Page 97 of Hollow Court
I took a sip of my whiskey, perhaps a larger one than was strictly necessary, before answering. “Forgive me if I want her to have all the facts up front. I’m trying to be a good…ally.”
He made a mock thoughtful noise. “And yet, I seem to recall Laird Gregory only having three cats, not thirty.”
I cleared my throat.
It was possible that I exaggerated on that front, with Gwyn’s assistance. “How am I supposed to remember the exact number of cats a man has?”
My parents both coincidentally suppressed coughs at the exact same time.
“Well, this dance is ending if you want to step in yourself.” There was a challenge in Gal’s words, but I brushed them off.
“I can’t now,” I said, glancing back down into my glass before finishing it off.
“Then I suppose I’ll have to be the one to save her before old Laird Henderson steps in.” He still didn’t move, waiting for my reaction.
I smiled through my gritted teeth, waving a hand toward the dance floor. “Don’t let me stop you.”
Gallagher shook his head before heading in that direction, muttering what sounded suspiciously like a Socairan insult under his breath. I set my glass down with more force than was strictly necessary, eliciting raised eyebrows from both of my parents.
“Something the matter?” Da’ asked mildly.
“Tavish is the matter,” I answered darkly, decidedly not noticing the way that Galina’s smile widened, her shoulders easing when Gallagher stepped in to take her partner’s place.
My parents wore twin expressions of neutrality.
“Yes,” Da’ said evenly. “That does seem to be the problem.”
“He’s cozying up to the docket master’s family,” I told them.
“So we noticed,” Mamá said.
Of course they had. OnlyIhad been lacking in my observations this evening.
“You’re not concerned about that?” I demanded, turning to face them, though the dance floor was still very much in my periphery.
“I didn’t say that,” my mother corrected. “But there’s nothing that can be done about it tonight, which is more than I can say for your other problem.”
I held her steady gaze with my own.
“I don’t have another problem,” I lied.
She rolled her eyes, something she had perhaps done three times in my entire life.
“Indeed,” she said flatly. “My mistake. Then, I, for one, am glad you’re handling it with such grace.”
“As am I,” my father added, all false heartiness. “I think it’s delightful how well they’re getting on.”
“And it will be lovely to have her in the family,” she went on. “Don’t you think, Oli?”
“Absolutely,” Da’ agreed.
“For the last time,” I said, pinching the bridge of my nose. “We aren’t actually—”
“Oh, darling,” my mother interrupted smoothly, her eyes fixed on the dance floor ahead. “I didn’t mean you.”
“No, of course not,” Da’ chimed in. “I think you’ve removed yourself from the running with an efficiency I might go so far as to call impressive.”
“Stunning, really,” Mamá said.