Page 36 of Firethorne
“Let’s not kid ourselves. If you had the chance, you would. She’s exactly your type.”
“You’ve said that before, and I’ve already told you, I’m not interested.”
At that moment, the elder Firethorne strolled into the dining room, bringing with him a wickedly dark air of hostility that reverberated around the room, making everyone sit up a little taller and become a little more guarded.
Everyone except Damien.
The elder Firethorne sat at the head of the table and poured himself a cup of coffee, took a sip, then stared around the table at his family.
“I have to go away for a few days for an important business meeting,” he announced plainly. “I trust I can leave you all to hold the fort while I’m gone.”
“I could come with you,” Lysander said, hope ringing in his voice.
“Out of the question,” Firethorne shot back. “If I was going to take anyone to an important business meeting, it’d be Damien. He has a good head for business. Better than yours.”
Their father was doing what he did best, playing the sons off against each other. Choosing who he’d bestow his sparse and meagre compliments on. Today it was Damien. That wouldn’t be the case tomorrow. He liked to keep them where he wanted them, below him and begging for any scraps of attention.
“But I don’t have time to babysit your brother and hold his hand through this meeting. It’s too important,” he added, knocking Damien down after building him up. “Do you think youcan manage to keep things ticking over here? I refuse to come home to total mayhem.”
“I’ll keep them in check,” Miriam snipped.
But he didn’t even look at her as he said, “You’re the one I’d worry about the most.”
Miriam wasn’t immune from his snide comments, but she had armour just as sturdy as any man.
“Maybe I’ll prove you wrong,” she replied, but Firethorne ignored her.
The four of them sat in silence as Mrs Richardson walked in and placed a plate of food in front of Mr Firethorne. Crippling tension hung in the air, but it was Lysander who attempted to break it.
“Who are you meeting with?”
Firethorne dropped his cutlery onto his plate, the noise jarring as it clattered and he braced himself in his chair, anger burning from being questioned by his eldest son.
“It’s none of your fucking business. And for once, could I eat my breakfast in peace?”
Miriam and Lysander stood up, and as they headed for the door, Miriam whispered, “At least we’ll be able to party without having to think of an excuse to get rid of him.”
Damien stayed sitting where he was. He wouldn’t let his father’s disdain force him out of the room before he was ready to leave. He wouldn’t let anyone tell him what he had to do. Lysander might say he was only half a Firethorne, but in truth, Damien was more Firethorne than any of them. And as the elder Firethorne grinned to himself as he sliced through his bacon and eggs, it was obvious he knew that too.
Chapter Sixteen
Maya
It’d been a while since I’d seen anyone other than my father and Cora. For days now, Cora had me working in the extensive cellars and storerooms below the estate, taking inventory of stock, rearranging shelves and tidying. At times, I thought she was making extra work for me, telling me to rearrange things a certain way one day, then revert to the old way the next. But I did it, and I did it like Damien had said I would, with a smile on my face.
I hadn’t worn the necklace Miriam had given me. I hadn’t even taken it out of the drawer in my room. I’d read the books Damien left for me, though. The fact that it was him who’d lent them was something I tried to ignore. They were classics, after all. It would be a crime not to enjoy them. I had no intention of returning to the library any time soon, though.
I was moving boxes of spare cutlery and kitchenware, ready to wipe the surfaces down for the third time this week, when I heard the faint hum of voices coming from a vent. There was a gap in the shelving, so I shimmied through it to get closer to thewall and stood on my tiptoes, pressing my ear as close to the vent as I could to hear what was being said.
“But if I’m not there, if I don’t learn these things, how am I supposed to take over when you’re gone?”
Lysander’s voice was firm and insistent, but there was a vulnerability to it that I wasn’t used to hearing. Like he was pleading but didn’t want to upset the person he was talking to.
“I’ve already told you; this doesn’t concern you. I won’t discuss this any further.”
Firethorne’s stern tone always made me recoil, even when I wasn’t in the room when I heard it.
“But you trustDamien,” Lysander shot back, and the sound of glass smashing made me flinch. When I heard the next words, I knew exactly who had caused that smash.
