The Blood Spell (Ravenspire, #4)(33)
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.
Satisfied with her explanation, he leaned forward, his eyes on the sisters. “It was unforgivably rude of me not to offer my personal condolences on the death of your father the moment I walked into the room. I apologize. I was caught up in my own grief over Pierre de la Cour’s death and in my concern over his family, but that’s no excuse for my discourtesy.”
Halette sniffed and looked away, but Jacinthe arched a brow at him. “You’ll just have to make it up to me with an extra dance at the Marcels’ upcoming ball.”
He was well and truly trapped. To refuse her now would be the height of discourtesy, but to accept would send a message to the rest of the head families that he preferred Jacinthe over their daughters. If he sent that message before his betrothal ball, he could have violence on his hands as other families sought to remove girls they thought might get the throne instead.
Dinah frowned at Jacinthe and said quietly, “The prince cannot afford to do that, darling. Not so early in the betrothal season. But I’m sure he could at least give you the first dance.” She looked at Kellan as if to confirm that her request would be honored. “Especially since I’m sure he’s well aware that I sit at the queen’s right hand because our family’s wealth and influence is second to none. A first dance with one of the Chauveau girls would be practically expected.”
He smiled and winked at Jacinthe to mask his surprise that Dinah had offered him a way out. The other mothers would’ve leaped at the chance to secure an extra dance for their daughters. Perhaps Dinah was attempting to make up for her earlier resistance to his requests. Or perhaps she was gambling that showing an understanding of the prince’s delicate position would make her family a more desirable choice in the end. Either way, he’d take the reprieve. Holding Jacinthe’s gaze, he said, “Giving you my first dance would be an honor.”