I was confused, but Draper was horrified. “No. And why would you even ask me for that? She’s your daughter!”
“Go get me one of those skirts, or I’ll have to blow my cover and get one myself.”
Draper stared hard at Lane. “What’s your game here? Turn Rosie into a stripper? That’s not her.”
“Why shouldn’t it be her? Is there something wrong with what you’re doing here?” She jerked her thumb toward the door, her tone sharpening in that way I knew better than to argue. “Boy, go get me one of those skirts!”
Draper’s eyes narrowed, and his wide, charming smile was a distant memory. He turned on his heel and left, coming back with a pink gauzy non-skirt. He clutched it in his hand and looked at me with dread, as if he’d rather be wearing it than see it on me.
I couldn’t have agreed more.
“Draper!” a guy called from down the stairs. Draper had made a firm rule to his staff that they weren’t to set foot on the top floor. The staff knew he had guests, but they’d only seen Remy, Bayard and Rousseau, who made themselves at home with the women downstairs.
Draper ignored the person calling his name. “This life isn’t for either of you.”
Lane snatched the skirt and shoved it into my arms. “Rosie, go behind the screen and put this on. Wear it just like the girls do downstairs. That’s how you’ll look on the road with us.”
Draper and I paled in unison while Lot stammered incoherently. The others were in the second bedroom, and didn’t witness this, thank goodness. “But Lane, I c-can’t wear this!”
“Go on, baby. Your brother picked it out for you. Don’t be ungrateful.”
Draper clutched his forehead with one hand and his stomach with the other. “I’m going to be sick. Give me that.” He yanked the skirt out of my hands and threw it into the fireplace, which hadn’t been lit for the day yet. “No sister of mine will be caught dead in that skirt. You should know better than to joke like that, Laney.”
“Oh, I’m not joking. If it’s good enough for your girls, it’s good enough for Rosie. You said the other day that you take care of your girls. Do you take care of them like you do Rosie?”
“What? No! I’ve been nothing but good to you and Rosie! I would never…”
She went to the fireplace and fished out the skirt, brushing off the soot and handing it to me. I blinked up at Draper, my mouth open like a guppy.
Lot moved toward the middle of the room to snatch the skirt out of my hands just as we heard heavy footsteps clomping down the hall toward us. Lot and Lane ducked behind the partition in a blink, but I was too stunned to move when the door swung open. I stood next to the bed, clutching the skirt in horror at being seen by someone who might out me and wreck the whole mission before it properly started.
Draper was livid as he whirled on the intruder. “I said no one was to come on the third floor! Get downstairs, Clovis.”
Clovis had dark skin and black hair he wore tied up in a bun like a ballerina. He wore the same dark, smudgy makeup around his eyes like I’d seen on a few of the girls when we’d snuck in. Clovis’ gaze fell on me and he winced apologetically. “Oh! I didn’t realize you were breaking in a new girl.” He looked me up and down appraisingly. “She’ll do well. Nice and young. Good thinking to find one who looks a little like Morgan le Fae. They’ll pay top coin to give it to her.” Clovis’ gaze combed downward over my body, giving me the creeps. “Amazing tits. Adelaide’s got some competition now. Send her over to me once you’re done.”
Draper was purple with rage. I feared he might explode if I didn’t act quickly. He made to charge at Clovis and strangle him, but I ran to cut him off, popping my hand to his chest and giving him a look that told him to back down. I looked over my shoulder, hating myself as my mouth opened. “Sure. I’ll go see you once Draper’s finished training me.”
“What’s your name, sugar?”
“I’m Posh. Posh Spice.” I winced at the first name that popped into my head.
Clovis jerked his thumb over his shoulder. “We’ve got an Untouchable downstairs. Link the Terrifying, from Éireland. If we can get him to take an interest in her, he might stay for a while. That’d be good for business, boss. People love to gawk at the Untouchables. Whoever Link chooses, the regulars will pay double for just to say they bedded the same woman as an Untouchable.” Clovis looked me up and down appreciatively once more, and then adjusted his britches none too subtly. “Link wasn’t taking to any of the girls, but if we offer him a crack at this little piece, he might stick around.”
“Posh Spice is not available. Out.” Draper barely worked the simple command from his lips before he slammed the door in Clovis’ face. His hands were shaking as he cupped my cheeks to make sure I heard every word he whispered. “You are not my whore!” He gave a slight jerk to my cheeks with every syllable. “Don’t you ever put on that skirt. Don’t you ever pretend that.”
I looked up into his horrified and broken expression, not bothering to hold back my anxiety. “You were about to yell at him for saying your sister’s got nice tits. You can’t do that. I have to stay hidden. It’s better I’m your whore than they figure out who I really am.”
Draper closed his eyes, his hands migrating to the back of my head to pull me in for a tight hug that crushed the air out of me. “You’re breaking my heart, pumpkin.”
“Better that than Morgan take me away from you. That’s what she’ll do if she finds out I’m here.”
Lane and Lot moved out from behind the partition. Lot had a look of extreme disapproval, mingled with a “Whew! That was a close one” gust of relief.
Lane was angry, but quiet about it. “Now do you see how messed up your life here is? Do you get how awful it is, what you’re doing? Every girl down there might have a brother who’s ready to fight to the death any guy who looks at their sister and says ‘nice tits.’ Poor Damond had to do who knows what just to get to see you. Your sister had to turn herself into a whore to keep safe around you. Is that what you want for them? Is that what you want for you?” She moved to Draper and touched her heart. “Know who you are, son. I know you, and this life isn’t it.”
Draper pointed to the door. “Gather the others and go down to the stables. I can’t even look at you. Putting Rosie through that just to teach me a lesson? You made your point, but you used your daughter to get there. That’s low, Laney. You should know who you are. I know you, and using Rosie like that isn’t you.”
This seemed to strike a chord with Lane. “Draper, that’s not what I…”
Draper was livid. “Just go! We’ll be down in a minute.”
“We’ll meet you in the barn.” Lane left with Lot, her tail between her legs.
Draper waited until the door shut before he sat on the edge of his bed, letting out a heavy sigh that felt like it started from his toes and had about twenty-one years of stress laced in it. “It’s all messed up, isn’t it.”
I softened, moving to stand before him. I put my hands on his shoulders to steady the poor guy, and jerk him out of the funk he was falling into. “Hey, it’s just a little off-track. Nothing that’s not fixable.” Though as I said this, I wasn’t sure it was true.
“You have to understand, I thought you and Lane were dead! There wasn’t any reason to be more, to try harder.”
I tapped my chest, recalling the thousands of times Lane had done this exact speech on me. “Know who you are, Draper. Look at your life and make sure you belong in it. If you don’t, then do something to fix what’s broken.”
He gave a dry laugh. “You sound like Lane.”
“Yeah? Well, she raised me, so there’s no jumping off that ship.”
He looked up at me, utterly lost. His hair was messy to match his disheveled life. I smoothed back the wayward follicles, and then touched his nose as if he was the younger brother, and I was the much wiser, older sister. “How do I fix this?” he asked quietly.
I bent over so I was eye level with him. “You shut it down. Shut the w
hole place down and come with us.”
I could see his hesitance at being caught in a tough spot. “Couldn’t I just come with you and leave the place with Clovis?”
“You think he’d give me a job? I’m a decent dancer.” I did the Running Man just to make him smile. “Clovis hasn’t broken me in yet, but I’ve got nice tits. I think I’d fit in okay here.”
He scowled at me. “Stop it. Don’t even joke like that.”
“Shut it down,” I repeated, pausing my dance. I was resolute that my new brother wouldn’t be king of selling women to make a profit. “Shut it all down.”
Draper leaned forward from his spot as I straightened. He rested his temple to my stomach, and hugged my hips as if I was precious to him. “Okay, Posh Spice. I’ll do it.”
9
Without Daddy
Bayard was grouchy, which is to say, business as usual. He always got a little crabby when he was hungry, so I made sure to bring all the extra apples and rolls I could stuff into my bag. “I can’t believe this is the best plan you guys could think of. You’re all idiots.”
Draper and I were the last to arrive, so I wasn’t totally sure what they were fighting about. It was Bayard, so, you know, it could’ve been anything. Draper kept my hand in his like a security blanket, but stepped forward and held up his free arm to garner everyone’s attention. “Argue later. I shut the doors to the business, and Clovis is sending the girls back to their families. The regulars will be coming in soon, and we should be gone before it gets ugly. Let’s go.”
Bayard’s arms were crossed over his chest as he stood next to his horse (who was only slightly less hairy than he). Their chestnut shagginess matched, which I thought was cute. “That’s the thing. We don’t actually know where we’re going.”
“Oh, right. This is the part where I’m supposed to Compass us right to Roland’s front doorstep, huh. Could anyone tell me a little bit about him? Like, any detail might help. If I know what I’m looking for, that usually gives my green light a tap.”
Reyn looked infinitely better since he’d stopped using his magic. He was a little jumpier, but he looked himself again. “Roland’s got your color hair, Rosie, only it’s shorter, like mine. He’s obsessed with wagons; always trying to get his to move faster, more efficiently, hold more stuff. He lived in the Province 4 palace. He was always tinkering with stuff, fixing things that the servants could’ve just for the fun of it.” He smiled, and the fond memory looked good on him. “This one time, Bastien, Roland and I were trying to get across the lake so Roland could meet some important merchant from another province, and we were running late. Roland got out of the boat in his full royal gear, dove into the water and swam, saying he was a faster swimmer than Bastien was a paddler.” Reyn chuckled at the mental picture I could see clear enough. “He beat us to the other end, too. The merchant was not quite as impressed, but Roland didn’t care. He’s stubborn, and usually sticks to a path once he’s on it.”
Lot chimed in, “Dogged, actually. Whether he’s right or wrong, he’ll fight to the death. We were all shocked that Morgan was able to convince him to give up his throne for the Forgotten Forest.”
Reyn scratched Hamish’s neck, who poked his head up from Reyn’s breast pocket. “Does that help?”
My gut started pulling me east, so I took that as a sign. “Yeah. Now, I’ve never done this Compass thing for real before, so be cool if I get it wrong. I’m trying my best.”
Lot tied his pack to his saddle. “Where’s Bastien? It’s time we left.”
Reyn went to open his mouth, but I beat him to it. “Bastien left. He’s not coming with us any farther.”
Despite the moderate levels of hurry everyone had until then, they all stopped and stared at me, all except Reyn, who didn’t look all that surprised. Reyn held my gaze. “I’ll go find him. He’s probably just blowing off some steam at a pub. He’s used to living alone. Needs his space sometimes. He always comes back, though.”
I ignored Lane’s hand on my back, meant to soothe me. I kept my chin high and my eyes clear of any crushed schoolgirl emotion. “What a nice luxury, to be able to ditch the mission on a whim. He told me he was out, and it’s been four days. Anyone seen him lately?” I looked around at the grim expressions. “That’s what I thought. Let’s shift it, fellas.”
“I thought he was at least checking in with you,” Lot said, voicing what everyone else was thinking. Only Lane, Draper and probably Reyn knew enough of the whole story not to be too confused. “You two seemed so close. I can’t believe he’d just leave the group like that. Searching for you was his idea! He’s been obsessed with finding Roland for over a year. Now he wants out? Now that we’ve got the Compass and might actually find Roland? It makes no sense.”
“I can guess what’s going on,” Remy said knowingly. “You two had a fight, and either you pushed him away or he ran out when it got tough. Which was it?”
“It’s fine, Remy. Everyone, this is what Bastien wants. This isn’t his responsibility. Roland’s my cousin, so finding him is my job. Bastien can do whatever he wants with his life, and he wants to be away from this scene. Respect it. Any of you are welcome to the same easy out whenever you like.” I went to grab Abraham Lincoln to hand him to Lane once she got situated on the horse she was mounting, but he backed away.
“Daddy! Where’s my daddy? I need my daddy!”
I steeled my mushy insides, willing myself not to devolve into a puddle of emotions. “Bastien’s not your daddy, and he’s not coming with us.”
“My daddy!” He moaned, letting out a howl that made Draper wince.
“We really have to go,” Draper reminded me, pulling his tall gray horse out of its stall. The others were either on their horses or almost there, and I was having an argument with a bear, who behaved like a toddler.
“Look, we’re all leaving. Bastien’s probably gone home now. I can’t get him for you, and he’s not coming back.” I knelt down and hugged Abraham Lincoln while he whimpered, echoing the sadness of abandonment I tried not to feel.
“I have to find him! I won’t go without him!”
I pulled back, blinking in surprise. “Well, then you can stay here by yourself and try to find him, but that’s the tune of it. Either come with me or go off on your own. It’s your choice.” I couldn’t believe my eyes when Abraham Lincoln walked away from me, circled three times and laid on the floor, his head resting on his paws like he was watching TV and waiting for something good to come on. “But… But, I’m your mama!” I said quietly, remaining on my knees a few meters away.
“I won’t leave without my daddy.”
First Bastien walked out, and now Abraham Lincoln was jumping ship. The gut-punch hit me harder than I’d been expecting.
Lane’s voice was calm through my heartbreak. “You have to let him go, hun. You’ve been through this before. Wild animals belong in the wild.”
“But he’s not leaving to go back to the wild! He’s waiting for Bastien, and Bastien’s not coming back.” I forced the painful words out, flinching only slightly at the hard truth. I turned to Abraham Lincoln, staying on my knees to remain on his level. “He’s not coming for us, buddy. He left us, and we have to move on.”
Reyn was uneasy. “I think we should wait for him. Bastien’s always running off and then coming back once he’s gotten some perspective.”
“He’s gone, and we’re not waiting around for him to grace us with his presence.” Lane’s tone was clipped and finite, though she gave Reyn an apologetic bow of her head for overruling him so definitively. “We’re going. Leave Abraham Lincoln, Rosie. He’ll be fine.”
“He’ll be heartbroken when Bastien never comes for him!”
“And somehow, he’ll survive the heartbreak. That’s how this kind of thing goes, baby girl.” She tapped her chest, reminding me to remember who I was, and that being dumped smack in the middle of my first kiss didn’t change the important things about me. Then she and Reyn gave me identical looks laced with
pity, so I knew it was time for me to suck it up. I hated that she’d told Reyn my dirt, but at least he didn’t ask any questions about the drama.
Hamish scurried down from Reyn’s pocket and jumped on top of his furry friend, telling him he would miss him and pretty much hitting me in the gut with all the sweetness. Then he ran back up to Reyn, ready to move on far quicker than I was. He had the attention span of, well, a squirrel.
“Come now, pumpkin. Up you get.” Draper watched the exchange between my bear and I, studying my reaction and the connection no one but me, Lane and Judah totally understood. Draper was soft with me when I was on the verge of leaning toward broken. I’ve found that no matter what world you’re in, the bad things could be fixed if only there were more people who valued softness.
Maybe Bastien could’ve understood my quirks, but he was gone. I’d cried once the night Bastien left in the quiet and solitude of Draper’s bedroom, and that was all I would allow myself. Anything more would be more than he deserved.
I stood and walked to my bear with heavy feet, giving him one last hug and kiss before turning my back on him and walking away. Lane blew my bear a kiss and rolled him an apple to tide him over. He hadn’t had to go hunting all that much since he started living with us.
Everyone was lined up at the stable door, waiting for Draper to help me onto his horse. My new brother hoisted me up, being quiet to respect my sadness. Then he got on the saddle behind me. Bayard rode out first in plain view of the villagers who passed by. They looked confused that their favorite tension release was closed that morning.
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