‘Bang bang, Daddy, bang bang!’
‘Please don’tdo this!’
‘Three.’
Fenwick steps aside with barely a fraction of a second to spare.
Lachlan kicks the doors open and carries his little girl out into the sunshine.She squeals with delight, waving at the sun.Five seconds later she’s rubbing at her nose as it starts running, followed by an adorable sneeze, but the first time he sets her down on grass… oh, that’s worth whatever hell the old man throws at Lachlan.
Her little face.Thewonder.The way she touches it.
‘This grass?’
‘Yeah, baby.Grass.’
‘’S prickldy.’
‘Prickly, yeah.’
Jules seems worried, glancing back at the Estate to see if anyone followed but it’s only Blaire who comes out. Jules, perhaps sensing that of the two, Blaire is the more down-to-earth, seems to relax when she joins them instead of telling them to go back inside.Lachlan, who is most definitely going to die here before his contract is up, dares her to do a cartwheel.Blaire laughs, but kicks up into a near perfect one, hands on the flawlessly lush, short grass and Mimi applauds, tries to do the same which is nothing but hands on the ground, legs kicking up one at a time.Jules cheers her on and actually manages a half-decent roundoff himself.
‘Daddy do one,Daddydo one!’the little girl yells, too happy to remember their arrangement, and Lachlan doesn’t correct her.He wants her to have this, wants it to strengthen her, Jules too.He wants them to remember that there was someone who advocated for them no matter the consequences, even if only for sunshine and grass.
‘OK, prepare to besojealous,’ Lachlan crows and then throws himself into an atrocious attempt, purposefully landing on his ass.It makes them all laugh, and that memory will carry him through every second of what comes next.
?
Penhalyx arrives the next day with his entourage, clearly unhappy.
When asked, Lachlan stands firm that if Mimi is to be introduced to new people, she needs fresh air for her immune system and he was thinking ahead for the party, how best Alistair’s children might perform for him.Lachlan politely reminds the old man that he was never told explicitly not to take Jessamine outside, nor was it in his contract, therefore he technically didn’t break any rules.Fenwick forbade it, yes, but Lachlan’s authority was established before.
‘Did it ever occur to you that there was a reason for this restriction?’
‘No, sir.I wasn’t told—’
‘Believe me, if I told you everything about my children, it would take weeks,’ the old man snaps for the first time, his patience visibly frayed.‘You meant well, I understand that, but the situation cannot pass without consequence.’
‘Yes, sir.’
‘You’ll be given thirty strikes delivered by Fenwick with any implement he chooses.’The old man looks at Fenwick, standing on Lachlan’s left.‘My only condition is that the strikes must draw blood.’
Fenwick says, ‘Heard.’
Lachlan stares ahead blindly.Soldier stare.
Penhalyx moves closer.‘And my children,’ he utters, ‘will watch.’
?
Lachlan is strapped across a bench in the training room, shirtless, face down, but once Fenwick takes position behind him, he looks up and winks at Mimi, her face tearful and blotchy.
Jules is so very pale.He’s holding Mimi tight.
Blaire stands behind them both.
Lachlan doesn’t brace; knows there’s no point.
Fenwick wanted revenge.
