The Cerulean (Untitled Duology, #1)(21)

But she couldn’t relinquish her dreams, not yet, not when she had at least a modicum of freedom left to her. Once she was married, even that small flame of hope would be extinguished.

“Now let me present to you my son, Leo,” Xavier said. Leo’s smile was so ingratiating, Agnes thought she might vomit.

“It is a pleasure to meet you, sir,” he said.

“Oh my,” Mr. Kiernan gasped. “You look exactly like her.”

This observation never ceased to rankle Agnes or Leo, though for different reasons, but tonight he smiled and said, “Yes, sir, so I’ve been told.”

He must be up to something, to take the comment so easily—and he was wearing a tie that matched his eyes, a feature he never played up. But Agnes had no interest in her brother’s schemes at the moment.

“You knew my mother?” she asked Kiernan.

He cleared his throat. “Not personally, no.”

“But you know what she looked like?”

Kiernan seemed to regret the path this conversation was going down, and Agnes knew she was walking a fine line, but she could not stop herself.

“Everyone in Pelago knows the Byrne family. Their features are striking,” he said, gesturing to Leo as if to prove his point.

“Do you know my grandmother?” As soon as the words were out, Agnes knew she had gone too far.

The look Xavier gave her would have withered even the strongest of trees. Agnes felt herself shrink, and her face grew hot. Their mother’s family, the Byrne family, was off-limits. No one was allowed to bring them up. Not even Eneas would talk about them, and he had worked for them his whole life before moving here from Pelago with her mother. Agnes had sent letters to her grandmother, Ambrosine Byrne, every year, hoping for a response and never receiving one. To be honest, Agnes was not convinced the letters had actually been mailed at all. She had trusted Swansea to post them when she was younger, which had been foolish, and then, when she got older, went directly to the post office herself. But she suspected her father had a man in his pocket there. Eneas had flat-out refused when she’d asked him for help. She got the sense he was frightened of her grandmother, though he never said anything about her except that she was a “formidable and impressive woman.”

“We do not discuss the Byrne family in this house,” Xavier said, and Mr. Kiernan seemed all too eager to change the subject.

“You must be the daughter? Agnes, is that correct?”

“She is,” Xavier said.

Agnes made an awkward curtsy—she had never learned to do it right—and cursed herself internally. She should have asked Mr. Kiernan in private, where he might have been more forthcoming.

“And may I present Miss Elizabeth Conway of Old Port and her companion Miss Marianne Ellis, from Lady’s Point,” Xavier said. “Miss Ellis is visiting for the month.”

Marianne was eyeing Mr. Kiernan with great interest. Agnes didn’t see anything particularly attractive about the man, though she wasn’t the best judge. She liked the kohl around his eyes, though. And the seashell in his hair.

Brief pleasantries were exchanged, champagne was toasted, and then Swansea announced that dinner was served.

“Nice tie,” Agnes muttered to her brother as she took her seat beside him. “Are you trying to be Pelagan now?”

Xavier and Mr. Kiernan sat at the ends of the large mahogany table. Elizabeth and Marianne were across from the twins.

“Nice dress,” Leo shot back under his breath. “Are you trying to be an eighty-year-old widow?”

A cold vegetable soup was served first, and Mr. Kiernan happily commented on just about everything in the room.

“Delicious! I adore zucchini.”

“What magnificent candlesticks!”

“My dear Xavier, this is an absolutely beautiful spoon.”

“Aren’t these napkins a delight!”

Agnes wondered how he didn’t pass out at the table from expending so much positive energy.

“How do you find Old Port City, Mr. Kiernan?” Elizabeth asked, taking a dainty spoonful of soup. Elizabeth Conway was one of those girls Agnes wanted to hate but could never quite bring herself to. She was wealthy and beautiful and popular, but she had always been kind to Agnes. Most of the daughters of Old Port society found Agnes strange and unpleasant, something she often encouraged, since she didn’t particularly enjoy their company. But still, it was nice not to be treated like an absolute freak all the time.

She wondered for a brief moment if her father knew Elizabeth was kind to Agnes, if that was why he’d invited her in the first place.

“It is a joy to see,” Kiernan replied. “The cars! The buildings! So much industry. And of course, the theater scene is unparalleled.” He winked at Xavier.

“Do tell us about this secret project, won’t you, Mr. McLellan?” Elizabeth pleaded.

“Yes, do!” Marianne chimed in.

“Why, whatever are you girls talking about?” Xavier said with feigned surprise.

“I have it on good authority that you have been up to something this whole summer since Picando closed,” Elizabeth said.

“James Roth has been running his mouth to impress the ladies again, it would seem.”

Elizabeth gave a sly grin. “Why, Mr. McLellan, I haven’t the faintest idea what you mean.”