Page 62 of My Fae Lady

“And when I do, I’ll fly you wherever you want to go. They’ll be yours, too.”

I laughed and tried not to let any tears leak out. “You won’t drop me?”

“Never. I’d have to let go to drop you, and that’s the one thing I’ll never do.”

To the darkness with getting up and worrying about the future. I kissed my husband, holding onto him as tightly as I could.

The future would still exist in an hour. Or two.

Twenty-Four

Giselle

⊱❀⊰

I waited until Sylvan disappeared through the archway at the heart of the manor. There was one aspect of the future only I could deal with, and it would be easier on us both if I did it while my husband was busy trying to assess the damage to House.

It took longer than I expected to pull together the travel pack. House knew whom it was for and didn’t want to cooperate. Which meant I was right and my father was still lurking nearby. Probably trying to find a way back inside.

“If I can’t give Father supplies, I’ll worry, and then I’ll probably cry, and then Sylvan will be angry, and he will figure out a way to strangle you. Besides, the sooner you give me the items I ask for, the sooner Father will be on his way and you never have to open the door to him again.”

He could learn to send letters—or messenger stones if he stayed in Faerie—and we could arrange to see each other in Windonbury in the future. I wouldn’t subject Sylvan or House to having Father as a guest. Maybe it would do him good to realize he couldn’t just remember me when it was convenient, and he had to actually work to maintain a relationship.

Maybe it would do me good as well to remember that I deserved consideration.

House finally gave me a pack that contained all the supplies I had requested, and I slung it over my shoulder. I exited the kitchen and followed the twisting hall House provided me. It ended at a narrow door. I heard the lock click, and the door swung open.

My father, a halo of Seelie magic around him—so strong even I could see it without my lens—stood on the other side. The blue glow winked the instant he noticed the open door. Then he saw me. “Giselle! You’ve come to your senses? Did that bastard trick you? Let me in, and I’ll deal with him.”

I sighed. Why was it that Father believed I was the one who had been used instead of realizing I had been using Sylvan? I ignored the fact that my husband had actually attempted to double-cross me. He hadn’t succeeded in stealing the manor, after all. “Like our ancestors dealt with him? Stealing his home, cutting off his wings, and entombing him in a tree?”

“He’s Unseelie, Giselle.”

“And you’re Seelie, and I’m a mix of human and fae. Since when is blood a crime?”

My father’s brow furrowed. “Do you actually care for him?”

“I love him, Father. Didn’t I make that clear yesterday?”

“I assumed he had tricked you. An Unseelie as old as he is—”

“I’m not a child. I can look after myself, even when faced with an ancient Unseelie. As you should realize, as you’ve left me to look after myself for longer than you’ve spent with me. So, go, Father. I’ve already kept Rook Manor out of Cousin Douglas’s hands; I will protect it from you, too.” I held out the pack. “This is the most I can offer you.”

“What does Douglas have to do with anything?”

“Go to Windonbury and find out. They’ve probably declared you dead at this point. If you actually care about keeping your title, you’ll need to prove yourself alive to the solicitors soon. Though if you are going to keep gallivanting off, maybe you should just let Douglas become duke.”

“I only kept the title as long as I did for you, Giselle. I was waiting for you to marry before handing the title and estate over to my idiot of a cousin.”

I started crying again. Drat it, I hadn’t shed a tear for years, and here I was crying nonstop. Magical experiments were so much easier to handle than emotions. The door rattled, House about to slam it in the face of the fae who had caused my tears. I’d never realized that was why Father hadn’t abdicated, even though he’d had no interest in human society after Mother died.

This was the father I’d missed. He’d always loved me. Wanted the best for me.

When he remembered.

“Well, I’m married now, Father. You can disappear into Deep Faerie and know I am safe.”

“This is goodbye, then? You insist on staying here, despite the house no longer being controlled by Seelie magic?”