‘Small and intimate,’ Alistair tells him when he arrives the day before, brings a very tight-knit entourage this time and meets with Carrigan personally, who has been learning the ropes of household management.‘Thirty people, fifty at most,’ he explains while Lachlan mentally takes notes.‘No one new, no one to vet, and it’s just for one night.’
‘Yes, sir.’
Penhalyx is, by most standards, still a handsome man even in his mid-sixties, but to Lachlan he has always been one of the ugliest people alive.Even so, seeing him again in the flesh is startling.The older man seems to have aged dramatically over the past few months.He looks tired, haggard and grey.Lachlan wouldn’t dare ask, but he quietly hopes he’s dying of something that money can’t cure.
Walking through the ballroom together, Carrigan up front with Lachlan and Alistair, Blaire following behind, he points out various requests.You’d never know it was Jules’ birthday at all.
‘Will the other children be returning, sir?’Blaire asks.
Alistair looks back, gaze travelling over Blaire in a way Lachlan despises.‘Roman and Savannah, you mean?They are hardly children, Miss Montbelliard, but yes, they will be in attendance.I would like for Savannah to spend time with Julian.’He glances at Lachlan.‘It’s good for him tosocialise.’
‘Yes, sir,’ Lachlan replies mechanically, though he dislikes the idea of Alistair deliberately pushing them together.In Lachlan’s opinion, Savannah Alderwyck has too much of thePenhalyxlook about her.He’d much rather Jules spend time with Roman, who he considers a genuinely stabilising influence.Despite what Penhalyx said once about the world being new and full of wonders, Lachlan knows perfectly well Jules will never be married off to another man.
Alistair makes no request for Mimi to attend which is a gift in and of itself, so Lachlan doubles down on security, walks the old man through the changes.
‘These innovations are impressive,’ Alistair comments, seems especially pleased with the Ivy Wall when he visits the East Wing.‘No visible cameras or surveillance at all.You’ve kept the beauty and reinforced security beneath the skin.’Lachlan doesn’t think there’s any “beauty” in the dark hallways, aged walnut, lifeless malachite green and gothic architecture.He just sees a palatial prison.‘I take it this is your friend’s work?’
‘She applies the craft, yes.’It feels instinctively wrong to say,actually no, your son designed this system,and Lachlan trusts his instincts.
‘Excellent.I want this applied throughout the entire Estate, not only the East Wing.’
‘Including the sub-levels, sir?’
‘Absolutely not.Where is Julian?I would speak to him.’
‘He’s in the library with Vasily, sir.’
‘Yes, Vasily,’ Penhalyx says, stretching the name.‘How is he settling in?’
‘Very well, sir.’
They walk towards the library, situated in the North Wing.Blaire and Carrigan were dismissed.‘And what do you make of him?’
‘He’s polite, intelligent and quiet.’
‘Beyond reproach as always, Lachlan.’
But it’s notalways,as Lachlan’s mangled back can attest.
Still, he knows what the old man wants.
‘He seems shy and unsure of himself, but he’s a good kid and could flourish in the right circumstances.’
‘Secondborns are such strange creatures,’ he says, and Lachlan braces, knowing where it leads.‘Howismy darling Jessamine?I hear she’s taken well to schooling.’
‘Yes, sir.She likes it very much.She’s especially adept with languages.’
‘Really?’he asks pleasantly, clearly feigning interest the way people do aboutother people’schildren, not their own.‘I suppose Miss Montbelliard is teaching her French.’
‘Among other things, yes, sir,’ he says.Mimi is learning to sign with such enthusiasm that Lachlan thinks they could soon have entire broken conversations in total silence and if she learns it then it’s more likely Jules will take it up too.Lachlan wants that very much, to find a way to speak privately in a place where the walls have ears.
‘Good.Are my son and Vasily involved?’
‘Not to my knowledge, sir.’
‘That’s for the best.I shall not interfere with the flow state of your management,’ he says, clearly about to do just that, ‘but if you could ensure nothing develops, I would appreciate it.Julian’s future tends in a different direction.’
Towards the girl Lachlan strongly suspects is his half-sister.
