I pull Finn’s blanket back over him and smooth Liam’s hair away from his forehead. Neither stirs. Then I go to my own room, close the door, and try to pretend my hands aren’t shaking.
I’m in the sitting room with Nadia the following afternoon, half listening to her talk about enrolling the twins in a private school nearby, when Helena appears in the doorway holding a massive arrangement. Roses, peonies, something white and fragrant I don’t recognize. Easily three dozen stems in a crystal vase.
“These just arrived for you,” Helena says.
Nadia’s face lights up. “Oh, how beautiful! Who are they from?”
I already know.
I take the card from Helena before Nadia can reach for it, opening the envelope as my heart races.
I can still taste you. - C
Heat floods my face. I close the card quickly and slip it into my pocket. “Just a friend,” I say, trying to keep my voice level. “From before I left.”
“A very generous friend,” Nadia says, leaning in to smell the roses. “These must have cost a fortune.”
“I’ll have Helena put them in my room.”
“Don’t be silly. They’re gorgeous. Leave them here where everyone can enjoy them.”
Before I can argue, Finn and Liam burst into the room, fresh from the back yard where they’ve been playing with one of the staff members.
“Mam, look!” Finn shouts, holding up a frog he’s somehow captured. “Can we keep him?”
“Absolutely not.”
“But he’s lonely!”
“He has a whole pond full of friends outside. Put him back.”
Liam has stopped to stare at the flowers. “Who sent those?”
“A friend.”
“What friend?”
“Someone I used to know.”
“They’re pretty!” Finn says, finally noticing the arrangement now that Liam is interested.
“Very pretty,” Nadia says. “Come smell them.”
Finn abandons his frog on the floor and runs over. The frog hops away, and Liam chases it while Finn buries his face in the flowers and declares they smell “like Mam’s fancy soap.” I watch them, and all I can think about is the note burning a hole in my pocket.
Cassian sent these to my home. To the Vance estate. He knows where I live, knows I’m here with my family, and he’s making it very clear that he hasn’t forgotten about last night.
“Mam, can I have a flower for my room?” Finn asks.
“No, baby. Let’s leave them here.”
“But I want one!”
“Finn,” Nadia says gently, “how about we pick some flowers from the garden instead? We can put them in a vase just for you.”
Finn considers this. “Okay. But big ones.”
“The biggest we can find.”
