In Search of High Society

by Katie Holmburg

  “Chimas just doesn’t have the correct ring for those things.”

  “Oh, and rabid fox-lemming thingies does?”

  She grinned at him, “Well, it does paint a clear picture, doesn’t it?”

  He had to reluctantly admit that it did paint a vivid picture. They reached the dining car and he was pleased when all the other men averted their gazes from Aletta. It helped soothed his fae nature that was roiling uneasily.

  Dinner was comfortable, with laughter and a discussion that didn’t have anything to do with magic training or a case for once. They shared their favorite authors and movies. Lirim even reluctantly admitted the Aletta had managed to hook him on the Starfire Chronicles, much to Aletta’s merriment.

  He was surprised when Aletta let out a large sigh when dinner was finished. He asked, “What’s wrong?”

  She placed her napkin beside her plate, appearing to search for the right words. “Nothing’s wrong, really. I’m just going to miss this.”

  Trying to figure out his partner’s sudden odd mood, he asked quietly, “This?”

  She waved discreetly around the room. “This. The time on the train. The food has been excellent, but it’s been a nice change of pace. Things are always so hectic, it’s been nice to unwind for a bit. No expectations, no urgent business to deal with, no one watching our every move. It’s been nice.”

  He offered her a small smile. “Ah, I know exactly what you’re talking about. I was thinking the same thing while I was waiting for you. It’s been nice to step away from everything for a couple of days. But if it’s any consolation, I think you’ll enjoy the Glade as well. It’s very peaceful.”

  His tone must’ve let more slip than he intended because Aletta studied him closely. He didn’t know what she saw, but her expression softened and understanding entered her eyes, making the amber seem to glow.

  She merely said, “You must show me your favorite places then. No one I know has ever been to the Glade, but I’ve heard that it’s enchanting and magical.”

  He had to think it over for a minute. “I suppose it is that, but to me, it’s where I grew up. It’s comfortable and familiar.”

  She nodded her understanding. Getting to her feet, she stretched, extending one arm over her head and stretching, then switching to the other side. Seeing him still sitting, she smiled and said, “C’mon, let’s go make sure that everything’s ready to go.”

  He didn’t protest, climbing to his feet. “And then what?”

  Aletta shrugged casually, “I dunno, play cards or something I guess.”

  Chapter Four

  Lirim was right, it had only taken a couple of minutes to tidy their cabin and make sure that everything was ready to go. That task done, they still had a few hours until they reached the Glade. Digging around in her pack, she mulled over the conversation. During the train ride, she had noticed Lirim slowly relaxing. She hadn’t realized how tense he’d been in Isenton until their lighthearted dinner this evening. She felt a brief flash of failure as his partner, but quickly pushed it aside. Dwelling on things that couldn’t be changed was counterproductive. It also hadn’t escaped her notice that he didn’t call the Glade home. Where did Lirim consider his home?

  Pulling out a deck of cards, she let out a little crow of triumph. “Aha, I knew I had one in here somewhere. What do you want to play?”

  They squabbled good naturedly before finally settling on rummy. Not the most exciting of games but it would help pass the time until the train reached the Glade. They turned out to be evenly matched and the leader seemed to switch every round. They were about to do one last hand to declare the winner when the Glade was announced. Aletta grumbled but reluctantly cleaned up the cards. She declared, “I want a rematch to find out who the better player is. I’m not going to lose to you. My grandmother taught me, sweet little lady. No one realized that she was a card shark until after she cleaned them out.”

  He chuckled, “I’ll make sure to put it on my calendar. Rematch to beat Aletta at rummy.”

  She slugged him on the shoulder, but it lacked any real heat. Suddenly unsure, she looked at herself before looking back at Lirim. “Are you sure that your family will be ok with me dressed like this?”

  He nodded immediately. “You look fine, don’t worry so much.”

  She sighed, “Easy for you to say. Well, if they have a problem, I’ll just blame it all on you.”

  He shrugged good naturedly. “They won’t even notice, I promise. They’ll just be happy to see us. They’ve been nagging me to stop by for a while now.”

  Catching a note that she couldn’t quite define in his voice, she asked, “How long has it been since you’ve been home?”

  His lips pressed together hard for the barest moment before he sighed. “It’s been a while. It was too quiet there after everything. I left pretty quickly and didn’t look back.” Straightening, he changed the subject. “We need to get ready to get off.”

  Aletta let it slide, knowing that the subject of the war and its aftermath were sensitive ones for him. Reaching up for her stowed luggage, she caught a glimpse of her watch. It read almost midnight. Yanking her luggage from the rack, she teetered precariously for a second before catching her balance. “Won’t we be disturbing them by arriving so late?”

  He quickly pulled down the rest of the luggage before she could reach it. “If they’re already in bed, they won’t even notice our arrival. However, they could still be up or they could even be out at a party. They know that we’re coming and will have left the house open for us.”

  Pushing down the urge to strangle him for his lack of concern and her nervousness, she took a deep breath. Feeling the brakes engage as the train slowed for its approach, she reached out and braced herself on Lirim so she wouldn’t fly across the compartment. He didn’t say anything, merely shifted his stance so he supported both of them. Aletta felt a small smile threaten to break loose. He would drive her crazy one minute and then the next unconsciously say or do something to show the depth of his protectiveness and care for her wellbeing.

  Fighting back a yawn despite sleeping for most of the afternoon, healing really took a toll on the body, Aletta decided to just let it all go. The main goal was to reach Lirim’s parents’ house and find a place to crash. Dealing with the chimas and her Sheridan powers could be dealt with in the morning.

  Once the train had slowed enough that walking wasn’t a problem, they exited their compartment and made their way slowly over to where the door was. The upside of traveling by train was that her leg had a few days rest to help with the healing. The down side was that she wasn’t able to exercise it as much as she had wanted, so it was a little stiff, slowing her progress.

  Finally they reached the station and they disembarked. Aletta and Lirim were the only people to get off at this stop and as soon as they had exited, the doors closed with quiet click and with a soft whoosh, it was off into the night making its way to its next destination.

  Aletta took a moment to get her bearings, the solid ground unusual after two days on a moving train. Lirim waited patiently while she looked around, breathing in the air deeply. Offering him a slight smile, she said, “It smells different here. Fresher.”

  Seeing that she was ready to go, he picked up the luggage, ignoring her protests that she could handle her bags. “It’s the lack of exhaust. There aren’t many cars here in the Glade. Mainly a few used to bring supplies from the farms to the markets.”

  She struggled with that for a minute before filing it away mentally in things to be examined in the morning. “How far to your parents?”

  He started walking. “Five minutes brisk walk. Probably ten at our pace.”

  She sighed, “I’m sorry to slow you down. I know that it must be aggravating for you.”

  He frowned thoughtfully. “Actually, it’s kinda nice. It’s given me an opportunity to slow down and actually take in things.”

  Aletta felt a tiny brush on her powers. Enjoying the slight burn of stretching mu
scles in her leg, she asked, “Did you just release your power?”

  Looking more relaxed than she’d seen for a while, he answered, “Yeah, this place is chock full of plants and magic. It’s rejuvenating. Did you use your gift?”

  “I just felt it barely brush my passive field. I have it tucked in close, not sure about the etiquette on magic use here. I figured that five feet is a decent enough distance since you’re right here and this is kinda your home turf.”

  “I’ll explain all the etiquette tomorrow, but you can have it out to where it’s comfortable for you. And while I’m glad for your faith in me, don’t rely on anyone completely for your protection. It could get you killed.”

  Sensing his thoughts taking a dark turn, she didn’t know if it was from the war, from being back in the Glade, or something that she wasn’t aware of. She decided to distract him before it could worsen. “If there aren’t cars here, what do you use for transportation?”

  He shook off his gathering gloom with obvious effort, but didn’t ignore her like she had half expected. “We usually walk, everything is fairly close. That or ride. There are carts, but those are mainly in the market section. Some of the wealthier families have carriages, but most on a whole prefer to walk. The Glade is built on a lay convergence as well as strategically located, so usually the weather is nice and the winters are mild. It was a blessing during the Hidden years. Weather is something that is notoriously difficult to adjust with magic, so we were very fortunate.”

  Turning over the unfamiliar term away in her mind, she tucked it away to ask about later. She asked, “Why is weather hard to influence?”

  “By nature, weather is such a delicately balanced system. It takes such a variety of factors to create any type of weather condition. If you try to tweak it and even one thing gets out of balance, that’s when natural disasters happen. It’s better to not risk it.”

  Smothering a yawn, Aletta responded, “I had no idea that things were so delicate.” She knew that he had noticed her yawn but thankfully didn’t say anything.

  They walked in silence for a few minutes, Aletta greedily soaking in what she could see from the soft illumination of the streetlights. The streets almost seemed cobbled, but the walk was smoother than cobblestones could ever be. Trees and flowers were everywhere, softly perfuming the night with their delicate fragrance. She knew that if she asked Lirim, he would be able to identify exactly what they were, but she was enjoying the ambience of a foreign land. The streetlamps reminded her of the old ones from colonial times, but these were clean, not sooty, and gave a gentle steady glow that didn’t flicker and conceal as much as it showed. However, the light was almost diffuse, giving it a softness that changed the brightness from glaring to a gentle invitation to enjoy the night. Although the street was clearly illuminated, the houses lining it were not. Although they occasional passed a lit window, the occurrences were few, leading her to believe that the people had either turned in early or possessed excellent curtains. Maybe both, for all she knew.

  So caught up was she in examining her surroundings that she missed Lirim stopping until he caught her arm in a gentle grip. Once he was satisfied that he had her attention, he tugged her gently towards an ornate set of steps. “This is my parents’ place.”

  Aletta couldn’t help gawking. She stuttered, “This isn’t a house. It’s a mansion.”

  He eyed it for a moment before shrugging. “I suppose.”

  “You suppose?! Why didn’t you tell me that your parents are rich? I can’t stay here.”

  He frowned. “Why not?”

  She wailed quietly, “Look at how I’m dressed. I don’t belong here. Just take me to a hotel or something.”

  He groaned, “Are we back to that again? Your clothes are perfectly fine. Also, since it’s a mansion, it means that there’s tons of space. Lastly, Aunt Awena and mother would draw and quarter me if I allowed you to stay anywhere but here.” Letting the luggage drop onto the stoop, he faced her fully. “Why are you making a big deal of this? I didn’t think that wealth or Fae versus Humans bothered you.”

  Aletta fidgeted. She knew that she could blow this off but doing so would hurt their partnership. For how long, she didn’t know, but she wasn’t willing to risk it. She finally admitted, “I don’t deserve the hospitality.”

  He waited patiently but she didn’t add anything else. “I don’t understand.”

  “I’m useless. The captain sent me to get me out of sight because I messed up during our last investigation. I can’t even assist you here because of my bum leg. I’m sure that the chimas won’t slow down for someone with a limp. Your family is excited to meet me because of how I helped your aunt, but I still have no idea how I did that. I have no idea how to use this ‘gift’ of mine. What possible benefit can there be from having me here?”

  He stared at her for a moment, appearing to order his thoughts before speaking. Aletta looked at him miserably, wondering if he would agree with her assessment. He finally spoke quietly, “I don’t know where all of this is coming from and we will discuss this more at a later date. But know this, you are not useless and you are not a burden. My parents are excited to meet you, but not just because you helped Aunt Awena. They’re excited to meet my partner. You’re the first person that’s ever lasted more than a few weeks with me. You are also one of the few people that I ever mention to them from my life in the city. I will admit that my mother is more excited to meet you than Cy, for example, but my father would probably prefer to meet Cy. You honestly don’t meet very many Shifter sharpshooters and my dad’s a gun connoisseur and would love to talk shop with him. Now, come inside and we can talk more in the morning.”

  Feeling a more insistent yawn approach, Aletta abruptly gave in. She was obviously more tired than she thought and she could always move to a hotel in the morning. Did the Glade even have hotels? “All right, I’ll stay.”

  Although he hesitated, he accepted it after a moment and turned to use the door knocker. The door was swiftly opened by a butler who ushered them smoothly inside. “Hello, Master Lirim. Good to see you again. Did you and your companion have a pleasant trip?”

  “Evening Reynard, the trip was a good one. However, Miss Sheridan is quite exhausted, did mother have a room made up for her?”

  “Of course. Her ladyship was very excited about your visit. She had the azure room made up for her. Would you like me to escort her up?”

  Lirim shook his head decisively, “No worries, I can take her there. Are my parents at home?”

  “Very good, Master Lirim. No, your parents have gone to the Grangridge ball this evening and don’t expect to be back until late. They said to inform you that they would see you for brunch.”

  “Thank you, Reynard. I believe that I shall turn in as well. Good night.” Grabbing the luggage, Lirim nodded for Aletta to follow him and made his way across the foyer and up the grand staircase.

  Aletta followed obediently, her brain having obviously gone on strike against any farther thinking or questioning. Despite her long nap on the train, she wanted nothing more than to fall into bed and sleep for a week. Entering the second floor, she followed Lirim down a few corridors before he finally stopped in front of a door. She quickly circled him and opened it so he wouldn’t have to set the bags down.

  He nodded his thanks and entered, carefully piling her suitcases so she would have no problem accessing them. “The bathroom is through that door. Is there anything that you need before I go?” She shook her head. “Tug on the bell pull if you need anything and someone will come shortly. Brunch should be around nine or ten, but don’t worry about making it if you need extra sleep. Sleep well, I’ll see you tomorrow.”

  Without waiting for her to respond, he strode from the room, surprising and puzzling her. He was always so conscientious about her and her feelings that his abrupt departure felt out of character for him. She sighed and dug her pajamas out. She could puzzle it out in the morning. Right now, she needed sleep.

  Chapter F
ive

  Aletta awoke feeling immensely refreshed. Her gloom and depression from the night before had disappeared, banished by a good night’s sleep and the bright sunlight. Jumping from bed, she stretched and giggled quietly at the chorus of pops from her back. Striding over to the window, she basked in the sunlight as she drank in the magnificent gardens that surrounded the mansion. And it was definitely a mansion, there was no other word for it.

  Tucking a strand of hair behind her ear, she shrugged. She didn’t know why she’d been so overwhelmed the day before. There was no reason for her to be intimidated to stay in Lirim’s family’s home. Hearing her stomach rumble, she reluctantly pulled herself away from the magnificent view and set about preparing for the day.

  Rummaging through her suitcases, she tried to pick an outfit that would stand up for whatever they would be doing. She decided on running shorts for mobility underneath an ankle length black skirt. The flowy fabric was flattering and would also help hide the fact that she had a leg in the cast. A simple crimson blouse with a scooped neckline and tight sleeves that ended at the elbow. For her shoe, she chose a gladiator sandal. It paired well with the outfit and despite its delicate look, she could walk in it comfortably all day.

  Satisfied, she quickly rinsed off and got dressed, completing the look with a pair of simple gold earrings and pulling her hair back with a ribbon that matched her blouse. Applying a light layer of makeup for a natural look, she smiled at her reflection and headed out in search of food.

  Not knowing the route from the night before, it had been like she was in a fog, she headed back down the corridor, hoping to run into someone who could direct her to the breakfast room. Luck was on her side and she quickly ran into a maid who led her to the breakfast room before curtsying and going on her way.

  She discreetly checked to make sure that her clothing was still neat, then took a deep breath and entered the room. There were two people already in the room and she paused to study them. After a glance, she knew that these had to be Lirim’s parents. The woman was slender with deep red hair and eyes the same shade of green as Lirim’s. She was laughing at something the man had said and her eyes had the same sparkle as his occasional got when he was in a teasing mood. Looking at the male, she could definitely see the family resemblance. He had gotten his father’s height, dark hair, and the same strong jawline. The most noticeable difference between the two were that his father’s eyes were steel gray compared to Lirim’s emerald.