18 Chapter 18

"Jamie I once rescued a magnificent wolf When I was a child Do you think it might have been the Alpha or a member of the beta clan?"

Jamie was staring into her eyes that were once again huge and gleaming with curiosity. He wondered how she must have acted when she was a child, noting how she behaved, now that she considered herself an adult. Before he could reply her, his sister, Sarah came rounding in on them.

"It's time for dinner. Did you not hear the bell?" Sara said sourly, annoyed that a strange girl from the country side had come to live with them and she was the last of her siblings to speak to her.

"And is this how Father thought you to speak to guests?" Jamie scolded.

"Father did not teach me anything about speaking to guests. Why! He rarely has them." Sara fired back. "Besides, I am not speaking to a guest, I am speaking to you Jamie – I can hardly speak to her since we've not yet been introduced." She finished up in a small voice.

Hazel stared up at the girl who looked to be about twelve years. She neither had Jamie's dark hair nor Amy's blond one. Her hair was a dull brown, and she did not look at all like Jamie or Amara, or even Lord Gareth. Because the girl standing in front of Hazel could never be classified as a beauty, Hazel refused to take her clipped tone to heart. "My name is Hazel, and you must be Sara." She said, smiling up at Jamie's sister.

The girl's face brightened up in a smile that displayed a beautiful set of teeth. "I – come inside the house, let's eat dinner." She offered shyly.

They sneaked into the manor house through the back door, and were sneaking into the dining room when a fracas in the drawing room caught their attention. Against their better judgement, they all tip-toed to press themselves against the door of the drawing room, peeping through the half open crack.

"You must let me see her Gareth. By jove! She is my own daughter, and I tell you this, she could be in danger – real danger," a man who Hazel realized in alarm had hair the same color as her own was saying in agitation.

She stared, transfixed by the man who was probably her father. She was surprised that she could not feel any emotion towards him. Her lack of emotion frightened her. This was her father! And she was only just seeing him for the first time through a half opened door. Surely, she should feel something. Anger perhaps at his neglect or joy at their eminent reunion. Perhaps, not all daughters shared bonds with their fathers.

Jamie had her indrawn breath and misunderstood her distress. He reached out his hand and gave hers a reassuring squeeze, and though Hazel felt she did not need it, she smiled her thanks.

"You do not understand. My father wants to kill her. I can live with the fact that she grew up in neglect all these years, but I don't want her death on my conscience." The man continued. He had stopped pacing and was now standing in front of Lord Gareth, pointing a large finger at the owner of Parksfield who was incredibly calm.

When Lord Gareth spoke, his tone was icy but it filled Hazel with reassurance. "And how would your conscience have fared if the girl had died far away in the country side, neglected by her powerful family simply because of the circumstances of her birth?"

Thomas opened his mouth to speak, then closed it again. "Why do you make this hard on me?" He asked pathetically. "You know my father would have it no other way."

"And must you always be controlled by your father?" Gareth asked in disgust. "As I recall, he set you up on a decent income as soon as you turned 18. You had the means to set Lilly up in a little apartment and with a few servants, some allowance. But instead, you let the poor girl make a spectacle of herself in the streets of – bah!" He exclaimed, noting Thomas's blank look. "You do not even know that her name was Lilly. Tell me Thomas, did you forget her name, or you never even deemed it fit to ask her?"

Thomas opened his mouth again to speak, and again no words came out. He was trying desperately to remember why he thought coming to Parksfield was a good idea.

"You would turn around and go home, and if you seriously desire a meeting with your daughter, then I shall set up a proper one. You would come later with your children so that she can meet her half brothers and sisters – although, I doubt what good this would do her, since she is to be married very soon."

Hazel gasped. It was not a very loud noise but it drew Gareth and Thomas's gaze to the door. Resigned, Jamie stepped out of the corner he stood. It was better to step out with dignity than to be discovered in an awkward position.

The other two followed in his wake, entering the drawing room with not up to half the confidence that rested on the lad's broad shoulders.