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“Are you seriously blaming me?” I turned to the housekeeper. Sure, she could be a little rough around the edges, but that was just mean.
She reddened and huffed, then got up from the table and cleared the plates. She pointed at my remaining potatoes. “You are to eat every bite. You need your strength,” she demanded, and her eyes dipped to my belly and back up.
I glared at her, trying to warn her with my eyes not to say another word. She cursed under her breath and bustled away.
“Don’t be too hard on Olga. She was devastated to find out you and Kirill had been attacked. She thinks of you both as her surrogate children,” Ivan said. He was the one best able to handle the prickly housekeeper.
“Christ, I feel for her kids, in that case. You’re telling she’s worse with strangers?” I could barely believe it.
“She has no kids, Mallory. Her life wasn’t exactly conducive to it. She’s fiercely protective of Kirill, and believe it or not, that protectiveness extends to you now.”
I didn’t respond, but it landed hard on my heart. It had been a long time since a parental figure had shown any kind of interest in my well-being. I finished every bite of my dinner, listening to Max and Ivan chatter away, before heading to the kitchen.
Olga was attacking the dishes like they’d personally offended her. I placed my empty plate on the counter beside her.
“A peace offering,” I murmured to her.
She turned to me, looked at the plate, and nodded.
“You know there’s a dishwasher, right? You don’t have to wash everything by hand.”
“The machine doesn’t wash like I do,” Olga muttered, scrubbing hard at a plate.
“I think that’s a pattern; it’s not going to come off,” I murmured, and raised my eyebrows as she removed it. “I stand corrected.”
“Young people think they know everything,” Olga muttered.
I crossed my arms over my chest and settled in for a tirade. To my surprise, she turned the water off and crossed to a cupboard and pulled out a small white bottle.
“If you want to make peace, here, take this.” She placed the bottle in my hand and returned to the sink. The water came back on as I turned the bottle in my hand to see the label.
Folic Acid.
Crap. Well, no need to wonder if Olga knew. I’d been taking it in Willow Creek, but I hadn’t had the chance to get more.
“When did you realize?”
“As soon as I heard you throwing up and not drinking your favorite coffee.”
“Why didn’t you tell Kirill right away? That’s not like you.”
Olga froze, facing away from me, so I couldn’t see her expression. “It’s not my secret to tell.”
That surprised me. “I’d have thought you’d be insisting it was Kirill’s business too, so he had a right to know.”
“He does, but I’m not the one to tell him. You will, won’t you? Soon you won’t be able to hide it. Tell him first.”
“There hasn’t been a great time lately, has there?” I mused.
I knew she was right, and now I’d decided to stay, the urge to let him know had become a burning need, but my hands were tied. I also had no idea how to do it. He’d come so close to figuring it out himself, but with the injury and upheaval, the moments before the attack were forgotten.
Before Olga could reply, a deep, amused voice cut through the air.
“I do hope I’m not interrupting a private conversation.” Nikolai lounged in the doorway, looking the very picture of tattooed, bad-boy ease. He grinned at me. “Long time no see, Princess.”
“Don’t call me that,” I snapped.
He put a hand to his chest, his face creasing with concern. “You wound me. We’re going to be family soon,” he goaded, stepping into the room.
