Page 41 of Court of Shadows
“Very well.”
From the kitchens, I saw both Poppy and Mrs. Haylam spying on us intently. They did not even attempt to hide theirinterest. “And when I ask you to leave for good you had better do it.”
“I understand,” he said, but I heard the sadness in his voice.
“I have work to do here, so I can’t spend all my time with you. I’m quite busy, you know, so don’t expect courtesy.” He said nothing, but there was agreement in the silence. I picked up one of his bags and gestured to Poppy. “Mrs. Haylam can decide where to put you. Welcome to Coldthistle House.”
Chapter Twenty-Three
“Can you believe it? It’s... I don’t know if there’s a word for it, Mary; it’s outrageous!” I was storming back and forth across poor Mary’s room, complaining her ear off about the sudden appearance of Mr. Croydon Frost. “To come here without my consent! To send that ridiculous letter asking for my permission and then to totally ignore it! And to think, I was going to invite him, only to rob him of course, but still! I hate him, Mary, I hate him already!”
The tirade ended with me flopping next to her on the bed, where she was bundled up, back to the wall next to her window, a book opened on her lap. She looked much better, her cheeks fuller and red with health. It was such a good turn for her that I almost forgot the fury in my heart.
“Calm yourself,” she said, taking my hand and squeezing it. I could tell she was eating up all this gossip, however, green eyes sparkling with interest. “You have known the man five whole minutes; perhaps it is too soon to judge what might come of this.”
The only good thing that might come of it was a fortune to spend getting all of us away from the ugly perils of Coldthistle House. It would be a lonely life to fleece my father only to spend it in solitude with no friends to share in the wealth. I grinned at her and shook my head. “You’re too kind, Mary,nobody deserves you. Except perhaps Chijioke.” That glow in her cheeks redoubled and her face fell. “No, forget I said that! I’m sorry, truly, it isn’t my place to pry....”
“He told you about the carving,” she said, looking away toward the window. “I wish he hadn’t.”
“I have no idea what was going on between you two and it isn’t my business. The only thing Iwillsay is that he’s been a wonderful friend to me these past months. Lee has decided he despises me, which is his right, and I would have been terribly alone without Chijioke to keep me company,” I said. “Just... Well, here you are telling me to give things time, and now I will say the same to you.”
Mary nodded and patted my hand. “Then I will take my own wise advice.”
I left the bed and went to the window, pulling the half-drawn curtain aside. Mason and his father were in the yard having a talk, not a friendly one judging by the boy’s fevered gesturing. The casement had been left open, and there was a woodsy scent on the air.
“It seems no one here has good luck when it comes to family,” I said softly. “I should tell him to go. Hating him is exhausting.”
“You could try forgiveness,” Mary suggested.
“No,” I sighed. “That sounds exhausting, too. Besides, I don’t believe in forgiveness. A thing either bothers you or it doesn’t; forgiveness is for the other person, to make them feel better about being cruel or selfish.”
“And yet I’m sure you would like Lee to forgive you.”
I flinched. She was right. “That won’t happen, and it shouldn’t.”
Mary closed up her book and folded her hands over it. I could feel her staring at me, but I wouldn’t take my eyes away from Mason and his father. “Why are you so determined to suffer?”
“I don’t know,” I whispered. “I wish I knew.”
Thunk.
“Hey!” I jumped back from the window. Someone had thrown a rock, narrowly missing the glass.
“What was that?” Mary asked, leaning out of bed.
I pulled the curtain completely aside and opened the window wider, letting in a gush of humid air and the sulfurous tinge from the nearby spring.
“Did you need something, sir?” I called down. The two Breens were the only people I could see on the lawn, and one of them must have thrown the rock.
Mason searched the windows for the source of the voice, then spotted me and shielded his eyes, frowning. “Hello up there. What did you say?”
“Did you need assistance, sir? I heard the rock you tossed this way....”
“Rock?” He shook his head and glanced at his father, who looked equally confused. “You must be mistaken! Perhaps it was the house shifting or a bit of grit on the wind?”
House shifting indeed.
“My apologies for bothering you, sir,” I called back, leaning against the sill to watch them closely. If they tried to trick me again I would catch it.
