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“Cards?” Marcus suggested.
Everyone moved to sit down at the table.
“Where are all your wives?” Mr. Hewitt asked.
“We sent them to the human wo
rld to keep Cecelia safe,” Marcus said. “They are keeping themselves busy. Probably buying bonnets and slippers and ribbons they don’t need.” They were more likely to be curing diseases or solving someone’s problems. But he wanted to ease the man’s mind, after all.
Marcus covered Mr. Hewitt’s hand with his. “I plan to marry her,” he warned.
“I know you will,” Mr. Hewitt said. “I wish you’d done it six months ago.”
So did Marcus.
Eighteen
Cecelia lifted a finger to her mouth and absently nibbled at a nail. She’d been waiting for what seemed like hours for Claire to walk back through the painting with her father and Marcus in tow. Marcus had sent word with Milly just days ago and said to expect them. He said her father had some business to take care of before they could leave, but that they would be along as soon as it was done.
Lord Phineas and the Duke of Robinsworth had returned to the other world a sennight ago. Marcus had stayed behind with her father to clear up his outstanding issues. There was the matter of his fight with Mr. Randall and his punishment. He was to be removed from his seat with the Trusted Few, and when Cecelia returned, she would take that seat.
She wasn’t certain she could do it justice. Sometimes, she wanted nothing more than to tell the fae to go to the very devil, but she couldn’t. They were her people, and she would have to go back and forth in the future. At least she would be able to represent both worlds with her leadership and fight for the interests of all.
The first motion she would make would be regarding marriage equality. Her marriage to Marcus would be viewed differently by the Trusted Few than would the marriage of two fully fae people. And she wanted that practice to cease. Her marriage would be just as valid as any other, and she wouldn’t settle until the unpardonable errors were changed to reflect the need for equality. She could do good things with her seat on the bench. She really could. She was sure of it.
A knock sounded on the window, and Cecelia crossed to throw it open. “You’re going to wear your nails down to the quick if you don’t stop that incessant gnawing,” Milly warned.
“Where have you been?” Cecelia asked. “I expected you to come yesterday with news.”
Milly kicked at the oak floor with the toe of her slipper. “Something came up.”
“You mean Ronald?” Cecelia asked playfully.
“Ronald has a way of stealing my attention.” A blush colored the garden gnome’s cheeks. “Even after all these years.”
“Do you know where they are?” Cecelia asked.
“Things didn’t go very well in court,” Milly confessed. “They were detained for a bit.”
“What didn’t go well?”
“They wanted to put your father in gaol,” she said. “But he made restitution to Mr. Randall, and the man was finally satisfied, so he asked for leniency.”
“So all of that is resolved?”
“Every bit of it. Your future husband is a brilliant speaker. He had the Trusted Few believing that your father has turned over a new leaf. That he has changed. He went on and on about how your father hasn’t had a drop of spirits in a month.”
Marcus had written to her about it, but he hadn’t been very forthcoming with details.
“My father is coming here with Marcus, right?”
Cecelia was a little bit scared to see her father. She’d left him with a group of men he didn’t know to dry out. It was his family-to-be, but he still could hold a grudge. He might be upset that she’d abandoned him a month ago. Although it was really he who abandoned her. He might not see it that way. “He’s well now, right?”
Milly smiled. “He’s well.” She patted Cecelia’s hand. “I would worry more about that man who is dead set on marrying you.” She grinned.
“If we marry here, he’ll have to wait for the reading of the banns.”
“Not if he asked his father to secure a special license,” Milly sang.
