“The young lady my son married in a wedding dress meant for another groom by our rather displeased family priest,” she interrupts, looking me over thoroughly. After a painfully long moment, she nods to the couch. “Do have a seat.”
Elspeth MacTavish is a smaller woman, slender, elegant in a blue Yves Saint Laurent suit and silvered blonde hair. Cameron has her perfectly sculpted nose and jawline, though his height clearly comes from his father.
“In all fairness, none of that was my plan, ma’am,” I say, smoothing my skirt over my knees and finding more cat hair.
To my shock, she chuckles lightly. “Yes, that would be Cameron, the boy never stood on ceremony.”
Smiling uneasily, I wait as she assumes the role of hostess and makes me a cup of tea. “So, how are you settling in?”
“Miss Kevin has been very kind and helpful,” I flounder a bit. “Cameron is busy in Morocco as we speak, but I’m hoping he’ll be home tonight.”
Why isn’t that evil prick here now instead of leaving me alone with his mother?
She eyes me over her teacup. “You sound surprisingly warm when you speak of my son, given the origins of your relationship.”
“Well, it comes and goes,” I admit without thinking.
This makes her laugh, even if she looks a little surprised that she’s amused. “My second-born can be infuriating upon occasion, but he has a good heart and he is very loyal to those who are loyal to him.”
“Can you tell me why he hates my father’s Bratva so much?” I ask, circling the teacup on the plate. “It has to be a horrible thing to risk so much.”
“That, I will not say. You will have to get the story from Cameron.”
“He won’t tell me,” I say despondently.
“Then you’ll have to continue asking him.” She’s crisp and getting on the chilly side, so I hastily change the subject.
At the end of an excruciating hour of being interrogated about everything from my education to my immunizations, she rises. “Walk me to the door.”
“Of course, Lady MacTavish.”
Her bodyguard opens the door for her as she settles her purse on her arm. “We’ll be having Sunday dinner at the estate. The rest of the family is understandably curious about you. I will tell them all to be on their best behavior. None of them will be.”
I bite back a smile. “I understand. Thank you, ma’am.”
She looks me over one last time, her head slightly cocked. “You did not get your father’s looks.”
“No,” I say fervently. “I’m told I resemble my mother.”
“That is fortunate.” Her eyes move to the elaborate koi pond in front of the house. “What happened to the koi? They were quite rare and exotic creatures.”
My gaze follows hers to see all of Cameron’s wildly expensive fish, floating belly-up in the pond. He loves feeding those little guys, I’d seen him out there every evening.
Oh, my god,I think, feeling horrible.The Curse of the Ivanov’s has made me a goldfish murderess.
Lady Elspeth gives the poor fish corpses one more disapproving look. “Well, goodbye.”
I stand on the wide granite steps, waving goodbye politely and as her car turns onto the street, I abruptly sit down. She is terrifying. A tiny, terrifying tornado of a woman.
It is not five minutes later that the gate opens again and Cameron gets out of one of the Range Rovers.
“A nice welcome, wife, though not expected,” he grins, his lecherous gaze moving up and down my body.
“It’s not foryou,your mother just left.”
His eyes widened. “Ma was here? I’ll be damned. How did it go?”
“It would have gone better if you had been here!” I want to smack his arm but we’re still outside and I don’t know if that’s against the rules for my crime lord husband’s image. “She told me that we’re coming to Sunday dinner at the estate, that - and I quote - ‘the rest of the family wants to get a look at me.’”
