Arrival of the Traveler (Waldgrave Book 1) (13 page)

“What?” Lena shot a look at her mother, who was giving Howard a look as distasteful as her own.

“Your dad home schooled you?” Howard asked.

“Yes…” Lena wasn’t sure if the term ‘home schooled’ exactly fit, as they’d never really had a location known as ‘home.’ And there had never actually been any ‘schooling.’ Lena had an amazing aptitude for reading and writing, and she’d seen a fair bit of world history in person, but she had only acquired basic math skills because her father had never liked the subject.

“And you’ve had quite a break. It’s time to start back up again. Aside from the usual subjects, you’re going to need to learn some things that normal schools don’t teach.” Howard nodded at her. It was funny how he had a way of putting a positive spin on things lately.

“I’ll teach her. I don’t want 
her
 going near my daughter.” Ava was still giving Howard a look that somewhat resembled a glare. She was attempting to smile.

“Ava, you know you won’t.”

To Lena’s surprise, she actually heard a mocking tone in his voice. Howard was smiling like Ava’s suggestion was a joke. Ava looked indignant.

“Mom…” Lena gave her a look that agreed with Howard’s statement.

Ava stood and stalked out of the dining room. Howard sighed, shaking his head as he looked after her.

Lena raised an eyebrow in agreement. “Why does she hate Mrs. Ralston so much?”

Howard looked Lena in the eye; both of them were grateful to be beyond keeping secrets. “It’s…ugly. Rosaleen was born to human parents, and your grandfather invested a lot of time when she was little teaching your mother not to trust people identified as ‘integrated.’”

They fell silent for a moment. It 
was
 ugly—it was bigotry. The morning had been going so well before that little piece of information. For the first time in a long time, though, Lena felt like being an optimist.

“So. A party, huh?”

Howard and Lena continued to eat, as if Ava’s outburst had never happened.

“Yeah. I’m not trying to say you need it, but people generally try to make a big deal out of these meetings.” Howard smiled. “You’re mother’s clothes are fancy enough, and they certainly suit you well. You can have money for makeup, if you like.”

Lena nervously smiled back, trying not to give anything away. “Yeah—makeup. I think I might already have some.”

After breakfast, and Howard’s promise that he would find Ava and be sure she was okay, Lena sought out David. He seemed to be taking the day off, and was sitting in the shade on the opposite side of the barn from the house. When she turned the corner and found him, she was unpleasantly surprised by a visitor.

“What is 
that
 doing here?!”

The cat, who had been sitting on the ground in front of David, darted off around the other side of the barn. The headache and introductions the cat had provided her not too long before were fresh in her mind.

“He doesn’t mean any harm.” David stood up and dusted himself off.

“That cat—“

“He had orders. He brings me messages.” He grinned at her confused look. “What’s on your mind?”

“So, this party-gathering thing that’s about to happen.” Lena crossed her arms. “How did you know?”

David continued to smirk as he walked around to the barn entrance and motioned for her to follow. Once inside, Lena noticed things had changed a little since last time.

“Hey! I can see your table now!” Lena said excitedly.

“No, actually that’s new. It used to be on the fifth floor, but Howard needed a place to store it.”

Lena looked disappointed. However, it did give them a better place to sit when they talked. Lena pulled out one of the chairs and sat down.

“He said he’d be meeting you soon.” David winked at her. “I knew if you two met, there would have to be an emergency meeting to figure things out. Those idiots in the integration party thought he’d infect you with his ideals if you were allowed in the same room. So, I figured you’d want makeup for the gathering when we went shopping.”

“I’m not going to wear it.” She crossed her arms.

“Not the first day. But I bet you will once you see the competition.”

“The 
what
?” Lena smiled.

“Okay.” David seemed exuberant that she didn’t know. He leaned onto the table, as though he were going to tell here a secret. “Howard told you what these meetings are for, right?”

“Business.”

“Officially, yes—but a lot of people like to use them for other things.” He watched her carefully, and was disappointed that she hadn’t picked up on his allusion. “It’s for the families. Families send their representatives. Usually, it’s the male head of the family who votes for the family, the wife, some household servants, and the children.”

“Children?”

“Young adults.” David clarified.

“I’m not following you…”

“
Unmarried
 young adults.”

Lena laughed. “You’re kidding!”

David smiled broadly. “Look. Rich people like to keep the blood rich. It’s a way to get Silenti children to continue marrying with others of their kind, and keep the humans out of the family. Inter-human marriage is greatly discouraged, because…” He gave her a look. Because inter-human marriages produced situations like hers.

“That’s crazy. I’m still not wearing it.” She leaned back. No one was going to put her in any manner of arranged marriage. Her father had taught her to respect many world cultures, but the one thing he could not tolerate was the subjugation of women through arranged marriage, however indirect the process was. She was beginning to think that maybe his outright disgust at the practice had really been meant for her to see, in case of the situation she was now facing.

David smiled at her. “We’ll see.”

They stared at each other.

“Shouldn’t you be scrubbing bird poop off the windows, or something?” Lena mocked.

“Howard gave me the day off. Apparently he thinks we all need a few extra breaks since your middle of the night episode.”

“Very funny. I’m going back up to my room, where I’m going to read a book, and then fall asleep in my silk sheets on my king size bed.” She raised her eyebrows defiantly as she walked toward the door. Just as she reached it, David grabbed her arm.

“Yes?”

“About the meeting…” He looked briefly down at the floor. “You’ll save me a few dances, right?”

Lena just stared at him. She hadn’t known there would be dancing. She didn’t know how to dance—not the way teenagers do.

“Sure you will.” David pushed her out the door and then closed it. Puzzled, Lena walked back up to the house.

*****

CHAPTER
7

On Monday, the guests started arriving. Just after breakfast, when the doorbell rang, Howard hurried to answer it himself. Lena, unsure if she was really in a mood to meet new people, stood in the doorframe between the dining room and entrance hall as a short man in a black waist coat strode through the door. His face was a gleeful bright red, and his hair was the messiest Lena had ever seen on a man in his forties. His boots, a shiny leather brown, made clicking noises on the stone floor. He was followed by another, younger looking version of himself, and two girls. All of them were toting large suitcases.

“Greg! No Serena this time? Eric…girls…” The smile on Howard’s face was contagious.

“No, I’m afraid she couldn’t make it this time. She’s in Malaysia visiting her sister. She sends her best.” There was an oddly recognizable ring to the man's voice…as though he were almost on the verge of chuckling. The two men shared a brief hug and a warm handshake. The young man—Eric—looked tentatively at the expanse around him, and smiled when he saw Lena. He waved. His gaze was quickly followed by that of the older man, who also offered an encouraging smile.

“My niece…” Howard walked over to usher Lena into the entryway. “Lena, this is Mr. Mason, and his children Eric, Daisy, and Rose.”

“Hi.” Lena smiled timidly.

The two men nodded in her direction, while the girls murmured quiet hellos.

“Well, I’ll take you up then.” Howard took the suitcases from the two younger girls and started leading them up the stairs. Mr. Mason offered another smile and waved goodbye as he disappeared after Howard. There was something about his smile that was vaguely familiar to her; it made her think of people shouting at a television screen in a room with a bunch of sports jerseys.

Lena turned back into the dining room, where her mother was still seated.

“Mom, do I know Mr. Mason?”

“I honestly don’t know, but it wouldn’t surprise me. He used to be one of Aaron’s close friends. He used to be friends with a lot of integrationists. A lot of very extreme, very bad people…I don’t know what I was thinking…”

As Ava continued to mumble, Lena went into the living room, where she hoped she was strategically positioned to intercept the family when they came back down from unpacking. Daisy and Rose didn’t take long; they came running down the stairs, and then into the living room, and seemed to be headed toward the greenhouse.

“Girls! Girls!” They stopped and looked over at her. “Come here a minute!”

They were both blonde; one appeared to be ten, with the other a few years younger. The younger one had on a purple skirt, and was apparently trying to hide behind her sister as they approached Lena.

“You’re Daisy. I love your name.” The girl smiled and nodded as Lena tried to make eye contact with the younger sister. “And this little lady must be Rose.” Rose smiled and blushed. “My, what pretty eyes you have. And such a pretty skirt.” The little girl nodded and smiled.

“Are you Uncle Aaron’s little girl?” Rose had a voice as soft as feathers.

“She’s not a little girl, Rosie. She’s older than me, and I’m not a little girl.”

“He used to send us birthday cards and candy.” Rose’s toothy grin spread across her face. It sounded like something the Dad that Lena remembered would have done. She smiled. Lena looked up to see Mr. Mason watching from the living room entrance.

“Girls, why don’t you go and see if the roses are blooming yet.”

Rose jumped up and down excitedly as they ran back off toward the greenhouse, apparently fond of seeing the flower that was her namesake.

Mr. Mason sat down in a chair. “I bet you never knew you had little cousins.”

“Are they my cousins? Really?”

“Well, not exactly. Your dad and me liked to think of ourselves that way, though, so yes. I’d be honored if you’d think of us that way. I know your dad never talked about us with you, but now…” Greg looked out towards to the greenhouse.

Lena nodded. “They’re lively. We should definitely spend some time together.”

Mr. Mason laughed a little. “They seem quite taken with you. You don’t know how happy I am that you turned out okay. You probably don’t remember, but we’ve met before.”

Lena smiled a little. “I thought so. You’re the one with all the rugby stuff in your house.”

He nodded. “You’ve got a good memory—it’s been a long time since your last visit. You would have been…wow, younger than Rosie. I know your dad had his reasons, so we won’t talk about that now. But how have you been? Are you getting on okay with your…transition?”

A light in Lena’s mind was suddenly switched on; she had a book with this man’s name in it. It had been one of her first books at Waldgrave; it dealt with the subject of human-raised Silenti.

“You’re like me, aren’t you?”

Mr. Mason smiled warmly and nodded.

“Well, Mrs. Ralston has been teaching me. Or trying to. I’m not good at it.” Lena shrugged.

“You’re as good at it as you should be. Of course you’re not going to get it all at once—and maybe not at all. It’s nothing to be ashamed of.”

They talked for quite a while afterward. Lena decided Howard’s business buddies weren’t as bad as she had initially thought.

As the week wore on, more and more families poured into Waldgrave. Lena had to speculate as to where Howard was putting them all; to her knowledge, there just wasn’t enough room. But they continued to come, and Waldgrave continued to accommodate them, well into twenty families—and then the tents started to go up. Surrounding the house, thirty family-size tents were set up. And they kept coming. The Martins, Riveras, Astleys, Brendons, Bartons, Crittendens, Evans, Perrys, Abbotts…

Most of them came in families. Some came alone, or without children. Many of them kept to themselves, which David claimed was common until after the first dinner after everyone had arrived—a custom involving something about equal political opportunity. So they came, and settled in, and it was good that many had brought extra help for Mrs. Ralston, who would have otherwise been bogged down entirely in the kitchen. And then, on Saturday, a meeting to remember.

The doorbell rang. Mrs. Ralston answered it. Lena had made a habit of being there to see the families as they arrived, and so stationed herself in her usual spot in the dining room door. Two figures walked stiffly into the entrance hall.