“Alexander,” Margaret said, handing him his case and pressing a quick kiss to his cheek. “Behave, and stop embarrassing your friend.”
Unsure what to make of the fact I only registered as Alex’s friend, I offered to order her a drink. That, at least, won a slightly approving smile.
“So come on, Aunt Margaret, tell us what happened when you returned to the house? Was it threats of flaming or repressed fury and stiff upper lips?” Alex was asking as I joined them again. “My bet’s on stiff upper lips.”
“Neither. Quite a let-down, though in fact I’m glad of the lack of drama. There was no sign of James or Steven when we returned,” Margaret said. “Merely our packed cases piled in the hall, and a message delivered by an apologetic Taylor that there had been a family emergency and they could no longer accommodate us. I think James must have messaged Anna while we were on the boat, because she disappeared upstairs without a word.”
Margaret leaned forward to snag a chip out of the bowl Alex had in front of him. “I plan on getting a train back this evening, so the others are heading for the station. Dan wanted to stay with Rose’s family, but I’m not leaving anyone in Bath on their own. Not at the moment. They’ll have to use Skype like everyone else.”
The world tipped around me. Alex couldn’t leave.
“Nate and I are set for the night here,” Alex said.
“Yes, well, it appears you have Abimelech Mortimer’s protection, so I have few qualms about leavingyouhere,” she allowed. “But before I go, I want the full story rather than the somewhat disjointed highlights reel I got earlier.”
Even though she didn’t seem too keen on me, I liked Margaret. I could see where Alex’s straightforwardness came from.
I recounted my part of what had happened, and Alex followed with his perspective. It was the first I’d heard of his fight with Steven, which he’d somehow left out earlier, and I grabbed his hand, not knowing how I hadn’t noticed the cut on his thumb. Itwas scabbing over, and the thumb didn’t look as if it was going to drop off anytime soon. Pressing a small kiss to it, I released it again, only to find Margaret looking at me.Shit.I’d forgotten we had an audience.
Her eyebrows rose slightly, and then she told Alex to continue. I think he’d spent too much of his life dreaming of those myths and legends he talked about, because he made my attempt to get James to let him go sound like some sort of heroic sacrifice. When he reached Bim’s dramatic entrance, Margaret turned to me.
“What brought him to Bath, today of all days?”
That had been easy for me to work out, knowing my grandfather the way I did. “I told him about Steven’s machinations. Bim needed to stop him in his tracks—what else might Steven be willing to do that could have catastrophic consequences for us all? I told Bim yesterday, so I imagine he spent the rest of the day arranging for the hacks on the Fortescue bank. It would appeal to him to arrive when the attacks were in progress, thereby ensuring maximum humiliation.”
“I see.”
I waited for her to ask what would happen to Steven and was deeply relieved when she didn’t. I was carefully not thinking about it.
“It’s not precisely the way I’d envisaged our visit to Bath going, but at least we’re out of it with wings unsinged. It sounds as if the Fortescues aren’t going to be in a position to make any more trouble for quite some time.”
“You don’t think they’ll drop down a social level and start whipping up antagonism against the first three families?” Alex asked.
“Alex, dear, you’re too idealistic. I’d bet my bottom dollar that the dragons just below the top tier are going to be jostling for a chance to replace the Fortescues. The last thing they’d risk wouldbe offending Abimelech Mortimer.” She looked at me. “If you don’t mind me saying, you don’t seem much like your grandfather.”
I was unsure whether or not that was an insult.
She stood, and Alex and I followed suit. “I need to leave if we’re going to catch a train that’ll get us in before midnight.”
“We’ll drive down tomorrow,” Alex said. “If that’s okay?”
Margaret said nothing and a frown furrowed her brow. Suddenly, I could scarcely breathe. What if her disapproval meant she wouldn’t allow me on Teague territory? I couldn’t see how Alex and I could stay together if that happened. He’d never be completely happy away from Cornwall, and I didn’t want to be the reason for his unhappiness.
She turned to me and put out her hand. “Welcome to the family, Nate.”
Alex gasped. I shook her hand, confused yet delighted by her unexpected turnaround. “Thank you.”
We saw Margaret off in a taxi into the cold Bath night. Back in the brightly lit hotel lobby, we looked at one another.
“Blimey,” Alex said, and I couldn’t stop laughing.
ALEX
The thing that Nate didn’t know about Aunt Margaret was that she had a gift for seeing things before they happened. She couldn’t control it, and it had only struck a handful of times. But I couldn’t think of another reason for her to have said what she had.
I was almost trembling with the knowledge that Nate and I were going to be together long-term. I loved Nate more than I’d thought was possible. And seeing the laughter on his face now, thehappiness in him, I wanted him more than I’d wanted anything, ever. This must be what full dragons felt for their treasure.
I leaned in and kissed him slowly, gently, hoping he could feel my love for him. Just in case he couldn’t, I said it. “I love you.”
