Gameboard of the Gods

Page 67

“Of course they do,” said Mae, the outrageous question breaking even her composure. “For goodness’ sake, Claudia. She’s from Central America.”
Claudia sniffed at the rebuke. “Well, it’s not like I have that much time to study the provinces.” She fixed her attention on Justin and gave what he suspected was meant to be a seductive smile. “So, Dr. March. What do you and my little sister do together exactly?”
Cyrus and Claudia’s husband snorted in amusement. Astrid blanched. “Claudia!”
“What?” asked Claudia innocently. “I want to know about their work.” She fluttered her eyes at Justin. “A servitor’s life must be fascinating.”
She’s so bitter and jealous of Mae that she can barely sit there, Justin observed.
Can’t you see why? asked Horatio.
Justin could. Claudia was short and dumpy, with none of the beauty and grace of her younger sister. Cain had dulled Claudia’s hair, and judging from the family’s finances, she wasn’t able to afford any treatments. That, and she had the drained look of someone who’d never left her hometown and had little to occupy her time. From the sharp looks she also gave her nephew, Mae wasn’t the only sibling Claudia envied.
She’s jealous of you too, said Horatio. You’re unsuitable by their standards, but you represent another thing Mae has that she doesn’t: dashing, exotic, good-looking.
Are you trying to take me home? Justin asked.
You know what I mean. And look who she’s with.
Justin couldn’t fault that logic either. Claudia’s husband was a lump of a man, with a thick jaw and soup running down his chin. He mostly communicated through grunts. A lowly plebeian might have been preferable to that. In fact, recalling Mae’s story, Claudia did have a thing for plebeians. With her airs, it wasn’t that hard to imagine her giving away a baby to save face. It especially wasn’t hard to imagine Astrid encouraging it.
“My job’s not that interesting,” said Justin, fully in public relations mode. “Mae just comes along to make sure no zealots get out of line. She keeps me safe. You never know what they’ll do.”
Mae’s eyes rested on him briefly, and Justin realized she was mentally assigning him to the zealot category.
Niklis brightened at Justin’s words. “Aunt Maj, do you have a gun?”
“Of course she doesn’t,” answered Astrid. “Maj would never bring a gun into this house.”
“I have two,” Mae told her nephew.
Astrid gasped. “Why would you do such a thing?”
“Because I’m on duty, Mother.” Mae had simply been stirring her soup and now pushed it away. Her face had on that emotionless mask she excelled at maintaining.
“More exciting than being Kris Eriksson’s wife, I suppose,” said Cyrus. He wasn’t exactly antagonistic toward Mae, but he definitely had a mocking attitude. It was one he dealt out to his entire family, so at least he was fair. He topped everyone’s wine off without asking. “Mae ever tell you about all the proposals she turned down? She could’ve made this family’s fortune.”
“Mae’s always done what she wanted,” grumbled Claudia. “Gone where she wanted. Run around with who she wanted.” She gave Justin and Tessa supercilious looks as she spoke.
That, more than anything else, cracked Mae’s tough exterior. She snapped some sharp Finnish retort to her sister, earning snickers from Cyrus and his wife, who seemed to think this was dinner theater. Claudia responded with something that must’ve been equally venomous, judging from Astrid’s scandalized expression.
“Show some manners!” she scolded. “Our guests are more civil than you are.” The subtext, of course, was that it was a huge embarrassment to be shown up by a plebeian and a provincial. “Remember that our family is built on principle and decorum.”
Awkward silence fell. Mae’s face became blank once more. Claudia glowered, and Cyrus kept pouring more wine than even Justin could drink. Glancing over at Tessa, he saw that the girl looked like she wanted to be anywhere but here. He couldn’t blame her. Surprisingly, it was Claudia’s dull husband who resumed some sort of civil discourse.
“So,” he said. “Did you hear that the Comets made it to the playoffs?”
Justin didn’t care much for sports, but he’d learned long ago that other people did, making it an excellent topic to build rapport with. So, he kept up with all the latest headlines, something that came in handy now as he engaged the men in conversation. They warmed up to the subject and seemed to forget they were talking to a plebeian. The Koskinen women, however, remained quiet and sullen.
When dinner mercifully ended an hour and a half later, Mae offered to show Justin and Tessa around the house.
“Remember that this house isn’t a museum,” her mother warned her.
“Yes, yes,” said Mae. “We’ll stay out of your bedrooms.”
Maybe the house wasn’t a museum, but it was certainly dusty enough to be an artifact. Justin had always hired cleaners to do his housework but was on the verge of asking for a broom to lend a hand now. He found out that the family had once employed a large staff to maintain the house, though their numbers had dwindled as the Koskinen finances did.
“What happened to your family’s money?” asked Justin as Mae paused in front of the doorway to what looked like a cluttered office. A moment later, she kept going and showed them into a conservatory that could’ve been straight out of an old movie. He’d asked her a personal question, but Mae seemed too preoccupied with her own thoughts to reprimand him for it. That, or maybe she’d just accepted there were few secrets between them now.
“I don’t know. I think my mother just mismanaged it after my dad died.”
Mae ran her hand along the top of a piano, her fingertips leaving trails in the dust. Justin had a sudden and startling memory of that night in Panama when Mae, wet and bedraggled but still dazzling, had sat down and played Saint-Saëns. It certainly wasn’t an erotic image, but it triggered a reminder of that initial, burning attraction, when he’d looked at her and thought she was the most amazing woman in the world.
She still is, said Magnus loyally. You could have her, and your world would change.
Justin felt a pain in his heart and made no response.
Tessa joined Mae at the piano. “This is pretty. Nicer than ours.” Tessa played a few lines of something Justin didn’t know, reminding him that she too had taken lessons. He supposed it was something upper-class young ladies did.
“Where did you learn to play?” asked Claudia incredulously, standing in the doorway.
Tessa took her hands back. “At my house.”
Claudia’s face said she couldn’t have been more surprised if a cat had learned to play. “Mae, Marius and I are leaving.”
Something in Mae’s face sharpened. “I’ll walk you out. And I’ll show you guys my room.” She led Justin and Tessa down the hall and pointed to a doorway at the top of the stairs. “Right there. Probably hasn’t changed since I left. I’ll be there as soon as I talk to Claudia.”
Justin was astute enough to pick up that there was more than a good-bye involved, but he left Mae to her own affairs. Besides, he quickly became consumed by her old bedroom. It was another piece of her to collect. Like every other room, dust reigned. The décor was a mix of the two worlds that had always pulled on Mae. All the furniture was ornate and expensive, the kind of stuff a mother would pick out, not a child or teen. The partially ajar closet was filled with old evening gowns that made Tessa ooh and ahh. Juxtaposed with that glamour were old poster screens that, when turned on, displayed images of various athletes and teams. He even found what must have been a canne stick leaning against a corner. He really needed to look that crazy sport up.
Tessa found an open jewelry box on the dresser and couldn’t resist the curiosity of looking through it. “Wow.” She lifted a bracelet encrusted in sapphires that still glittered. “Mae left so much behind.”
“You see any engagement rings in there?” he asked. He smiled at Tessa’s startled look. “Never mind.”
“They’re awfully mean to her, though. I guess I’d abandon a lot to get out of here too.” She swapped the bracelet for a pearl choker. “Did she leave in a hurry?”
“How would I know?” he asked lightly.
Tessa glanced away from her treasures, giving him a wry look. “How could you not know? You used to watch her with this look…it was hungry. Like you were going to die if you didn’t get inside her head.”
“Used to?” he asked.
She shrugged and returned to the jewelry box. “You’re still alive. I figured you must know everything now.”
Justin laughed in spite of himself. “You know, if I’d realized back in Panama that you’d—” He stopped speaking when he saw her next find. “What is that?”
Tessa lifted a silver necklace with a large pendant hanging on it. The pendant consisted of elaborate silver knot work shaped into a bird. “It’s pretty,” she said. “Looks like a raven.”
It’s a crow! exclaimed Horatio indignantly. Can’t she tell the difference? Some prodigy.
Crows are stupid, said Magnus. I hate crows.
“It’s a crow,” Justin told Tessa, stepping closer.
“Same knot work they’ve got all over the house.”
“No…it’s a very slightly different style.” He frowned. “I’ve seen this before. Where have I seen this before?”
Tessa obviously didn’t know. She started to put it back, but he took it from her, trying to dredge up an image from the files of his mind. Suddenly, his breath caught. He took out his ego and pulled up the video that still continued to baffle the RUNA’s best technical minds. The display was smaller than a true screen, so it was more difficult to make out the details as he watched the red-haired Erinian woman take off her jewelry for the night. But there it was—he was certain of it. The necklace she removed was the right size and shape, and he knew if he looked at a larger screen, he’d see a replica of the one Tessa had found.