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“Stay with Gavina, sweetheart.” Jamison carried the girl to her aunt and handed her over. “I must speak with your da for a bit.” He glanced at me. “In private.”
Though pouting, Mirren allowed Gavina to whisk her out of the office.
I stayed put.
Callen’s electric blues leveled on me. “Go with them and remember my rules.” Any hint of softness had evaporated. “Behave.”
Did the king and prince plan to discuss Tavish? I sooo wanted to listen in, but considering my own treachery, I shouldn’t make waves right now. But that didn’t mean Ishould accept troublesome behaviors. Until I made my escape, I had to live with this man. Best not to tolerate too much alphaness.
“I make no promises,” I said and blew him a kiss.
A muscle tick migrated from under his eye to his jaw. In other words, my work here was done. Head high, I strolled off, bringing the book with me.
Only a few steps outside the office, I picked up an entourage of two. Buzz and Ponytail claimed their spots, one in front of me, the other behind. They herded me down a twisting hallway and into a sitting area. We passed many other guards along the way. Had they come with Jamie?
“Thanks for the assist, guys.” I scanned my new surroundings. Standard waiting room decor. Potted plants. Easily forgettable framed artwork on the wall, not a heart-ripping in sight. Serviceable couch and armchair that didn’t invite any lingering.
What wasn’t standard? The armed guards standing throughout, some positioned against the wall, staring straight ahead, others peering out the windows, on the hunt for approaching intruders. Gavina and Mirren occupied a plush leather couch. The doll rested in Mirren’s lap as she pretended to read from an upside-down book.
Pass up this opportunity to learn more about her and this life? No. I eased into the chair across from the couch. “When you finish your book, we can get to know each other,” I suggested.
“No, thanks,” Mirren replied, not even bothering to glance up. “I have other plans.”
Gavina winced and turned the book around. “She means you no harm, Mrs. Bruce. She’s had a tough day. First Mr. Bird failed to show up for our morning tea, then there was the bathroom incident.”
The little girl’s lips parted. “You promised not to tell that part.”
Another cringe from Gavina. “My apologies, dear heart.”
Bathroom incident? Been there. “Please, call me Elle,” I invited Mirren. I understood the little girl’s problem with me in a way Gavina might not. My mother had started dating a year after my dad’s death, and in my immaturity, I’d been gutted. I’d lashed out in ways that now embarrassed me. “What’s your book about?”
“Stuff.” Giving a huff, Mirren stood and strode to the other side of the room, where she sank into the only extra plush chair that might have been made especially for her. Blue fabric with pink and yellow flowers.
Message received. I wasn’t welcome. Which I totally understood as well. To Mirren, I was the stranger who’d married her father. She feared losing his affections and hoped to protect herself. Considering Isobel’s awful personality, I should probably encourage distance between us. But dang it, I had a heart. And questions.
Did berserkers have more than one fated mate? How were Callen and Jamie related?
“Elle is a lovely name,” Gavina offered, hesitant but smiling.
She was the first person to use the nickname, and I appreciated her for it. “Has Mirren been living with you?”
“She has.” Gavina fidgeted with the hem of her dress. “I’ve enjoyed every moment. Well, almost every moment. The cryin’ episodes when Mr. Bird doesn’t show up…” She shuddered.
I’d dealt with many a crying episode in class. “Mr. Bird?”
She laughed and cringed simultaneously. “Any blue jay who visits our feeder.”
The cozy mystery lover in me put a couple of clues together. Gavina seemed to more than tolerate my company. She’d even defended me to the little girl. Which meant she’d never had the displeasure of meeting Isobel. There was a good chance she hadn’t heard any gossip either. That could mean Gavina was kept closeted away, cut off from the rest of the world.
Was she a berserker’s prisoner, same as me? Did she even know about berserkers? Did the child? For that matter, wasMirrena berserker?
“I live here in the city, a few streets over,” she continued, “so Callen comes by before and after work to eat snacks and dinner with us. He’s able to take her to and from school as well.”
Ah. Okay. No wonder he’d been absent from the castle so often. The question was, why did he ever eat breakfast at the castle at all? In hopes of bumping into his new wife?
Why did the thought intrigue me? “What grade is she in?”
The other woman double blinked, as if I’d said something I shouldn’t.
