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“I don’t want your fucking tea. I want my daughter.”
She sighed as she put the cup and saucer down again, scooping sugar into the cup and stirring it slowly with a small spoon. The woman was taking her damn time. Garrick’s patience was running close to snapping.
“I’ve had an attorney look over father’s will.” She finally turned her attention back to them while holding her damn tea.
“You did before, too. It was a solid will.” Henry’s voice went deeper.
“Yes.” She nodded and took a small sip of her damn drink. The clank of her cup touching the saucer when she put it back down struck a nerve in Garrick’s neck. He would wrap his hand around her neck if she didn’t get to the damn point.
“Ursa. I’m out of patience.” Henry pressed.
She frowned. “Always such a blowhard.” She lifted one hand, gesturing toward the men in the foyer. “Have my niece brought down.”
Garrick eyed the man in the middle, who turned on his heel and jogged up the stairs. When he stepped toward the stairs, the other two men scooted together, shoulder to shoulder.
“You think I can’t snap your necks?” Garrick fisted his hands. He wouldn’t mind getting his hands on their throats. A quick squeeze, a little twist, and he could get up the stairs before any of her other men could get to him.
“She’s coming down. You don’t need to resort to violence.” Ursa called to him from the sitting room.
“Why do you have her here?” Henry demanded.
“Your daughter came to me completely distraught because you refused to allow her to live her own life.” Ursa grinned. “She did a small favor for me, and in return, I gave her the means to escape your clutches.”
Henry glanced at Bastian. “Did you know about this?”
“Not until it was too late.” Bastian’s hands curled at his sides.
“I have the paperwork here.” Ursa pulled out the paper and handed it to Henry, whose eyes swept over the wording. His busy eyebrows shot up as he read. Anger spread through his features. Realizing what all this could mean for him fully developed in his mind.
“This means nothing.” Henry ripped the paper in half and then half again.
Ursa’s grin never faltered. “You think that was my only copy? It doesn’t matter, I have the original, and it’s all set for Tiryns to receive a copy.” She toed the paper pieces on the floor.
“You’d put our entire family in jeopardy?”
“I’d put you in jeopardy.” She shot back. “I’m not even a family member, according to anyone who matters. The Tiryns only want you to stay out of their way, not me. I’m of no consequence to them. You made it that way.”
“Father made it that way.” Henry corrected in a hard tone. “And for good reason. Look at you. Betraying your brother? Kidnapping your niece? You’re more of a monster than Father or I could ever be.”
“I doubt that,” Ursa muttered.
“You go ahead and send that to the Tirynses or the Faulkinses. I’ll have it worked out in a week. You won’t cause the collapse of this family, and I sure as hell am never going to let you have one fucking piece of it.” Henry swiped his hand through the air.
Ursa’s smile dimmed slightly. “You could be right, Henry. So, I had to escalate things a bit. Just to be sure.” She moved her eyes toward the staircase.
Garrick turned his attention back to the stairs. His insides cramped. Ariella walked down the stairs with one arm draped over the shoulders of the man escorting her. Worry covered his expression, and when he looked down the length of the stairs and caught sight of Garrick, the color drained from his face.
“Finn.” Bastian dropped the name like a boulder.
“Ariella.” Henry took a step toward the foyer, but Ursa tsked her tongue.
“Stay here, Henry. You can see her well enough from here.”
“What’s wrong?” Garrick moved to the foot of the stairs, glaring the two guards away. “Why is she so pale?”
Finn looked to Bastian. “She’s sick. I’m not sure what’s wrong. She was just supposed to get sleepy. I’m not sure what went wrong.”
“Don’t.” Ursa snapped when Garrick reached for Ariella. “You can take her home once Henry has done what I require of him.”
