Chapter 14
Ashton
Ispend two hours playing Yahtzee with Sophie.
And it’s… fun.
I’m not a person who plays games, at least not board games. I like to gamble, which means I get the gist of Yahtzee relatively quickly, but I’ve never played with dice using a cup.
I’ve also never played Scrabble, which is what Sophie suggests after we tire of Yahtzee.
I play a round with her, getting my butt handed to me because Sophie is smart. Or at least, she knows a lot of words with the letter Q.
I also discover that she grew up having game nights with her step-father and sisters. Now that Spencer is back in her life, she wants to include him and Lyra, but neither of them gets along with her mother, so going to the house isn’t a good idea.
She talks a lot about her family: instead of her mother Signe making Duncan pick between King Magnus and his family, Signe just took his family away from him.
Sophie had no contact with her father for over ten years, which is a lot when you consider Duncan was just up the hill living at the castle the whole time.
I’ve never been interested in family dynamics.
I don’t give much thought to my own family because they just irritate me.
Fenella is one thing, but my mother never gives either of us much time because she’s so focused on our older brother Evan.
And since Evan started climbing the ranks at Carrington Toys, my father doesn’t have a lot of time for me either.
At least he’s got an heir apparent. It was quite early in my life that he came to the conclusion that I wouldn’t be taking over the reins at the company.
But I don’t give that much thought because it annoys me. And maybe that makes me grumpy. It’s always fun to blame them for as much as I can.
My family doesn’t do leisure time together. When the five of us are together, there is talking, sometimes arguing, and a lot of scrolling on phones. Growing up, my mother never once suggested we play a board game together.
She might be good at Beer Pong, but nothing else.
Someone brought in a stack of games for Sophie. Or maybe they were already in the castle—the royal family seems to get along so family game night wouldn’t be too much of a stretch.
While I’m here, I do my best not to be grumpy.
I’ve been called a lot of things in my life—things that are personality based—but hearing Sophie call me a grouch was… different.
As in, I didn’t like it.
Especially when she announced it wasn’t her thing.
I’m not that grumpy.
Sophie is just exceptionally good-natured. I think she might be the nicest person I’ve ever met. Always a smile. Friendly, considerate, just plain nice.
I’m definitely not used to that.
I leave in the afternoon when Sophie starts yawning. They brought me lunch with hers, and we ate together at the table.
My room, along with most of the guest rooms, is on the fourth floor. A variety of paintings hang on the wall, from landscapes of Laandia to Viking ancestors.
The good art is on the lower floors, along with the weapon collection.
I’ve stayed here enough times to have gotten the tour, but I don’t know the castle all that well. Better than my sister—Fenella famously got lost the first time she stayed here, ending up interrupting a council meeting between King Magnus and the President of France.
The king still teases her about it.
I bet Sophie knows the ins and outs of the castle. Secret rooms, secret passages. What’s really down in the dungeons. If she was here as a kid, she’d know all of that.
And now she’s back.
My mind is on the king’s offer as I head for my room, and what Fenella said yesterday, so it takes longer for me to recognize the voice.
But as I turn down the hall leading to the stairs, I slow my steps because who wants to talk to someone who thinks you’re a blight on the face of civilization?
Or someone who really doesn’t like me.
The conversation continues, voices speaking in low tones. A laugh.
Duncan Laz can laugh. Everyone seems to love him, but he hasn’t endeared himself to me.
Probably because he doesn’t like me.
I hit his daughter with a car. I don’t blame him.
With a deep breath, I keep walking. I may be a lot of things, but no one has ever accused me of being a coward. Turning the corner, I see Duncan.
His silver hair sweeps to the shoulders of his dark grey suit.
The king wears jeans and old sweatshirts when he isn’t in a meeting, looking more like someone who works in a start-up than a monarch, but I’ve never seen Duncan looking anything but impeccably dressed.
I’ve seen pictures and videos of when he was in the band, and Duncan never wore the ripped jeans of his bandmates, the denim so tight it was practically glued to their legs.
Duncan favoured slim pants or even leather, with flowing silk shirts. Even scarves.
I kind of respect him for the scarves.
But I’m not cataloging his fashion choices today. Instead, I’m agog at the sight of Duncan—
And Mrs. Theissen, the warden/chief babysitter and Castle Manager.
It shouldn’t be odd to see them together… only it is.
Mrs. Theissen is all but leaning against the wall, more relaxed than I’ve ever seen her. She’s… smiling… and looks about twenty years younger than the last time I saw her.
She’s smiling at Duncan, his arm resting on the wall beside her, and leaning down, almost as if—
No. No way.
The soft scuff of my shoe gives away my approach. Mrs. Theissen straightens and actually lifts a hand and pushes Duncan—Lord Laz, chief advisor to the king—away from her.
If seeing the two of them like that wasn’t suspicious enough, the push really sells it.
“Ashton.” Duncan’s voice is deep and disapproving.
I give him my best smirk. “Lord Laz. And Mrs. Theissen. Fancy meeting the two of you here.”
“What are you doing here?” Duncan barks.
“I’m staying at the castle at the king’s invitation.”
He scowls, and it actually makes him better looking.
It’s no wonder I don’t mind women thinking that I’m grumpy if it improves my looks.
“I meant now. Here. Don’t you have something to do?”
“I just came from visiting Sophie. We had another nice visit.”
Don’t poke the bear. It’s one of my father’s favourite sayings when it comes to me, because sometimes I just can’t help myself.
Duncan breathes in, flaring his nostrils with displeasure, but nothing else of his expression shows it. “How is my daughter?”
“Other than the broken foot, she seems great.”
I’ve apologized to both Duncan and Sophie, and I’m not one to grovel. Duncan didn’t approve of me before I got behind the wheel of Fenella’s car, and my trying to suck up to him won’t help. It might even make it worse.
And it wouldn’t matter what I did or didn’t do to Sophie. It’s clear to me that I walked in on something—something no one else knows about. And Duncan doesn’t like it.
Doesn’t like that it was me.
“Is there anything she needs?” Mrs. Theissen asks politely. She moves away from Duncan, almost like she’s ready to jump in to protect me.
I shake my head. “We had lunch after a rousing game of Scrabble. I think she’s going to have a nap.”
“And is there anything you need while you’re staying here?” she continues.
“Actually… yes.” I smile beguiling at her, because why not, if it might irritate Duncan. “Would I be able to get a ride into town with someone?”
“I see your sister hasn’t let you borrow her car again,” Duncan says snidely.
“No, and your Uber drivers aren’t that reliable.”
“I’ll drive you.”
I don’t know who is more surprised at Duncan’s offer, me or Mrs. Theissen.
“I have a meeting with Spencer, so I’m heading into town. I’m leaving in ten minutes.”
What have I done? If I refuse, then Duncan will know he’s intimidated me. And I don’t like anyone knowing that.
“Sounds good. Ah—thank you.”
“Maybe you should wait until we get into town before you thank me.”
That’s not ominous at all.
“What were you doing with my daughter?” Duncan demands as we pull away from the castle grounds in a black Range Rover.
I take a moment to admire the vehicle.
Snow is heaped along the road, pushed back by snowplows that run up the hill to the castle twice a day. Tree boughs are white and frozen, and it might be pretty if it weren’t so cold.
Even wearing cashmere-lined gloves, I rub my hands together to warm them. I wish I’d thought to bring a hat.
“She taught me how to play Yahtzee.” Duncan glances at me with disbelief. “Really. I’ve never played before. She kicked my butt in Scrabble too. I’ve never been one for games, and Sophie clearly is.”
“She is? I… I didn’t know that.” There’s confusion in his voice, and maybe—if I’m reading it right—a note of wistfulness.
Sophie wasn’t the only one who missed out when her mother was holding a grudge.
“The step-dad was a gamer,” I add, twisting the knife just a bit because why not? The man already hates me.
“He’s a good man.”
That’s a surprise. Not that Sophie’s step-dad is a good man, but to hear Duncan admit it. Accept it. I wonder if that’s the reason Signe wasn’t exiled from Battle Harbour.
“Sounds like it. Sophie seems fond of him. Her mother, on the other hand—” I roll my eyes, and Duncan gives a huff.
It’s the first positive thing between us since Sophie ended up in the hospital.
“She still thinks I should be arrested.”
“It’s one thing we agree on,” Duncan says.
And just like that, the car gets even chillier.
We continue down the hill at a speed better suited for eighty-year-old drivers. I see glimpses of the Atlantic Ocean through the trees, along with miles and miles of snow.
I wonder how long winter lasts here.
“I don’t know what else I can do to prove that it was an accident.
” I try to smooth my sharp tone, because this man doesn’t like me.
He may be the second most powerful man in the country, but he’s also Sophie’s father, and just because my relationship with my father is a lost cause, I don’t want to cause any unrest in Sophie’s.
“I would never do anything to intentionally hurt Sophie. I don’t even remember seeing her in the street. ”
“Because you were driving so fast.”
“I wasn’t, but even so, I race cars for a living. I can control a vehicle at high speeds.”
“And yet, you didn’t.”
I glance out the window. The sight of Sophie in the middle of the street, the moment before I jammed on the brakes… “I don’t remember seeing her because she wasn’t there,” I say slowly, playing the images back in my mind.
“Are you somehow trying to blame my daughter for your reckless behaviour?” Duncan’s voice is quiet, which is somehow worse than if he yelled.
“I’m not blaming her for anything. I’m going over it in my head and… she wasn’t there when I came around the corner. And then she was, like she—”
“Appeared out of nowhere like magic?” he asks icily.
“Stood up.”
I’ve wondered why there wasn’t the telltale thump of hitting something. I know I didn’t hit Sophie; if I did, it wasn’t that hard. Not hard enough to cause her to break her toes.
What if she fell before I even got there? What if I didn’t see her because she was already on the ground? What if she hadn’t gotten to her feet—?
I would have driven over her, unable to see before it was too late.
It was almost already too late.
My insides turn colder than the outside of the car. What if that’s how it happened? Sophie said she doesn’t remember anything—
Or maybe she remembers all of it, and she’s playing a good game of acting like a victim for something I did.
Sophie wouldn’t…
I don’t even know Sophie, so I wouldn’t know what she would or wouldn’t do.
“It happened so suddenly,” I manage, trying to sort through the twists and turns of my thoughts. “I hate that she was hurt.”
“Don’t do it again.”
“I don’t plan on it.”
“Don’t spend time with her,” Duncan orders.
“I’m sorry?”
“Don’t spend time with my daughter. You don’t want to hurt her, and giving her a false sense of friendship—”
“I am friends with her.”
Am I? I’m not convinced. I have friends, but it doesn’t feel the same as this. Sophie is… different. I’m comfortable with her, but maybe it’s too comfortable because she’s not part of my inner circle of friends I trust with my life. Rupert, Milo, Lavinia…
Maybe Duncan has a point.
“You spending so much time with her isn’t a good idea. You giving her all this attention because you feel guilty, and then you’ll vanish. My daughter has a good heart. A soft heart and she—”
“I’m not doing this because I feel guilty,” I snap.
“Oh?” Duncan raises an eyebrow, and he does it so much better than I ever could. “So you don’t feel guilty about running her over with a car?”
“I didn’t run her over, and I feel horribly guilty that she was hurt, but that’s not the reason I’m spending time with her,” I say before I can stop myself.
There’s only one reason why I’m spending time with Sophie, and if I tell Duncan it’s only to get the job with FluxFuel, it will only make it so, so worse.
Maybe I don’t need that job now.
Duncan glances at me, mouth tight, brow furrowed. Maybe telling him the truth about FluxFuel would be better because now he thinks I’m interested in Sophie…
“I don’t want to know. I don’t want to hear it. I only want you to stay away from my daughter. Because if you hurt her again…” The expression on Duncan’s face is serious and quite scary. “There won’t be a place in Laandia that you can hide from me.”