The Heartwood Box: A Fairy Tale (16 page)

As soon as they went under the tent, there was a thunderous cheer
.
The crowd had grown from the ceremony at Titania’s Altar
.
A number of men wearing
black uniforms had arrived
—
fellow officers from the
garrison
.
Genevieve also
realized that while they’d been occupied, the ale casks had been bre
a
ched, and the guests were already well along in the revelry
.

Moments after they made their entrance, Donal was on hand with a great stein, apparently some family heirloom, insisting that they drink to their marriage
.
Damian put her on the ground so she could drink first
.
Genevieve couldn’t abide ale and took the tiniest sip possible, which led to mock cries of outrage
.
Apparently it was bad luck if they didn’t finish it
.

The cup was given to
Damian who had to drink it down
as the men counted
.
Thankfully, Derek was also th
ere, holding a cup to her mouth
that turned out to be filled with iced lemon-water
.
She was parched and for once didn’t mind his bossiness
.

There was an explosion of cheers as Damian drained the stein and turned it upside down
.
Donal immediately began yelling for the musicians to begin
.
Genevieve
just had time to return her cup to Derek, when Damian spun her into a fast reel
.

The next half hour passed in a blur of motion as she danced with her father, Declan, Donal,
and several officers
.
She was relieved when she saw Donal leading Sally to the floor
—
at least one of the Black brothers had decided to make peace with her friend
.
She was even happier when she saw Sally joyfully spinning around
the floor with Peter Crane.

She was less relieved when Donal dragged her over to
a
shadowed corner where Derek was standing (hiding really), enjoying himself about as much as the average prisoner of war
.
Derek had not danced once and gave his brother a deadly look when Donal shoved her hand in his
.
Genevieve tried to back away, not wanting to make Derek uncomfortable, but he made an impatient sigh an
d pulled her out on the floor.

To her surprise, he was an excellent dancer
.
For all his stiffness with people, he moved with the same uncommon grace of all the men of his family
.
His refusal to dance was just his usual temper
.

Genevieve felt some pity for him
.
She knew too well what it was like to be surrounded by people enjoying themselves while
she felt like
a miserab
le blotch on their happiness.

Her good will was short-lived
,
however
.
They’d circled the floor one time, when Derek demanded in an accusatory tone, “Have you eaten anything since breakfast?”

Genevieve’s back was immediately up
.
In fact, she’d been too nervous to eat, but she had no intention of bowing to Derek’s
tyranny
at her own wedding.

“Congratulations on your marriage, Genevieve, I wish you every joy
.
What a lovely dress,” she said, with insincere pleasantness
.
“Why thank you, Derek, how kind of you to say that.” 

His expression became livid, and he gave her a very sharp shake
.
“I asked you a question
!
”

Genevieve wasn’t sure what possessed her, but she said in
an insolent
tone, “Not a single bite!” 

She’d never spoken to anyone like that in her life, but something in Derek made her desperate to provoke him
.
Derek immediately stopped dancing and grabbed her by the
upper arm
.
Genevieve turned crimson but forced herself to smile in spite of her rage as Derek marched her over to the banquet tables that had been laid out with all their neighbors’ contributions
.

He gave her a warning look, before letting go
of
her arm so he could fill a plate
.
Genevieve sensed that if she tried to escape, Derek would simply drag her back
.
She searched the crowd for Damian or Donal who might rescue her from Derek’s tyrannical form of care
.
But Damian was dancing with the priestess, and Donal with her mother
.

When he’d piled her plate, Derek pulled her along to one of the
long
tables, which were mostly filled with old men who preferred ale to dancing
.
He found them an unoccupied end, pushed her onto the bench, and took a seat next to her
.

She took the fork he offered
and looked at the plate
.
In the middle was a large slice
of tongue, surrounded by apple
sauce, peas and carrots
,
and plain boiled potatoes—bland dishes for those with indigestion
.

He was punishing her!  His expression said unmistakably that he would feed her himself if she didn’t cooperate
.

Genevieve was seething
.
If they’d been at home she’d have dumped the plate in his lap!  But unlike Derek, she wasn’t totally indifferent to the opinions of everyone around her
.
S
he couldn’t face making a huge scene at her own wedding, distressing her parents who were so happy for her, and causing even more talk than she’d already done
.
She gritted her teeth and
started eating
.

When she’d
finished
everything but the meat, she pushed the plate back
and hissed,
“I’m done!”

Derek flashed her a look of dark warning
.
Genevieve swayed dizzily, instinctively sensing that beneath his cold stubborn
ness lurked something
dangerous
.
Once again, s
he
felt that
overpowering urge to run from him
.

She
was saved
for the second time that day
by Sally
,
who walked up practically dragging Donal behind her
.

“You or me, Donal Black,”
Sally
said, giving Donal an elbow in the ribs.

“Ouch!
You undersized termagant!” 

“
Oh for Pete’s sake
!”  Sally said impatiently
.
With a
n
overly sweet smile, she
said
, “You
all right
,
Jenny?”

“Perfectly fine,” Genevieve
answered
, drawing courage from their arrival
.
“I was just reminding my dear brother, Derek, that I do not eat tongue
.
He seems to be suffering from memory loss.” 

Derek gave her a thunderous look, and Genevieve, possessed by some alien mischievous spirit, stuck her tongue out at him
.

Donal roared with laughter and then elbowed Sally back
.
“T
old you she could handle him
.
I’ve seen blood-soaked Reavers qu
ail before that
scowl
of his.”  Sally and Donal
joined them at the table
.

Derek visibly made
an effort to master his temper
and finally said coldly, “You’ve not eaten enough.”  He moved the pie
ce of tongue onto another plate
and stood up to refill hers
.

Insufferable despot! 

“Fine!” she snapped
.
“Please be sure to take plenty of the
Crane’s
stew then
.
I’m quite partial to
lamb
.” 

He leaned over and whispered in her ear, “I warned you what would happen if you
refused to eat your meals
,” and went to get more food
.

Luckily Genevieve’s reaction to this threat was covered over by Damian’s arrival
.

“There you are!” he said, ki
ssing her lavishly on the mouth
to Sally’s smirking disapproval
.
“Look
darling
!
”
H
e
pointed
to the other side of the tent
.

Her fathe
r was mounting the little stage
holding his wooden flute!  “This is for my little girl
.
I love you, kitten,” he said awkwardly
.
H
e was ever a man of music
,
not words
.

He began one of her favorite ballads
.
Genevieve kept a smile pasted on her face, but her emotions were rising dangerously
.
Her father played the rustic instrument so beautifully, it was impossible not to feel her own loss
.
If she’d not had all her problems, she would be up there
playing
with him
.
Her parents had always shown her so much love and patience, so much more than she deserved…
.

Thank Titania Damian had his eyes on the stage and couldn’t see her distress, but Sally and Donal were watching her closely
.
She
felt
Sally take her hand
.
Grateful as
Genevieve
was for rediscovering her old friend, Sally’s kindness was in danger of pushing her towards one of her attacks
—
at her wedding, the happiest day of her life
.
What would it do t
o Damian
?

At that moment, however,
Derek returned with the second helping of food
.
“Finish it!” he said in that iron tone so beloved of her new family
.

Her
irritation succeeded where her willpower had failed to wrestle her unruly emotions
.
T
his time
Derek had fille
d
her
plate with all of her favorite dishes
.
The wretch had been deliberately baiting her
!
 

S
he made a silent vow of revenge
as she dug in, genuinely hungry
.
She could listen now like everyone else, apprec
iating her father’s rare talent,
without feeling overwhelmed by regrets
.
There was
wild
applause when he finished, and Genevieve felt nothing but joy when she jumped up to embrace him
.

Her mother had her moment of triumph soon afterwards as a splendid cake was unveiled and the puddings simultaneously set alight to enormous cheers
.
As was tradition, she and Damian held the knife together and cut the first piece
.
Damian seemed almost giddy as he fed her the first bite
.
His happiness was contagious
.
She could almost believe in the old superstition that the sweetness of the cake foretold the sweetness of their married life
.

As the cake and puddings were served, Donal leapt up to give a toast, followed by Mr. Richards, the tavern-keep and her father’s closest friend, and then
by
two officers from
the garrison
, who said something, bawdy probably, that caused all the men to roar
.

She noticed Donal whisper something to Sally, who gave him a wry nod
.
Sally stood and totally unabashed pretended to solemnly thank Genevieve for snapping up the f
earsome Damian Black so quickly,
so the other girls might relax and enjoy the
Bridal Week
.

Only Sally could carry off such impudence without giving offense
.
Damian chuckled, and Donal practically howled
.
Then with a mischievous wink, Sally announced that it was time for the bride to retire
.