The Heartwood Box: A Fairy Tale (43 page)

When she bemoaned her poor cooking skills, he put his hands to his cheeks and exclaimed, “Well then you must learn!  Any time, my dear, come!  I’ll teach you to make any dish you wish
.
Beginning with the sweet-cheese rolls you told me of
.
I’ll send someone today to your mother to request the recipe.” 

“My mother would be honored, sir,” she said, utterly charmed
.

“Well, I cannot have Damian’s bride pining for the foods of home.”  He whispered confidentially into her ear, “And you will not be offended when I say that you must eat more—you need more meat on your bones
.
What if you were to take sick, Titania please it never happen
?
You’d waste away.” 

Genevieve laughed and promised she would eat more
.
After she and Donal left, she realized that he’d barely spoken the whole time they were there—truly a marvel
.
“You goose,” she said
.
“How could you make him out to be such an ogre
?
He could not have been sweeter!”  Donal looked at her as if she were possessed
.
“What?” 

“You’re dangerous
.
You appear so shy and kittenish, but I begin to suspect that beneath that sweet appearance, you’re actually a witch, or perhaps a demoness.”

“How dare you!” 

“HOW DARE I!” he roared
.
“You just call
ed Roderick, RODERICK, SWEET! 
The bane of my childhood, the author of my sufferings, the terror of the tart-taker!  You think your backside is bad
?
I don’t think a day went by when he didn’t crimson my rear end with that spoon of his.”

“You were stealing food!”

“Titania, give me patience!  Roderick sweet!  I could not have believed it
.
I suppose you think Derek is sweet as well
.
Did you call him peach-i-kins
?
Honey-pie
?
Sugarplum
?
Perhaps that’s why he fe
lt the need to tan your hide.”

Genevieve took a swipe at him
.
“I did no such thing, you louse!  And I never called Derek sweet—he who made me eat a tongue sandwich!  Roderick is sending to town so he can learn the recipe for my
mother’s sweet-cheese rolls!”

Luckily Donal’s noisy rage over Genevieve’s friendliness to Roderick did not prevent them from visiting the fortress the next day for another surprise
.
After saying hello to Roderick, Donal ushered her into a dark and rather shabbily decorated sitting room, which provided ample evidence that no woman had lived in the fortress for decades, if ever
.

Genevieve forgot all about it, though, when Sally was announced a minute later!  She was delighted to see that Peter Crane had accompanied her friend
.
One glance confirmed the obvious: that Sally’s box had changed to blue
.
They were
to be married in a fortnight.

Genevieve was well aware that Sally’s assertiveness was not precisely to the taste of the men of her family, and she worried that Donal might prefer not to leave them alone
.
She was consequently relieved when he immediately invited Peter to tour the fortress
.
The suggestion pleased everyone
.
As an artist, Peter was eager for the chance to explore such a dramatic building, while she and Sally were just as eager to be rid of the men so they coul
d freely discuss Sally’s news.

Roderick sent in tea along with a platter of small sandwiches and a delicious butter cake soaked in ginger syrup
.
Genevieve was highly gratified to have the chance to repay Sally’s kindness and listened contentedly to all the details of Sally’s courtship and wedding plans
.

Though Sally was understandably full of her own concerns, Genevieve should have realized that her sharp-eyed friend had not suddenly become oblivious
.
“I can tell something’s going on with you, Jenny, but don’t worry
.
I won’t press you for the details
.
Whatever it is can’t be too bad
.
You’re looking well enough—and you’r
e finally getting some color.”

Genevieve realized something at that moment: she truly wished to remain friends with Sally, but for their friendship to work, she would have to make a few things clear
.
She returned Sally’s penetrating glance with one of her own
.
“You’re right
.
There have been some difficulties, but I believe they are in train to being resolved
.
I would appreciate your not pressing me for details, Sally.” 

She left off saying “now or in the future,” but trusted that Sally would understand her implication.

“Well enough, Genevieve
.
If you need a woman’s ear, you know where to come,” Sally said briskly.

“Thank you for understanding.” 

Genevieve knew that in the long run there would be little hope of completely deceiving someone as observant as Sally
.
If they were to stay friends, Sally must accept that there were parts of Genevieve’s life that were not open to discussion.

She finally understood why Damian had been so determined to keep her from speaking to anyone about his family before their marriage
.
It was a measure of the distance she’d come in the last twenty-four hours that she didn’t believe there was anything wrong or shameful in her intimacy with Donal and Derek, but that did not mean she wished others to know about it
.

There was simply no way for someone outside their little family to understand their unusual arrangement
.
She felt an unexpected elation when she realized that she instinctively thought of them as a family.

The men returned soon afterwards, both in excellent spirits
.
Peter was a good-humored, easy-going man, a perfect match for Donal
.
As they were leaving, Donal surprised her again by inviting Peter to return to sketch—and of course to bring Sally
.

Genevieve exchanged a glance with Donal at this, which she was positive he interpreted correctly
.
She was determined that he act as host for these visits instead of Damian or Titania forbid, Derek
.
She strongly suspected that Damian and Sally would merely tolerate each other at best
.
Damian would not be able to resist the temptation to prove his dominance over her in front of Sally, and Sally would definitely disapprove of his tendency to domineer
.
Derek and Sally spending time together did not bear thinking of
.

Genevieve took Donal’s hand as they walked back to their house at the end of the visit
.
“Thank you,” she said, kissing him on the cheek
.

“I’m sure you can come up with a better way to thank me,” the scoundrel answered
.

She tried to rip her hand away, but instead he pushed her up against a tree and took her mouth deeply
.
He immediately began lifting her skirts to fondle her sex, easily accomplished since she wasn’t wearing drawers
.

When she tried to shove him away, he murmured, “Please, I’ll be quick
.
No one will catch us.” 

“No—when we get home, not here,” she said decisively, recalling Declan’s advice about setting limits
.

This was the main path between their house and the fortress
.
She didn’t care if George and Thomas were beyond surprise
.
She would not get caught with Donal pumping into her against a tree!  Donal grumbled something about Sally being a bad influence, but he did respect her tone, and they continued their walk
.
“So you and Peter got along?” she asked to break the slight tension.

“He’s a good chap and doesn’t seem to mind that pint-sized dictator you call a friend.”

“I thought you liked her.”

“I’m teasing,” he said
.
“I like Sally very well—she’s loyal, smart, honest
.
I admit she’s a good friend for you.” 

“I’m worried Damian won’t agree,” she confided.

“Let me talk to him,” Donal said firmly
.
“I doubt Damian will make trouble but if he does, Declan will back me.” 

She felt certain then that Donal would make sure that she and her friend had the chance to see each other
.
After a minute, he added, “Peter mentioned something to me: that you used to play the pianoforte
.
You were reputed extremely good, but then you just stopped one day.” 

Genevieve froze and stared at Donal in alarm
.
He gave her an almost mocking look, for all the world like an obnoxious brother teasing his sister for being scared of a mouse
.
She prayed she sounded tolerably indifferent as she said, “Yes
.
I used to play and then I stopped.”

“I’d love to hear you some time,” he commented, and then they continued walking
.
They were almost home when Donal cried, “But you know what I want right now
?
Cherries!  Race you!”  Donal, insufferable wretch, took off towards the orchard at a speed she couldn’t hope to match, calling back at her, “Slowpoke!” 

When she finally caught up to him, he pelted her with a cherry
.
“You rotten scoundrel,” she cried and grabbed some cherries off the ground and started throwing them back.

Donal shot more cherries at her, mocking, “You sure do throw like a girl!”

“You…
you… I’ll get you, Donal Black!” she cried, resolving to come up with some better taunts as soon as possible
.
A full on cherry fight ensued, which left Genevieve’s face and dress spattered with red juice—and Donal practically pristine
.

“Enough, truce!” he called
.
Genevieve sent a few more his way before finally holding up her hands in capitulation
.

She eyed the cherry trees for fruit fit for eating instead of ballistics, but the lower branches had been picked clean
.
Donal noticed of course and got a devious expression on his face
.
“I can see that my lovely Genevieve is craving cherries
.
How about I climb up and get you some, and in return you can suck me off after dinner?
”

“You beast!” she yelled furiously.

“It’s not my fault girls can’t climb t
rees.”

“I can too!” she insisted
.
At
least she used to be able to.

“I’ll believe it when I see it!”  Donal leapt for a branch and swung himself up like a monkey and then rose to his feet, effortlessly balancing on the branch without holding on
.
He reached for some of the fruit
.
“Oh, so delicious!  These trees come from Titania’s own orchard
.
Did you know that
?
Heavenly
.
Poor Jenny, stu
ck on the ground like a girl.”

“We’ll see about that!” she snarled between her teeth
.
She untied her boots and pulled off her stockings
.
She found a tree that looked promising and after a few tries managed to pull herself into the crook
.

Of course, the moment she was stable, D
onal pelted her with a cherry.

“You’ll be sorry!” she shouted and struggled to climb high enough to reach the fruit
.
She climbed out on a branch that looked sturdy and lying on her stomach managed to reach some cherries hanging from one of the upper branches
.
She ate a few, closing her eyes with pleasure—until another cherry hit her!  Donal had climbed higher in his tree and b
egan shooting cherries at her.

Unfortunately, when she tried to return fire, she lost her grip and tipped over the branch
.
She scrambled to keep her hold but wasn’t strong enough and went tumbling down
.
“Blast!” she cried, but when she
looked up, she almost fainted.

Damian and Derek were standing right in front of her, their arms folded, looking anything but pleased
.
Genevieve bit her lip: how was it that the two of them standing together was more terrifying than the two of them trying to kill each other
?