“Diana,” Temple said, squeezing her shoulder and leaning low to speak near her ear, “this is my family.”He straightened.“Family, this is Diana.Miss Smith.”
Sybil groaned.Loudly.The roll of her eyes was just as loud.
The older gentleman near the back of the crowded entryway seemed to vibrate.He wore a smile so bright it rivaled the floating orbs in the lawn.His face was shaped the same as Temples, though more lines creased it, and while his thick hair still possessed signs it had once been Temple’s color, it was now more white than anything else.He shouldered his way to the front of the crowd—an easy enough task for a man as big as him—and spread his arms wide when he stood before Diana.
“It is a marvel to meet you!”He wrapped her in a hug.
And Diana almost died.Hugs.This familyhugged.Her family had never hugged.She could not remember being hugged more than twice in all her life, and now she was being hugged by a near stranger after having hugged that stranger’s son the night before.It was strange, but… nice.
“Father,” Temple rumbled, “do not suffocate her.”
Temple’s father released her, and Diana felt… a little sad about it.
Not that she had time to feel sad about anything or to feel anything at all.Other than overwhelm.
Because the room had erupted into total chaos.
The older woman near the back clucked.“Temple, dear, that was not a proper introduction.Do try again.”
“I’m Hell,” a boy and a girl said from the side of the room.
Ominous, that.
“Should have thought through those names.”The older woman shook her head, years of regret in the brackets around her mouth but much mirth, too.
“Helen and Helios,” the older man explained.“Fine names.They’re imps.Pay them no mind.”
Two younger girls were clapping and chatting so quickly into one another’s ears, their conversation sounded like squawking birds—high-pitched and incomprehensible.A young boy pulled on Temple’s arm, and when Temple bent down to listen to him, he whispered, “Can I show her my trick with the wires?”
Temple ruffled the boy’s hair.“I’m sure she’d like that.”
A tug on Diana’s skirt dropped her attention to the floor right in front of her.
A child stood there, looking up at her with a hard, unblinking stare.
“That’s Ajax,” Temple whispered.“Do not make any sudden movements.He’s feral.”
“Aaah.Yes.Good evening, Ajax.”Diana dipped a slow and meticulous curtsy.
The room hushed.
And Ajax sniffed, loud and long, dragging his wrist under his nose and holding her gaze the entire time.He shifted his attention from her to his wrist, then he wiped whatever he found there in a long line down her skirts.
A communal inhalation seemed to suck the air from the room.Everyone held their breath.Except for Ajax, who peered at Diana, waiting.
“Thank you?”Diana said.
The boy grinned and ran off, and the room exhaled in a rush.The older man who must be Temple’s father grasped her arm and pulled her into another room.The crowd broke apart as she was pulled through it, its members dispersing to various corners and tasks.
Temple’s father sat her in a comfortable chair near a window.“For air, dear.We can be quite suffocating.Don’t want you to faint.”
“She’s fine, Charles,” the woman called from another room.“Don’t fuss.”
Temple took up residence beside Diana’s chair, one hip popped out to rest against the windowsill.He crossed his arms over his chest and suppressed a smile.“Diana, this is my father, Mr.Grant.The woman worried about fussing and regretting her life decisions is my mother, Mrs.Grant.You know Sybil.The imps are Helios and Helen.The snot receptacle is Ajax.You seem to have won his approval.”
Mr.Grant frowned.“She’ll need a new gown, Temple.To replace this one.I’m not certain even thorough washing will cleanse it.”
Temple pointed to two girls playing cards in a corner.“The chatterboxes are Althea and Artemis.I’ve another brother, Hesperus, but he’s not here.Busy with his apprenticeship in Germany.I think that’s everyone.”
