Chapter 21 Brunch
Chapter twenty-one
Brunch
Rose
In a single day and night of misfortune, the mighty Atlantis sank beneath the sea and vanished.
— Plato, Timaeus
“We could fake his death,” Oliver said.
The clack of wood punctuated the audacity of his sentence as he knocked over one of Oscar’s chess pieces.
“Very rude,” Oscar chided.
“Agreed.” I sniffed, snapping my book shut.
Seas knew I hadn’t comprehended a single word in the last hour. Any minute, I would face the most terrifying situation of my life.
My family meeting my fiancé.
“I didn’t mean about faking Bash’s death.
It’s actually a decent plan because then he would be free to go back to being the scourge of the deep, but do you know what’s funny about that?
He’s not even scary. I actually think he might be one of the most decent men I’ve ever met.
Kind of comical when you think about it.
Anyways, no, I was referring to Oliver taking my knight. ” Oscar explained thoughtfully.
Our family drawing room was just as ever, but somehow felt smaller.
I distinctly remembered the white and blue floral wallpaper climbing up the walls to reach a ceiling that nearly touched the sky.
In fact, I was sure the fireplace, which crackled and gave off waves of heat, was smaller as well.
Maybe it was me. At least the smell was the same.
Florals and lemons that sank into the fabric of the couch I couldn’t get comfortable on.
Across from me, Ruby sat on an identical couch, her delicate hands fastidiously manipulating the needle in her hand to add to the sailboat stitch she was working on.
It was meant for her oldest son, who recently discovered a love of sailing, though he was not allowed on any ship. Ruby’s worry would not allow it.
“I think it’s a decent plan, but would it stop you from galavanting off to join him at sea, Oscar?” Ruby asked, eyes never rising from her project.
“I’m right here.” I sniffed.
“Ah! Avenged my knight.” Oscar gloated. “As to your question, dear sister, I am no longer meant for polite society. I’ve gone too feral.”
Oscar? Feral? I scoffed, which everyone ignored as if I were invisible after all. Oscar was barely a pirate at all.
“I sank three ships in the last three months. That’s one ship per month.” I said.
“Mother will be broken-hearted if you leave again, Oscar,” Ruby said.
Of all the ridiculous things. I knew this game, and I still hated it as much as I had when I was twelve.
“You cannot convince me to be ashamed by ignoring me. It’s very childish. No one is faking Edward’s, “I glared at Oscar for emphasis, “death. I’ve already told you all that I am going back with him after the wedding, so I don’t know why you think ignoring me will change my mind.” I snapped.
“Maybe a carriage accident,” Oliver murmured.
I stood up, staring at each of my siblings like they were selkies in disguise.
“I am literally feared in every corner of the world. Captain Hellcat Smith, maybe you’ve heard?” I spat.
Oscar turned, winking at me. “A captain who has to declare themselves captain is no captain at all.”
Oh my saints, seas, and gods combined. He was doing his Bash voice, and what’s more, I knew he was quoting him because I’d heard that same dry line delivered in disapproval.
“A riding accident then? The horse could have a fit and throw him. Head injury ensues.” Oliver said.
Absolutely not. Rage splaying like flames that burned hot in my vision, I stormed over and pushed their stupid chess game to the floor, and quite enjoyed the clatter of the pieces as they scattered. Satisfied, I placed my hands on my hips and smiled sweetly at them.
“No one is murdering my fiancé- real or fake. What’s more, you will all be on your best behaviour today. No glares from Oliver, no sniffs from Ruby, and certainly no shit-eating grins from Oscar.” I declared.
“When you bring home a respectable fiancé, perhaps we can discuss different terms,” Oliver said.
Ever the politician.
Oh well, I tried to be patient. I tried to wait them out, but drastic times meant drastic measures. I lurched forward, ready to wrap my hands around my eldest brother’s throat when the door burst open.
“He’s here! Mr. Smith is here!” Rebecca screeched, running into the room.
“Mother says to come downstairs this moment!” her twin, Ramona, shouted.
They were the spitting image of each other. Light blond hair, airy and loose, over their shoulders. The same rosy cheeks and bright green eyes. The only way to tell them a part was a freckle on Ramona’s right cheek. Otherwise, they were indistinguishable.
I stilled from my attack on my brother and swallowed down what felt like a bucket of eels that swam in my stomach. The urge to throw up burrowed into my throat, and it occurred to me that never once in my life had I ever been as nervous as I was at this moment.
“What was that about three ships you were saying, Rosie?” Oscar grinned, standing and patting me on the shoulder.
He walked past me, leaving me to war with the mayhem evolving in my stomach.
“You wouldn’t have to be nervous if we went with my plan,” Oliver said, rising and following Oscar.
“Rose looks like she’s going to be sick,” one of the twins murmured.
“That’s called the consequences of our actions,” Ruby said, ushering them out.
The room was empty except for me and the fire, which was increasingly tempting to throw myself into.
Consequences indeed. Never once in my brilliant plan to save Bash from the gallows did I think I would have to have brunch with my family and him.
Never once did it occur to me that I would have to endure my family's chaotic musings and wonder if Bash would run away to the Wraith and never look back.
I was already a lot to handle, but the rest of the Baileys? That was another story entirely.
I swallowed hard.
“Oh, for goodness' sake, Rosamund. You have done several mortifying and incomprehensible things, worse than having brunch with your family and your fiancé. You are so dramatic.” Ruby said as she returned in a flurry, pushing me along as she had with the twins.
“A kraken would be preferable to this,” I murmured.
A sound of disapproval erupted from Ruby, but at least she didn’t yell at me once more. I didn’t know if my nerves could take it. Each stare was an entire island, but Ruby refused to let up on my back.
“You are going to push me down the stairs, Ruby!” I shouted, heart hammering in my chest.
It was going to break loose any minute, just come straight out and plop in a heap onto the stairs. My vision blurred.
“If I must,” she said. “Spinsterhood was preferable to marrying a pirate.”
“But I’m a pirate.” I hissed.
“Rosamund,” she said in her tone that was exactly like her mother when she found Oscar and me raiding the cookie cabinet in the middle of the night.
Somehow, likely divine intervention, we made it down the steps, but my feet planted themselves firmly into the plush blue carpet beneath my feet. My legs weighed one hundred stone each, and I was incapable of comprehensible movement.
“A pleasure to meet you officially, Mr. Smith.” My father's voice boomed from the dining room.
Oh no. It was happening. This wasn’t some nightmare.
“I swear there is no one else as dramatic as you, Rosamund Beatrice Bailey,” Ruby said as she rounded in front of me.
Her face was blurry and discombobulated. Hardly a face at all.
She pinched my cheeks and fretted with the star necklace around my neck, followed by straightening the deep blue dress I wore that was currently strangling my midsection.
What was breathing again?
Ruby reached around and slapped her hand on my back hard, and I let out a desperate plea for air.
“A pleasure to meet you as well. Thank you for inviting me into your home.” Bash’s voice.
That was Bash’s voice, but this was Bailey house in London. Those two things did not in any way, shape, or form go together.
Sighing, Ruby whispered into my ear, “If you don’t go right now, I will let Oscar bring up your first riding lessons.”
They were the only words that could have moved me. In a monumental gesture of goodwill, Ruby made Oscar promise not to bring up riding lessons. I was not about to lose that small boon.
Our dining room was modest by London society standards. Large enough to seat twenty, but not so large that there was much standing room. Which was probably why my family gathered at the far east while Bash stood with his back to me.
How strange to see a gentleman’s coat on him? There was no mistaking his build for anyone other than Sebastian Flynn. After all, just this morning I’d woken up entangled in him– nope, not helpful, Rose.
“Ah, there you are, Rose. We thought you weren’t coming,” my mother chirped.
I was aware of nothing except Bash turning to face me, his clean-shaven face erupting in an earth-shattering smile as he took me in.
His hair was done back into a small bun that he refused to part with, English society be damned.
Gods, he was devastating in his black coat and white shirt beneath.
I was now certain my heart had finally made it through my chest because it stopped beating altogether.
“Rosamund,” he said.
“Mmhm,” I said, licking my lips.
He chuckled and held his hand out to me, which I took on pure muscle memory. There were no conscious thoughts inside my mind. I was entirely made up of gelatin.
“You look beautiful,” he said, raising my hand to his lips.
“Yes,” I whispered.
His eyes flashed with mirth as he lowered my hand and squeezed it, once, twice, three times. Just us. It was just us, and nothing else mattered.
“Why does she look like that?” My brother Richard asked.
“Why did she say yes to him, saying she looked beautiful?” Ramona asked.
“It’s not what she should have said. She should have thanked him.” Rebecca said.
“Hush,” Mother corrected.
“Breathe, Rosamund,” Bash said, gently pulling me to his side.
“Mmhm,” I answered once more.
“We are so glad you could join us on such late notice.” My mother said, “Please, sit, you must be hungry.”
I wasn’t hungry. My chest burned from where my heart had recently vacated my body.
Movement blurred around us, but the side smile, showcasing dimples, was all too distracting.
Something hard thumped on my back, and I sucked in a breath that ached and burned everything it touched.
“You're welcome,” Oscar said, taking the seat next to mine.
Oh, right. Breathing. Breathing was a thing people did.
Bash pulled out the chair in front of me and gently led me into it like I was a frightened calf. Beside me, Oscar bumped his shoulder into mine and grinned wildly.
“I think it’s going well,” he said.
Maybe when we got back on the Wraith, I could order him for deck duty. That would at least begin the payback, though it wouldn’t be enough.
“Why don’t we invite Inu next time and see how you feel?” I hissed.
Oscar laughed, deep and rumbling, and I hated that I loved hearing it. For months, I worried about him. Wondering how he was coping in prison. Aside from being a little too thin, he was perfectly fine.
“I think that would be entertaining on many accounts,” Oscar said.
“Agreed,” Bash said quietly.
I whipped my head to him, ready to chastise his encouragement, but his small smile said he was enjoying this far too much. He was the one who should have been nervous. Not me! Yet he was grinning and entirely relaxed. Shoulders back and not a care in the world. I barely recognized him.
“Mr. Smith, are you familiar with shipping?” my father asked.
I swallowed hard.
Going for the kill before the first course. Delightful. Beneath the table, Bash rested his hand on my leg, squeezing three times. Just us. It was fine. There was only us.
“Not as well as I would like, Lord Bailey. Paris has less of a shipping culture than London. I’ve spent most of my time there.” Bash said, and there was absolutely no hint of the lies he was telling.
Confident, unwavering to the point that I almost believed him.
“No work at the table, darling.” My mother predictably chastised.
“It isn’t work, I was simply assessing his knowledge,” my father said.
“How did you and Rose meet?” Roberta asked, eyeing me suspiciously.
A servant slid a plate in front of me that made my stomach roll.
Bash cleared his throat, and I was reminded that Roberta was instigating.
Now that she had made her debut in society, Roberta did not appreciate feeling left out.
While annoying and decidedly sure of herself, she was not stupid.
She knew very well not everything was as it seemed, and she hated being left out.
However, the smug smile she flashed at me was exactly why I didn’t trust her with the truth.
“At a book shop, actually,” Bash said.
No hint of a lie. This was unsettling, but we probably should have prepared a story beforehand. I would just have to commit whatever he came up with to memory.