Page 49 of The Thief
“Of course. My mother will be coming as well. I wonder if Ragan would want to meet her. Since Papa is going to be home, Mama can tell me what she thinks of him.”
“She never restrains herself when she is not around your father,” Scarlett laughed, making Melody giggle too.
“Neither does your mother,” she giggled, shaking her head.
Melody suddenly looked thoughtful.
“Has Alastair met your mother before?”
Scarlett turned to face him and he shook his head.
“I don’t believe so. I believe that I have met her father once before. At a dinner at Ciomodors Garden. I was much younger then. Only about fifteen or sixteen. My father and I spoke with your father for a few minutes, but no longer than that. I wonder if he would even remember that.”
Scarlett and Melody looked at one another and burst into laughter.
“My father remembers everything, especially meeting a fifteen or sixteen-year-old boy he could marry off to his fourteen or fifteen-year-old daughter. He was only at those dinners for that purpose. He has since ended doing so and has left the deciding to myself, and my mother of course. I think he might have tried to start again, as one of the letters I received from her sounded more like him than her.”
Melody scoffed.
“That sounds exactly like something he might do. He once told Scarlett that he would be better at choosing a man because he is one.”
Scarlett rolled her eyes.
“So, he tries to convince you to pick someone?” Alastair questioned.
Scarlett looked at him, her mind racing back to what he had asked her last night.
“Yes, he tried to get me to choose someone. I prefer to choose my own spouse, however. I will choose when I am ready, and not before that.”
A slight nod was his only reply and she sighed mentally, her outward exterior still very calm.
“You must be careful though; if you make someone wait too long, the person you pick might move on.”
“If the person I pick really wants me, he will wait for me.”
His eyes flared for a moment, then assumed their calm once again.
“I think your father would be happy if you set your cap for someone. The rest would work itself out,” Melody quipped with a chuckle, breaking the tense moment between them.
Scarlett chuckled and looked at Melody, breaking the electric eye contact between them.
“You are right, of course,” she said, winking at Melody.
With one last look at both women, Alastair said goodbye to them.
“I will leave you to your preparations. I have a few more things to take care of myself to get ready for our parents’ arrival. If you need to add anything, just send down a list and I will make sure it gets taken care of.”
“Thank you, Alastair,” Scarlett whispered.
He smiled briefly and then headed back downstairs.
Alastair sat in his office, reading through some letters he had received from colleagues at the hospital. He had cut down on his trips so that he could be at the castle in case something happened to Scarlett and he was needed. She had been unchanged until last night when he had received the antidote and given it to her. When Alastair had seen her today, she looked so much better than she had in a long time. Even sickly and pale, she was still lovely.
He brought his attention back to one of the letters and read it, sensing a bigger problem with the patient than the doctor had realized. Reading it a second time just to be sure, he called for Bard to bring his carriage around; he was going to Elfyre Memorial Hospital.
Bard did as he asked and Alastair grabbed his coat, sliding the letter in his pocket, praying he would be able to get there in time. Luckily, the patient had arrived last night so the disaster could be averted if Alastair got to the hospital in time.
When Bard came back to the office to tell him the carriage was ready, Alastair rushed out the door and into the waiting vehicle.
