Chapter 13

With little to no desire to be in the company of the housewives, I sunk in the armchair and intently watched the women in that room engage in whispered conversation, while giving me furtive glances.

" Oh, please," Viviene burst a little louder," Now you sound like Celeste. At least she claims that she can divine if you will meet your fated one soon," She dryly added, and my interest soared through the roof.

" Celeste?" I curiously interjected. That alone was sufficient to put all eyes in the room on me. Gathering my wits, I straightened myself up and tipped my chin in defiance. I had no intention to back down, although it was my first time among the uppity housewives.

" Yes. She is this mad woman that lives at the edge of Morston Quarter that claims she can foretell the future," I heard a small voice from the corner of the room, as she stood up and stepped into the light. The girl with dark short tresses, hauntingly dark eyes, pale skin, and roughly my height, dominated the room with her imperious demeanour, walking around at a very slow pace, gently brushing the back of the sofa with her fingers.

" This is DeeDee, my youngest daughter. And apparently she has not inherited any sense of decency, or manners for that matter. Regardless of how many times she has been told that it is rude to interrupt a conversation, even more so, when, what comes out of her mouth is absolute garbage," Viviene harshly criticised her daughter who by all accounts, didn't seem bothered in the least at her mother's criticism. Thick skin, I thought. Most certainly thicker than mine.

The subsequent eye roll was unexpected from Deedee," You can call me Dee," She added as she turned on her heels to leave the room. She was high-handed, no doubt.

" Deedee, where do you think you're going?" Viviene hissed through gritted teeth, as she followed Deedee through the room.

" I'm going to see Father since he is less of a...," She fiendishly said, as she scurried out of the room, most likely to avoid more berating and her mother's wrath. Even though I didn't catch the last word, I gathered that it wasn't anything nice, since Viviene's ears smoke was coming out. Just like Deedee, I had butted in the conversation, however for once I didn't feel guilty about it. Celeste was next on my list since dwelled in the mystic world, she might be able to offer some answer to my newest and most challenging predicament.

Grunting in frustration, Viviene returned to her seat, and exasperated with her daughter, almost as red as her hair. I wondered briefly where the other siblings were.

" Don't mind Deidre, she has melodramatic tendencies," Viviene added mirthless. It runs in the family by the looks of it, I wanted to say, but I smiled instead, and nodded.

" Darling," One of the women present in the room, slightly older than the rest, piped in," We are curious. How is it that you came under Mr Kinnaird's care? It is such a mystery that one day you just popped up, like a mushroom after a heavy rain," The woman in a snobbish tone, a little condescending, disguised with a very polite smile, asked. I didn't care very much for the analogy, but it surprised me that they weren't familiar with the story. Then again, Mason was quite secretive about his affairs, and that had its perks in situations such as that one.

" It was my parent's wish." I kept it short in answering the question, even though it was met with a little surprise. Until I met Mason, I had no idea that my parents even did business in Morston.

The woman hummed in response and fell deep in thought while the others just stared at me, most likely itching to ask more questions.

" Can you tell us if he is just as stiff at home as he is at these gatherings?" A younger woman chimed in, as she shuffled onto the sofa, coming into my full view. She was pretty and pretty curious.

" The same," I had no idea how to even begin to explain how many layers were there to Mason, but in hindsight, they were just fishing for information.

" I see Enid instructed you well," Viviene amusedly piped in, glancing at Enid, who sulked, slumped on the sofa, surprisingly quiet.

" There isn't much to tell, Viviene," Enid sighed exasperated and pushed herself off the sofa to stand.

" I need to use the ladies. If you will excuse me," Enid said as she made her way across the floor, and tilted her chin up at me. Apparently, I needed the ladies too.

" Excuse me," I said as I followed her lead, jumping out of the armchair and following her suit. I wasn't going to sit in the same room with an entire interrogation team, not on my own.

" I thought you needed to use the ladies," I said when Enid kept strutting towards the door, which was nowhere close to the bathroom.

" I do. I didn't say which. We are going home," Enid added in a jolly mood, as we stepped into the main hall of the house.

" Leaving already," Aidan said as he opened the door for us. Enid inwardly chuckled, and halted her steps, to take her coat and purse hanging off Aidan's arm.

" Is it that obvious? Thank you. It has been great seeing you, Aidan. It's a shame you live with these people" Enid amusedly added, as she slipped into her coat.

The dry chuckle behind me, made my smile drop, and for some reason, my blood froze. I didn't dare to look. I already knew who it was. Aidan didn't waste any time disappearing into thin air, leaving me and Enid at Mason's mercy.

" You lasted longer than I thought you would," I wasn't to which one of us he was referring to, but Enid mischievously smiled, at his remark.

" Well, you know me," She cleared her throat," I like peace. Since I won't be getting any of that here, I'm going home," She added grinning ear to ear. Boy, she was enthusiastic about leaving, as I had never seen her before.

Mason hummed," How about you, Lily? Feeling well enough to stay a little longer?" My mind went blank, but still managed to gather enough strength to turn around.

" No, maybe some other time," I stammered and swallowed the knot in my throat. I had no idea why was I even there in the first place. I couldn't even possibly imagine any reason to have me dragged to a formal event when I was nothing more than his ward.

" Very well. Until next time then. Good night," He coldly said and waved towards the open door.

" Good night," I smiled and locked eyes with him, hoping that I would get even the slightest inkling as to why he wanted us there that night.No such luck. After a few moments, I turned on my heels, and made my way out the door, towards the car where Enid was already waiting, smiling no less. Glancing at the clock on the dashboard, I sighed relieved that we got to home early.

The forty-odd minutes in that house fell like a lifetime and left me a little queasy.