14. Chapter Fourteen
Chapter Fourteen
Grace
Grace twisted in her seat, leaning against the arm of the couch and propping her feet on the middle cushion. She bent her legs and leaned her notes against her lap, trying to make sense of the gibberish she’d written during yesterday’s meeting.
She was supposed to be going over a proposal submitted by Walter.
His family had been the single source of livestock for generations and he was coming to the council now to request more land and resources for expansion.
The plea was rich, given his contempt for anyone else in need of additional resources.
He was quick to judge her mother for “excessive expenditures,” insisting she didn’t have the financial prowess that a man might hold.
Grace couldn’t be certain that he was a member of the rebellion, but his behavior proved he was no ally to her or her family.
And the fact that he was now asking for more land and funding made Grace’s blood boil.
It wasn’t even a bad proposal. The town needed the extra livestock, and there was plenty of land in the valley to spare. But the hypocrisy made Grace grind her teeth. As much as she’d love to tell him to shove it, she knew the council would vote unanimously in his favor.
She turned the page to find a long list of data and projections that her sleepy mind couldn’t comprehend. She rubbed her temple with one hand and tapped the sheet with her other index finger.
“Everything all right over there?” Her mother’s voice was low and soothing.
It reminded her of when she was young and her mother would read bedtime stories to her and Theo.
She smiled, recalling one of the few tender moments her mother had ever exhibited.
By the time she was a teenager, those moments had been long gone.
Grace straightened her legs and stretched her arms over her head. “Everything is just fine, Mother. I think I’ll head to bed, though. I don’t know how many more times I can read the word ‘profit’ without dozing off.”
Her mother simply nodded, and Grace took it as permission to leave the quiet study. Before she did, she laid the proposal on the end table next to her mother. “Just in case you want to read this one, too.”
She wasn’t a fool. She knew that every task her mother assigned to her inevitably would be reviewed and scrutinized.
In the first few months that Grace shadowed her, she had noticed notes written in the margin, markings throughout the texts she’d been reading.
None of these items had appeared until after Grace had done her initial review, and when Grace mentioned it, her mother had feigned ignorance.
It didn’t take a genius to realize her mother was redoing all of Grace’s work.
She didn’t know what it would take for her mother to trust her or believe in her.
Now there was no point in pretending. Grace didn’t have the energy for it.
“How is everything else going? How are things with Eli?” her mother asked, and Grace froze in her tracks. In all her years, she couldn’t recall a time when her mother had voluntarily inserted herself into Grace’s social life.
“They’re…good,” she said cautiously.
Her mother sat her own notes down and crossed her legs at the ankle, rocking back in her chair. Her undivided attention made Grace’s pulse race. “Is that all you have to say about him? For all the chaos you’ve caused, I would’ve expected a much bigger show of affection.”
“You’ll have to forgive me if I choose to protect my relationship with Eli. You haven’t been very supportive in the past.” She added under her breath, “Nor the present.”
Her mother fidgeted, a movement that looked completely unnatural for such a stoic woman. “Yes, well, perhaps I’ve been a bit extreme.”
Grace’s knees wobbled. She couldn’t recall a single occasion in which her mother had admitted to being wrong. Unsettled, she felt her way around a chair and took a seat. “Why the change of heart?”
Her mother shook her head, lost in thought. “I just realized this is a fight I won’t win. What’s done is done and there’s no point in continuing to argue over it. I’d rather focus on what’s ahead of you. I still believe your affection for Eli will cost you. The people of Berland won’t like—”
“The wealthy, arrogant, entitled people of Berland,” Grace corrected. “The ones who already think the worst of you and me and every woman before us. They’ll have to get over it. I won’t give in to someone like Trevor just to placate them.”
Her mother sighed and pinched the bridge of her nose. “I’m not trying to start this again with you, Grace. I just…I just…”
Grace waited patiently for her mother to find the right words, but they seemed to evade her. “Mother?”
After a deep inhale, her mother asked, “Are you happy?”
“Of course I am.”
“Good. That’s…good.”
Grace studied her mother, who appeared completely lost in thought. “Mother, is everything okay?”
“Everything is absolutely as it should be.” Her mother rose from her seat and Grace followed suit.
Then her mother broke character even more by wrapping her arms around Grace’s shoulders and hugging her.
The gesture was so unfamiliar that Grace was momentarily immobilized before she hugged her mother’s slender figure.
“Goodnight, Grace. Don’t stay up too late. We have a council meeting in the morning.”
Grace watched as her mother left the study and listened to the stairs creak with each step toward the bedroom. She shook her head, trying to dismiss the strange feeling that had settled over her.
Something was wrong.
Early the next morning, Grace snuck out while her parents were still fast asleep. Nik was already waiting in the hall for her, leaning against the wall with his eyes half closed.
“You won’t be able to keep watch like that,” she joked.
Nik perked up and pushed his shoulders back. “Sorry.”
“I was just kidding. It’s highly unlikely that anyone is even awake to attack me right now. I’m sure the entire mountain is still asleep.”
“You’re probably right. Still, it’s what you’re paying me for.”
Grace shrugged. There hadn’t been any violence in recent weeks. She was beginning to doubt she even needed a full-time guard, but she’d already given him the position, so he may as well keep her company.
Nik was an interesting person. From the way Eli spoke of him, she thought he would be more antagonizing.
He was surly, but really, he just seemed lost to her.
Like he hadn’t quite figured out his place in the world.
It was the exact opposite of her troubles, since she was only meant for one position.
Maybe having her life planned out for her wasn’t so bad.
The cafeteria was quiet during these early hours. There were only a few others spread out among the freshly cleaned tables, still perfectly organized in neat lines before the morning rush when people would push tables together and borrow chairs for larger groups. It was peaceful.
Sitting at a table near the buffet line were most of Grace’s friends.
Theo was out of town and wouldn’t be back for a few days, and Heather had worked late the night before and had no doubt slept in this morning, but the rest of the familiar faces turned to look their way.
Eli smiled at her while Ali and Sam waved.
Amaya had her back toward them, but when she noticed the waving, she turned and nodded in greeting.
Grace sat beside Eli, who planted a kiss on her cheek. She rarely slept in her own bed lately and the few times she did, she missed him far more than she expected. She had slept terribly last night, and just his embrace had her melting into his side and wanting to doze off again.
“Can I get you anything?” Eli asked.
Stealing a piece of bacon from his plate, Grace grinned and took a bite. “Nope. I have what I need.”
He squinted at her, but she could tell by the enormous heap of food on his plate that he had already planned to share his food with her. She liked that he was attentive enough to know she preferred to steal things off his plate over making her own.
They took turns sharing details about their lives—Amaya’s latest date, Sam’s hilarious experience taking care of a baby goat that nipped his fingers, and a breakthrough Eli had at work with a communication device that could supposedly transmit from opposite sides of town.
Quite the feat if they could get it to work properly.
The cafeteria filled with people too quickly. Before Grace knew it, it was time to head toward the council chambers. Without thinking, she leaned into Eli and kissed him on the cheek, then another quick peck on the lips.
He licked his lips, eyes widening as he enjoyed the taste of her. But when she pulled back, she noticed two of her suitors staring with disgruntled looks. Though their trays were full of food, they looked like they may be too nauseated to eat.
She forced a pleasant smile and timidly waved. “Jae, Zack. Good morning. How are you?”
Jae, the shorter one with black hair and pale skin, looked between her and Eli, not bothering to hide his irritation and…
jealousy? Grace knew it was a risk spending time with Eli so openly, but after he’d made it through the first round, she’d become careless.
She mentally smacked herself for being so reckless, angering her suitors and, with the way the two men eyed Eli, putting a target on his back.
“I’d be much better, Miss Grace, if I could have some alone time with you as well. You are still an available woman, are you not?”
Eli’s fork clattered to the table, and he swiveled in his seat, but Grace cleared her throat and shot him a look that said I’ve got this. Don’t do anything stupid.
“I am. And as such, I’m allowed to spend my time however and with whoever I desire.”
“I see,” he responded. “I hope that if I or my friend Zeke here wins the Rite, that your desires will be rerouted.”