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“I already have.” It was precisely why I hadn’t already confronted her about our birth certificates and the will. I needed the Consortium to believe I was still a true Thorn; I needed them to support me as though I was the rightful holder of that Chairman title. If I confronted Iris and disowned her for good, the secret would be out and the Thorn name would have done nothing for me.
Iris peered up at me with something resembling admiration. It wasn’t a look she’d ever blessed me with until now.
“Good.” She smiled. “I always knew you were destined for this role. Chairman of the Consortium.”
I frowned. “Not Ossian?”
“Well, of course, it was his birth right. But he was hot-headed, impulsive, irrational. You, my dear boy… You were always the sensible one. Level-headed and with a rare ability to be discreetly…” she mused on the words, “lethal.”
“Is that so?” I asked with a sly grin, playing along.
“Yes. Now it’s your time to shine, Rupert. Do me and your father proud.”
She pressed her palm against my chest as if admiring her freshly manicured nails, then her sharp eyes pinged upwards, making me jump.
“Now tell me… Why is Vivian Gillespie here?” she said, in a thin, icy voice. “Did you introduce her to your new wife?” She flicked her head to the right, acknowledging Elspeth for the first time since she’d entered the room. I was pleased in a way – Elspeth was getting to know the real Iris now.
“She came here the day of the wedding, Mother. I invited her.”
Iris sucked in a sharp breath and assessed me from the corner of her eye. “I wanted her to see your son take a wife. I wanted her to hear the vows I made, as a Thorn. I wanted it to be abundantly clear and unequivocal that the heir of Blackcap Hall was no longer available to her or anyone else for that matter. She saw everything I wanted her to see.” I smiled. “She’ll be leaving the island very soon.” With me, I neglected to add.
Iris was unmoved. “I don’t want to see her in my home again, do you understand?”
“Perfectly,” I said, smiling. I had no intention of bringing Vivian back here. I had somewhere completely different in mind.
“Now, do you think you might finally be able to make me a grandmother?” Iris said, shifting to my side and finally welcoming Elspeth into the conversation. I turned to look at my supposed wife only to see she’d turned a pale shade of puce.
“Mother!” I said, feigning shock. “Let us get our breath back after the wedding. We haven’t even had our honeymoon. I stayed home to get to the bottom of the sunken supply.”
“Well, don’t wait too long,” Iris replied, with deathly seriousness. “I can’t have Isobel being the only grandmother in the family. Marcia was useless in that regard. I have higher hopes for you,” she shot at Elspeth.
“It wasn’t Marcia’s fault she and Ossian never had children,” I said, knowing full well Marcia had saved the world from the devil’s offspring.
“Well, it certainly wasn’t Ossian’s fault,” Iris spat. “He had his father’s genes, through and through. He could have sired many children.”
There were two things wrong with that sentence. First, it was entirely possible Ossian did sire many children, such was the extent of his indiscretions. Second, if Sinclair’s genes made him so reproductively potent, why’d he had to steal two thirds of his clan?
“Well, Mother,” I said, changing the subject. “I’m sorry to spoil the party but I have to prepare for my first meeting as Chair of the Consortium. I want to make a strong first impression and make you proud.”
“Of course, my boy,” Iris said, almost swooning at my words. “I must prepare myself too.”
I turned to walk away but stopped abruptly. “For what?”
Her eyelids dropped to half-mast. “For mourning, of course. It’s expected that all ladies of the Consortium, especially the Lady of the Chair, complete a period of mourning for exactly one month after the death of the spouse. From now on, you will see me dressed only in black…” She glanced at Elspeth and arched a brow. “McQueen of course. McQueen does black the best.” She turned back to me. “And I will venture no further than the homes of Consortium families as a mark of purity and respect.”
“Purity?”
I turned to see Elspeth’s ghostly shade of pale thicken with repulsion.
“Well of course,” Iris replied, frowning. “When we are stricken with sadness, we are at our most vulnerable in so many ways. By keeping to our elite community, we are protected from the influence of those lesser than ourselves in status, breeding and class.”
Elspeth dropped her forehead to tented fingers. I’d always known her to be a snob herself, but clearly Mother’s attitude took snobbery a world too far.
“Let me walk you out, darling,” I said, extended a hand.
“Elspeth took it graciously and flashed me a timid smile. “Thank you,” she said quietly. “I suddenly feel a little peaky.”
“It happens to the best of us,” I said, casually.
