The Blood Spell (Ravenspire, #4)(33)
Blue smiled. “Maybe a better judge than me sometimes.” She scratched the cat under the chin and then said softly, “Thank you for what you did for me at Papa’s funeral.”
He squeezed her shoulder gently before letting go. “You’re welcome. I’m happy to talk to you about Pierre whenever you need it.”
She nodded. “You’d better get inside.”
He gave the cat one last pet and then smiled at Blue. “It was nice not arguing with you.”
She laughed a little, and he carried that sound with him as he walked into the farmhouse and found Dinah Chauveau seated on Blue’s little brown couch, her daughters on either side of her. Dinah wore her signature red silk, but her daughters were dressed in pale blue gowns with intricately embroidered birds taking flight across the skirts. The younger daughter had gloves on, but Jacinthe, the daughter closest to his own age, raised a bare hand for him to kiss.
It was a subtle signal that Dinah preferred for him to court Jacinthe, though she’d offered Halette as well in case he preferred her.
What he preferred was hardly at issue. The true question was what was best for the kingdom, and according to his mother, the Chauveau empire spanned four kingdoms with significant wealth and allies in each of them. All that would be a considerable asset to a future queen, and everyone in the room knew it.
“So lovely of you to visit us out here as we take a small country holiday,” Dinah said, her sharp eyes missing nothing as Kellan gave each girl a kiss on the back of her hand before taking his seat across from them. “I do hope Blue didn’t bore or offend you when she answered the door. She lacks a bit of polish.” Dinah cleared her throat delicately to convey her poor opinion of Blue’s manners.
She wasn’t wrong. Blue didn’t feel the need to act like anyone was better than her because of their place in society. But she also never felt the need to act like anyone was worse. She was honest, passionate, and insistent on jumping headfirst into any wrong she thought she could fix—a trait Kellan had personally experienced countless times. Something about the powerful Dinah Chauveau taking advantage of Blue’s hospitality so soon after Pierre’s death and then insulting her hostess’s lack of pretense ignited a flame of anger in Kellan.
Straightening his spine, he held Dinah’s gaze and said crisply, “Do explain to me why you and your daughters are staying in the de la Cour farmhouse so soon after Pierre’s passing.”
Jacinthe shot her mother a quick look, and Halette stared at her hands clasped tightly in her lap. Dinah’s smile was carved from stone. “It’s a rather complicated situation and doesn’t have any bearing on the betrothal season.”
“Still”—Kellan flicked an imaginary piece of lint from his silk trousers and gave Dinah the lazy smile that drove the castle’s butler to curse like a sailor—“I’d like to hear it.”
Dinah inclined her head respectfully, though something flashed in her eyes. Interesting. She didn’t care to obey him. She’d tried to deflect a request by telling him it was none of his business. If that was how she behaved when she was trying to win his approval of an alliance with her family, what would she do if one of her daughters became queen?
“Blue!” Dinah called, her voice gentle, though the smile on her face still looked carved from ice.
Blue returned from the porch, and Kellan was struck by the wariness in her expression when she faced Dinah. This was the girl who’d single-handedly stopped an illegal street fight, faced down one of Balavata’s most dangerous brokers, and blackmailed the prince into doing what she wanted, and here she stood in her parlor looking unsure of her place in her own home.
“The prince and my daughters would like refreshments. Please bring what you prepared earlier. Thank you.” Dinah’s words weren’t unkind, but the flame of anger within Kellan rose.
“Do you not have any of your staff here to wait on you?” he asked, his voice cold.
“There’s hardly enough room in this house for the three of us, much less our staff,” Jacinthe said sharply.
Dinah silenced her with a look and then turned to Kellan. “I appreciate how upsetting it must be to you to think that we’re here taking over Blue’s home and treating her like a servant. I assure you nothing could be further from the truth.”
He cocked his head and waited in silence for more.
She leaned toward him and lowered her voice. “I was close to Blue’s mother. She drew up a guardianship agreement since she and Pierre were a bit older than many childbearing couples. The agreement gave guardianship of Blue, the farmhouse, and the shop to me in the event that both Valeraine and Pierre died before Blue came of age. I didn’t want to move Blue out of this home just yet, as she is very attached to it, so instead I moved us here temporarily until I figure out how best to uphold my responsibilities to Valeraine while still running the Chauveau quarter and my considerable business interests. I sent Blue for refreshments because I simply needed her out of earshot before explaining things to you. She’s been through enough, poor girl. She doesn’t need to hear it again.”
“We’ve all been through enough,” Jacinthe muttered. Halette elbowed her in the side, and Jacinthe subsided, though her brown eyes were fiery when they met his.
Kellan hadn’t been aware that Valeraine and Dinah were close, but he’d been a child when Blue’s mother died, and he had no clear recollection of her life outside of the times he saw her with Pierre and Blue.