Page 4 of His Revelation
Bonnie and Athena were still chatting animatedly about clan history—well, Tiffany supposed Bonnie was excited about the history, and Athena must be passionate about the Oliphants. Mother was stewing because, as Athena was one of the hosts, she couldn’t very well suggest a change of subject which would appeal to her more. Tiffany was content to listen to their discussion, as it gave her a chance to look somewhere besides Lysander.
And despite Mother’s teachings, she was pleased to not be the center of attention for once.
“—determined to add to Father’s library, so my—” Athena bit off her words and smiled tightly. “So the next generation of Oliphants can study their past.”
“I agree completely.” Bonnie slid a Significant Glance toward Mother. “I was recently considering such a thing, while reading that book in the carriage,Mother.”
“Oh delightful,” murmured their mother, sipping her tea archly.
How did one manage to archly sip tea? Well, however Mother had done it, she’d done it smashingly.
“Now that Lysander has Blah-blah-blah—” Athena began, and her brother corrected, “Blabloblal,” as if it were instinctual. But she merely grinned behind her teacup. “He is no’ as worried about the Oliphant library.”
“I think it is a fine goal.” Lysander’s words were stiff, and he hadn’t looked at his sister. No, his gaze was still coldly locked on Tiffany. “One that my brother—the Beast—shares.”
Tiffany swallowed and dropped his gaze.
Had she called Lyon that? Everyone referred to him as the Beast of the Oliphants; besides his scars, he’d become harsh and distant since his wife’s death. While Tiffany had no desire to spend her days married to a man whose barked orders made her flinch, she shouldn’t have called him that out loud.
“Yes, well, Lyon has been less than helpful when it comes to my quest.”
“Quest, Lady Athena?” Bonnie prompted, thankfully turning everyone’s attention back to the conversation at hand.
Athena leaned forward to set down her tea. “Father—at my urging—has been collecting everything we can about the clan’s history. It is our goal to have it in one place, so that it might be preserved. Art, manuscripts, records—I find the little fiddly bit of handwriting to be difficult to read, but Da assures me that marriage and death records are important.”
“Oh, theyare!” Bonnie enthusiastically launched into a list of things which could be learned from such information, but Mother interrupted.
“Bonniebelle, do not monopolize the conversation.”
Bonnie froze, then dropped her gaze to her teacup, Athena’s brow rose in challenge, and even Lysander shifted his cold stare to Mother, who didn’t notice.
Lady Athena’s lips twitched. “Da has sent out collectors and couriers across the Highlands, and he has pulled together animpressive library of medieval Oliphant manuscripts. He is paying quite well for anything written by an Oliphant.”
Finally, Mother seemed interested. “Quite well, you say?”
“Och, aye.” Athena sat back with a satisfied grin. “He says that the only way our clan can move into the future is if we ken our past, so he is paying for the manuscripts, then the finder’s fees, then the bonuses. Why, last month a piece came up in auction in Inverness that was really quite scandalous. It was a packet of letters from an Oliphant lady to her husband in the last century,fullof personal details, and he paid almost two hundred pounds for it.”
Mother, whose brows had risen at the line anOliphant lady,now dropped her jaw and made a little choking noise.
“Good heavens,” Bonnie placed her teacup on the table as well, but her gaze remained locked on Athena. “Clearly heispassionate about such a project.”
“And I am as well. I have made it clear to Da and all our couriers that I will pay double for documents related to Oliphantwomen. So easily, we are overlooked and ignored, and I am tired of it.”
As Bonnie murmured “Hear, hear” with a glance toward Mother, Tiffany found herself blinking. Lady Athena must be wealthy indeed, to make that kind of offer.
“Tiffany!” Mother’s sharp, sudden call startled Tiffany so much, she actually jumped, but did her best to arrange her features into a vaguely curious smile as she met her mother’s eyes. “Do you have anything to add to this fascinating discussion?”
Before Tiffany could answer—not that she was doing much more than murmuring, “That sounds fascinating”—her mother hadturned back to Lysander and was saying with utmost confidence, “My eldest daughter is as intelligent as her sister, but knows no man likes to have his nose rubbed in it, so she?—”
To Tiffany’s—and Mother’s—surprise, Athena interrupted her. “On the contrary, Baroness Oliphant. In my family, we value education and would never think of belittling a person just because she enjoys learning as much as we do.” The look she turned on Lysander was almost angry, as if urging him to participate. “Is that no’ right,brother?”
As all eyes—including Tiffany’s—turned to him, Lysander lazily crossed one leg over the other and nodded, his gaze still glued to Tiffany. She resisted the urge to squirm in her seat like a naughty child. “That is correct, Athena. I ken ye enjoyed yer schooling.”
“Yes, well, it did not do her much good, did it?” muttered Mother snidely.
Bonnie and Tiffany both sucked in gasps at their mother’s poor manners to mention The Incident, and Lysander finally—finally—turned his cold gaze from Tiffany. “What was that, Baroness Oliphant?”
For a moment, Mother looked uncomfortable, and while Tiffany knew it would be cruel to rejoice in another’s discomfort, at leastshewasn’t the one pinned under Lysander’s glare anymore.
