Chapter 13
“Nothing is more powerful than the love of a man for his child.”
- Lady of Keys
Themorning broughtblushes and shy smiles, at least from me. Justin had more of a smirk even if his eyes were gentler than I could ever recall before.
“Morning, my little wren,” he whispered.
Groggily, I registered a kiss on my forehead before he slid out of bed. I could get used to this kind of attention. Sadly, I doubted it would last.
“Good morning,” I muttered, still bleary. I’m not the fastest waker. My morning routine is conducted in proper stages with appropriate cups of tea.
I might have a bit of an obsession.
“I’ll get the kettle on. Love you.” Justin kissed the top of my head and attempted to smooth down my fluffy hair.
“Love you too,” I whispered. He paused midstep but didn’t turn back.
I sighed. Those words were difficult for me to say. I don’t know what I would have done if he wanted to discuss our feelings. I splashed water on my face, then dressed. With each layer of clothing, my level of awareness rose from full zombie to half human. By the time I made it to the kitchen, I could recognize most of the things around me and only stumbled three times on the stairs. I would make an excellent nocturnal creature. Maybe I should be an owl instead of a wren.
“Here you go.”
I accepted the cup of tea along with the patronizing pat on the head. I didn’t even bite him. “You made tea? I didn’t know you could operate a stove.” It was a bit mean of me but completely truthful. Dukes weren’t known for their domestic talents.
“I have hidden depths,” he drawled.
My dubious expression was a reply on its own.
“I make tea sometimes,” he defended.
I snorted. “Sorry. Of course, you do.” I sipped my tea before he could take it away.
“Let’s have breakfast at the manor,” he proposed.
“Why?”
“Because your cupboards are empty, and your bread has questionable spots.”
“Hmm.” I tried to remember the last time I went to the bakery. “I’ve been busy.”
“You’re always busy. That doesn’t mean you shouldn’t take time to eat. You’re too thin as it is.”
“You weren’t complaining last night.” I sulked.
Justin cupped my cheek. His kiss gentle and brief. “I’m not complaining now. I’m worried. You get distracted and don’t eat enough.”
I stepped back and licked my lips to absorb his taste. “You have enough to be worried about without including me. I can take care of myself.” I didn’t mention the price of food. The rich had plenty. Even with my profitable business, there were times that food prices were too high to afford more than the basics. One of the many reasons I envied the City of Magic with its plentiful gardens. Maybe I could make a monthly field trip to sneak some greens.
“You’ve been taking care of yourself for too long. It’s time to let someone else take care of you.” Justin’s fond gaze eased the knot in my stomach. We would never be on equal political, social, or even economic footing. That didn’t mean I wanted to be less than a partner in our romantic relationship. However, Justin’s sincere words struck a chord. No one had ever voluntarily taken care of me or wanted the job.
I compromised. “We can take care of each other.”
“Deal.”
I kissed Justin’s cheek, then gulped down the rest of my tea. Heat pooled in my empty stomach. “Let’s go and check on your baby. I’ll take care of the dishes later.” I ignored the stack of cups filling the sink belying my words.
We walked to an intersection and Justin waved down a carriage. As the carriage took us closer to our destination, we made small talk while my mind whirled at the implications of babies being born with mechanical defects. Would using my magic on the baby cause more harm than good? We still don’t know if Buster was cured, or where he had been taken. The search for Buster had come to a dead end without any further clues over the identity of his captors.
