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I sat forward. “What kind of pictures?”
“Lurid images that confirm that she’s a tramp. I wouldn’t even have her here if it wasn’t for Rey.”
Why is my mother supporting that piece of shit?
“Have you got those images?” I asked.
“Rey has. He’s ruthless, you know? He always gets what he wants. In any case, this thing between you and the maid has gone far enough. It won’t be long before the press gets wind of it. If forced, I’ll leak the images.”
“I couldn’t give a shit about how they make me look, but I care for Theadora’s sake.”
“Then leave her. You could have just had sex with her and kept it private, but you were seen together holding hands for god’s sake.”
“That’s the woman I’m going to marry.” That took me by surprise.
Her face crumpled. “What? That common slut?”
My body tensed. “Don’t you dare call her that. She was a virgin when I met her.”
“Oh, was she really?” She chuckled coldly.
“Maybe I should have kept the bloodied sheet to rub in your face.”
“Don’t be boorish.”
“Why are you involving yourself in Crisp’s dirty little games?”
She stared down at her knitted fingers. “He’s a good friend. He likes the girl.” Her eyes met mine again. “And Rey doesn’t do ‘no.’”
“That’s a euphemism for rape, Mother.”
“Just leave her, Declan.” She adopted the same gentle tone she’d used on me as a teenager, urging me to eat vegetables, stop hanging out with farmers’ daughters, and not fly planes. “Ethan’s a lost cause. You’re the sensible one. Marry one of our kind. Strengthen the Lovechilde line.”
“You know nothing about me, Mother. Until I met Theadora, I had no intention of marrying.” I stared outside the window. A storm brewing in my head.
There was so much going on that her initial hair-raising comment about Theadora’s employment at Merivale had almost slipped my mind.
“What were you implying earlier about Crisp and Theadora’s work here?”
“He made sure that a notice was placed in her private area, offering an overly generous wage and conditions, and she took the bait.”
“But how did she come to work at the hotel?”
“That was a coincidence, I believe. Rey tracked her down, and when he discovered her at the hotel, he took it one step further to bring her here so that he could groom her.”
“Groom her? Are you fucking kidding me? And you were privy to this?”
She shrugged. “We help each other. That’s what we do.”
Who was this woman I called Mother?
