Leaves of Revolution (5 page)

“Oh, right.” Zander stood and walked over to the fire again, staring into the flames for a long moment. Finally, he turned to look at Stephen. “You know, the one thing I was supposed to get out of this whole mess was
not
having to worry about listening to a father.”

Stephen laughed out loud. “Life rarely gives us the things we think we’re supposed to have. More often, we have to learn how to use what we get.”

“I’m learning that.”

“You really are a wonderful young man, Zander. I do hope I get to know you better over time. Now… for more fun topics. We were planning on celebrating our last day all together with a game of crumple in the gymnasium, and would love for you to join us.”

“SEE, SAMUEL, THERE’S YOUR mother,” Thomas said, propping the infant against his chest, facing out. “She’s about to get the ball away from your father. He never sees her coming. Or maybe he just doesn’t look. There! She’s got it. Go Mama! Go!” He waved Samuel’s little fist as Quinn ran toward the goal, and lifted him into the air as she moved the ball past Max and scored.

Quinn caught Thomas’ eye and grinned, waving at him and Samuel.

“Be careful with him,” a voice admonished.

Thomas settled the baby back in his lap and looked up. “Hello Sophia. I was hoping you would come out to join us. I’m glad you decided to.”

“I still haven’t had much of a chance to see my great-grandson. I wanted to see him asleep in his cradle this morning, but apparently the new security measures mean that even the queen’s grandmother needs special consent to enter her chambers, and she wouldn’t answer the door. I don’t even know what all this ridiculousness is about.”

It was harder this time, but he forced a warm smile. “Well, he’s wide awake and happy now. Would you like to hold him?”

“Yes, thank you. You’re the first one who’s actually offered.”

Ignoring the fact that he knew she’d held the baby this morning after an offer from William, he adjusted Samuel’s hat and secured the warm knitted blankets before passing him carefully over to Sophia. “He’s beautiful, isn’t he?”

“Yes. He reminds me a little of Nathaniel when he was a baby. Of course, I was hoping he’d get Quinn’s hair, but this color is nice, too.” She pulled the hat down further, almost to Samuel’s eyes, to which the baby objected with a squawk. “Do you think he’s cold? It’s a little chilly in here.”

Thomas reached over and ran his finger up the baby’s cheek, surreptitiously pushing the edge of the hat back up, and then dug inside the blankets to feel Samuel’s hands. The infant quieted immediately at his uncle’s touch. “He feels nice and warm. I think he’s okay.”

For a couple of minutes, everything was peaceful as Sophia held Samuel on her lap and smiled and cooed at him. Her whole face softened, and her eyes sparkled as she looked at the baby.

Then she lifted him up close to her chest, holding his head against her shoulder. Samuel immediately began to screech.

“He doesn’t really like to be held that way,” Thomas said gently.

“Nonsense. All babies like to be held close. It makes them feel secure. Quinn should be holding him like this all the time.” She stood up with him, wrapping her arms more securely as she – almost imperceptibly – swayed on her heels.

Samuel cried harder.

“Maybe he’s hungry,” she said. “I could take him to the kitchens.”

“He’s too little for food.” Thomas was having a hard time keeping his hands from reaching out and snatching Samuel away from her.

“I know that. But when my babies were this little, we spoon-fed them a mixture of milk and mealgrain. It made them sleep better and grow more. He wouldn’t be so fussy. Will you tell Quinn I took him to the kitchens? I’m sure he hasn’t had his diaper changed all morning, either.”

Thomas looked desperately across the room. Most of his family was deeply involved in a tense moment of the game, except for the very youngest children who were playing nearby, oblivious. Rebecca was there, but she was busy feeding her son, and Mia was distracted by Hannah who was also fussing. He couldn’t exactly call over for help. Sophia was already heading toward the door. He didn’t think the guards there would stop her. They didn’t have instructions about this.

He finally caught William’s gaze as Sophia reached the halfway point. He tilted his head furiously toward her.

“Break, please!” William yelled, running toward the sidelines. Thomas followed him. “Sophia! Is everything all right with the baby?”

“Yes, of course. He’s fine,” she said, though by this point he was screaming and his little face was red.

Quinn had been farther away, but Thomas could see her approaching now.

“Thank you for taking care of him for us,” William said to Sophia, reaching toward Samuel. “Quinn was just saying she needed to take a break from playing to feed him.”

“It’s no problem for me to take care of him for a little while so you can finish your game.” Sophia deftly took a step back from William. “I would love the chance to get to know him better.”

“That’s very gracious of you,” William said. “We would much appreciate your help sometime, but right now I think Quinn needs to feed him.” This time, he was more assertive than polite, taking two quick steps to close in on her while taking hold of his son in the same motion.

Thomas’ hands were still shaking when William turned back around to face him just as Quinn reached them. The rest of his family was paying attention now, but – probably wisely – holding back.

Samuel’s screams subsided quickly, though he was still breathing in hiccupping sobs when William handed him to Quinn. He didn’t settle down completely until they all sat in a quiet corner so he could nurse.

*          *          *

“Let’s all break for drinks,” Stephen said, leading the rest of them toward the chairs on the sidelines of the large gymnasium.

Zander listened to William’s younger brothers first groan and then engage in a debate over whether to play something else during the indefinite intermission, but then a servant brought in a large tray of cookies and fruit, effectively ending the discussion.

He wasn’t sure exactly what had happened, but judging from the way William, Linnea, and Thomas were huddled around Quinn and the baby over in the corner, it had something to do with them.

The gym in this castle was much larger and nicer than the one he’d spent time in back in Eirentheos. One side even had a wood floor – which must have been a nightmare to keep clean next to the packed-dirt playing area – but this area was filled with comfortable, cushioned chairs.

Along the back wall were several long tables covered with green tablecloths – this was where the snacks were being laid out. Zander glanced over toward Quinn’s little group. None of them budged.

Nobody was paying any attention to him. He was more than a little tempted to escape, to return to his room and … well, something. Maybe re-arrange his few clothes in the wardrobe again. But then he remembered his conversation with Stephen earlier – about actually living here instead of just avoiding everything. He wasn’t ready to even think about Stephen’s guard suggestion, but this much he could make himself do.

Sighing, he headed back to the table and loaded up a plate with a stack of cookies, several apples, and some glasberries.

“Hey, Zander,” Thomas said when he approached them, immediately standing to pull two more chairs over to them. He took the tray from Zander and set it down on one of the chairs.

“You don’t have to do that,” Zander said. “I just thought I’d bring these over to you.”

Linnea narrowed her eyes at him. “Sit. Have a snack with us.”

“Well if you’re going to be
that
way about it…” He grinned as he reached theatrically for the largest cookie, taking a bite before he sank into the empty chair.

“Sure, make the pregnant lady get her own.”

He coughed. “Twenty minutes ago, when you wanted to take Thomas’ place in the game you were ‘
pregnant, not an invalid.’
”

William reached for two cookies, handing one to Quinn and one to Linnea before taking one for himself. “Arguing with a pregnant lady is way more dangerous than Max’s tackling arm.”

“I’ll remember my protective gear next time,” Zander said, earning him chuckles from Thomas and William. Linnea stuck her tongue out at him.

He looked over at Quinn, who was quiet as she fed the baby. “So, dare I ask what’s going on?”

“Nothing.” William shot him a pointed look, shaking his head. “Samuel needed to eat, and we decided everyone could use a break.”

“Oh. You mean your team was so far behind you hoped we’d forget some of the points Quinn scored for us if there was enough sugar involved.”

“Something like that.” William smiled.

At times like this, Zander wasn’t sure why he fought so hard against getting involved with them.

It was true that it was still hard to watch Quinn with William. There wasn’t any real way to wrap his mind around the fact that the girl he’d been dating only … well, however long ago it was – a couple of months, tops … was now married and had a child.

Aside from that, though, he liked everyone. They always made every effort to include him and make him feel welcome – almost as if he belonged, although he so clearly didn’t.

Even William, who could have treated him as a threat or competition, never did. He was unfailingly kind and considerate – enough that sometimes Zander wished he could hate him for it.

Maybe Stephen was right. Maybe he could actually find a way to have a life here.

William’s siblings were already drifting back out onto the playing floor when Quinn finally finished feeding Samuel and handed him over to William who pulled a fresh diaper out of the cloth bag they always carried with them.

Zander was considering asking who was ready to join them when he looked up and saw Marcus standing a few feet away from them, a look on his face so dark that it made Zander’s heart jump into his throat.

Quinn was already on her feet by the time Zander glanced over at her. She waved Marcus closer.

“I need to speak with you immediately, Your Majesty.”

“Yes, of course.” Her eyes flashed to William.

The rest of them were already standing.

“Does this have to do with Callum Haddon?” Thomas asked in a near-whisper.

Marcus nodded.

“I want to hear.”

“So do I,” Linnea said.

He wasn’t entirely sure how it happened, but a few minutes later, Zander found himself in Quinn’s private chambers with Quinn, William, Thomas, Linnea, and Marcus.

William held the baby as he paced and listened in on the conversation. Samuel was nearly always in the arms of family members the last couple of days. Although William and Quinn said it was because they were trying to allow Mia to spend her last few days with the younger Rose children, Zander sensed there was more to it – they were too protective, keeping him in sight.

“Callum has disappeared,” Marcus said. Zander didn’t know what he was talking about, but the tone in Marcus’ voice made the hair on the back of his neck stand up.

“What do you mean
disappeared
?” Quinn’s brow scrunched until her eyebrows nearly touched.

“The security detail responsible for tracking him hasn’t been able to locate him for several hours.”

“Did they lose him after he left the inn?”

“No. We know he was planning on staying at the inn last night rather than traveling all the way to his home. He checked in, he was there last night, but he doesn’t appear to be there now.”

“What about his horse and carriage?”

“They’re still there.”

“Then how do you know he left?” Zander wondered. “Maybe he’s still in his room sleeping or something.”

Quinn shook her head. “The guards watching him wouldn’t have alerted Marcus yet if that were a possibility.”

“Correct,” Marcus said.

“Did they question the innkeeper?” Zander asked.

Now everyone was looking at him.

“Nobody is supposed to know we’re keeping track of him,” Quinn said. “Questioning innkeepers would open up all kinds of new complications.”

“Then why are you having him followed?” He realized, after the words were out, that he should probably be keeping his mouth shut. Everyone here obviously understood something that he didn’t, and he was probably only impeding the conversation. In a second, someone was going to ask him to leave.

But nobody did. To his surprise, Quinn answered him. “I don’t know. I should have had him arrested yesterday, middle of the party or no. We believe he’s connected to Tolliver – well, we know he
was
, and there’s a chance that he still is.”

Tolliver
. Just the name set Zander’s teeth on edge. “Do you think he might know where Tolliver is?”

“If he’s disappeared, we may never find out.”

He shrugged. “It isn’t like he would have just told you even if you had arrested him yesterday.”

They all stared at him again.

“I realize I’m new here, but I’ve had enough experience with Tolliver to pay attention to the stories about him.” He met Quinn’s gaze. “It’s never safe to talk in front of someone on the assumption they’re not paying attention or they couldn’t possibly understand what you’re talking about.”

She didn’t flinch; his comment wasn’t even rewarded with a hint of a blush. She merely studied him, reminding him yet again that she wasn’t quite the same girl he’d known in Bristlecone. Of course, the large oil painting of her in her crown on the wall over the heavy wooden desk shouted that fact as well.

“I haven’t been dealing in secrets, Zander. I trust you. If I didn’t, you wouldn’t be standing here hearing this now.”