We hadn’t come up with that.
It was a stroke of brilliance!
“He had someone watching us, and if we should try to reachout to another, or attempt escape, something I gathered my daughter with me todo, we’d be punished by being brought back and having something we neededdearly taken away.Satrinegetting new clothing whenshe was growing, our allotted flour for the month so we had no bread, no oilfor our lamps so we had no light, fuel for our fires, that sort of thing.”
She sniffed, like the next memory overwhelmed her.
“We had a kind husband and wife who provided us provisions.They did not hide they felt most sorry for our plight.They spoke the languageof the Vale, and we could often convince them to sit for some tea, a quick gameoftubleor enjoy an afternoon dram.”
Dram?
“But they were sent to us by him, and those were the onlyinteractions for which we did not earn a harsh rebuke.”Her voice changed likeshe was uttering an afterthought.“And we did make friends with a few lonelyroamers.”
She came back to herself, thankfully didn’t wander down the“lonely roamers” path, and her tone turned downcast.
“And regrettably, Edgar felt it was his duty to visit on arare occasion.However, it had been veritableyearssince we’d seenhim.We suspected that perhaps our confinement was over.He had forgotten us,and we could make moves to be free.We’d begun devising plans to sally forthand find our way on our own, without his meagre support.However, with hisusual dastardly timing, he arrived some months past and demandedSatrinestand in Maxine’s stead for her betrothal.Obviously”—she lifted her nose—“we declined.”She then turned to Loren andmurmured, “No offense, your grace.”
“None taken, my lady,” Loren murmured back.
I returned to pressing my lips together.
Mom returned to the inspector.
“I hope you don’t need me to share in detail the indignitieswe suffered as Edgar made clear he did not accept our declination, and all thatcame after.I will just say, right here and now, regardless of the trauma, itwas worth every moment tofinallyhaveboth my girls.Do whatyou must to him.We’re together.So we have everything we need.”
She sat back, eyes still set on the inspector, and I foughtthe need to jump to my feet and shout “Brava!”
The unknown-until-now twin thing, check.
The mom-fake-death thing, (kinda)check.
Dad-not-Dad being a total asshole, check.
Us not knowing how to speakFleuridian,check.
Us possibly not behaving like your average ladies, check.
Playing the weak, defenseless female card without any realweakness, check.
I shouldn’t have worried.
Mom always had it going on.
I didn’t get those As for nothing, that’s all I was saying.
The inspector opened his mouth to speak.
And the door flew open, slamming against the wall.
We all jumped, and I felt the heat of Loren’s body suddenlyat my back.
But Carling swooped in, followed by two men in roughclothing, one well-built and rather good-looking, one slender and tall, with akind face.
They were followed by a red-faced, angry constable.
“We will be heard!”Carling declared.
“Carling, what on earth?”Mom asked, and hopefully it wasonly me who heard the nervousness threading her tone.
