AllFreeNovel
Share Us
I jumped and would have jumped out of Ian’s hold if his arm didn’t tighten when the voice came from our side.
And I was shocked as shit to see Lady Jane had gotten close.
She put her hand on Ian’s arm, gazing up at him with a benevolent expression that wasn’t overtly adoring, but it wasn’t blank either, and she said quietly, “I just love to hear you laugh, my dear.”
I looked at her, stunned.
Then I looked beyond her.
Everyone was staring at us.
The summation:
Richard: beside himself with fury.
Michael and Mary: shocked.
Daniel: confused.
Chelsea: venomous.
And last, Portia: again enraged.
Of all of those, the only one I didn’t understand was Portia’s.
I didn’t get a chance to wrap my head around it.
Richard announced tersely, “I believe it’s time to eat.”
Thirteen
THE TURQUOISE ROOM
At seven fifteen on the dot, as we were selecting our chairs (Ian again claimed me, this time as dinner partner, no matter how hard Mary was pushing Michael my way so Ian would be stuck with Chelsea), Lou showed in the Turquoise Room.
Michael lost his mind, fawning over her, which was revolting.
I didn’t have much interest in that (outside of saving Lou and making sure she sat on Ian’s other side), considering Lou had slapped some makeup on to try to hide it, and she looked beautiful, but I knew her, and I could tell she felt like hell.
For more than one reason I did not like this.
She suffered migraines the entire time I knew her. We’d all learned how to help her when that happened, mostly leaving her alone. But when Dad wasn’t around and I was, I’d change the cool compress over her eyes and guard against any sound or disturbance until she was past it.
They came too often, considering how much they pained her.
But days of back-to-back headaches was not how it normally worked.
Stress was probably triggering it, so I was going to be a lot pushier tomorrow about getting her to the train station so she could get out of this train wreck.
Michael dominated the conversation loudly through soup and salad.
It was the fish course when Chelsea had finished sharpening her claws and wanted to test them to see whose blood she could draw.
She started with Portia.
“We’re in a sisterhood, you and me,” she said across the table to my sister.
Oh, right. The table.
