“I want you to meet my mother.” Azaleen’s tone rang with sincerity and a small measure of doubt. “She might not remember you in five minutes, but it matters to me. Every moment we have before the Iron Army arrives matters.”
They locked eyes for an instant. Lark stiffened. “I’ll get your family to safety when and if the time comes. I swear it.” Her hands curled into fists as a protective fire blazed within her.
“Iknow.” Azaleen walked with her in silence to the back door. It was a lovely yard—Stone Mountain in the distance, peach and pecan trees, a bird feeder, flowers, and a small back porch with a swing and outdoor kitchen. A mixed-race woman in an apron, between Azaleen and Lark’s ages, peered curiously through the open French doors, her expression polite but guarded.
“My queen, are we entertaining company for dinner?” she asked as she dried a pot with a hand towel.
“We are,” Azaleen replied, as if having guests was customary.
A smile widened across the housekeeper’s dusky face. “Very good, Your Excellency. I’ll prepare an extra portion.”
Azaleen led Lark through the dining and living rooms, around a corner, past a bathroom, and knocked. An older, sturdy White woman, her chestnut hair braided around her head, answered.
“My queen, she’s been having a day, but I have her settled down now,” the caregiver said, peeking around Azaleen at Lark.
“Thank you, Sarah,” she said tenderly. “Lark won’t upset her. We don’t know how much longer we have until …”
Sarah nodded in acknowledgment and held the door wide. Inside the delicate woman’s space, pastel walls and dainty lace, Azaleen’s mother lay in a bed resplendent with pillows, covered with a light linen sheet.
At first, she appeared afraid, her nervous glances flicking about, her fingers hooking and looping invisible yarn. Then her eyes lit as if she recognized Azaleen …andLark.
“Is this the girl?” she asked with interest.
“Yes, Mama.” Azaleen took Lark’s hand and led her to the side of the bed. “This is Lark. She saved me. She makes me feel whole again.”
A wave of euphoria swept through Lark. She gazed with compassion and affection on the woman about her grandmother’s age, yet far frailer.
“I am honored to meet you, Queen Mother Frost,” Lark said, feeling entirely inadequate. Photos, figurines, a music box, a ticking clock, and dozens of curiosities all clamored for Lark’s attention, but she kept her gaze fixed on Orielle.
“Well, come closer,” she said, waving her nearer. “Let me get a look at you.”
Lark shuffled to the head of the bed, not knowing if she should sit or stand or kneel. She had no idea what to say.
“You have a kind spirit about you,” Orielle said. “Take care of my baby girl. She works too much.”
Lark’s lips curved. “Yes, ma’am. I’ll do my best.” She felt Azaleen’s warmth at her back as the queen leaned over her shoulder.
“Thank you, Mama. Sarah said you had a rough day. I hope you’ll be up to joining us for dinner.”
Orielle frowned. “I had a good day. Your father and I went out to the park and flew kites, don’t you remember? Thalen’s got caught in a tree. We couldn’t save it, though.”
A distant look clouded her face, and her fingers resumed their air crocheting. Her gaze refocused, and she asked, “Where have you been, Azaleen? Did you finish your homework? Who’s your friend?”
Lark laced her fingers through Azaleen’s and gave her hand a squeeze. Azaleen leaned down and kissed her mother’s cheek. “I love you, Mama.”
They left Orielle’s bedroom, fingers intertwined, their hearts aligned.
Chapter twenty-nine
New Threat Rising
The next day
Azaleen sat in the chair by the window in her office, a tattered copy ofWar and Peaceon the tea table, a bookmark a third of the way through. She felt relaxed—and oddly contented—as she sipped tea and reviewed correspondence and her agenda with Sabine.
Sabine sat at an angle between the desktop and Azaleen. “I stacked these in the order I believe you’ll wish to open them,” she said, handing several letters and pigeon tubes to her. “The one on top is from Lord Whitfield.”
Setting her cup aside, Azaleen quickly opened the tube. “Good man. No time wasted getting back to me. I was afraid he might hem and haw. It was a big ask.”