Chapter Twenty-Six

Chapter Twenty-Six

Everything Turned Good

Satrine

Friday Morning

Idina tucked a curl more firmly into the fluffy chignon she’d crafted at the nape of my neck. It had escaped after she’d dressed me.

But with that curl tucked away, I was now ready to face the day.

And I was petrified.

It was a natural build up to the terror I’d been experiencing more and more each day as Dad-not-Dad’s trial got closer.

It was also more.

A ton more.

I had spent the last weeks preparing for the biggest project I’d ever present.

A presentation that would last the rest of my life.

I’d read snippets to long passages of everything I could get my hands on, history, fiction, poetry, to give me a greater sense of this world I lived in. I’d also made a catalogue of which of those to return to when I had time for more study.

I read the papers from masthead to obituaries to understand what the people of this world found important. Although I skimmed the articles simply to get a sense of the news, I turned my focus to the things I hoped really mattered in the day to day. I picked apart the advertisements. I taught myself the scoring for the games. That being, after I taught myself what the games actually were.

I especially combed the society pages and memorized names, titles, who was married to whom, and any tidbit I could consume to assist Mom and me not to put our foot in it when the time came, we met people she was supposed to know.

But now, I’d done what I’d done with our darling Carling and Beacher and lost it in front of kings and queens, and in doing so, I didn’t guard my words (I mean, I’d called him a badass, in front of kings and queens).

And although Loren had been his usual wonderful after it, his king had then summoned him, and I hadn’t seen him since.

He’d sent a note, as was his way, even if things had gone south, he wouldn’t neglect me.

No, he’d say it straight to my face.

The note shared that the king had something he needed Loren to assist with, and he had to do that. But he assured me he’d be there that morning at nine with his father to collect me and Mom (and Aunt Mary, who had decreed she was coming with) to go to the magistrate’s court where King Noctorno would be hearing, and deciding, Dad-not-Dad’s case.

It was the first night in precisely thirteen days I’d slept in my bed at Mom’s house, alone.

With the way he treated me, loving and romantic and attentive, I couldn’t believe Loren left me alone the day before…well, what was going to happen today.

So…

Yup.

I was petrified.

“You don’t need to worry,” Idina said.

I came into the room and looked at her through the mirror, seeing her hand on my shoulder, and having been so deep in my thoughts, I hadn’t felt her touch.

“You must live your life.” She gave me a small smile. “And you’ll be away with your new husband soon.”

What was she—?

“And your mother must live hers as well,” she went on. “I know you both make it so one of you is in the house with her at all times. But she is used to us too, and she cares for us. We will be here for Lady Maxine.”

Oh.

She was speaking of something Mom and I did, indeed, do for Maxie.

“I’ll take her to the park with her paints and easel. She’ll be lost in her pictures. She won’t know you’re gone,” she shared.

I felt tears sting my eyes.

“You’re…you’re incredibly lovely, Idina. So much so, I’m sorry I haven’t mentioned it until now.”

“One doesn’t have to say such things amongst family,” she said shyly.

I lifted my hand to hers at my shoulder, covering it to share my agreement (about the family part, that was), and we heard a knock on the door.

I tensed.

Loren was here.

It was time to go.

Gods.

“Come in!” I called as Idina and I broke the contact of our hands and turned toward the door.

It opened, and in came Maxine.

Right, I had to get myself together. Maxine could not sense me freaking out. It might make her freak out.

I had to be calm.

I smiled brightly at her. “Hello, my beautiful sister.”

She tipped her head to the side and glided to us, her lovely rose-colored gown made of layers of diaphanous chiffon floating around her.

“Hello, my beautiful sister,” she repeated.

“Idina is going to take you to the park to paint today,” I shared.

She turned her eyes to Idina and used them to smile.

Then she asked, “Can I talk to Sattie?”

Idina started, but I focused more acutely on Maxine, because we’d had many alone times, but we’d never had a discussion.

“Milady, their lordships will be here—” Idina began gently to refuse her.

“I wish to talk to Sattie,” Maxine declared.

Oh boy.

I wasn’t sure I’d heard Maxie declare anything.

Idina and I exchanged a look.

“It’s all right,” I said to her. “We won’t be long.”

Idina nodded.

“Don’t forget your gloves and hat,” she bid as she left the room.

She closed the door behind her.

I watched Maxine lean her tush against my dressing table, pick up an intricately shaped bottle, open the stopper and smell what was inside.

“Maxie,” I called quietly.

She lifted her eyes to me.

Myeyes to me.

“You’re who I’m supposed to be.”

My heart squeezed and I froze.

“Momma is not my momma,” she continued.

Oh gods, oh gods, oh gods.

“But she’s my momma.”

“Maxie—”

“You’re Maxie too.”

I reached out and touched her knee. “Honey.”

She put the bottle down, picked up my hand, and placed hers beside it, examining it, and I knew, seeing they were exactly the same.

“Thank you for bringing Momma back. And giving me a sister.” Her eyes came to mine. “And Annie and Lorie and Mr. Popplewell. Also Auntie Mary. She didn’t come see me very often, and then she stopped seeing me at all. Papa didn’t like her visiting me. He didn’t like anything about me.”

Gods.

My beautiful, broken sister.

Not only broken by what happened on that horse, but how he’d treated her after.

Seriously, the asshole Edgar Dawes of this world beat out the deadbeat Edgar Dawes of my world by a mile.

“Maybe not, but you do know we all love you,” I told her fiercely. “You know we all love everything about you.”

She laced her fingers in mine and pressed our hands gently back and forth.

“I know.”

“You’re sure?” I pushed.

She kept doing the hand thing, which was sweet, and sad, because it was a childlike thing to do.

“I know, Sattie,” she stressed.

“And I know it’s confusing, but Momma and me were brought here for you.”

Her brows drew down. “It’s not confusing. Love is not confusing. People think I don’t know things. But I know the way Papa was, that was confusing. You and Momma, you aren’t confusing. Not at all.”

My smile at that was again bright, but this time genuine.

“I’m glad you know that.”

She held my gaze, and suddenly, her lower lip trembled. “You’ll make it so Lorie will make it so he won’t come back, won’t you?”

Mental note: Maxine absorbed a lot of shit that went on around her. And that was okay, that was good.

But we had to see to her along the way as she did it.

“We’ll make that happen,” I whispered.

“Lorie took us out of the bad room.”

“Yes.” I was still whispering.

“Momma was strong, but we stayed down there a long time, and she was getting scared. I could tell she was getting scared, even if she tried hard not to let me see. He made her stop being scared.”

“Yes, he did.”

“He said you sent him.”

My voice was throaty when I said, “I did, baby.”

“And then everything turned good.”

“I hope so.”

She jumped and I jumped, but her jump was to throw her arms around me.

“Love you, sissy,” she said into my ear.

Then she let me go and darted from the room.

That was enlightening, frightening…

And beautiful.

I sucked in a ton of air (in other words, I took a gigantic sniff so I wouldn’t burst into tears) and blew it out.

“Okay, all right, okay…” I chanted.

Idina’s head popped around the door.

“Their lordships are here,” she announced.

I nodded.

Her head disappeared.

“Okay, all right, okay…” I chanted again.

I went to the bed, took up my gloves and hat, and deep breathed my way to the hall, through the hall and down a half a flight of stairs.

I’d pulled it together by the time they could see me.

And I knew something was wrong even before I made it anywhere near him.

I greeted Ansley first, saw Mom studying me curiously, but mostly, I was all about Loren.

He had his chin tipped down and his gaze was moving all over my face like he’d never seen me before.

Also, it was important to note, he didn’t touch me.

“Everything okay?” I asked, my words sounding feeble, strangled.

His beautiful, lushly lashed brown eyes came to mine.

And I found it alarming in the extreme that he didn’t answer my question.

No.

Instead, he offered his arm in a formal manner.

And stated simply…

“We must be away.”