Compromising Kessen (Vandenbrook #1)(13)

Kessen gathered herself and lifted her hand to knock; she was momentarily thrown off balance when the door swung open, revealing an old-looking man in a suit. He did not smile. In fact, she was afraid he wasn’t even breathing; crap, he didn’t even blink. “I hate London,”Kessen grumbled to herself. If she had to look at one more emotionless person, she was going to stand on the top of the building and preach to people about the importance of having feelings.

He cleared his throat and continued to stare.

Kessen stared back, thinking it must be some kind of staring contest. Well, he was in for a long wait. She always won staring contests. She widened her eyes to give herself the look of … well, probably the look of someone about to go insane.

He cleared his throat again. “Miss, we don’t have any work here. Run along now and bother someone else.”

“But—” Kessen put up her hand to stop the rapidly closing door.

The man rolled his eyes. “Yes? What is it?”

“I’m Lord Newberry’s daughter. My name’s Kessen.”

His eyes widened in what she guessed was shock that the daughter of Lord Newberry would be so unkempt, and then yes, she saw them blink. He blinked. Thank you, God, she thought reverently.

He sniffed his nose at her and turned to walk away. “Follow me, Miss.”

She dragged her suitcases in as best she could and tried to remind herself to take slow, even breaths.

He led her down a hallway which apparently had no ending, and up a flight of stairs. He told her to leave the luggage at the bottom and a maid would bring it up when she could. Kessen nodded her head and continued to follow him.

He finally stopped in front of a large white door and knocked not once, not twice, but three times. Each knock gradually louder than the first. The thought occurred to her that it was quite possible he knocked three times only for her grandma, and once for everyone else. Did they have a school for people like him? A no blinking school?

The door swung open, revealing her tiny grandmother. She was shrinking with age, which Kessen had thought was merely an urban legend. But the truth was being exhibited through her grandma, who was five-foot-two when full grown, and was now only four-foot-nine, bless her little heart.

“Grandmother!” Kessen yelled then hugged her as tightly as she could. Who cares about the stupid British rules of personal space?

Her grandmother didn’t seem to mind either; instead she held Kessen with all the force a woman of eighty-eight could possess, which oddly enough, seemed like quite a lot of strength.

“Oh, my dearie, oh, my love,” her grandma whispered into her hair. “I have missed you so much, my love. How is your father? Is he well? Here, come sit, sit!” She pointed to two little chairs by a small fireplace and turned towards the man-who-knows-no-emotion. “John, will you please bring us some tea and biscuits?”

He nodded his head, still not smiling and left.

“Does he smile?” she asked casually.

“Never,” she said, expression stern. “We Brits do not smile, Kessen.”

Kessen looked at her, panic-stricken, until her grandmother started laughing, a twinkle behind her harsh mask.

“I’m just having a little fun, love. Old John’s always upset about something. Pay him no mind, and he’s a tame little * cat.”

Kessen smiled and grabbed her grandmother’s hand. “I’ve missed you.”

Tears filled her grandmother’s eyes. “Oh love, my heart is whole just seeing you sitting across from me. It is my greatest joy to introduce you to society.”

Anxiety washed over her body. She must have showed as much, because her grandmother suddenly felt the need to reassure her.

“No worries, my dear. Everything will be just fine. We have a small ball this Friday which will be in your honor. I have already set aside time for shopping. It will be splendid, absolutely splendid!”

Kessen forced a toothy grin and said a quick “Yay” through clenched teeth. It was going to be a long week.

****

And it was. In fact, Kessen didn’t even have time to sleep, let alone go check out the London offices of Newberry and Co. Her dad must have meant it when he said he wanted her to experience a Season.

Well, she was experiencing it, all right. The last three nights had been filled with endless dinner parties and shopping. By the night of the ball, she was so exhausted, she thought she would fall asleep getting dressed.

Her grandmother convinced Kessen to wear something slightly scandalous to her coming out party, mainly because it’s what they expected Americans to do, and if she was to find a good match (yes, she did actually say ‘match’), she needed to gain attention.

Three hours, two makeup artists, and one pedicurist later, Kessen was ready. Her gown was a silver, shimmery contraption, which plunged so low on her back it needed to be taped above her tailbone; the front was higher but left nothing to the imagination. It made her glad she had been working out every day for the past few months. She wore white gloves that went past her elbows and her hair was curled in huge, luscious waves all the way down her back. The makeup wasn’t truly her style, but then again she never wore much makeup. They paired a smoky eye with pink lipstick, making her feel like a Barbie doll on her first date with Ken.

She took a deep breath as she heard a knock on the door.

Her grandmother appeared in head-to-toe pearls, which was actually the least shocking part about her outfit. The most outrageous element was the enormous ostrich hat perched on her head. It looked like a nest. A nest that had been recently used.