Chapter 16

Constance tugged nervously at her dress, wishing it wasn't quite so worn from their adventures. She would have almost preferred to be wearing one of her old high-necked, long-sleeved dresses. No, I wouldn't, she told herself firmly. That life was behind her now.

"Stop fidgeting," Kalpar said, squeezing her hand. "You look beautiful."

"No, I don't, but thank you."

"You do to me," he said firmly. "And you have no reason to be nervous."

"What if everyone hates me because of my father?"

"They won't."

His confidence helped soothe her fears at little as they walked down the road towards the main farmhouse. It was a stunning contrast to the abandoned farm where they'd spent the night. Everything looked prosperous and well-cared for from the big white farmhouse to the outbuildings to the fields full of grain.

"It all looks so beautiful and peaceful, but I have no idea why my father would be interested."

"Unfortunately, neither do we."

"I'm sorry your plan didn't work out."

He shrugged. "As much as I want to know what's going on, finding you was far more important."

"Thank goodness you did."

They turned into the driveway leading up to the big farm house but they hadn't reached it when an older woman came rushing out. She was pretty and plump and gave them both a welcoming smile.

"It is you, Kalpar. I didn't believe it when Tomlin told me you were coming although I should have known better. And who is this?"

"Ida, this is my mate, Constance."

Ida beamed at her.

"I'm delighted to meet you, Constance."

She tentatively returned Ida's smile, then took a deep breath. She was determined to be honest with everyone from the beginning.

"My full name is Constance Thompson."

"Thompson? You mean like…"

"Like Marshall Thompson? Yes. He's my father."

"Oh, you poor child." Ida gave her a quick impulsive hug, and she suddenly had to fight back the tears. "I'm sure you're going to be much happier here."

Kalpar was giving her a "told you so" smile over Ida's head but she ignored him and gave the other woman a watery smile.

"I know I will be."

"Of course, you will. Now come on back to the kitchen. I'm sure you must be hungry after your journey… You didn't walk all the way from Port Cantor did you?"

"No, our flyer crashed. If you don't mind, Ida, we need to talk to Temel before we do anything else."

Ida shook her head and gave Constance a rueful grin.

"Of course you do. One of these days someone will show up and just want to visit and I'll faint from shock." She shepherded them into the house, then squeezed Constance's hand. "I'll be in the kitchen if you need me. Temel is in his study as usual."

Kalpar nodded, then put a hand on her back and escorted her through a set of double doors to a large book-lined study with a wide picture window looking out over the property. Two men were standing at the desk, looking over a set of plans. One of them was an alien - a large, blue-skinned male with sweeping horns. He had a stern face and an air of command but he gave them both a warm smile. The other man was human, tall and lean with short dark hair, and was dressed all in black. He nodded calmly at both of them. Neither male seemed surprised to see them.

Kalpar straightened into a military posture.

"I regret to report, Commander, that my mission was a failure."

"It doesn't appear to have been." Temel smiled at her again. "I hear that the two of you are mated."

How could he have known? She gave Kalpar a puzzled look, but he just shook his head.

"This is my mate, Constance. Constance, this is Commander Temel and Tomlin."

"Constance Thompson," she added firmly, but Temel's expression didn't change.

He nodded thoughtfully.

"A much more desirable outcome than a kidnapping."

"You knew about that?"

"It is more accurate to say we suspected," Tomlin said calmly.

"I'm very happy with the outcome, but I'm sorry I didn't discover anything useful."

"There is one thing," she said slowly. "I'm not sure it's useful, but it's unusual enough that maybe it matters?"

Tomlin looked at her. He had the polished dignity of a valued servant, but she'd been surrounded by servants all her life and she was quite sure he wasn't a servant.

"Please go on."

"My father was negotiating for me to be m-married to Lord Vexian."

Something unreadable flashed across Tomlin's face but he didn't comment.

"I assumed it was to expand his holdings, but Vexian told me that after I was… sullied, my father traded me for some mining property that Vexian said was useless."

By the time she'd finished, her face was red with embarrassment but she'd managed to get it all out. Kalpar put a comforting arm around her shoulders and she leaned gratefully against his side.

"What kind of mines?" Tomlin asked, his voice a fraction less calm.

"P something. Pla, no, Plebanium."

"Interesting," Tomlin murmured, but once again she had the impression he wasn't quite as calm as he'd appeared before.

"Does that mean something to you, Tomlin?" Temel asked.

"Perhaps, Lord Temel. Not by itself, but in combination…"

Since Tomlin was clearly lost in his own thoughts, Temel turned back to them.

"Have you discussed living arrangements?"

"Not really. I thought we would continue to stay in the bunkhouse for a while and then Constance could decide where she would like to live."

"Good. It will be nice to have you close at hand again."

"Is Celenk tired of being the only one looking after the cattle?" Kalpar said dryly, and Temel laughed.

"I doubt he would admit it, but I'm sure he will be happy you're back. Now why don't we join my mate in the kitchen?"

As they all headed out of the office, Tomlin suddenly stopped, his head swiveling over to the pack that Kalpar had left lying by the door.

"What do you have in your pack, Lord Kalpar?"

"The usual - survival equipment, food and other supplies. It's a standard bag."

"Nothing else?"

There was a hint of urgency beneath the calm voice and she exchanged a look with Kalpar.

"Do you mean the jewelry?"

"What kind of jewelry?"

Kalpar looked at her and she shrugged so he bent over and pulled out the necklace and tiara. Tomlin didn't try and take them - just gave them a thoughtful look.

"Would it be possible to borrow them? They will be safe with me."

"I suppose so - but why?" she asked.

"It may prove useful to my investigation. Am I correct in assuming that your father gave them to you?"

It was a logical assumption, but once again she had the impression there was something else behind it.

"Yes, he did. There was a tracker on the necklace but we destroyed it."

"Yes, they're clean. Would you mind placing them on the desk, Lord Kalpar?"

Her mate frowned but obeyed, and then the four of them resumed their journey to the kitchen.

Several hours later,Kalpar swung her hand as they walked down a flower-lined trail to his bunkhouse.

"Tired, sweetheart?"

"A little. It's just… a lot of people."

It seemed silly to say that given the number of times she'd attended functions with hundreds of people, but she'd always felt as if she were in her own private bubble for those events and in between them she was usually alone. The males and mates and children who had joined them in the kitchen had seemed genuinely interested in her and even though all of them were very nice, she'd found it rather overwhelming. She was happy it was just the two of them again.

"You'll get used to it."

"I know, and I'm sure I'll enjoy it eventually. But you'll have to remind me who everyone is."

Other than the original three people, the only one who stood out was a reptilian alien with orange and gold scales and a tail. He and Kalpar had exchanged a number of barbed comments, but she'd finally decided they were actually friends.

The bunkhouse was a long, low building with a porch across the front and she expected to find a utilitarian interior. Instead he opened the door to reveal a large living area with an extremely well-equipped kitchen at one end. Comfortable furniture was arranged around a large fireplace and she could see a large bedroom through the door next to it.

"This is the bunkhouse?" she asked, turning to take it all in.

"Originally, yes, and there is a room with a set of four bunks behind the pantry, but I'm much too large to sleep in a bunk. Once I decided to build a bedroom, it just escalated. What do you think?"

"I love it." She walked over to the wall of windows opposite the porch that looked out over the farm and sighed happily. "It feels… it feels like home."

"It is your home now - unless you'd rather move out on to one of the farms?"

"And become H'zim's neighbor?"

She grinned at him and he grinned back, even though he shook his head.

"There are other options."

"I think we'll be happy right here. Although maybe we should do one thing - just to make sure."

"What's that?"

"Test out the bed."

His eyes flared white and then he was carrying her through into the bedroom.

"We'll conduct a very thorough test," he promised.

The test was very thorough indeed, but the results were absolutely conclusive - the bed was perfect, the house was perfect, and he was perfect. She was home at last.