Chapter 18 Penny #2
By the time we broke apart, I was grinning. “That was quite a parting gift, Mister Mosel.”
“Incentive,” he replied and bent to tug on his boots. “Mind your manners at dinner, and we can pick back up when we get home.”
I groaned, and Kit laughed, then led the way out of the house.
According to Kit, the home of the Shroud Warden should have looked exactly like all the other houses in Ashpoint. The Bone Men were nothing if not fans of order and conformity, and their approach to housing was much the same as it was to everything else: modesty, scarcity, and the bare essentials.
So, as we walked up the path to Merrick and Violette’s house, I was more than a bit taken aback.
A blood-red banner with Eeus’s mark painted in black hung under the window on their front door, fluttering in the breeze, and a wind chime made of delicate bird bones and a raccoon skull rattled beneath the lantern beside the doorway.
Kit snorted a laugh, and I fixed him with a curious look.
He gestured to the odd decor. “This is the equivalent of your brother parading around in his ceremonial robes all day. I can’t believe he gets away with being so pretentious.
He would have been punished for a display like this if my father was still alive. ”
“Why?”
He shrugged. “We’re all supposed to be parts of the whole once we go through our initiations.
No one is supposed to stand out. I mean, you’ve seen the house my father lived in, even when he was the Right Hand.
He may have considered himself better than everyone else here, but it wasn’t overt like this.
His subtlety was how he managed to remain above reproach and keep his position.
It’s all about wearing the right mask so you look like you’re just like the next guy. ”
I eyed the bone wind chime and shifted the tart from one hand to the other. “I’m not very good at that.”
“I know. It's one of the things I like most about you.” Kit smiled and bumped his shoulder against mine as we ascended the stairs.
Before we could knock, Violette threw the door open and practically pounced on Kit with a crushing hug.
She smacked a kiss on his cheek before pulling back and grabbing me up the same way.
Kit rescued the tart from my hand before it ended up on the porch steps while the tall woman did her best to squeeze the life out of me.
My eyes bugged as I shot Kit a “help me” look over Violette’s shoulder.
“It’s so good to see you both!” she crowed, pulling back to peck my cheek. “Come in, come in.” She plucked the tart from Kit's hands and swept into the house. “Merry! Kit and your brother are here.”
Merrick stood in the main living area, for once in casual clothes, with a drink in his hand. He was clearly fighting a sneer when he muttered, “Half-brother.”
I scowled. “Thank you for reminding me how fortunate I am not to be more closely related to you.”
Merrick’s sudden flush darkened the bruise that had blossomed beneath his right eye. I imagined on closer inspection it had the approximate shape of my fist.
“That looks awful,” I quipped as I advanced into the house.
Violette was on my heels, her voice like a fly buzzing in my ear. “He’s been rather a baby about it. Insisted on getting a balm from the herbalist to put on it but won't tell me how he got it.”
Merrick must have seen the amusement crinkling my eyes because he grew even more severe. “It's unimportant,” he said, though I wasn’t sure if he was trying to convince his wife or me.
Kit stayed close, and I remembered his last-minute bid to ensure my good behavior, but I couldn’t keep one last snipe from slipping out.
“Did you have an accident at work?” I asked Merrick. “Perhaps a book fell from a high shelf and landed on your face? You really should be more careful.”
Merrick’s forehead scrunched while Violette erupted in cackling laughter. She patted Merrick’s shoulder as she passed him on her way to the kitchen.
“You have a quick wit, brother-in-law,” she called back to me. “I'm glad to see it. Merry had me near convinced you were a simpleton.”
In my peripheral, Kit bristled but said nothing as Violette disappeared into the other room.
In her absence, Merrick's glower persisted. Kit and I stood across from him now, and I wore a toothy grin at the thought of him rubbing some kind of greasy balm on the bruise I’d given him.
Beside me, Kit eased into a smile of his own, not as smug as mine, but I knew him well enough to recognize his amusement. “You have a lovely home,” he said. “Thank you for the invitation.”
My half-brother’s narrow eyes flicked from Kit to me, then back. “I'll have you know this get-together was not my idea, and I'll be glad once the whole ordeal is behind us.”
“You and me both,” I snapped.
I had half a mind to lunge at him and see if he flinched.
I wondered if he would cower like I used to after he hit me.
It was a heady feeling to know I was bigger than him now, able to stand my ground and fight back after a lifetime of reluctant submission.
It was hard to imagine backing down from him again, even though Kit insisted we had to.
Merrick shot me a withering look. “Penwell, I swear by the gods if you've only come here to antagonize and make a mockery of me in front of my wife, I will see to it that you are punished harshly for this.” He stabbed a finger toward the swollen spot on his face.
I barked a laugh but gave no reply before he tagged on.
“I know where you come from, boy, and I would love nothing more than to send you back there.” His gritty tone ripped at the fraying edges of my composure. “Give me a reason,” he sneered.
“Why should I?” I asked through gritted teeth. “You seem perfectly capable of coming up with all kinds of excuses on your own.”
I’d almost forgotten Kit was there, standing slightly back with his fists balled. The sight delighted me. If Kit punched Merrick, too, I would sweep him off his feet in my pretentious half-brother’s living room. Consequences be damned.
Instead, Kit turned his attention on me. He looked more worried than angry. “Penny,” he began but didn’t finish before Merrick spoke over him.
“What is it our esteemed Right Hand keeps telling you, Mister Koesters?” He glared at Kit while stabbing his finger at me. “Control your godsdamned recruit.”
“Boys!” Violette’s voice carried from the kitchen. “Everything is ready! Come eat before it gets cold.”