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This is no place for a child. The boy is clearly frightened. Why would she bring him here? And what the hell is she doing here?
I realize then she’s dressed more somberly than usual. Almost more modestly. Almost. She’s wearing a long-sleeved black dress with a high neck that hangs just beneath her knees, paired with five-inch black patent leather heels. Her hair is contained in a simple but elegant bun at the nape of her neck, and she’s pinned a black lace bobble into it. Her eyes are lined with dark liner and her lips are painted clown-red.
She comes to stand at Hildebrand’s right hand and must realize her son is sucking his thumb because she pulls his hand away from his mouth. He looks up at her and sets his little hand at his side, but I see the effort it takes him to keep it there. It’s when she lifts her downcast gaze to the men gathered around the table and they land on me, that I get a sinking feeling I know what is coming.
“Gentlemen,” Hildebrand begins.
“It’s Bishop,” Zeke whispers.
I nod but don’t reply as Hildebrand continues. “As you know the compound is on lockdown. This is something the other Councilors and I take very seriously. Given the circumstances and the delicacy of the situation, we deemed it appropriate.”
“What’s going on, Hildebrand?” Someone calls out. “Let’s not stand on ceremony.”
Hildebrand seems irritated by the interruption but gathers himself. “I invited you here today with both sad and happy news. First, the sad. I would like to advise you about an incident that took place in The Cat House early this morning. At approximately four o’clock, a few of our guests were indulging in…” he pauses and I’m sure it’s a practiced pause, “a group activity,” he says. He glances at the little boy with a look that makes it clear he has no idea how to behave around a small child. “It was during this event that our own Carlton Bishop met with tragedy. He succumbed to a heart attack and passed away on the premises.”
There’s an immediate and collective noise as the men gathered start to murmur their surprise and shock. The questions begin, but the Councilor raises his hand to quiet the table. It takes me a full minute to process this news.
My gaze shifts from Hildebrand to Julia Bishop. Because what the fuck is she doing here? Women are never or very rarely allowed to attend such a gathering even if Carlton Bishop is her cousin.
“And while we investigate the details of this unfortunate event, I have learned of happy news,” he says, again glancing at the boy.
He forces his mouth into a smile and extends a hand to the boy who recoils. I get it. His mother, though, takes his hand, the one that wasn’t in his mouth, and sets it in Hildebrand’s ancient one. Hildebrand tugs the boy forward and the child begins to suck vigorously on his free thumb again.
My heartbeat is somehow controlled. My face a mask. I am calm as I watch what’s going on. I feel the eyes of the men around the table slowly fall on me as we all begin to understand the only thing this can be about. Why a woman and her four-year-old boy are in this room at all.
“It turns out that our dear Carlton Bishop, whose wives failed to produce a single heir, was a father after all.”
Hildebrand’s eyes land on me. I meet them, then shift them to Julia standing behind him. Her gaze locks on mine the moment I meet hers. She’s barely able to keep one corner of her mouth from curving upward.
“Mathew Bishop is the product of a love affair between Carlton and his cousin, Julia Bishop.”
Someone makes a gagging noise. They are first cousins. Is that even legal? At least it wipes that satisfied smirk off Julia’s face. As she shifts her gaze to the man who made the sound, I can see her mind working. Cataloging the name.
“As times are modern, of course, such a pairing would not be approved by The Society and thus the two had kept their love a secret.” What love is he talking about? The man died at a whore house. Probably balls deep in one of the courtesans. “But now that Mr. Bishop has passed, well, the important thing is we welcome his descendent into the fold with all the respect due him.” Hildebrand stands and turns to the child looking up at the old man towering over him. Matty immediately begins to sob.
Hildebrand isn’t bothered.
“Welcome, boy. Welcome to the class of Sovereign Sons.”
As the men clap and stand, I hear sounds of “at least he died happy.” And “fucking your cousin? What the fuck?” And “Well, cousin or not, I’d fuck her too. Look at her.”
