“Excuse me?”
“My mother. She’s exacting.”
“I’m dressed perfectly fine to meet your mom.”
He shrugged as if it was my funeral and went to the door.
“Hold on,” I snapped, making him pause. “We’re not going to discuss the fact that I’m your fiancée now?”
“Don’t pretend like you’re surprised. You knew the deal.”
“I was thinking more girlfriend.”
“And I was thinking wife. We met in the middle. Now, are you ready?” He left, sweeping out into the hallway without waiting for an answer.
The answer would’ve been no. But I didn’t have much choice.
I caught up with him before he turned the corner. Otherwise, I would’ve gotten lost. “How many rooms are there?”
“Too many. Half of them are empty.”
“Seriously?”
“The staff dusts and cleans constantly, but it’ll always smell a little musty. Can’t help it. Too many rugs, too much space. Not enough people living.”
“Is this the room you grew up in?”
“No, my childhood bedroom is closer to my parents. Martha placed us in there for privacy, since it’s at the far end of the manor.”
“This place is a maze.”
“When I was very young, I loved exploring. I’d get lost and discover some new room I’d never noticed before. My great-grandfather was an amateur architect and he spent most of his life adding new wings, new rooms, new twists and turns.”
“It’s incredible, really.”
“It’s lonely. The excitement quickly wore off and now I see this place for what it is.”
“And what’s that?”
“Empty.”
He reached a short staircase that led to a third floor. The hallway had a single door at the end. He approached and knocked, waiting until a voice called out from inside.
My stomach clenched as he entered. I hesitated, wondering if maybe I should’ve taken him up on his advice to get changed. I wore tight jeans, black sneakers, and a button-down with the top two buttons undone, showing just a hint of my chest. It was a totally appropriate outfit for most occasions—except for meeting with the matriarch of a powerful family.
Too late now. I followed him into a large and airy sitting room and my breath caught in my throat.
The windows were huge. They were ten feet tall, at least, and covered with pale gossamer curtains. They seemed to glow from the afternoon sunlight and swirled and blew gently in an unseen current. The floor was wood and covered with multiple thick, heavy rugs, and books were piled all over, on antique end tables, on couches, on shelves, inside birdcages. There were half-burned candles, and pens, so many pens, most of them spilling ink.
His mother sat at the far side at a small desk. Her hair was pinned up, graying tastefully, though it must’ve been blonde once, like Calvin. She wore a simple, tasteful sweater with pearls at her throat and in her ears, and a pair of dark slacks. She held a book in one hand and a glass of white wine in the other, and the look she gave Calvin was far from welcoming.
He lifted his chin under her gaze. I withered, overwhelmed by the sheer magnitude of her presence and the strangeness of the room.
“So you’ve come home,” she said, putting her book down as she took a long sip from her glass.
“It’s nice to see you too, Mother.”
“How is Blackwoods? Are you learning or just busy getting brain disease from that football game?”
“Brain disease, mostly.” He looked around. “You need to let the staff come in here.”
She waved him off. “It’s clean, just scattered. Does your father know you’re here?”
“By now he does.”
“And your brothers?”
“They’re not home, allegedly.”
“Interesting. I’ve heard rumors that you’ve been busy on behalf of the business. Is it true?”
“Yes, it’s true. I sold guns to Latvia.”
“Lovely. I suppose that’s why you’re here. Noah’s going to try to murder you.”
“He will, yes.”
“I suppose you’ll try to murder him first.” She sighed and rubbed her face. “I do wish you boys would get along.”
“No, you don’t.”
She quirked a smile then her eyes fell on me like she was noticing for the first time that a strange girl stood in her doorway.
I didn’t move. I felt like a bug pinned for dissection. That must’ve been what deer felt like when they froze in front of a big rig truck. I wanted to turn and run away, but I was afraid that if I moved, I’d knock over a stack of books and the whole place would come tumbling down around me.
“You brought a girl.” His mother’s mouth sneered.
“Mother, this is Robyn. Robyn, meet my mother, Diana Solar.”
Diana Solar stood. She was a small woman, petite, pretty. She held herself like a giant.
“Lovely to meet you,” I managed.
She stared at me for several long seconds before she glanced at Calvin. “Why is she dressed like a common street whore?”
Calvin sighed and I repressed a gag.
“She’s wearing normal human clothes, Mother. I’m aware that you don’t get out much and wouldn’t know.”