CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO

 

A tizzy of activity permeated the house. My grandmother had enjoyed entertaining and invited people to dinner once or twice a week. However, unlike most Sidhe, I was not that social. I hadn't had guests in for a formal dinner party since moving into the new Manor House.

Shamus bustled about, his wiry hair standing on end, making sure the household was in order. Though he grumbled that the guests would surely track in the snow, the spring in his step told another story.

Jenny lit up when I asked her to prepare the meal, at once reeling off menu ideas. We settled on Beef Wellington with a Madeira sauce and bacon-wrapped asparagus; I left her to work out the rest of the details.

I changed into a violet sheath dress with three-quarter length sleeves. Then I sat at my dressing table, brushing out my hair. I watched in the mirror as Alexander put on a fresh, crisply ironed button-down shirt and a dark suit. Even he seemed pleased with the plans, so much so he allowed me to invite Sloan to join us.

"We haven't done this in a while. It reminds me of happy times with Órlaith," he said. "It's too bad my dad never got to meet her. I think they would've liked each other."

He looked content, cheerful even. I thought about the conversation I overheard that morning. If Mrs. Davis's desire to push Holly toward her idea of a normal life was so gravely misguided, I had to admit that, no matter how good my intentions were, I was equally wrong.

I wanted to tell him I had changed my mind. I'd thought that in putting him off I was being selfless and self-sacrificing, but now I understood that it was selfish. He had a right to decide what happiness looked like to him.

He turned and smiled at me. "You look gorgeous, as always."

Then he pulled me to my feet and wrapped his arms around me. He left a trail of kisses along my neck before taking in a deep breath.

"And you smell fabulous too," he said into my hair. He kissed my lips, tenderly at first and then deeply. "Sometimes I can't believe my luck."

Now, I told myself. Now was the perfect time to say the words that danced in my head. Then the doorbell rang. I sighed—it would have to wait. Instead, I settled for saying, "I love you."

He smiled that big contagious smile I love so well. "People are arriving; we should go downstairs."

He slipped into his shoes while I checked myself in the mirror. Noticing a lack of accessories, I found a scarf to compliment my dress, wrapping it around my neck and pinning it in place with an antique cameo brooch carved from white onyx. Together we left our bedroom suite to greet our guests.

 

Shamus, wearing his starched black butler's suit, his wiry hair slicked back, opened the front door as we descended the stairs. Matt stood outside, his phone to his ear. He tapped his feet on the doorsill to remove the snow that clung to his shoes as he ended the call. Then he crossed the threshold and wiped them on the floor mat Shamus had placed there.

"Mattie, where's Allison?" I asked, disappointed he was alone.

"She just called," he said, shaking his phone to illustrate his point. "She asked me to apologize, but the roads are a mess. A foot of snow has fallen already, and it's still coming down."

He swept a hand toward the snow outside. The blanket of white created a serene and hushed scene that normally I would have appreciated. However, this particular evening it had every probability of ruining my first real dinner party.

"Mistress Tressa, Miss Holly is waiting for you in the drawing-room with Mr. John Mannus," Shamus said. The crotchety Brounie looked pleased to be playing the part of the proper butler again.

"Thank you, Shamus. We'll wait with her until the others arrive," I said, matching his formality.

I picked up my phone from a table in the foyer. I had several texts and voicemails waiting, confirming my suspicion that everyone would cancel.

"Jenny has insisted on keeping Trayce during dinner so that Holly can enjoy her food. She will feed the baby. Ms. Sophia has chosen to eat in the kitchen as well," Shamus said. "I am sure that the hound is also there. Jenny can't seem to make it leave." Shamus scrunched his nose in disapproval.

We entered the drawing room to find Holly attempting to soothe an agitated John.

"I need to go home but I can't find my car. Just tell me, where it is," John said angrily. He stood at the window, watching the falling snow.

"But Mr. Mannus, you live here now," Holly said. She sat on the sofa, legs crossed and facing toward him. Confusion lined her face; she hadn't spent much time around John and had no other experience with dementia.

John's face got red as he blustered heatedly-Holly had said the wrong thing.

"I'm not an idiot, young lady. I know where I live, and it's not here. My wife will come home soon and she'll expect me to be there. Somebody better tell me where my car is!"

"It's okay, Dad. There's no need to get upset," Alexander said as we entered the room. John's eyes lit up when he saw his son.

"Steve, thank goodness you're here. I have to go home. Neve will be back soon, and with this bad weather I gotta get a move on it. I want to be there when she gets back."

"Where did she go?" Holly asked innocently.

John swung his head toward her; a devastating sadness filled his eyes. Then he fell back into a leather chair next to the window.

"She left. She said she had to visit a few friends—take care of a few things at home. But she promised she would come back… I've been waiting for her for so long."

Sophia came in at that moment, followed by Lady. Shamus chased behind the dog, trying to stop her. When he reached the drawing-room door he stopped abruptly, stood tall, and yanked the bottom of his jacket to smooth out any wrinkles. "I'm sorry, My Lady. The dog slipped out when Sophia left the kitchen."

Sophia ran to her grandfather and hugged him, sensing his sadness. Lady whined and pushed her nose under his hand. After the dog's second nudge, John began to stroke her head.

"It's fine," I said, observing how much calmer John appeared. "I think she's helping bring the situation under control."

This pacified Shamus's indignation at having an animal in the house. He bowed slightly at the waist and backed out of the room as the front doorbell rang again.

Alexander went to his father and crouched down until he was eye to eye with the older man. John pulled Sophia into his lap and smiled at Alexander.

"Dad, what did you say just then—about Mom?" he asked, almost in a whisper.

"Hmm?"

"You said something—something I haven't heard before."

"Son, I don't know what you're talking about. We've been over and over the days leading up to your mother's disappearance. Enough already."

Holly gasped quietly, covering her mouth with her hand. 'I'm sorry,' she mouthed, assuming she had done something wrong. However, her question had evidently elicited a response from John with some new information that Alexander had picked up on—though I had not.

"You said something about Mom going home," Alexander said.

I thought back to our conversation with Deirdre. She had told us that Neve went back to the Human World, but later she also said Neve was "going home." We had both assumed that home and the Human World had been the same thing. Could she have meant two different places?

"Alexander, I told you all this before. She had a few things to take care of," John said, perplexed.

"But just now, you said she went home."

"Did I?"

"Maybe she was talking about going to see her parents. I do that," Matt interjected. Everyone turned to look at him. He shrugged, embarrassed by the sudden attention. "You know? I say something like 'I'm going home for the weekend' when I plan to visit my folks, even though I haven't lived there for years."

Alexander and I exchanged an excited glance as Shamus ushered Sloan into the room.

"We need to go back to the Otherworld," I said, acknowledging what we were both thinking.

"If you're going to Faery, I'm going too," Sloan declared, not even bothering with hello.

 

ALEXANDER

 

I lost track of the conversation as my mind whirled. At first I cursed myself for not making the connection earlier, but I quickly left that thought behind. Blaming myself wasn't productive.

During my first trip to the Otherworld I had fought battles by acting on instinct. I had prevailed in the end, but I had promised myself that I wouldn't go into battle blind like that again. Hopefully this would be a peaceful visit, but you never knew.

We had only been back in the Human World for a month—not much time at all. Even so, by constantly wearing and exercising with the sword it had become an extension of myself. When I had wielded it against the Gray Man, I merely had to think about what I wanted the sword to do and it happened.

My research showed that warfare in the Otherworld comprised of battling with swords, spears, dragons, and any special abilities the players might possess. The Seelie used whistles to communicate during battle. I had committed them to memory and practiced regularly to keep them fresh in my mind.

The one armament I lacked was a shield. I had seen how important shields were to deflect Dragon fire.

"Xander, Shamus has called us to dinner."

Tressa's voice brought me back to the present. Sophia and the dog had left while my thoughts distracted me. Everyone else was heading towards the dining room. I jumped up and met Tressa at the door, giving her my arm. We followed our guests down the hall.

"Everyone cancelled?" I asked. Holly was the only one present who didn't live on the estate.

"Aye. They all apologized, but the forecast is for more snow. They were afraid of the drive home," said Tressa.

"I'm sorry your party didn't work out. But maybe it's for the best, under the circumstances. This way we can make plans over dinner."

Tressa nodded, but looked wistfully around the dining room when we entered. Shamus had done wonders with the room. He had extended the table with several leaves and used the fine china, crystal and silver to set place settings for over a dozen people.

The six of us sat together at one end of the table. My father, catty-corner from me, chatted with Matt. He sounded surprisingly lucid after his earlier meltdown.

"Dad, I'm going away tomorrow. I don't know how long I'll be gone."

"Another hunting trip?" he asked. Then he spoke to Sloan, across from him. "Did you know my son's a rock hunter?"

"The expression is rock hound, Dad," I said.

I took a deep breath. I lied to my father constantly these days. Small white lies to keep him calm and content in his confusion. Although I understood the necessity, it still didn't sit right with me. But I couldn't imagine any scenario were being honest in this case would be helpful.

"Yeah, I'm going on another expedition."

Shamus came in and served the salad. I hadn't realized how hungry I was until I started eating. I grabbed a roll from the breadbasket in front of me, broke it open and spread a generous amount of butter over it.

"Boss, do you want me to come with you?" Matt asked.

I thought about Matt's question as I took a bite of my roll. Matt was a good soldier; he'd had my back many times, and I trusted him completely. But he knew nothing about fighting with swords or spears. And, for reasons I had yet to understand, guns didn't work in Faery.

"I appreciate the offer," I said. "But it would be more helpful if you stay here and secure the estate."

"I'm sure, if we ask, Shamus will stay behind as well. He can keep the wards fresh and keep an eye out for any Unse…." Tressa's voice trailed off as she glanced over at Sloan.

"It's okay, you can say it—he can watch out for Unseelie. I've disowned that branch of my family, so it means nothing to me," Sloan said, her tone an odd blend of hurt and humor.

"Will you take Sophia with you? She can stay with me if you want," Matt offered.

I frowned. This was a sticky one. If she stayed here she would have Matt and Shamus to protect her, but it would be difficult to reach her in a hurry.

If I left her with Tressa's family, it would mean trusting the Sidhe to look after her. The Sidhe disliked me, but they adored Sophia. And, if need be, Henry could rush us back to her.

Belatedly, it occurred to me that if Sophia stayed here there was no telling how much time would pass for her before I returned. From her perspective, she could be left behind for a year, maybe even more. That was unacceptable.

I looked over at Tressa. When she smiled at me I felt that familiar intuition fall into place. We were finally on the right track. I would find my mother at her ancestral home.

"We'll take Sophia to Tír na nÓg. Tressa's family will take care of her."

"What about me?" Sloan asked. "I want to come."

I clamped my mouth closed to keep from blurting out the biting remark that jumped to mind. I still did not trust this girl.

To show Sloan the hidden threshold to Faery would mean trusting her with information that—if shared with the wrong party—could be disastrous to our well-being. To bring her along we would need to take an established threshold, the closest of which was Niagara Falls. It would add a considerable time to our trip.

"I need you to stay here. You can help with my father; he likes you and remembers you more often than Matt or Shamus," I said, attempting to be diplomatic.

"Come on, that's bullshit," Sloan spat. "If you're going into the Otherworld, there's no way I'm staying here."

"Listen, I don't want to have to worry about you. There will be enough going on without adding you to the list. Tressa can take you on a visit once we find my mother and get things sorted out, but not this time. There's too much riding on this trip."

"But—"

"I said no."