Guardian's Patience, page 25
part #5 of Guardians of the Race Series
Canaan’s face didn’t change except for a tightening of his jaw. “Sweetling, we were trying to protect you. We didn’t want you to worry.”
“There’s no ‘we’ about this, Canaan ad Simeon. The word is ‘you’. You wanted to protect me. You didn’t want me to worry.” She looked around at the assembled House. “And you all went along with it. And don’t give me the ‘I serve at my Liege Lord’s command’ bullshit. That only works for House business.”
“This is House business,” the Liege Lord argued.
“No, it isn’t.” She stamped her foot because her hands were full of baby. “We’ve had this conversation before, Canaan. You can’t protect me from what’s out there. I don’t want to be protected from it. You can’t stop me from worrying. You’ve only made it worse because now I have to worry about what you’re not telling me.
“I was already concerned about Pinkie. I knew she had secrets. We all did,” she said and nodded at Hope and JJ. “If I’d known how serious it was, I would have found more time to spend with her. I would have pried it out of her. You saw her out there! That didn’t need to happen.”
“I won’t apologize for putting you and my children first,” Canaan said stonily. “My concerns were legitimate.”
“So your worry counts, but mine doesn’t?” she snapped. “You worried for nothing. Everything turned out fine.” She shifted the baby back into her arms and smiled at the faces the infant made. When she looked up again, everyone was staring at her as if she’d lost her mind.
“Well, it did,” she said and then turned to Canaan. “And don’t think that gets you off the hook, big boy. Family is my bailiwick and Pinkie is family.”
“I’m happy to hear it, my Lady, since Patience and I have an announcement to make.”
Manon and Otto moved aside to allow Broadbent into the room leading Pinkie by the hand.
“Wonderful!” Grace cried, clapping her hands, “Can it wait for dinner? We’ll have a celebration. You can make your announcement and Canaan and I can make ours.”
“We have an announcement?” Canaan looked surprised.
Dinner was over and the table was cleared. Otto carried in a tray of champagne flutes followed by Nico with two bottles of champagne.
Nico gave Broadbent a short bow. “I’ve been saving this,” he said, “for a special occasion. I think this occasion warrants it.”
Broadbent took note of the label. “I should say so. A very good year. Where did you find it? Surely not locally.”
Pinkie had never tasted champagne and she suddenly felt out of place, until Grace leaned across the table and reached out for her hand.
“My favorite wine comes in a box.” She wagged her finger between Broadbent and Nico. “These two are into this stuff. The rest of us? Meh.”
“Okay, you guys, we get it. It’s the good shit. Are we going to talk about it or are we going to drink it?” JJ asked.
“I would hardly call it shit,” Broadbent objected.
Ever loyal to Nico, Hope chimed in. “I like it.”
“You just like the drunk part,” JJ countered. She leaned across the table and said confidentially to Pinkie, but loud enough for the table to hear, “One glass and she’s blotto.”
Before an argument ensued, Canaan pounded the table. “Pour the damned champagne while Grace tells us what my announcement is.”
She laughed. “We’re here to announce the names of our children.”
The twins pumped their fists in the air. They took out their wallets and laid them on the table.
This time, when the Liege Lord hit the table, everyone grabbed their glasses. “You will not wager on the names of my children.” Canaan waited until the wallets were put away. “Ladies before gentlemen,” he said to his wife, “And you’d better hope I like it.”
“I think you will. As all of you know, because nothing’s secret in this House, Canaan was to choose the name if we had a boy and I got to name the girl. We ended up with both. I’ve gone through a dozen names and they were all pretty, but none of them lasted more than a month. Today, Manon said something to Pinkie that resonated with me,” she nodded to the older woman. “Free yourself, or remain in the chains you yourself have forged. I’ve forged some chains of guilt and sorrow and it’s time to be free of them.”
Her eyes teared up a little and they had to wait until she could speak again. “Before I came to this house, I only had one person I could call friend. She was my family when I had none. She was the only person who ever loved me just as I am. She was the one who showed me how to love all of you. She taught me that family isn’t about blood. It’s about heart. When I think about her, I don’t want to remember how she was lost to me. I want to remember what she gave to me, and I want my daughter to pass it on. Our daughter’s name is Alice.”
“It is a good name, a fitting name,” Manon told the table.
“I like it,” Canaan said as he rounded the table to stand by his mate. He stroked her hair and kissed the top of her head.
“You’re not gonna cry every time you call her, are you Gracie?” Dov asked. He sounded genuinely concerned.
Grace wiped her eyes. “This is the last time I’ll cry for Alice, Dov. When I whisper my daughter’s name, I’ll smile and I’ll teach her to laugh, because those are the first things that Alice taught me.” She raised her eyes to her mate. “Your turn.”
The Liege Lord straightened to address his House. “I have no guilt, no sorrow, no chains to throw off. I have only undying gratitude for the Guardian who saved my son’s life. My son will be called Sebastian, in honor of our own Broadbent ad Sebastian. May he grow into a Guardian worthy of the name.”
“Here! Here!”
“Well spoken.” Nico spoke for them all. “A strong name and a well-deserved honor for the boy and for the Guardian.”
“And a blessing to be remembered every time you say his name,” Otto added.
Pinkie beamed at Broadbent who accepted the honor with dignified grace.
“I’m honored,” was all he said.
A toast was offered to the newly named twins and Grace laughed at Hope’s frown.
“I’m not giving this up. I have been dry as unbuttered toast for almost a year. I will be dry as that toast for at least four more months. Tonight my toast is going to be champagne. I pumped.”
Broadbent stood. “And on that note, perhaps I might have the floor.”
“Go for it, Professor.”
“Thank you, Col. I intend to. Without interruption, if you please.” He turned to Canaan. “As was painfully obvious out on the deck, you know that I have declared my intention to mate Ms. Patience Delecourt. I hereby make my intentions known to you as my Liege Lord and I fully intend to honor my commitment.”
Nico rose and bowed, first to his Liege Lord and then to Grace and finally to Broadbent. “As Patience Delecourt is not a member of the Race, I have been asked to see that she is protected under the law. In front of witnesses I ask you, Broadbent ad Sebastian, have you seen to her security and protection?”
“I have.” He lifted a file box to the table.
“Is this an official accounting of all worldly holdings of Paenitentia Broadbent ad Sebastian, Guardian in good standing of an Honorable House of Guardians?” Canaan asked of the stack of files within.
“It is not,” Broadbent answered. “These are my personal holdings. As I am sure my parents will not approve of this mating, I thought it best not to include those holdings held by my family.”
Pinkie, who’d watched the proceedings in fascinated silence, now stood as well. She waved her hands, crossing them back and forth in front of her face. “Whoa. Whoa. Why are we talking about holdings and what do you mean your parents won’t approve? We need to talk about this, Pookie.”
“We are done with talking, Patience. You said you loved me and would be my mate. That is all that matters here. It is a formality. Nothing more.”
“Are you sure?”
“Patience.”
She looked around the table at the women. Hope was wearing a dreamy eyed smile. Grace was grinning like she was enjoying a joke. JJ rolled her eyes as if the whole thing was ridiculous. Manon gave her a graceful nod and then winked.
“For your perusal and approval, sir,” Broadbent was saying, “It is the standard agreement. At the end of the contract, either through termination or death, Patience Delecourt, Daughter of Man, will receive three-fifths of these holdings and any others accrued during the contract.”
“Wait!” Pinkie was on her feet again. “What holdings? What are you talking about? And don’t you dare say ‘Patience’, she mimicked, “in that snooty voice. Tell me what’s going on.”
“Just roll with it, sweetie,” Grace answered with a laugh. “Think of it as a life insurance policy. That’s what I do. You’re never going to use it, but it’s there just in case.”
Nico tapped the stack of papers with his fingertips. “I am satisfied with the accounting.” He held up another paper. “This contract must be signed by both parties and any witnesses to this proceeding. It will become binding at the completion of the mating ceremony.” He passed the paper to Broadbent. “Guardian, sign here, please, and pass the document to Ms. Delecourt.”
Broadbent signed in his neat and legible script and brought the paper to Pinkie.
Hesitantly, she signed the paper and jumped at the twins’ shouted congratulations. Everyone signed the paper. More champagne was poured. Toasts were made and everyone kissed her. More champagne was poured. Pinkie was dizzy with it and still wasn’t sure what had happened.
Chapter 24
Pinkie awoke to a pounding that was almost painful. The almost pain reached its full definite pain potential when she moved her head. The first word she thought of was champagne. The second was Broadbent.
The first question she asked was, “Where is he?”
His side of the bed was empty and the bedding was neatly smoothed and tucked. This wasn’t unusual. Broadbent always made his side of the bed as soon as he left it. He awakened every evening at exactly the same time without the aid of an alarm clock. Wake up quickies were not his style, though he’d happily oblige if she managed to catch him before he threw the covers back.
What worried her was the lack of sound from the tiny kitchen. A huge breakfast was always available downstairs, but Broadbent preferred to start his day with a quiet cup of tea and what he called his bit of devotional reading. He would then shower and shave, and bring her a cup of tea before going down to eat. Sometimes she joined him at breakfast. Mostly, she didn’t. Breakfast wasn’t her thing.
The point being, she could set her watch by Broadbent’s routine and the clock told her that routine had been disturbed.
Pinkie jumped out of bed which prompted the second question.
“What have I done?” she moaned as she grabbed her head.
Grace might curl up her nose at champagne, but Pinkie liked it. She liked the smell of it, and the taste of it, and the bubbles tickling her nose and mouth as she sipped. And she had sipped, she was sure of it. She might not have been raised to be a lady, but she knew how to behave in social settings. She also knew that drunkenness was dangerous, particularly for someone like her.
Holding her head with her hands to prevent it from blowing apart, Pinkie made her way to the kitchen. On the counter she found an insulated carafe, two white tablets, and a note that said, ‘Drink this – B’. The carafe contained coffee, hot, aromatic, and black. She swallowed the pills with the first sip. Two cups and a shower later, she at least felt presentable enough to venture downstairs. Her headache had receded to a dull and constant throb.
Broadbent’s absence and the note worried her. While she didn’t always get up when he did, he always brought her tea and a good-morning kiss. The note was terse. No ‘love, B’, just ‘B’ That could be Pookie-speak or it could be he was angry about last night. Everything was a little fuzzy, but she couldn’t find anything in what she did remember as being too embarrassing.
Col and Dov were the only ones in the kitchen. Each held a baby and a bottle.
“This is why we need more recruits, and fast,” Col complained, jostling both baby and bottle. “Babysitting could be part of their training.”
“I dunno. I kind of like the little critters.” Dov seemed much more relaxed than his brother.
“Good, then next time you can change Sebastian. See how you like pee up your nose.”
Pinkie started to laugh and then realized it wasn’t a good idea. “Next time, cover him with a cloth until you have the fresh diaper in place. Where’s Grace?”
Alice complained when Dov used her bottle to point to the ceiling. “Still upstairs. Sleeping in, I guess.”
“Passed out, more likely. I don’t think she got much sleep after Canaan carried her upstairs.” Col snickered and said to the baby. “Is that anyway for respectable parents to act?”
“I dunno,” Dov snorted, “But it was funny to watch.”
“Not nearly as funny as watching Miss Priss win Perverted Pics three times in a row.”
Pinkie almost dropped the coffee pot. Miss Priss? Hope? The woman who blushed at everything?
“Was I there?” she asked aloud and then winced.
“Nah, I think the big party-pooper may have carried you off to bed by then. Hope used to sell that sex stuff, you know, and if you get her drunk enough, well.” Col shrugged and started to laugh.
Dov laughed, too. “Nico was not happy.”
“With Hope?” Pinkie knew she was being nosy, but this was a side of these people she hadn’t seen.
“Nope, with JJ. She kept filling Hope’s glass.”
“We kept yours going,” Col added with a snicker. He saw the horrified look on her face and the snicker turned into another laugh.
“I think I hate you,” she said.
Dov seemed unconcerned. “Everybody does. You’ll get over it.”
As much as Col complained about baby duty, he was actually very good at it. Bottle finished, he flipped Sebastian over his arm and thumped his back twice. The baby belched. Col nodded, satisfied, and handed the baby to Pinkie.
“I’m gonna go work out. He’s all yours.”
Pinkie had never held a baby before. She was surprised by how light Sebastian felt in her arms. She took a seat in Grace’s chair and began to rock, fascinated by the little guy’s facial expressions. He puckered his mouth, opened it in a tiny little ‘o’, frowned and for a moment, looked as if he were going to cry. Then his mouth opened into what she thought might be a grin.
“Pinkie?”
“Mmmm?” she answered Dov’s soft call, still charmed by the baby in her arms.
“About yesterday, out on the deck.”
“It’s okay,” she said, quietly accepting what she thought was an apology for inviting the House to watch. “In the end it was all for the best.”
“No, not that.” He hesitated and then blurted, “I almost killed Col.”
That got her attention. Her head snapped up to look at him and the bleak face she saw there told her this wasn’t one of his jokes.
“I didn’t stab him, but me being a dumb ass got him stabbed. If it wasn’t for Grace, he would have died. Have you seen the athame, the dagger, on the mantle in the parlor? That’s what the witch stabbed him with. We leave it there as a reminder of how lucky he was. For me, how stupid I was. Do you know what happens to us when we die first death?”
“I do,” she whispered.
“If he’d died, it would have been my job, my duty,” he corrected, “to take my brother’s head. I... I just wanted you to know that I get it, about your parents and all that other stuff; about being stupid. I know what it feels like and if you don’t let it go, it’ll eat you up. You can’t change it. You can just learn from it.”
“Thank you, Dov, and thank you for not saying it wasn’t my fault.”
He shrugged. “You could have done worse is about all you’re gonna get from me. You can say you didn’t care if somebody died, but if you wanted them dead, you would’ve done it. Everybody was real mad at me when Col got stabbed. They had a right to be. But then when they saw I was beating myself up more than they ever could, they forgave me, and Col forgave me, and that made it easier to forgive myself. So I guess the other part of what I wanted to say is that I forgive you, and I’ll bet your parents and grandma do, too.”
Dov, who acted as if he didn’t have a care in the world, had touched her in a way that others could not.
“Thank you,” she whispered again and dabbed at her eyes with the corner of Sebastian’s blanket.
Grace came in a few minutes later looking exactly like a woman who’d partied too much the night before. Her hair was disheveled. Her eyes were bloodshot, and her tee shirt was on backwards.
“Oh, thank God,” she said when she saw the babies. She shuffled over to the coffee pot. “And thank you, for doing baby duty. I vaguely remember Canaan saying he’d take care of them.” She took a sip of coffee and made a disgusted face. “He made this, didn’t he? I don’t know how the man does it, but his coffee always tastes like crap.” She yawned. “Where is everybody?”
“Canaan, the Professor, Nardo and JJ are in the War Room, the computer room,” Dov added for Pinkie’s benefit, “Col’s working out and I haven’t seen anyone from across the alley.”
Grace drank more of the coffee she’d just complained about. She gagged a little. “I was thinking I might feel better if it made me throw up. I’ve changed my mind.” She dumped the pot’s contents in the sink. “How was JJ?” she asked as she rinsed the basket.
“She’s good. She burns it off almost as fast as we do.” He grinned. “Must be that good Paenitentia blood.”
“I hate her,” Grace muttered. She pressed the button to start the fresh coffee.
