Chapter 13
Two weeks later, Darcy and I sat near the grand ballroom Christmas tree, waiting for our guests to arrive.
Darcy rubbed his temples. “I still can’t believe Bradford traveled all the way here specifically to work on our family history book. The police say he already paid Zac off a few times, then Zac followed him back here to the States, assuming he was an easy target.”
“His heritage was a pretty big deal to him.
Being high fae does come with a lot of privilege, and it's not really fair.
I don't like it, but I see why he was motivated to keep it a secret.” I said.
“Maybe he was hoping to alter the evidence about who his father really was. I suppose he was using his connections as a selling point for his research.”
“It shouldn't matter. Maybe he was afraid he's lose his title.” Darcy shook his head. "We would still accept him."
“Would we?” I asked, convincing myself even more as I spoke. “I'll be honest, Darcy. I always thought titles and rank were pretty important to you. But maybe you've turned over a new leaf, as they say.”
Concern crossed Darcy’s face. “I've learned that some things matter far more than status. Obviously, I've always known character matters most. But status can be deceptive and blinding, can't it?”
I nodded. "You know Henry's not fae, and I have no plans of holding back with him."
"As long as he makes you happy and treats you well, you have my blessing. But, don't blame me if I keep an eye on him. It's hard to trust people at first." Darcy wrapped his arm around my shoulders and gave me a squeeze. "I believe, little sister, that you bring out my protective streak."
"You think?" I chuckled.
Sylvia approached from the far end of the room. “Miss Georgiana, your guest has arrived.”
“Good.” I clapped my hands together and stood. “Henry!”
Henry entered the ballroom carrying a long-stemmed red rose. “Merry Christmas.”
I could feel Darcy’s eyes on us as Henry gave me a quick kiss.
“Merry Christmas,” I said. Then I raised an eyebrow. “You know, I did some detective work of my own this week.”
“Oh?” he asked, grinning nervously.
“I have to say, you and Rose are fabulous actors. I never would’ve guessed that she’s your grandmother.”
“Uh… well, I didn’t want to get her in trouble for delivering the letters.” Henry clenched his brow together.
“Trouble? Rose?” I chuckled. “Never.”
He took my hand and walked with me to the dance floor for our Christmas Eve ball. We dined and danced, then as the evening quieted down, we settled together in front of the main Christmas tree.
“I have a gift for you.” I held out a small box and handed it to him.
Henry looked at me with sweet suspicion. He opened the box and pulled out a stack of envelopes neatly tied with a mulberry silk ribbon.
“What are these?” he asked, untying the ribbons. But I waited for him to start reading. “To the one I’ll never know. How is it, you’ve seen my soul? You wrote this?”
“I wrote back. I wasn’t sure if I would ever know who’d written to me, but I thought they deserved a response.”
Henry was a pretty tough guy, but I thought I could see a tear brimming in his eye. “Georgiana, these are a treasure. I can’t believe you did this. I have something for you, too.”
He pulled a small box from his pocket and cracked it open, revealing a simple gold ring with an opal stone in the center.
“Oh, that’s beautiful. You knew opals were my favorite?” I gasped.
Henry nodded, took out the ring, and placed it on my finger. “I know it’s too soon for anything like an engagement ring. So for now, I hoped you’d accept this as a possibilities ring, for all the adventures we might have together.”
“I love it, and I can't wait to see what happens next.”