Page 51 of Grand Romantic Delusions and the Madness of Mirth, Part Two

Tommy swallows and lowers his eyes. “Lord Hereford says no one is going to dispute a claim from the royal household anyway,” he mumbles. “It will be … public record … by next week.”

That probably shouldn’t be true — no one disputing a claim from a member of the royal household — but Elias isn’t wrong.

I set my hand on top of my knee, palm up. Kitty is already holding my other hand. Tommy looks at my hand for a long while, then he slowly slips his own into my light hold.

“We’re going to figure out what is going on with your mom as best we can,” I say to the eleven-year-old.

“But … I’m yours, right?” he mumbles. “Christoph … Lord Williams … said … he said that I’m powerful because you’re powerful. Lord Hereford says that … we have a … metaphysical connection.”

“Yes,” I say gently. “I think you belong with us. But that doesn’t have to preclude your other family, okay?”

Tommy shrugs, but I can still feel that mixture of sadness and despair simmering within him, especially when he flicks his gaze back to his sister.

Only Kitty was supposed to have been taken last night. That had been the little awry’s own admission, her own observation. Tommy wasn’t the intended target.

“And … Kitty is awry,” Tommy says, as if building on whatever argument he’s got going on in his own head. “She sees stuff, even if the purple in her eyes comes and goes. So she needs to go to a proper school, where she’s … you know … taught all the stuff she needs to be taught.”

“Yes, Kitty is awry.”

“Okay.”

“Okay?”

Tommy shrugs belligerently. “I’ll go to that snobby school and wear a stupid uniform and learn and stuff. Just to look after Kitty. Everyone always thinks she’s weird, and I got to watch out for her.”

“Hey!” his sister shouts.

Tommy ignores her. “And in between semesters, we’ll all live in your castle … or wherever you are …” He meets my gaze. “You, Mirth.”

“And Mom?” Kitty asks tentatively. “When Mom comes back?”

Tommy squares his shoulders. Then he says definitively, “Mom, too. Right, Mirth?”

Despite the uncertainty leading up to this moment, my heart is so full of joy that I think it might burst. “Yes. I’ll make sure you have everyone you love, everyone who loves you, all together. As much as possible.”

Tommy darts a grateful look my way, still trying to protect Kitty. Even from their own mother.

I honestly hope that Kitty’s belief in Gail Walsh, rather than Tommy’s doubt, is closer to the truth.

“I hate to break it to you, kid,” Sully drawls. “But your sister isn’t going to be ostracized for her weirdness where you’re going.”

“Hey!” Kitty exclaims, whirling around to glare at Sully.

He just shakes his head at her. “The richer assholes are, the more they want to know when they might die. You know, for estate planning.”

“That’s a lesson for later, perhaps,” Elias snaps, still crouched before me.

Sully ignores him. Pointedly.

Elias touches my cheek to call my attention back to him.

I lean a little closer.

He whispers, just for my ears, “Too fast? I wanted the paperwork in place … in case we have to … fight for them.”

I brush my cheek against his, already knowing that his stepping in to help settle the kids is just one part of how a healthy bond group is supposed to function. “A relief, actually. Thank you, my lord.”

Behind us, the door opens. We all turn as the missing piece of our soul-bound group enters the room. He falters at the threshold, looking uncomfortable in his dark-gray suit.

Rian.

His hesitation hurts my heart, my soul.

“Hi!” Kitty climbs up on the bench to get a better look at Rian over Sully’s head. “We bet on your horse to win!”

Rian flicks his gaze to me, tugging the door closed behind him. Then he throws a smile toward Kitty just before the silence becomes awkward. “That might be a risky bet.”

“Way to step up,” Sully mutters under his breath. Then he stands, grabbing Kitty under her arms. He swings the little seer over the bench seats, directing her toward the snack table. “Come grab something to eat. We’ll be able to see better on those screens there.”

Tommy glances between all of us. Then, easily reading the sudden source of tension in the room, he glowers at Rian as he otherwise silently stalks after his sister and Sully.

Christoph also stands to join the kids. I’m not sure whether he and Rian have formally met, but I seem to have momentarily lost my capacity for niceties.

Bolan sprawls out across the bench seat, his gaze on me.

Elias stands, his hand steady under my elbow as I do as well.

“Seems I missed something important,” Rian says edgily, still hovering by the door. “Or I’ve … interrupted.”

“Not at all.” Elias steps around the seats, holding his hand out to the younger male. “It’s a pleasure to meet you again, Rian.” He looks toward the small grouping around the food. Kitty appears to be stuffing her pockets with candy. “And I don’t believe you’ve formally met Lord Williams.”

The duke steps just close enough to shake Rian’s hand. “Christoph.”

“And the two young ones are Kitty and Tommy Walsh,” Elias says, still so polite. “We filed guardianship papers this morning.”

“You’re adopting these kids?” Rian asks bluntly, though not unkindly.

“Technically, it’s Her Highness’s name on the paperwork, due to the bond —”

“You adopted kids?” Rian looks at me as though he’s never seen me before.

And maybe I’m overreacting, but … “I tried calling you multiple times yesterday. And this morning.”

“So it’s my fault for being too busy for a prolonged conversation that I’m not even consulted about —”

Bolan stands up, the movement abrupt enough to interrupt Rian. “Check yourself, pup.” Even Bolan’s whispers carry weight. “Remember who you’re talking to.”

“I know that Mirth outranks me. That you all outrank me. No reminder needed.”

Bolan shakes his head sadly. “No, brother. Mirth is your soul-bound mate. And I shouldn’t have to remind you of that.”

All of Rian’s anger drains from him. Anger that might just be frustrated confusion, though it hurts my heart either way.

“Is something wrong?” Kitty asks plaintively from across the private box— obviously still listening to everything. “You don’t think …” Her bottom lip quivers. “You think Tommy and me aren’t good enough for Mirth to love us?”

Rian visibly takes the emotional blow of Kitty’s question straight to the chest. He opens his mouth but doesn’t know what to say.

It doesn’t matter, really. Because I’m already moving across the room, smiling. “Have you got your treats? Shall I show you where my brother and I used to watch the races from?”

Kitty nods, eyes watering. Tommy openly glares at Rian.

“Is that an ice-cream bar?” I ask brightly, though my heart feels cracked right through the middle. “Where did you get that, love?”

Tommy points me toward the pile of ice-cream bars on a bed of spelled dry ice. I snatch one up, then guide the children toward a small door in the back corner of the room.

Rian must try to follow, because there’s suddenly a wall of bodies between us and him.

My smile doesn’t slip.

I don’t cry.

I take my responsibilities seriously. I always have. I’ve always put my duty over my personal emotions and strife.

I get the door unlatched. The children — hopefully distracted again — climb up the narrow staircase to the lookout ahead of me.