Blackstone (Book 2) (8 page)

Rune expression relaxed when he realized he had breathing
room. He was still nervous after what had happened and Wolf didn’t blame him.
“I understand.”

Satisfied they were all more or less prepared, Hyun Woo
lifted a hand in signal and boomed out, “
Hame
!”

Where in sweet mercy had her guild disappeared to?

Siobhan had been in a meeting most of the morning with the
council, going over the exact situation that Orin was in and figuring out
precisely which experts they needed to unravel the mess before it exploded.
Sylvie had joined the meeting for the last hour, helping to explain what
Siobhan didn’t know. Somehow, during those three hours, their entire guild
disappeared without a trace. No one was in their guest house. After walking all
the way through, she gave up and joined Sylvie back on the front porch, arms
set akimbo on her hips. “Where did they all go?”

“Wolf was invited to go to the main field last night by the
master strategist,” Sylvie answered, half-turning to look behind her. “Which is
over there, somewhere. I think Rune, Tran and Fei are with them. I heard Wolf
mention it last night.”

Well that accounted for four of them. “And the rest?”

Sylvie spread her hands, shrugging. “Who knows? Who are you
needing, anyway?”

“Markl,” Siobhan answered, exasperated. “He’s the one with
all of the numbers written down. I can remember some of them, but not all. Oh
Jae Pyo needs precise information to make any sort of plans.”

Sylvie looked away, her face becoming unnaturally still and
expressionless. “You want to find Markl in this place? Good luck with that. He
could be anywhere.”

True. But that didn’t explain that almost belligerent
expression on Sylvie’s face.

Siobhan rocked back on her heels, debating on whether to say
anything or not. She wasn’t blind—Markl was absolutely infatuated with Sylvie.
From what she could see, Sylvie was charmed and attracted to him as well. And
yet, for the past six months, the two of them had stayed in this awkward limbo
of not-quite-courting, and for the life of her she couldn’t figure out why.
Siobhan firmly believed that a third party trying to get in between a couple
usually made the situation worse rather than better, but at this rate, they’d
all be grey-headed by the time anything became official.

Deciding on a middle ground, she said instead, “You can
usually find him, though. You seem to understand him better than anyone else.”

Sylvie very carefully didn’t look at her as she responded,
“I know his habits. I don’t know him well at all.”

Uh-oh. That was not a good tone. Sylvie’s voice had sounded
strained saying that. No, she couldn’t just leave this alone anymore. The time
for that had apparently passed. Siobhan slid an arm around the other woman’s
shoulders and pulled her in for a half-hug. “Talk to me, Sylvie.”

“Siobhan, what are we doing?” Sylvie looked lost, eyes
bright with unshed tears. “I don’t know anymore. I thought at first that he was
attracted to me, then I thought maybe it was more than attraction, but he
doesn’t
do
or say anything. I don’t know how to react around him anymore.”

Hence that strange, unnatural tension between them? Siobhan
had thought Markl had done something stupid. Men were prone to foot-in-mouth
disease from time to time. “I’m just as confused, that’s why I’m asking. None
of us can figure out what’s holding the two of you back. I actually had a bet
going with Beirly that the two of you would become a couple before Rune
finished his journeyman training.”

Sylvie gave a bitter snort. “You lost that bet.”

“Well, no, Beirly actually did. He didn’t think it would be that
long. He bet on less than three months.”

Instead of consoling her, this seemed to enhance Sylvie’s
anger. “So it’s not just me being overly hopeful?”

“Nope.”

Sucking in a breath, the brunette let it out between
clenched teeth, like a teapot whistling out steam. “So what do I do?”

Trying to jostle her out of that foul mood, Siobhan tsked
her with a wagging finger. “You know my love advice doesn’t come free.”

Sylvie’s trading instincts sparked to life and she eyed her guildmaster
sideways. “The pewter hair clasp you like.”

Siobhan let go of her and held out a hand, which Sylvie
promptly took, sealing the deal. The tension broke enough that Sylvie’s brow
unknotted and Siobhan fought back a smile. “Markl strikes me as the type that
has little confidence in himself where women are concerned. Don’t try to make
him jealous, that will backfire. He’ll think he has no chance with you and give
up. Instead, make it very clear to him that he has your interest. It will give
him the courage to close the gap.”

Running a hand roughly through her hair, Sylvie took in a
breath, puffing out her cheeks. Her eyes were fixed off in the distance as she
turned this advice over in her head. “Yes,” she finally agreed with a slow nod.
“Yes, that might be the problem. I’ve never done or said anything outright to
him. But truly? You think that it’s just a lack of confidence on his part?”

“From what I’ve seen. Even after all of this time with us,
he still hesitates before offering his opinion, unless someone has asked for
it.” Markl was charming, in his own quiet way, but not particularly handsome.
He was an illegitimate child from a wealthy family, and from the beginning had
been an unwanted burden. In spite of how his family loved him, that stigma
would have still attached itself to his skin as permanently as a tattoo. All of
that would affect his own opinion of how desirable he was to other people.
Siobhan firmly believed that the reason why he had changed cities and guilds
was for a fresh slate.

But if she tried to explain this to Sylvie, her trader would
smack her outright. To her, Markl was nothing short of amazing, and she
wouldn’t hear a detrimental word said against him.

Siobhan wisely bit her tongue and said instead, “I will now
teach you the magic phrase to win his attention.”

“There’s a magic phrase?” Sylvie repeated dubiously.

“It actually works on almost every man,” Siobhan admitted
cheerfully. “Beirly taught it to me ages ago. It goes something like this:
‘Markl, I need you.’”

“That’s it?!” Sylvie demanded, spluttering.

Giving a careless shrug, she grinned. “That’s it. Men, you
see, need to be needed. Telling them that you need them, even if it’s for a
simple thing, sets an emotional connection with them. Make it a habit with
Markl. Have him help you, tell him that you need him, on a daily basis. Nothing
hard, and things that involve direct contact with him would be best. He’s too
nervous to touch you except a brush of the hand here or there. Get past that.”

Sylvie opened her mouth to protest, paused, and her eyes
went unfocused as she thought. “Mercy above…you’re right, he hardly ever comes
that close to me. He always keeps a set distance between us. No wonder I was
struggling to connect with him!”

Satisfied she had gotten the girl on the right path, Siobhan
made shooing motions with her hands. “You can get me the clasp later. For now,
go. Find. Seduce.”

“On it!” Sylvie assured her, already leaping lightly off the
porch.

Belatedly remembering what had started this conversation,
she called after her, “Wait! When you find him, make sure he talks to Oh Jae
Pyo!”

Sylvie waved a hand in acknowledgement but didn’t pause or
look back.

Chuckling evilly to herself, Siobhan said to the empty air,
“Brace yourself, Markl. A woman on a mission is heading straight for you.”

ӜӜӜ

That night they had dinner with Fei’s family. From the way
Fei issued the invitation to them, it was clear that his mother would not take
‘no’ for an answer.

Siobhan was not a parent, but she’d filled the role of
mother before for people, and felt she had a grasp on what Fei’s parents must
feel after seeing their son for the first time in nearly eight years. She also
understood that she would be laying a lot of unease and fears to rest if she
could show his family what the guild was like. So with no hesitation whatsoever,
she accepted the invitation.

Fei came and gathered them up that evening, escorting them
to his house. Siobhan admired it as they walked in through the garden gate. The
place was larger than she’d mentally pictured. It seemed to expand in every direction.
There was a nice sized garden in front that seemed to wrap around the sides of
the house as well, every bush and tree immaculately trimmed. The house itself
was in the usual style for this area, and all the doors and windows were open,
no doubt letting the evening air inside. It was a beautiful night, so no need
to keep the house shut up.

A slightly stooped man with white hair and a cane in his
hand was standing in front door. Upon seeing them, he turned and called into
the house. Playing watchman, was he?

Fei went directly to the old man and grabbed one hand with
both of his. In the most tender voice she’d ever heard from him, he greeted,
“Harupachi.”

The old man gripped the hand in return, beaming up at Fei.
His reply was too fast for Siobhan to be able to detect any words, but the
affection and joy in the tone were clear enough.

From inside the house, people started appearing. Siobhan
blinked at the number, not to mention the variety. Everything from a baby to
the old man was here. So…it wasn’t just Fei’s immediate family they would meet
today? It was the
whole
family?

Denney’s voice whispered behind her, “Where do you think
you’re going?”

“I’m no good in places like this,” Rune responded uneasily.
“Best I go.”

“You’re not going anywhere,” Denney assured him firmly.
“They won’t eat you, Rune.”

Rune clearly didn’t buy this. “Still….”

“These are the same people that raised and taught Fei
everything he knows. You really think it’ll be uncomfortable around them?”

Siobhan glanced over her shoulder and found that Rune had a
pole-struck face on, as if he hadn’t thought of it that way before. Smiling to
herself, she let Denney take care of Rune as she stepped forward and gave a bow
to the whole family.

Fei extended a hand to her and announced in an unusually
loud voice (at least for him), “This is my guildmaster, Siobhan Maley.”

Siobhan straightened and gave the whole group a genuine
smile. “I am very pleased to meet you. Thank you for the invitation.” Turning,
she grabbed the basket from Tran’s hands and extended it, not quite sure who it
should go to. “I brought loquat fruits for everyone to share.”

A woman in her middle years came down the steps to accept
the basket.

“Siobhan-ajie, this is my mother. Man Hye Ri.”

Hye Ri bowed to her. Siobhan’s first impression was that
this was the most delicate woman she’d ever seen in her life. Even the way she
moved was smooth and fluid, like water flowing downstream. “We are very glad
you have come,” Hye Ri told her, her voice pure and clear. “Please, come in. We
will do proper introductions around the table. It is easier there.”

She had a table large enough to fit everyone? Siobhan had to
see that. Agreeable, the whole guild trooped into the house, following their
hosts. The inside was painted in whites and soft greens, almost teal in color.
Siobhan liked it, as it felt homey to her. Especially the touches of artwork
that were obviously done by the younger children.

There was not a table large enough in the world to fit this
many people at once. But they had opened all of the sliding doors, making the
connecting rooms into one large dining area, and pushed together several
rectangular tables to make it work. Their hosts kindly took each guildmember in
and guided them to a padded cushion. Fei was the one that grabbed Denney and
Rune, which Siobhan was glad to see. He must have realized from Rune’s reaction
earlier that leaving him alone between people Rune didn’t know would not be
wise.

Once seated, Hye Ri made good on her promise and made the
introductions all around. The names were foreign, something Siobhan wasn’t used
to hearing, and there were a good thirty people seated. After memorizing Fei’s
father’s name—Man Ji Sang—Siobhan quickly lost track of everyone else. But this
didn’t seem to matter after they started eating.

She found herself seated right next to Fei’s parents, with
him on the other side of them, and both parents asked Siobhan many questions,
most of them centered around what the guild did and why they had come. Siobhan
answered honestly and ate quick bites between answering questions.

With the plates more or less empty of food, she glanced up
and found that people were having animated conversations all around them. Even
Rune, as nervous as he had been, had relaxed enough to talk to the children,
who were busy firing off questions. The whole dinner had gone off without a
hitch. Relieved, she relaxed…or tried to. Her knees were
not
used to
being folded like this under a short table for long stretches of time.

The only complaint she had about Saoleord so far was their
lack of chairs.

Maybe her hostess realized this as she turned to Siobhan and
asked, “Would you like to go sit by the garden and have some tea?”