Page 87 of Skullduggery
Hester, whose cheeks were stuffed full of chocolatey crumbs, nodded vigorously. ‘Mmmmph.’
‘She likes your brownies,’ Otis translated.
‘Merci,’ Alain said with a bow. ‘Thank you.’
Gordon, who was also looking happier than I’d ever seen him before, took a sip from his cup then laid it on the small table in front of us. He cleared his throat and glanced at all of us before his gaze settled on Rose. ‘I’m very glad you’re alive.’
Rose laughed. ‘So am I.’
He coughed again. ‘What’s next?’
The crinkle around her eyes deepened. ‘I’m hoping to get to know my daughter a little better.’ She looked at my parents. ‘And her mum and dad. If that’s alright with all of you.’
My mum leaned forward and took Rose’s hand. ‘We’re all family now.’
Dad bobbed his head. ‘The more the merrier.’ He grinned happily and raised his cup to her.
Gordon smiled but he wasn’t giving up. ‘Will you come back? To Scotland?’
Rose exchanged glances with Alain. ‘I sincerely doubt that Athair has any lingering interest in me.’ She flicked a worried glance in my direction. ‘He only ever wanted a child. While I might have been the first woman who could give him one, I’m now fifty years old and my time to have more children has passed. I’ve not attempted to wield blood magic since 1994. Any vestige of that dark power that remains inside me is buried so deep I think it’s highly unlikely it could ever return. I’m neither a danger nor a temptation to him.’
She shrugged. ‘That’s not to say he wouldn’t approach me to take his revenge, but I suspect it would be nothing more than pettiness. And,’ she added pointedly, ‘it wouldn’t encourage Daisy to his side, which I’m sure we all know is what he wants.’
A discomfiting stiffness spread through my body, even though I accepted the truth of what she was saying. ‘Nothing will encourage me to his side,’ I said. ‘Nothing.’
‘He’s more manipulative than you know,’ she said softly. A grim silence descended but then Rose offered me a half-smile. ‘But you’re stronger than he knows, too.’
I fiddled with my cuffs. My initial response was to refute her words but deep down I knew that I was strong. I hadn’t survived my wild magic and my drug addiction for this many years through sheer luck – even if my greatest challenges were yet to come.
‘So you could come back, Rose?’ Hugo asked. ‘You could return to the Assigney mansion?’
She took a few moments to respond, though it was clear from her expression that she’d been expecting the question. ‘I’ve spent more of my life here than I have in Scotland. This ismy home now. I don’t want to be Lady Rose.’ She touched the centre of her chest. ‘I am glad that I’m still alive, but the Lady Rose that people knew has been dead for a long time. It’s Lady Daisy’s turn to shine now.’
Oh God.I gulped.
‘I hear that you took a DNA test recently,’ Rose added. ‘That will be more than enough to prove you are my daughter without my sudden reappearance.’
Hester looked up from the pile of cakes. ‘Don’t worry, my lady,’ she said to me with an airy, albeit chocolate-smeared, hand. ‘I’ll show you how to act. We can begin your elocution and deportment training immediately. We can practise tomorrow when we go shopping.’
‘Shopping?’
She smirked. ‘For all those dripping diamonds you’ll soon be wearing.’
As if. Otis looked at her and snorted. ‘Do you know Daisy at all?’ he asked.
With a deliberately casual movement, Hester reached forward and scooped up some ganache then flung it at Otis’s face. He dodged it with ease.
Aware this could quickly descend into all-out war between them, I snagged him in the palm of my hand while Hugo did the same to Hester. ‘Enough,’ I said.
I turned my head and gazed at Hugo and he gave a gentle smile in return. There was no pressure in his expression, and no judgement. I knew from the bottom of my soul that he was prepared to support me whatever I did next. All I could offer was the truth in return.
‘I don’t know what will come of that,’ I said simply. I looked from my birth mother, Rose, to my adoptive parents. ‘There’s a lot to navigate and a lot to consider. I don’t want to rush into anything. And there’s something that I have to take care offirst.’
My dad’s eyes narrowed. ‘This Athair fellow.’ His cheeks stained red. ‘He’s not your father, Daisy. He never will be, no matter what story your blood may tell.’
‘I know that, Dad.’ I licked my lips, wishing I didn’t feel so nervous. ‘But there’s something else I’ve got to do that’s more important than Athair and whatever he wants of me. It’s more important than the Assigney mansion or titles.’
‘Is it more important than diamonds?’ Hester asked sceptically, but her eyes were twinkling. She knew what I was going to say next.
