Chapter 27 #3
That got the ball rolling more smoothly.
Sasha confirmed that she and her arranged partner, Elaine, were separating, and that the decision was amicable.
They had been together for years without a formal bond in sight.
She’d gone to visit her best friend, Camille, in Paris.
She didn’t love Paris, though, so she was considering where else she might travel.
“Maybe I’ll go and see Ollie when he’s in Italy this summer with Aries,” Sasha said, then took a sip of her tea.
Thomas had been listening intently, intrigued by their updates. “And… who is Aries?” he asked.
The flush across Oliver’s cheeks spread to his neck. He ran a hand through his sandy-brown hair, mussing it. “Ah, he’s… um. He’s my…”
“Aries is his suave, much older and Adonis-like lover,” Sasha filled in, grinning. “He’s a well-traveled fashion designer and the whole reason Ollie decided to ditch Prince Alexander and run away from Eden.”
Oliver scowled at his sister. “Not the whole reason, Sash! Christ. And we’re taking things slowly.”
“Oh, now they are,” Sasha teased. “That certainly wasn’t the case in the castle. Our little brother can be quite scandalous given the right set of circumstances.”
“Sash.” Oliver’s flush somehow deepened. Sasha reached over and squeezed his knee, smirking. Thomas smiled, too, whether from amusement or affection, he wasn’t sure.
As they talked more, Oliver opened up about Aries.
How they’d met, how he’d fallen for him and all of the things the older man had helped him to understand about life, and about himself.
Thomas had been mildly triggered hearing about Oliver’s own stint in the dungeons beneath the castle, but he’d silently taken several deep breaths and reminded himself of where he was presently.
He was safe now, and that was a long, long time ago.
“Have you talked to them at all over these years?” Oliver asked after a comfortable moment of silence. “Lord Blakeley and the viscount?”
“I have not,” Thomas admitted. “Our younger father sends me letters on occasion. I’ve never once returned the favor. I stopped reading them some years ago.”
“He mentions this—every single time I visit,” Sasha said. “That he wishes he could speak to you, and how he wants you to return his letters or come visit. It is obvious to me that he misses you. Also, Lord Heartless is in bad shape these days.”
Completely unmoved, Thomas said flatly, “Is he.”
Sasha nodded. “After Oliver left, Prince Alexander was supposed to publicly apologize to him as part of their arrangement to dissolve the marriage contract—”
“Really?” Oliver balked. “I didn’t know about that! Well, granted, I didn’t know about a lot of things…”
Sasha patted him on the knee again, as if to say, “There, there.”
“But he never apologized,” Sasha went on.
“Everyone adores Prince Alexander, so the aristocracy as a whole sided with him and ostracized Lord Heartless. He and Viscount Pointless stopped being invited to aristocracy events, and almost all of the castle staff have left. Once Hudson abandoned ship, everyone else followed. I think Lord Heartless had a kind of mental breakdown after that. He never leaves his office these days, and the last time I visited, he was refusing to feed. To be honest, it was an eerie sight. He didn’t speak and barely looked at me.
I told him I was leaving Elaine and he didn’t even care. No reaction at all.”
“I was nervous about coming back,” Oliver began, “but after Sash told me that about Lord Blakeley, I thought it might be safe? That he wouldn’t try to drag me back to punish me.”
Sasha shook her head. “I don’t think he’s capable anymore.
Viscount Pointless told me that they made an appeal to Lord and Lady Kendrick to force Alexander to publicly absolve him.
But I guess they just ignored the request. And why shouldn’t they?
They don’t owe Lord Heartless anything—and he took their son’s entire dowry!
Ugh, such an arrogant and entitled vampire. ”
“A true monster,” Thomas agreed, fascinated by this insight.
It would be a lie to say that this news did not please some darker part of his heart.
That his elder father had forever lost everything he’d always dreamed of—a place in the Royal Order, political power in Central Eden, exposure and historical recognition for his family name.
He deserved none of it, and even though Thomas hadn’t been the one to deny him these things, the reality of it was still deeply satisfying.
“Thomas?”
He’d been caught up in his ghoulish, gleeful thoughts of their elder father’s ruin and hadn’t heard what Oliver had said. Macabre, Cameron would have called him. He smiled. “Yes?”
“Will we have the chance to meet Lord Ashford? I’d very much like to, if possible?”
“He is here…” Sasha added, lifting her chin. “I sense another purebred’s presence?”
“Yes, he will join us for dinner. He wanted to give us time alone to talk. Are we comfortable with moving over to the dining room now?”
They both nodded at Thomas, looking hopeful, like two puppies sincerely wanting to be adopted.
It was bizarre. Thomas stood and went to the door where Mira was stationed to tell her they were ready for Cameron.
Within a few minutes, he arrived, beautifully dressed, broad, tall and everything Thomas’s heart had ever desired.
Thomas formally introduced everyone, and handshakes and awkward hugs (Sasha) were exchanged. When that was finished, Lennon was there, perfectly timed to usher them to the dining room.
“Please, follow me,” he said, standing in the doorway to the sitting room. Sasha went first, followed by Oliver. Thomas slipped his hand into Cameron’s and leaned into his side.
Cameron spoke softly. “Is everything alright?”
“Mm, quite.” Thomas pressed a soft kiss, then another, to Cameron’s lips. He tipped his forehead so that it touched Cameron’s, and his mate returned the gesture.
“Good,” Cameron said, squeezing his palm. His breath was warm and gingery against his lips.
When Thomas lifted from the swift affection, he was surprised to see Oliver lingering within the doorframe, quietly watching them. He didn’t say anything, though. Just smiled, nodded in apology and hastily walked ahead to catch Sasha and Lennon.