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I patted Mirri's arm as we reached the stairs. "Don't worry," I told him gravely. "If your parents step one toe out of line with you, the others won't have to misbehave. I'm more than capable of doing that myself, and I'm not worried about what anyone thinks." I shrugged. "The people of Larkwood are well used to my low tolerance for bullshit."
And on that note, we trudged upstairs to change out of our farmer's clothes and into something a bit more impressive. I might not care what anyone thought of me, but Lady Rose had taught me that one of the best ways to intimidate difficult people was to comport yourself as if you were their better. Lifting my chin a notch, I reminded myself that anyone who hurt Mirri deserved the haughty steward I was about to become.
Chapter 14
Dinner was an awkward affair, but I did my best to channel the snobby royal steward image. I also tried to remind myself that although these people had hurt Mirri, they were his family. It wasn't really my job to pass judgement. Yet. Mirri was more than capable of handling the situation.
Mirri's father was a tall, thin male with an almost gaunt look about him. His eyes were similar to Mirri's, though with a bit more yellow than gold. And they lacked all of his son's warmth. A few feathers were visible amidst his gray-brown hair, which showed where Mirri got his own bird-like attributes. But the similarities ended there.
Mirri clearly got his build more from his mother, who was on the stout end of the spectrum, for a highborn. Though she utilized tailoring to make her appear thinner than she actually was. It was very unfashionable for a highborn fae female to be anything but slender and willowy. Mirri's mother boasted a lion's tail, just like her son, and her hair was also brown. Neither of his parents possessed Mirri's undertones of cinnamon and fire, and there was a certain warmth about my mate—both in coloring and in personality—that these people lacked.
"Lord and Lady Woodspur," I said with my best steward smile plastered on my face, as I paused outside the door to the gold room. "What a pleasant surprise to meet my dear Mirri's doting parents." I gestured toward the dining room, my smile still in place. "My mates and I were just about to sit down for dinner. Please join us."
"Thank you for having us, my lady," Mirri's mother said with a beaming smile. She turned to Mirri and hesitated for a moment, her eyes narrowing at the sight of his uncovered wings. Then she recovered and linked her arm through his, that happy motherly smile nearly dripping from her face with how sloppily it was painted on. "It's so good to see you again, Mirri, dear. We've missed you terribly. And when we got word that you had won the tournament, we just couldn't wait any longer to pay our respects and see to your wellbeing!"
Mirri gave her a bland look. "I wasn't aware you knew I had even entered the tournament, let alone won it. I've been waiting to write to you until I was settled, I have to marvel that word reached you so quickly."
His father spoke up, his eagerness only slightly less than his wife's. His acting wasn't quite as good. The smile didn't seem to reach his cold yellow eyes. "News travels fast, son. Especially when that news has to do with royally sanctioned competitions."
"You should have written to us immediately, Mirri dear," lady Woodspur crooned, patting Mirri's arm as he led her into her into the dining room. A hint of chastising slipped in to underscore her words. "I would have liked to be the first of the families to offer our congratulations."
She was put out that they hadn't realized what Mirri was up to and hadn't figured out his plans to slip from their grasp. But I wasn't going to let her reprimand Mirri for not telling them where he was. I tried to think of a diplomatic way to intervene, but Bach beat me to it.
"Don't worry, lady Woodspur," Bach said easily, his deep voice far too casual. "You are still the first of our families to visit Mistvale." He met Mirri's mother's eyes and smiled politely, even though his words were pointed. "Both my family and Fife's thought it polite to allow us time to get to know our new mate and settle into our new home before they intruded."
His tone was casual and polite, but he had just implied that the Woodspurs were rude for showing up here unannounced and uninvited. Score one for my water-loving mate. I smirked at him when the Woodspurs weren't looking, and one corner of his mouth twitched.
But Mirri's mother was undeterred by Bach's words as she took her seat at the dining table. "Oh, how kind of them, Lord Bach." Then she turned her saccharine smile on Adder. "And what of your parents, Adder?" She paused a beat, letting the awkward silence intrude before she widened her eyes and put her hand to her mouth in apparent dismay. "Oh! Oh my, I nearly forgot." She gave the stoic highborn male a pitying look. "I sometimes forget you don't have a proper family to support you, dear. How fortunate for you to have gained such a fortuitous match alongside your friends."
As if lowly orphan Adder was only here because he was riding along on the other's coattails. And I didn't miss the way she used an honorific for Bach and not for Adder. Such things were complicated, and not everyone followed the custom precisely. But even if Adder hadn't been bonded to me and taken my title, he had a certain level of status and was part of the Steward of Zora's household before he moved here. Most people who met him would refer to him as Lord Adder. Mirri's mother's omission wasn't one of fondness or because they were on familiar terms. Coming from Lady Woodspur, who herself had to earn her status and title rather than being born into wealth, the omission was a purposeful insult.
These were the sorts of high society rules and games I loathed most. I wanted to slap the woman, but I knew Adder wouldn't appreciate help from me, of all people.
A muscle in Adder's lean cheek flexed, the way it did when he was holding back a sharp reply. Fife dove into the chasm between them, his melodious voice just as sweet and innocent as Lady Woodspur's. "Oh! But he does have a family, my lady. You must have forgotten that the steward of Zora has claimed Lord Adder as her own." His expression was all innocence and happiness as he glanced around the table at the rest of us. "And of course, now he has a family here. Imagine being orphaned and cast out, looked down upon by the lesser fae around you." That bit was delivered with a pointed look that said exactly who in this room he considered to be lesser, before he continued. "Only to end up with such a powerful, well-connected family." He beamed at Adder. "And now you're a duke, and a steward, to boot. How wonderful."
Adder shook his head at the ridiculous cleric and focused on cutting his meat. "Quite."
If Lady Woodspur sought to point out some failing in my mates, or she had some personal dislike of Adder that she was trying to satisfy, she was sorely disappointed. "All of my mates are wonderful males," I said as Saffron brought out an extra pitcher of wine and sat it before me with a small bow. Wonderful man; he knew I was going to need the extra alcohol to get through tonight. "Each of them is so special and so perfect. I could not be luckier than to have these four as my bonded."
Lady Woodspur put a hand to her chest and her eyes teared up as she looked from me to Mirri. "Oh, that just warms my heart to hear," she professed, once more all motherly love. "Our dear Mirri has had a hard time fitting in, you see. Especially with his…well," she dropped her voice to a whisper. "With the wings and all. Some would hardly consider him a male at all, with his…deformities!"
Mirri closed his eyes in a long blink before opening them again, his gaze on his plate. "Mother," he said tiredly.
She huffed and reached over to clasp her husband's hand, as if she was just so overcome with emotions. "I'm sorry, Mirri. I'm just so grateful that you've finally found someone who will accept you, flaws and all."
I wasn't sure what her aim was, embarrassing and belittling her son that way. Maybe she was punishing him for foiling whatever unsavory plans she'd had for him. Or maybe she was trying to keep him firmly ensconced in his new steward position by reminding him how fortunate he was to find someone who would tolerate him. Maybe she was trying to insult me for accepting a defective mate. The Woodspurs themselves didn’t seem to really know what their aim was this evening. Maybe they were just testing the waters to see where they could gain some sort of blackmail material or upper hand. Regardless of their reasons, I was done listening to this rubbish.
I ground my teeth together. But when Mirri didn't speak up for himself, I couldn't help but do it for him. "I see no flaws. Your son is absolutely perfect," I bit out, narrowing my eyes at the idiot female across the table from me. "The only flaw I see at the moment is that he has a mother who would insult her child in front of his mate and his friends. And that flaw certainly isn't any failing on his part."
She immediately looked contrite. "Oh! I meant no insult, I swear it. I only meant to express how glad I am for Mirri, after what he's had to overcome. You know that, don't you, Mirri dear?"
It appeared the only way she knew how to communicate was in backhanded compliments and saccharine jabs.
Mirri sighed. "Mother, all I know is that a great many problems would be avoided if you simply ate your meal in silence."
I suppressed a grin. Coming from my usually sweet and peacemaking mate, that was a downright harsh reply.
"Come now," Mirri's father interjected. "No more bitter words. Tell us about your new home, Mirri. Lady Bellflower, I have never been this far north, but I hear that your territory, while a bit…rustic, has wonderful hunting and a plethora of natural resources."
