Page 51 of The Curse of Indy Moore (The Cursed Duology #1)

“You have been gone too long, my boy. What did we tell you about visiting?” The senior Hawthorne squeezed tight enough to make his son croak.

“Perhaps my lack of visiting has to do with the assault I receive upon my arrival,” Mr. Hawthorne groaned, though returned the gesture, albeit not as vigorously.

His father set him down, only to take his face in his hands.

He swung Mr. Hawthorne’s head from side to side.

“You’ve lost weight. Are you eating well?

How long will you be staying? I can cook up a few things to take home with you.

You’ve always had such a poor appetite. Too forgetful you are, sitting in your room all day, toiling over enchantments. ”

Mr. Hawthorne swept his attention toward me, his cheeks lightly dusted a pleasant pink, then forced a smile. “Father, you are retired and have a cook now. Besides, I am perfectly well, and can’t you see we have another guest?”

“Huh? Oh.” The man spotted me, his jovial grin returning with as much force. His thick beard, nearly fully gray, added even more to his bear-like appearance. “Hello there. I’m afraid my wife didn’t say much, only that our boy was home with a guest. I’m Virgil Hawthorne.”

He held out his hand for me to shake. His hand utterly engulfed mine.

“Indy Moore,” I replied.

“What a lovely girl you’ve brought home, Rooke. You make quite the pair!”

“We’re not partners in that sense. I’m assisting her with a business matter,” Mr. Hawthorne explained.

That shouldn’t have made my chest ache .

“Oh.” Virgil, like Colt had, deflated considerably and twiddled his thumbs. “Apologies, Miss Moore. I was too eager. This one doesn’t bring anyone home often, and the few times he has have been duds. That last lad was dreadful.”

Mr. Hawthorne pressed a hand to his forehead. “Yes, yes, my taste in partners is appalling. I humbly apologize for my grave transgressions.”

“Whatever you are apologizing for, I suggest you prostrate yourself in advance,” a woman said while entering on Colt’s arm.

She had cool tawny skin and long, pin-straight black hair.

Her dress had a more linear design, straight against her lithe form, but vibrant in its emerald hue.

She didn’t don herself with jewelry because she was the focus, beautiful in every sense of the word.

“I will do no such thing. This suit is new, and while I do not doubt our housing staff, I will not take the chance of ruining it,” Mr. Hawthorne rebuked.

“Indy, this is my wife, Renli,” Colt said, smiling upon his wife’s thin arm.

Renli offered her hand and her condolences. “It is so unfortunate that you must not only deal with your condition but also Rooke. That must be taxing, you poor girl.”

“She knows I can hear her, right?” Mr. Hawthorne whispered to his brother.

“Should you ever need to escape, Hawthorne Manor is always open to you.”

Mr. Hawthorne threw his arms in the air. “Which I paid for! No one ever has any appreciation for me.”

“Ah.” Renli rubbed her ear. “There is a horrid buzzing noise. Can you hear it, honey?”

“Yes, it’s so strange that it only happens when Rooke comes home, isn’t it?” Colt replied jovially.

Mr. Hawthorne pouted like a petulant child. “This is why I don’t visit. The two of you gang up on me, and it is hardly fair.”

“Oh, please.” Renli waved her hand. “Any moment, you’ll have your defense—”

“Uncle Rooke!”

“There they are.” Renli stepped aside for two children to rush past her and into Mr. Hawthorne’s awaiting arms. The taller of the two had her dark hair in a bun, and she wore a pair of jumpers, while the younger one had her hair cut to her shoulders and wore a puffy pink dress.

They had Renli’s brown eyes, though a slightly paler shade of skin, closer to their father’s.

“You’ve come to my rescue.” Mr. Hawthorne wept with the girls clinging to his chest. He looked at the older of the girls. “Jenai, your mother is being mean to me.”

Jenai sent Renli a glare that could burn the house to the ground. “Mama, you said we shouldn’t be mean to anyone, especially family.”

“There can be exceptions to the rule,” Renli muttered under her breath, then nodded at me. “These are our girls. Jenai is our eldest, and Mei is our youngest.”

Mei gave a polite curtsy and showed off her somewhat toothless grin. Someone had lost their two front teeth. “Nice to meet you,” she said slowly, enunciating her words.

“It’s nice to meet you, too.” My cheeks ached from a smile that hadn’t departed since introductions began.

Jenai offered a wave but clung fervently to her uncle, where she whispered something that had Mr. Hawthorne giving an awkward smile. He whispered something in response, and Jenai pouted like she was disappointed.

Thea came into the dining room, sounding out of breath. She must have struggled to run with the girls. “Good. Lunch has started. Everyone is here and introduced, I hope?”

“Yes, I have been thoroughly humiliated in front of my colleague,” Mr. Hawthorne replied, standing with Jenai in one arm and Mei in the other. “Thank you all for that, by the way. It couldn’t possibly affect my reputation.”

“I do not know where his dramatics came from.” Thea pressed a gentle hand against my back to guide me toward the table. “Take a seat, dear. I hope we aren’t too much for you. We have quite the rowdy bunch.”

“There’s nothing to worry about. I am enjoying myself quite a bit,” I answered with a sideways glance at Mr. Hawthorne. He mocked me under his breath, causing the girls to giggle .

Staff came into the room carrying a tray of tea and light snacks.

It was rather daunting, realizing we would be waited on.

That had never happened before, and I found myself asking if I could help with anything.

The woman pouring drinks merely smiled and asked me to sit.

Except I didn’t know where. The Hawthorne’s were running around to take their seats, so I stood off to the side.

Thea sat at one end of the table with Virgil at the other. Colt and Renli sat beside each other, while Jenai and Mei went to take their seats beside Mr. Hawthorne. Renli said, “Jenai, come sit by Mama so Indy may have that seat. I imagine she’d be more comfortable by Rooke.”

“No, that’s alright. I can sit wherever,” I said.

“Nonsense, you should be able to sit by your partner,” Renli countered, wearing a teasing grin.

“We are not together,” Mr. Hawthorne said swiftly.

My throat ran dry, and I swallowed hard.

“Well, you needn’t say that so adamantly.

Indy here is a lovely girl, so if anyone should be insulted by the prospect, it’s her,” Renli continued teasingly.

She waved her hand, signaling for Jenai to come over, and she did.

That left one seat for me that I fell into without meeting Mr. Hawthorne’s gaze.

“I do not mean it disrespectfully,” he countered.

His words hurt nonetheless. Once more, my heart yearned for destruction.

Renli waved a hand toward me. “You should be saying that to her.”

“Miss Moore understands. She is a lovely girl, as you said, but we are colleagues.”

“And if you weren’t colleagues?”

I made the mistake of taking a drink and nearly spat it out.

“Renli,” Thea warned, though she couldn’t cease smiling over the rim of her tea cup.

“It’s a simple question. What about you, Indy?” Renli settled her elbows on the table and perched her chin on her folded hands. “If you weren’t colleagues, would you be interested in my sniveling little brother-in-law? ”

Mr. Hawthorne and I caught each other’s eye. My voice nearly betrayed me. He settled his attention on the cup in his hand, and I caught myself prior to a potential catastrophe.

“I can’t imagine him as anything other than a colleague, especially after what we’ve been through, and he’s not really my type,” I answered while risking another drink that did nothing to soothe my nerves.

“Her type being brawny men from the countryside,” he said. I refused to accept that he sounded annoyed. “Cease this inappropriate questioning. After all, Miss Moore has a partner waiting for her in Westshire.”

At the reminder of Baxter, my stomach clenched. “I wouldn’t say partner. It’s complicated, and he’s not that brawny. You’re taller than him and practically the same size.”

Mr. Hawthorne smiled far too much at that. “Implying that I am your type?”

“Do you want to be her type?” Renli winced after a thumping sound that I think was Mr. Hawthorne kicking her under the table.

“Have I mentioned lately how much I dislike you?” he snapped.

Renli sipped her tea. “You haven’t. Tell me more about your disdain.”

“Colt, your wife is the most vile creature the world has ever conceived.”

“I prefer my women vile and vicious,” Colt replied proudly. He and his wife toasted their tea and finished their cups in a gulp.

“Mama,” chided Mei. “You’re being mean again.”

“Your father was, too. Go after him,” Renli argued.

“I’m glad you’re visiting, Uncle Rooke, even if Mama and Papa are being mean,” said Jenai.

“Thank you. I am happy to have someone on my side,” Mr. Hawthorne said. “You have earned yourself a new dress. Next time you go into town, get whatever you like.”

“She does that already,” Virgil said around a booming laugh that shook me to the core .

I could have spent hours at Hawthorne Manor, listening to their stories.

Jenai enthusiastically shared her love for ballet and how she would be taking her first lesson next week.

Mr. Hawthorne gave his assurances to attend every recital.

Mei shared her interest in bugs, which I didn’t expect from any child, let alone one dolled up so beautifully.

Apparently, Renli and Colt struggled to keep her indoors and clean.

Virgil had been a cook, and though they had a chef at the estate, he continuously fumbled around in the kitchen.

Renli was a world-renowned cello player.

That was how she and Colt met, after a performance, and he has since taken up playing the violin.

Thea was more shy to admit her interest in painting, claiming she couldn’t possibly show anyone her work—although Virgil eagerly complimented her left and right until she was so flustered, she had to raise her voice to get him to stop.

Every moment spent with them was wonderful in the most agonizing of ways.

They reminded me of home, of Mom, of being around the girls and listening to them explain every detail of their days while Aunt Agnes laughed over breakfast. At some point, I had to excuse myself to the bathroom, where I cried.

I hadn’t been so determined to beat Carline than at that moment, hearing the Hawthornes laugh and bicker.

This was what I wanted more than anything, more time with my loved ones, to feel like I belonged at their side.

Carline offered luxury, and I couldn’t deny my desire for that, too, but it would never live up to this.

I returned to the dining room feeling full in ways I couldn’t explain. We ate and talked over lunch, spending a little over two hours there before Mr. Hawthorne made the disappointing call of our departure. The girls weren’t the only ones upset, though I did my best not to show it.

“Please, come again,” Thea said with her hand on mine. “Once this is all over, we could throw a congratulatory gathering with your aunt and cousins, too.”

“I’m sure they would love that,” I replied, even if I couldn’t imagine bringing them to a place like this, a world I could never give my family… a world Carline offered.

Everyone said their goodbyes. Mei and Jenai surprised me by offering hugs that I eagerly accepted.

Behind me, Colt fixed Mr. Hawthorne’s jacket like he was a parent rather than a brother.

He implied that Rooke should visit more.

Renli, on the other hand, outright stated it.

As much as they teased each other, it was clear they had nothing but respect for one another.

With that, we left the manor’s comfort and stepped onto the streets, where their butler flagged down a carriage.

The butler opened the door. I shivered when Mr. Hawthorne sat beside me rather than across.

His arm brushed mine, sending a jolt to the tip of my fingers.

Placing my hands in my lap, I stared ahead and said, “They’re fond of you, your family.

Colt and Renli are right: you need to visit more. The girls would clearly love it.”

He relaxed against the seat, one leg crossed over the other. “I imagine you must be upset with me for not doing so, considering your current situation.”

“I was, but family is complicated and our feelings toward them even more so. That I can understand perfectly. However, family is also precious, and yours adores you, and I know you adore them. You wouldn’t want to regret not being around more often one day.”

As I was starting to regret it. Being there, I thought of all the dinners I missed with my family.

The late nights I worked at the tavern, I came home to the girls asleep.

I thought we made up for it the next day when we talked over breakfast, but truthfully, our time was limited there, too.

The girls had school. Aunt Agnes and I had work.

We maneuvered around each other, and I pondered all the stories we hadn’t shared, that we may never share.

“I know.” He shifted and faced the window, a thoughtful look to his eyes. “I am the only artificer in my family. They gave up so much to ensure I received an education.”

An education deemed lesser, regardless of all the work the Hawthornes put into it. The thought left a vile taste in my mouth, and I found myself glaring out the window toward the castle steeples.

“I believe you have repaid them more than enough.” The house behind us said that. They lived well and found jobs better than before, but that didn’t settle the worry on Mr. Hawthorne’s face .

“Let us hope Professor Kumir and Otis have found something in our time away.” He didn’t say more, signaling the end of our conversation, even if I wanted to ask more, but he held his secrets close, and we were silent on the ride to the archives.