I straightened instinctively. Miss Ophelia, I presumed.
“Miss Ophelia, Captain Razzo…” Mr. Yulia’s gaze bounced between them before he gestured to Kenzo and I. “These are the Marshal’s guests from Braemont. And he has asked us to treat them kindly.”
Did he, though?
“Odd,” the one referred to as Captain Razzo mused, his sharp gaze resting intently on me. “He didn’t mention that he was expecting guests.”
“I don’t think he knew they were coming either,” Mr. Yulia murmured under his breath, low enough that it almost went unheard.
For some reason, the butler’s comment made the Captain’s lip twitch in amusement. “My uncle doesn’t usually open his door to uninvited guests, though. I’m really curious. What changed?”
Uncle?
I blinked at the guy. Callan had a nephew? Though the guy looked to be the same age as us, I still couldn’t believe Callan hada sister old enough to have a teenage son. I didn’t even know he had a sister at all.
Captain Razzo’s gaze slid to Kenzo, “So, what’s your name, goldie?”
Kenzo stared at him with a blank expression, his lips in a thin line. It appeared that he had no intention of answering the guy. Softly, I nudged him with my elbow.
“Kenzo,” he finally decided to reply, his gaze returning to his phone almost immediately.
“Kenzo.” The Captain tested the name, a smirk lifting the corner of his lips as he ran his dark eyes over Kenzo, who, might I add, wasn’t even giving him the eye of the day. “Cute.”
He chuckled softly, then his gaze shifted to me. “And you, red,” he said. “What’s your name?”
“Um, Elizabeth,” I replied, and from the corner of my eyes, I saw Kenzo raise a questioning brow at me using Elizabeth again.
“Elizabeth,” Captain Razzo mused, a familiar look crossing his features, as if he knew something I and everyone else on the table didn’t. “Nice.”
“But you can call me Beth.” I added casually, realising I didn’t like anyone else calling me Elizabeth other than Callan.
“Why?” His brow arched.
I blinked. “Um, cause Elizabeth is a bit wordy. And besides, my friend calls me Beth and I like it.”
A half-smirk tugged at his lips. “But I’m not your friend.”
Kenzo muttered an insulting comment under his breath, but the Captain only glanced at him with mild amusement.
“So what’s Callan’s relationship with them?” Miss Ophelia demanded in irritation, like she would pick us both up by our collar and fling us out if she could.
Captain Razzo leaned into his chair, looking far too entertained. “I wouldn’t know now, would I? Go ask him yourself. He’s your brother, after all.”
Brother, huh?
I released a frustrated sigh. So this was Callan’s sister too? Callan had two sisters and a nephew?
“He never told me he had a sister,” I murmured. “I mean, sisters.”
“Remember when I said you didn’t know him?” Kenzo whispered, leaning in. I drove my elbow into his ribs, harsh this time, causing a quiet wince from him. But he was right. He did mention it a few times that I didn’t know Callan.
“This doesn’t make any sense,” Ophelia looked beyond troubled by our mere presence. If she could turn us to dust or make us disappear in a puff of smoke, she would.
“When it comes to him, nothing has to make sense to you,” the Captain scoffed. “I thought you knew this already?”
“Still,” Ophelia pressed, lifting a spoon into her hand, then dragging her plate closer to her. “This is Callan we are talking about. He is supposed to hate people. How could he have friends?” The wordfriendssounded foreign on her tongue as she turned to me with a sneer.
“Sorry, do you have a problem with us or something?” The question was out before I could stop it. But I was severely getting irritated by the second. What was the woman’s problem, anyway?
