"Well, it seems like a lot has happened. Maybe you should give me a ride back to Tora." Simon touched one of the streamers.
"Hiding from this won't make it go away. Would being my cousin be such a bad thing?" he asked. I met his ice blue gaze.
"No, it's nothing like that. It's just all so much. I don't know what to think or how to feel. It's all just confusing."
"Well, you may have a way out."
"How?"
"My father doesn't think Ling's scans are accurate. He insists our family physician scan you again and compare the results to his own genetic material. Eliot's father agrees and insists the procedure be repeated with his family physician and his own scans.
"Wow. That's the way to make a girl feel unwanted. It actually makes me feel so much more comfortable." An image of spider food popped into my thoughts. Stewart had requested of me that Thunderdrop join Cass in the kitchen for his meals and not in my bedroom. "Thunderdrop is hungry. Is there a way to sneak into the kitchen?" Simon let out a puff of air and lifted one corner of his mouth in something between a smirk and a smile. He led me out of my room and down the hall to a set of stairs that we took down to another hallway. We entered the back of the kitchen. Cass wanted some, so I fed him, too. Simon's hands were against the edge of a countertop, and he bent a little at his waist, leaning his weight against his palms. His eyes bore into me.
"Are you going to get this over with, or keep stalling?" Simon stood up and offered me his arm. I rubbed at the crease I was making between my eyebrows.
"I'm scared." Then, Simon moved his arm even closer. I took it and let out a breath I hadn't realized that I was holding.
As Simon practically dragged me from the kitchen, thunder rumbled outside, and I jumped. The view through the windows showed me the same clear sky of the morning. I turned to look through the windows behind us and saw the clouds moving in. "That's why we swan yesterday. It will rain for the next few days. My men finished harvesting the last of the abandoned webs this morning." We entered the room with the huge fireplace and walls of windows. Stewart had started a fire that had just begun to lick at the logs. A stocky red haired man, older but corded with muscle stood with Gina. His eyes were the same ice blue that I assumed must be a trait in Gram's family. I kept a firm grip on Simon's arm. My hands began to feel cold and damp, and I tried not to panic. I clutched Simon's arm with my other hand, too. Thunderdrop and Cass chased each other into the room, found the ball, and began passing it back and forth to each other.
"Ethan, look at them! Have you ever seen such behavior?" I turned my head and saw Sydney and Eliot standing with a taller older version of Eric. ZeeZee followed Cass and Thunderdrop as they chased the ball from the room.
"Teagan, dear, come sit with me." I looked down at Gram where she sat on a couch. Simon propelled us forward and gently removed my fingers from his arm. He sat down, placing me in between himself and Gram on the couch. Gram claimed my frozen hand in her warm one. "Your hand is so cold. Don't be afraid, girl. Gina, can you get that husband of yours to look less intimidating? I think Teagan is about to bolt out of the door and up a tree." I scrunched my face up at her.
"I've never climbed a tree. Is that actually done?"
"We used to do it all of the time," Eliot said.
"Sherman," Gina said.
The big man took a few steps from beside the fireplace to stand in front of me. I stared at his knees. He squatted down, and I had to look at his chin. He lifted my chin and looked me in the eyes. "You have our grandfather's eyes. I remember his looked like the forest, and grandmother's looked like the sky. Don't be afraid of me." I heard a rustling sound. Sherman held out his arm and a man touched a device to him. It had a much more complicated design than Ling's device. "I need to see for myself that you are my family," Sherman told me. "My father never got over losing his sister. He spent his life trying to find her. You would have been precious to him." Until recently, I had never been precious to anyone. Gram started to cry, and she pulled my hand up to her chest. Gina walked behind the couch and put her hands on Gram's shoulders. Sherman reached down, taking my other arm and holding it out. The doctor pressed the device to my arm. I felt a zap and a sharp sting that made me jump. The doctor pulled the device away. Sherman rubbed at the spot on my arm with his thumb. He said, "I hear you are married to Yukihyo Lee." He touched my wedding ring. "Does he treat you well?"
"Yes, sir. He means everything to me. He, Hiroshi, and Phillip will be back for me in a few days." Sherman stared into my eyes.
"You're planning to leave?"
"Yes, sir. I have business on Scipio and a delivery to Malta." Ethan stepped closer and grinned down at me.
"It sounds like you enjoy being a merchant," he said.
"I don't know if I qualify as being a real merchant. I've just started delivering dresses and things to Malta. There was no place there at all to buy women's clothes. It was depressing, so my friend and I came up with a plan to fix it. The plan has been met with a great deal of enthusiasm."
Sherman said, "What did you do on Earth before you met Yukihyo?" I hated thinking about Earth. I blushed and glanced at Simon, who nodded at me.
"I was a reclamation worker in the business sector."
Gina asked in a shocked voice, "At your age? Didn't your father provide for you?"
"I left as soon as I was old enough. I can take care of myself." I stared Sherman back in the eye. I wouldn't be good enough for them now.
Sherman said, "Let me get this straight. Who did you live with when you left home?"
"Stay with?" I asked.
"Did you stay with friends or did you rent your own place?" he asked. I just looked at him.
"Neither, I spent all of my credits getting to the city. It was a little rough at first. One night I got caught sleeping on a park bench, but instead of arresting me, the enforcers helped me get my job and my own place to stay at the community center. Uncle Lee helped me get the dock work that led me to meeting Hiroshi."
Gram shuddered, "Ethan don't let her go. You can't let her go. I don't even want my hand off of her." I turned to her.
"Uh, what?" Sherman stood and moved to stand in front of the fire. Ethan rolled up his sleeve, and a female physician took a genetic sample from him.
Then, she said, "Lady Alaric, perhaps it would be more comfortable for Mrs. Lee to have the next sample taken from her other arm." Gram released my hand. The doctor held my wrist and zapped me with her device. Then, she put Band-Aids where all three of the samples had been taken from me that day.
"Thank you," I said. She smiled at me and moved away to run her comparisons.
Sherman's doctor spoke with him. Sherman lumbered over to me, picked me up from the couch, and crushed me to his chest. My feet dangled. My arms were trapped at my sides. Sherman returned me to my feet and readjusted his hug. He kissed the top of my head. "You're safe now. You are home on Arachne where you belong, where you should have always been," he said.
Ethan's doctor said, "I have results confirming genetic matches between both you and Mrs. Lee," she said. Ethan tapped Sherman on the shoulder. Sherman released me, and I was able to inhale. Ethan took my hand in his and placed a kiss on my knuckles.
"Welcome to the family. Your mother and grandmother were lost to us. Having you restored to our family means more to us than you can imagine. Sherman is correct. You do have grandfather's eyes, but they are in a much prettier face."
"Ethan, Ettie had a daughter, and Teagan is her granddaughter. Teagan never knew either of them. What happened to Ettie and her daughter? Why was Teagan left alone? If Ettie had been able to, she could have gone to any enforcer or militia soldier and been brought home." The nice doctor went to Gram and gave her a shot.
"Mother, please calm down. I will discover the truth. You have my word." I turned and punched Simon in the arm. He looked at me with a dumb expression. Then, he decided to pretend it had hurt.
"Ow, kind of, what was that for? Yukihyo hasn't taught you to hit, obviou
sly."
Mimicking Simon as well as I could, I said, "I knew everything about you before I sat at your table." I rolled my eyes at him. Thunder crashed outside.
"It would be rude to subject a young woman to a genetic scan before buying her dinner first." I gave Simon a wistful expression.
"Dinner?" I touched my three Band-Aids.
The ball rolled across Sherman's foot, and Cass led the way chasing after it. Cass hit the ball with a line of silk and kept it away from Thunderdrop. "Simon, we should take them to a toy store tomorrow," I said. I noticed that Gram had the end of my braid in her hand. She released it and took my hand.
"I want you to come and stay with us. There is plenty of room and I have some things put away that belonged to your grandmother, Ettie Montgomery, that she would want you to have," Gram said.
"Thank you. That is very kind of you, but please don't go to any trouble. Simon doesn't mind me. Do you?" He laughed.
"You have your own room here, but I have a feeling I would lose a fight for you with Gram. Look at those sweet blue eyes. None of us stand a chance. We all end up doing whatever she wants." Sydney and Eliot agreed.
"Shall we all have dinner together this evening? It will be ready at our home shortly, and Gram will need her rest," Sydney suggested as she took Ethan's arm.
"That is a lovely idea, Sydney. If Eric were here, our family would be complete," Gram said.
"I can hail him through the vid-screen," Ethan suggested. Gram held onto my arm all the way to the Alaric house. Thunderdrop held onto my shoulder. ZeeZee took the entire third row of seats for himself. Eliot sat on my other side. Gina, Sherman, Simon, and Cass followed in a transport that must have been brought by Sherman. The earlier drivers had gone hours ago. The rain began to splatter against the transport and obscure my view through the windows.
The driver stopped underneath a massive awning like the one at Lady Glaucia's house. Protected from the rain, we were handed from the transport and into the foyer of one of the most magnificent places I had ever seen. The Alaric family had done well for itself over the generations. Lights from the tops of the polished stone walls reflected off of gleaming wooden floors. The entryway rose up to second and third floor balconies of curling metal work. Curved staircases lifted from the floor to the left and the right and opened at the second floor before trailing back up to the third. Against the wall under the balcony, a single round table graced the entryway, upon which rested a cream colored vase full of colorful blooms. I felt so out of place. The boom and roll of the thunder outside made me cringe. Ethan took my hand and placed it on his arm. I chanced a glance up at his pale blue eyes. Eliot walked in front of us and turned to face me. ZeeZee's claws tapped against the wood as he wandered off to the right. Cass appeared from the entrance and followed him.
"Chitter chirp chirp?"
"Yes, you can go, too," I said.
Ethan said, "Don't be nervous. You're home now."
Sherman piped up, "She may like the Montgomery clan home better."
I said, "You have a beautiful home, sir."
"Sir?" Sydney said. "Come along everyone. Dinner is ready."
Sydney led the way to a formal dining area. Ethan seated me across from Gram.
"Why are you putting Teagan all the way over there?' Gram asked.
"You can see her better this way. Also, she will need her hands to eat. While I am sure you would be content to feed her, she can manage," Ethan replied.
"Ethan!" Gram fussed.
Ethan and Sherman each sat at an end of the large table, their wives sat to their rights, and their sons to their lefts. Gram and I had the center seats. Simon sat to my right and Sydney sat to my left. Across the table Gram beamed at me and wiped her eyes. I was glad she was happy, but if it weren't for Simon, I would run. I felt as comfortable at the fancy table with all of the strangers who had claimed me as family, as the I had the first time I had visited at Ms. Laura's brothel. I froze when Ethan and Sherman rose and took turns formally welcoming me into their families. They argued over whether I was an Alaric or a Montgomery. I whispered to Simon, "Remind them that I'm married. Lee is my name."
He whispered back, "I'm not getting into the middle of that. I'm not crazy."
After dinner Gram had to go to bed. The rest of us had coffee. "Please stay the night with us, Teagan. Gram will want to see you as soon as she wakes up," Sydney said.
"Thank you for your kind offer, but all of my things are at Simon's house." Their vid-screen began beeping. Eliot activated it. The screen filled with Captain Eric Alaric. He was just as breathtakingly handsome as I remembered.
"Father, I received an urgent message to contact you. What has happened?"
Ethan said, "I did not mean to alarm you. Something good has happened. After all of these years, Ettie Montgomery's granddaughter is returned to us." Ethan held his hand out for me to join him at the vid-screen. Thunderdrop chose that moment to crawl onto my braid.
"How? Where?" Eric demanded. Ethan took my hand and pulled me to a stop in front of him. Ethan could see Eric clearly, since the top of my head was even with his shoulders. I waved. Eric looked shocked.
"Eric, this is your cousin, Teagan Lee. She is married to one of Simon's friends. This little guy bonded to her on her first visit." Eric gave me the brilliant heart-stopping smile he had given me when we met on Scipio at the baths.
"Teagan. It was Teagan Green when we met, before Phillip took you away."
"Hello, Captain Alaric. It's nice to see you again." His dimples appeared with a new magnificent smile.
"I thought I told you to call me Eric. I felt there was something special about you, other than being one of the most beautiful women to ever walk on Scipio." I felt my face turning red. Sydney put her arm around me. Ethan moved a tiny bit to make room for her.
"Can you come home for a brief visit?" Sydney asked.
"Maybe in a few weeks when the Hadrian goes in for repairs and systems upgrades."
"Maybe?" Ethan said.
"Okay, yes, mother. I promise when my ship goes for repairs that I will visit. Teagan, I apologize for allowing you to escape investigation. It seems Simon deserves the credit for bringing you home, along with that little guy," Eric said. I patted Thunderdrop. Eric dipped his head to us and said, "Alaric out," ending the transmission. Sherman patted Simon on the back, and Gina kissed his cheek. Sydney and Gina decided I would be spending the night at the Alaric manor. After breakfast the Alarics would escort me to the Montgomery clan home where we would all visit until lunch.
"Thunderdrop needs his spider food, and all of my things are in my room at Simon's house," I said, trying to convince them it would be easier for me to stay with him.
"Don't worry, dear. Cook fed Thunderdrop with ZeeZee and Cass, so don't worry about that, and I have closets of things that will fit you," Sydney said. Gina hugged and kissed me goodbye. Sherman gave me another hug that lifted me from the ground. I clung to Simon's hand when he began to hug me goodbye, too.
Simon whispered into my ear, "Eliot has promised to hide you or help you escape." Louder, he said, "Teagan has a passion for coffee and deep tubs."
"Thank you, Simon. You're a good boy," Sydney said as she waved goodnight. A butler closed the door. I was all alone with people I had just met.
Eliot smiled, bent down to me, and said, "After seeing the way my brother smiled at you, I can totally see the baby seal thing."
Horrified that I had told him what Phillip had said, I begged, "Eliot, please don't tell anyone that."
He winked at me, and said, "I can't promise anything." Thunderdrop returned to me, since Cass had gone home with Simon. Sydney took my arm.
"I've chosen a lovely room for you, Teagan. It's on the third floor." I followed her up a set of stairs that were made of wood and inlaid with the same stone used to construct the walls. "If you need me, our room is the middle door here on the second floor," she said pointing. On the third floor, she took a left along the balcony and opened the door on t
he end. A big fluffy white bed was against the wall with tables to either side. A large walk-in storage closet was to the left, and a bathroom was to the right. The wall across from the bed had been adorned with a large painting of the Arachnean landscape. The bed had been turned down. Thunderdrop jumped onto it and curled his legs under himself on a pillow.
"He is tired from playing all day. However, you must be tired from all of the rapid changes to everything you thought you knew and all of the genetic samples. Now, you have two more families in addition to the one you created for yourself," Sydney said. The soft compassion in her voice had my eyes beginning to swell and my nose turning red. She put her arms around me, and I let my forehead drop to her shoulder. She patted my back. "Try to get some sleep while you can. Gram wakes early, and she will not let you out of her sight."
"Yes, ma'am. Thank you." I noticed Ethan and Eliot standing in the door frame. I wiped at my eyes.
"Goodnight," Ethan said as he collected his wife and began walking with her toward the stairs.
Eliot walked in. "Are you going to be okay?" I shrugged.
"I just can't seem to understand that this is real. Hiroshi adopted Yukihyo as his brother, and Yukihyo married me, so I have a family now, because they've let me into theirs. You are all telling me that I'm really one of your relatives, an actual real family member and not just some interloper, so I'm really not alone. I'm just really confused. I don't know. Do you hear the storm outside?" He nodded. "If you could see the storm, but not hear it, you could understand how I feel. It seems like I have that storm rolling around in my heart and mind, and I don't know whether I should be afraid of its possible destruction, or let it lull me to sleep. It has no sound yet. What if my grandfather was a Parvac? Was my grandmother raped and too ashamed to come home? Can the doctor's device tell me if I'm one of them? What would Yukihyo think of me if that were true? They killed his entire clan." The thought of losing Yukihyo caused me pain like a sharp knife tearing through me from my throat to my ribs. Eliot took my shoulders in his hands.
"Enough, enough. If your grandmother, my great-aunt, was captured, no shame befalls you for that. She can rest in peace knowing that you are home with your family where you belong. You are an Alaric and a Montgomery. I give you my word that as long as I live, you will have me and a home. You belong here. I know Yukihyo, and he does not make decisions lightly. You are his wife, and you have both suffered because of the Parvacs. Yukihyo chose you to be his because he couldn't imagine life without you, and now he will have all of us as well. Tell me you know this in your heart to be the truth." I nodded. "You should get some sleep. I'll see you in the morning." Eliot closed the door behind him.
The Space Merchants Page 28
