Interlude
QUINN
Mum was maaad.
(Not at Quinn, to be clear. Mum was rarely mad at Quinn. But when she got mad, Quinn knew someone had messed up, and it was mildly pleasing that this time it wasn’t her fault.)
“This is ridiculous,” Mum said. Her lips were pressed into a thin line, just like they’d been when Quinn had climbed onto the roof and gotten stuck.
Quinn kicked her feet below the table, secretly gleeful that she hadn’t been sent away for this discussion.
Adults loved sending her away for important discussions, and eavesdropping had only been fun the first few times.
Mama shrugged, twisting a hand to shoo some of the ever-flames higher into the rafters. She had wild hair from the flight home. Quinn wanted to see Pine Island, but Mum and Mama seemed to agree that right now, in its current state, it was ‘no place for a child.’
Quinn had opinions on that, too.
“I don’t know what to tell you, Rain. It’s like reading a bad romance novel, except it’s playing out in front of us in agonizing detail.”
“It’s ridiculous,” Mum said again. “I swear, from the moment we met them, I’ve never seen two people so utterly daft.
It was enjoyable at first, but now it’s just absurd.
” She huffed, collecting dishes from the day’s customers.
Normally, this was a quiet affair, but today she loudly clanked the dishes together, making noise.
Quinn leaned over the booth’s table, ignoring her dinner for this new development. The stew would stay, but Mum’s ire was too good to miss. “Mum. Mum! What about the pages I got?” That was the sole contribution Quinn had to this, and she wouldn’t let anyone forget.
Mama raised an eyebrow. “Yes, Mum. What about the pages you had our daughter copy from the very secret journal in Enty Feo’s home?”
“It’s hardly secret if they left it sitting on a desk.”
“In a bedroom, inside their locked home. Sure, sure.”
Mum and Mama smiled at each other. They did that sometimes, and Quinn always felt left out.
She pushed upright in the booth. “I bet Enty Feo loooves him. Do you think?”
“I think you should eat your stew,” Mum said primly.
Shoot. Quinn went back to spooning out meat, just because she didn’t want to be the reason this conversation derailed.
Mum lowered her voice, talking to Mama. “She’s not wrong. The pages were fairly damning.”
“I wouldn’t know,” Mama said. “I didn’t read them, because I think our friends deserve privacy.”
Mum shifted the dishes in her hands to pat Mama’s arm. “How very lovely for you, dearest.”
Mama rolled her eyes.
Mum continued: “After the debut party, I told Feo not to pursue Wylan because the timing was all wrong—but if Wylan is going to fool around with our new Lord Dren, things have changed. I wanted them both to grow, but I didn’t want Wylan to grow away from Feo.”
“I maintain that this might just be something they have to figure out, Reyna,” Mama said. “Plenty of other couples have survived just fine without our meddling.”
“They’re hardly surviving,” Mama seethed. “They’re reminding me of Bobbie and Serina, all those years ago. Swamped in their histories, ignoring the potential of what they can become if they just stopped being so stubborn.”
Mama slid into the booth across from Quinn, making a pointed gesture at Quinn’s stew. When Quinn took another, obedient bite, Mama leaned one arm over the booth’s back and sighed. “Okay. You’re not dropping this… so what’s our plan? I assume you’re taking Wylan, and I’m tackling Feo?”
Quinn leaned closer, waiting for her next assignment.
Mum set the dishes on the front counter, her brow furrowing. “No. Not this time. Wylan is returning from Pine Island soon. I’m going to talk to Feo again—but this time, the timing is paramount. Quinn, darling, how would you like to infiltrate Lord Wylan’s manor next?”
Quinn squealed. “Yes!”
Across the booth, Mama groaned. “This is what I get for marrying a retired Queensguard.”
Mum blew her a kiss, and Quinn laughed.