stifling. Ves didn’t mind—Dark Young were much hardier than humans at extremes of both hot and cold—but the morning newspaper listed a number of people prostrated by the previous day’s heat, including one death. Today looked to be even worse.
Even so, in a house of nine people, including four active children and an infant with diapers, laundry had to be done no matter the weather. Sebastian was in charge of bringing the loads of clothes to the washer, while Bonnie added the washing powder and cranked the washing machine’s lever. Ves ran the clean clothes through the wringer, and Noct used his many tentacles to pin them to the clothesline.
Bonnie’s cheeks were flushed from the heat and exertion. “I’m heartily sick of this weather. They say the heat will break next week, though half the time the weather service gets it wrong.”
“I wonder if we could do better,” Noct mused, taking a shirt from Ves in one tentacle while he pinned up socks with two others. “I’ve never tried, but we might be able to sense atmospheric changes. What do you think, Ves?”
He grinned. “The Dark Young Weather Service. We’ll be rich in no time.”
“How is your courtship going with Irene, Noct?” Bonnie asked.
“Well enough that I’ve decided I’ll be glad to change my last name.” His blue goat-eyes crinkled in a smile. “The Endicotts tend to insist on it, anyway, but given our family, I’ll be happy to comply.”
