Duncan agreed with her, and she was glad. Being able to mess around with the rest of the castle was going to be fun. But just as she said to him, she wanted the comfort of having things where she left them in this room, even if it was just leaving a towel on the floor and it being there when she returned.
They were headed downstairs when Duncan told her more about the kids. The boy, Abraham—Abe for short—was tested for autism. He wasn’t autistic, just shy. The young girl, sixteen, had been watching over her brother since he was born. Duncan told her he thought that might be another reason for the two of them not being adopted—they came as a pair. No one, it seemed to him, wanted them both. But he hoped the two of them would.
“Of course we’ll take them both. What a thing to wonder about. They need each other as much as the two of us do. I can’t believe anyone would ever think it was all right to separate the two of them.” Duncan took her hand into his and kissed the back of it as they entered the kitchen. “I don’t cook. I can if I really have to, but I don’t do kitchen work well at all.”
“We have Meridiam here as a first-rate cook.” Duncan introduced her as his queen. Meridiam curtsied to her, then smiled at Duncan. “We’d like a little something light if you have time, please. The children should be here soon. I’m sure you have it all under control in here?”
“It is, sire. The food is ready to go out as soon as they’re in the castle. It’s all been prepared by the little people.” Duncan explained to Jude that they had several faeries working for the house. “I hope you don’t mind, miss, but I use them in here on nights you will entertain.”
“I’m all for making anything you need there for you. I want you to want to cook for us, and if you need them here full time, I’m sure we can work out something to make that happen for you as well.” Meridiam smiled at her. “You tell me what it is you want or need, and I personally will get it for you. I love to eat, and I eat a great deal. There is extraordinarily little that I won’t eat, but we’ll go over that when it’s less of a busy morning for us all. Okay?”
“Yes, miss. And I thank you for that. It would be nice to have a staff here to do the everyday things. If you’d not mind, I can take care of the hiring of them for us.” Jude told her whatever she needed. “Thank you again. It’s just like the good king here said—you have your heart in the right place and want things to go smoothly.”
Jude enjoyed the conversation as she ate her warm scones. She especially liked the seeds and nuts her bird would enjoy. With the nice hot cup of tea she had with two scones, Jude was able to meet the faeries that would be working in the kitchen with Meridiam. There would be others hired for the rest of the household when the new year was coming in. Jude was as excited as she’d ever been for the children to arrive.
“They’re here.”
Everyone gathered in the front hall. As soon as the first two people—the adults, she assumed—got off the bus, she knew there was going to be trouble. When Mercy grabbed her hand, she looked at her.
“Let me handle this. I want to.” She asked her if she knew what had happened. “Yes. If you allow me to take care of it, then it will be all right. However, I might have to hurt that bitch standing there.”
“You do what you have to do. I’m not sure what is going on, but I won’t have one person fuck this up for the kids.” Mercy said she’d make it right. “Thank you.”
~*~
Tracy wasn’t sure what was going on but moved into the hallway where the noise was coming from. She and her brother had been left behind this morning. Ms. Holloway had said they’d done something wrong and would be dealt with when she returned. No amount of begging would get her to tell them what they’d done to make it so her brother could at least go to the Christmas party without her. The woman standing in the hall looked directly at her when she asked what was wrong.
“Are you Tracy Jamie?” She nodded, still unsure what the guard, Mad Max, everyone called him, was doing in front of Abe’s room. “I want you to get yourself ready to go with me. Also, your brother, if you please. You’re coming to the party even if I have to murder someone to have you there.”
Tracy started forward, her mind set on goi
ng to make sure Abe was all right. He’d been locked away from her when Ms. Bitch left. It was what Tracy called her behind her back every time she had to deal with her.
“Your brother is fine, I promise. Get your things gathered up. Everything. And I’ll do the same for Abe.” Tracy told her she didn’t have much. “You know what, just leave it all. Whatever you need once we’re at the castle, I’m sure we can get it for you. This man here, he is going to walk away from me and live to see another day.”
“We’ve been told we can’t attend the party.” The woman told her she knew better. “I have to live here, miss. They’ll kick us out, and I don’t know if I can care for my brother on the streets. He’s all I have in the world.”
“Of course you care for him. Trust me when I tell you you’re both going to be fine. I swear it on my unborn child here, you both are going to be fine. Get your brother, and we’ll be set to go.” Mad Max told the woman they weren’t going anywhere without the permission of the headmistress. “You will walk away now and not try and stop us. Go to your room and sit there. Wait. You’ll tell me now why the two children here were not allowed to go to the party.”
“Ms. H., she don’t like them none. She believes them to be a wart on her good works.” She asked him if he thought that too. “I don’t think much—she told me not to. They didn’t do nothing but be in her way, she tells me. But I was to have me some of the girl, if I wanted, in payment for not letting them go to the party.”
The man fell back. It wasn’t until the woman looked at her bloodied knuckles that Tracy understood she’d hit him. When she looked at her, Tracy took a step back. She didn’t want to be hurt or raped by anyone today.
“I swear to you, I would never harm you. My name is Mercy Oliver. I have a daughter about your age who was really looking forward to you and your brother coming today.” Tracy told her again how she needed to live here for her brother. “I didn’t want to tell you this, but the man and his wife who are having this party for you guys are going to take you in as their own. If you don’t trust what I’m saying to you, I’ll call Jude right now, and she will verify it. Jude is my sister.”
“You swear nothing will happen to Abe? I can take it, but it hurts his heart when someone yells at him. He’s very shy.” Tracy looked at her brother’s door and the chain that was over the doorway. “She does this to him when he won’t participate in classroom work or speak when she tells him to. He doesn’t care for her.”
“No one does, I’m thinking. Come on, honey. Let’s get you and your brother fixed up, and we’ll be on our way.” Nodding, she started for the keys on Mad Max’s belt. Tracy watched as not only the chains fell away, but the door disappeared too. Tracy asked if she’d done that. “I did. To chain anyone in a room isn’t right. But what she’s done to this young man is going to get her in deep shit if I have anything to do about it.”
“Will you? Have anything to do with it, I mean?” Abe was in the corner, his head covered with the thin blanket he’d been allowed. “Come on, Abe. We’re going to the party. Do you want to see what kind of food they have? I bet they even have ice cream for us.” He looked at her while she calmly told Mercy what had him so afraid. “They chain him to the bed at night. I have tried to keep them from doing it to him, but they chain me up too. I can’t help him if they do that to both of us.”
“Come along.” She could hear the anger in Mercy’s voice, but never once did she raise her voice while speaking to her or Abe. “I have to make one stop on the way out, but my husband, his name is Joel, is out there waiting for you at the car. He is a genuinely nice man. Get in the car, and I’ll be out shortly.”
“Don’t do anything stupid.” Mercy looked at her, the anger seemingly clearing from her eyes. “Don’t do whatever you’re thinking about. This place might be run like shit, but it’s all a lot of these kids have—other than sleeping on the streets. Promise me you won’t do whatever it is you think needs to be done, and we’ll head to the car without any trouble.”
“Do you have any idea what she’s doing here?” Tracy took a big chance and nodded. No one knew as much as she did about this place, other than the bitch. “All right. I won’t do anything right now. But you have to promise me to speak with Jude when you can. Not today—today is for fun. But soon after the other children leave. Promise me that, Tracy, and I’ll do as you asked.”
“I swear to you on my brother’s life, I will tell her everything she needs to get this place under new management. It will be the truth as I know it.” Mercy stared at her for another few seconds before nodding and following her and Abe out. “Thank you for trusting me.”