Stupid Girl

by Mary E. Twomey

  Remy glanced up at Lane warily, who closed her eyes before giving him a curt nod. “He’s not alive, Rosie. There’s nothing to be done for him. I can bury him, if you like.”

  Panic welled in me, my sudden mood swing chasing Hamish off my shoulder. “No! Demi doesn’t like the dark anymore. We were in the well for so long and couldn’t see each other! You can’t put him back in the dark!”

  Bastien turned away and walked to the corner of the room to get some breathing space. Lane placed her hand on mine, using gentle but firm pressure to reel me in. “If we can’t put him in the dark, what would you like us to do with him?” She cleared her throat. “He can’t stay here, Rosie. I don’t allow soumettres to work in my house. We have servants, but none of them… service us in the way most of my sisters allow.” She tried to find a polite way to skirt around the issue, but her nose was still pinched in distaste. It was probably pretty similar to how my face looked when I found out about that little custom.

  I tried my best to force my brain to focus, and finally came up with an idea that would suit everyone’s wishes. “He has family in Province 8. Could he go live with them? He always wanted to go back home.”

  Bastien turned around with a mix of determination and hope in his raised eyebrows. “I can take him right now, if you like.”

  Lane nodded, but the fear on my face couldn’t be concealed for the sake of my pride. Pride was one of the things that had been stripped from me, along with my dress. I didn’t have the need to protect my desires from public view anymore. Life was too short to pretend I didn’t want what I needed. My heartbeat drummed in my ears when the truth I’d been trying to shove under the rug burst out of me, raw and unpolished. “I don’t want you to go,” I admitted.

  Bastien’s resolute expression melted into a reverent affection I’d seen in passing, but was never able to study up close without it running off his face completely if I got too near his exposed heart. He rubbed his hand over his chest to let him know I’d touched him in his soft spots without lifting a finger. “You have no idea how long I’ve waited to hear you say that. I won’t go, then.”

  Lane cleared her throat, glancing uncomfortably between us. “I can send one of my riders out.”

  Though I couldn’t give Demi a good life here, I could at least return him to his brothers and sisters. It wasn’t enough, but given my current state of deterioration, it was the best I could do. His adventure wouldn’t end in Morgan’s castle.

  “Get some sleep, Princess. I’ll come check on you in the morning.” Remy gave my newly cleaned fingers a reassuring squeeze, packed up his bag and left.

  “I need to go check on Reyn,” Lane said, touching her eyebrow in concern as she glanced at the door.

  “Go ahead. She won’t be out of my sight. If Reyn needs more magic to try to get it all to stick again, you might want to purge from Roland this time. I don’t want to compromise myself when Rosie’s been attacked so recently.”

  I was touched that Bastien was thinking about my safety, and taking it more seriously than either of us had before. There was something about his focus that made me feel more secure than his hulking muscles alone could.

  Lane had a different reaction. She crossed the room and placed a hand on either side of Bastien’s face, pulling him down so that his forehead was pressed to hers. She closed her eyes, and I could see her fingers digging into his cheeks with barely contained fury. “I swear to you on all you hold precious in this life and the next, Draper and I will tear your bowels from your screaming body and use them to strangle you if you have sex with my daughter.” She squeezed his face harder, her fingers trembling. “Remember that I am Morgan le Fae’s sister. I have real darkness in me that wouldn’t bother to blink if you dare defy me under my own roof. Untouchable or not, you’ll obey my rules for my daughter, or you’ll die screaming your regrets. You are not Untouchable, but as far as you’re concerned, my daughter is until her wedding day.”

  Bastien gulped, and though he could turn her over in a hot second, he nodded his submission. “Yes, your majesty.” The title was a banner of respect he didn’t have to pay her, and had never paid to Morgan. Lane deserved the honor, so he gave it to her, not caring about his own pride in the moment. I thought I understood how much I loved him, but then he lowered his voice to a pleading whisper. “Please don’t send me away from her. I love your daughter.”

  I swallowed hard, unable to look away from the fierce mama bear who loved me enough to say the uncomfortable things. Morgan had sent me a guy to screw to my heart’s content, but Lane was protecting my heart at every turn. “You can stay, but you’re done being a child. You’re done being an angry old man. Your relationship learning curve is officially over. You’ll be the best thing that ever happened to my Rosie, or you’ll be thrown out with the trash, and no one in this house will shed a single tear for you. You are not her great adventure. Do not forget that.” She pursed her lips, and I knew the gavel was coming by the flash of fury in her green eyes. “You are not worthy of my daughter. If you truly want to be with her, you’ll see to remedying that immediately.”

  Bastien carefully held Lane by the wrists and pried her hands off his face. “Understood. Tell Reyn I’ll check on him tomorrow if Rosie’s feeling better.”

  Lane nodded, and then moved back to the bed to kiss my cheek with a playful smile that told me she knew what a badass she was. “Get some sleep, baby. I love you.”

  “You’re not leaving the castle, right? You and Draper are staying here?”

  Lane softened, taking in my childlike insecurity with compassion. “We’ll stay in the mansion, and we’ll all be here when you wake.”

  Mommy and Daddy and Home

  Hamish skittered over my lap, and scampered up onto my shoulder, scolding me for getting cold again. He worried that I hadn’t smiled yet.

  “Sometimes you have to wait out a smile. It’ll come, Hamish. Just not today.”

  Bastien lowered the lamplight and drew the curtains, but the room was still too large to feel homey. The four-poster had drapery I hadn’t noticed when I’d first come in. Then again, there was probably a lot that would be a surprise by morning. Without a word, Bastien helped me lay down in the bed after feeding me a few more bites of a roll and another sip of water. I only spoke when he started closing the curtains around the bed, making it three-quarters of the way around before the panic burst out of me. “I don’t like the dark!” I blurted out. “Can we leave one of the curtains open?”

  Bastien paused. “Of course. How about the one facing the door, so I can make sure I see anything trying to come inside?”

  “Okay. Do you have your knives?”

  He displayed his belt, which had his leather sheath on the side. “Never leave home without them.”

  “Will you keep them nearby?”

  Bastien examined my face before nodding. “You don’t have to worry in here. If I’m around, you’re not in danger. You keep getting messed with when you’re out of my sight. I won’t make that mistake again. Get ready to be closer than you’ve ever been with any other guy. How long until you think you get sick of my face?” He crossed his eyes just to make me smile, and whataya know, it worked.

  Hamish hugged my cheek, overjoyed that the smile he’d been wishing for had returned to him.

  “Too late, I’m already bored. If only you were handsome.” I sighed dramatically.

  I expected more banter, but Bastien leaned across the mattress and pressed a kiss to my lips. “You made a joke,” he explained of his affection. “You’re still in there.”

  “It wasn’t a joke,” I teased. His body felt right, hovering next to mine.

  “I missed you.” He kissed me again, melting us both. I couldn’t help the yawn that swept over me, though I did have the grace to turn my head away from the kiss and clumsily cover my mouth halfway through. “Sorry.”

  Bastien leaned down and snorted a laugh into my neck. “Man, if you ever wanted to tell me I’m not pretty enough to look a
t, yawning in my face mid-kiss is the way to go.”

  I grimaced, patting the back of his head with a weighted hand. “I didn’t mean to! I’m sorry, Bastien. I take it all back. You’re completely lust-worthy. You’re sexy and handsome and…” I yawned again, making Hamish and Bastien laugh together. “I can’t help it!”

  Bastien sucked on my lower lip before pulling himself off the mattress. “Get some sleep, honey.”

  He observed a shiver that rolled through me, despite the fact that I was buried under a thick down comforter. “Come here, Abraham Lincoln. Up you get.” Bastien patted the mattress, bringing good old Abe up next to me. My teddy bear was a big boy now, and sank like a rock on the left side of the mattress. He positioned himself between me and the door, just in case.

  My body rolled to his, and I breathed contentedly at the warmth his brown fur radiated. “Oh, I missed this.”

  Bastien gazed down lovingly at us. “I know you did.”

  I waved Bastien to come around and snuggle with Abe and me. There was plenty of room at my back. An unfathomable look crossed his features before he nodded, going around the closed curtain to come in behind us. He shed his boots, socks, signature flannel, and his belt, though he tucked the sheathed knife under my pillow to make sure we weren’t unarmed.

  Bastien sunk down behind me, his arm wrapping around my torso to pet Abraham Lincoln. Now I had heat in front of me, and heat from behind. My body sighed as the cold finally started to seep out of my bones.

  Bastien shifted a few times, trying to get comfortable. “Sorry. I’m afraid to take off my jeans. Lane’s speech scared me a little.”

  “Smart guy.” I giggled softly. “She’s the best.”

  Hamish wouldn’t tolerate being left out of the reunion, so he dove down under my chin and curled himself into a ball that rested over my heart, his tail draped on his teddy bear. I heard Abraham Lincoln’s contended coos of “Mommy” and “Daddy” and “home”.

  I sighed, letting much of my anxiety go as a wave of exhaustion swept over me. “That’s right, baby. Mommy and Daddy are home now.”

  Bastien’s intake of breath told me he hadn’t been expecting me to settle so easily into a rhythm with him. He lowered the edge of my robe so he could kiss my naked shoulder, giving us both the shivers. “You’re my home,” he promised, “and I’m your safe place. I’ve got you.”

  The gentle lantern light barely reached us, only highlighting small details as I turned my head to glance over my shoulder at his striking features. I knew I needed to sleep, but he was just too stunning to look away from. Watching him promise me things I’d never thought him capable of, and looking at me like… well, no one had ever looked at me like that. “Thank you for rescuing me. Thanks for not giving up on me.”

  “Never,” he vowed. His hand wound around my stomach, tracing my ribs and pressing his palm under my breast so my torso elongated. “I love you, Daisy.”

  Inmunis

  My imagination wasn’t a safe place, but Bastien’s arms were. My dreams were haunted, plunging me back down into the well. Carcasses rained down on my head, but they weren’t just quails. Demi’s whole dead body was thrown down on me again and again. It was a long night for all involved. Bastien woke me any time my fear grew palpable, and didn’t pull away when I wailed out Demi’s name. Lane’s room wasn’t too far, and each time she heard me cry out, she was in our room in the next minute, coaxing water into me and reminding me that I was safe, and that we were together again.

  It was two days and two nights of my grieving the loss of a man who had been kind to me when the world was mean and ugly. The worst part of that was that I cried for Demi in Bastien’s arms. Most puzzling was that Bastien was unselfish every step of the way as my heart bled for Demi.

  “I know, Daisy. Let it out.”

  I didn’t deserve how kind Bastien was being through all of it. As often as I woke, he held me gently, soothing me back to sleep. Not once did he leave. Not once did he get frustrated with my lack of progress. He loved me, and it turns out, Bastien’s love was the kind that was learning how to heal the brokenness around him. He was a builder, though everyone labeled him a destroyer, what with his Untouchable title.

  When Draper came in with breakfast, Bastien kissed my lips in front of my sort of brother. The corner of his mouth turned up at the sight of my blush. “I’m going to do a check of the grounds. I need to make sure Demi’s been taken back to his home, and I also want to put in a few extra security measures for you and Lane.” He pulled back the curtains to expose my bed to the room, and then sat down in a nearby chair to shove on his socks and boots.

  Draper cuffed Bastien’s shoulder when Bastien hesitated at the door, looking like he didn’t want to leave. “I’ll stay with her until you come back. Go on.”

  Bastien still looked uncertain. “I’ll send Mad up. He’ll keep you safe, Rosie.”

  “Take Abraham Lincoln. People will listen more if you have a tamed bear backing you up.” I kissed my teddy bear and sent him off with Bastien. Hamish promised to hold down the fort with me, even going so far as to salute Bastien.

  Draper rolled his eyes when Bastien left, as if Bastien was being overbearing. The truth of it was that the second Bastien left the room, I felt uneasy, exposed and worried. “Is it safe for him to leave the mansion?”

  Draper’s upper lip twitched in amusement. “I think he’ll be just fine. Lane’s land was reserved for shepherds and farmers until the famine chased most of them away. They’ve come back in the past couple weeks, though, ready to take their land back.”

  “So Lane has like, people and land and all that to rule over?”

  Draper handed me a bowl of strawberry-scented porridge, watching me carefully for signs of duress. My hands got the occasional tremors still, and the effort that it was for my joints to bend to hold a simple spoon made me feel like a wuss. It had been a couple days since my rescue. I mean, shouldn’t I be doing jumping jacks already? Draper studied my movements as he spoke. “She has many subjects. Even more now, thanks to you and the Untouchables. People from all over are still coming in, claiming old plots and making them their own. It’s kind of amazing to see. We merged with Province 4, and that’s been going over smoothly.”

  Madigan let himself into my room and pulled up a chair between me and the door. “Bastien said I was to sit with ye until he came back. Are ye well?”

  I didn’t know how to answer that, so I simply blinked at him. I was turning back into Remedial Rosie, I guess, unable to answer simple questions.

  Madigan lowered his chin, seeming to understand that sometimes there weren’t words. “Aye. You’re safe now. Ye should get my ring sized so it’s actually on your finger.”

  I touched the chain around my neck that had Mad’s engagement ring fashioned on it. “I don’t think Meara would be okay with me doing that. She gave it to you, and probably wouldn’t like me making changes to it. One day I’ll give it back to you, and it’ll be like this never happened.”

  Mad met my eyes, seeing with gratitude the respect I paid his deceased wife. “Aye. Link’s out screening the people who want to live close to the mansion. He’s sending the troublemakers toward the center of the province to give ye and Lane a safer home.”

  I pulled back, confused. “That’s awful nice of him. Did Lane ask him to do that?”

  “She didn’t have to. It needed to be done, so Link’s taking care of it.”

  Hamish laid out on my lap, belly-up so he could get a good tummy rub from me. I set the bowl down on the bed, and stroked his torso with two fingers while I thought over Mad’s words. “Huh. I didn’t realize he cared so much about Province 9. You guys aren’t even from Avalon. That’s super way nice of him.”

  Madigan shook his head. “You’re Bastien’s lady, and my fiancée. The Brotherhood takes care of our own. Your job is just larger because of who your family is.” He waved his hand like what he’d said wasn’t a big deal. “You’ll see. Once ye get marked, people will meet y
e and see tha you’re one of us. If ye ever travel to Éireland, you’ll have protection.”

  “Marked?” I questioned as I reached for the cup on my nightstand. My fingers were trembling, and I worried that I might spill the water, but I was too stubborn to ask for help. I’d needed help escaping the well – fine. I didn’t want to be so weak that I required assistance just to drink a few swallows of water.

  Draper didn’t say a word when his hand coiled around mine, steadying my grip on the cup. My pride took a serious hit when my brother pressed the cup to my lips. He remained quiet, meeting my eye every now and then as he listened to the customs of the tightly-knit group of Untouchables. I could tell he had opinions, but he was keeping them to himself for now. He set the cup back down on the table, and then picked up my bowl, spooning out a bit of oatmeal, as if I was too weak to even feed myself. When I took the bowl from him, I nearly dropped it all over Hamish. My squirrel did me a solid and coiled himself in a circle on my lap, beckoning me to rest my bowl atop his body. My squirrel could hold a bowl steadier than I could. It was a tough blow, but somehow less humiliating than letting my big brother feed me, as he’d done when I was a baby.

  Madigan stood and moved closer to me, reaching up his meaty hand to pull down the collar of his black shirt. The neck tattoo was displayed proudly, along with the matching wrist tattoo he held out for me to see. There was some word written across a tight fist on both tattoos. I noticed a small raven inked below it that Bastien didn’t have. “What’s the bird mean?”

  “‘Inmunis’ means ‘Untouchable’, and the bird’s for my Meara when we were wed. It shows people tha I’m watching over someone, and tha she’s under my protection. My freedoms extend to her.”

  I wanted to trace the bird’s wings, but I knew how much Madigan loathed being touched. “That’s really beautiful.” My eyes widened in understanding. “Wait, I’m supposed to get that on me?”