“But I can tell you are different, Lord Bannon,” Rían went on. “You are a modern man. Very forward thinking.”
My father’s chest puffed out like a strutting cockerel. “It is kind of you to notice.”
Heavens above. Rían needed to stop filling his head with nonsense.
And I needed more wine. I tilted the bottle into my glass, filling it a bit more than I should since no one seemed to be paying me any attention.And why would they, with someone asfascinatingandenthrallingas a shapeshifting fae prince at the table?
“Keelynn was telling me you moved here from Vellana. It must be taxing for someone who is used to the splendor of a fine city to relocate to such a humble town. Nevertheless, we have our hidden gems.”
“Speaking of gems, your home is quite lovely.” Rían nodded in approval as he scanned the room, from the glowing sconces to the tall windows and back again. “Is it an ancestral seat for the Bannons?”
Houses and ancestry. Next would be the weather. My father loved talking about the weather. It rained a lot. What more was there to say? Thankfully, one of the servants set out a fresh bottle of wine. I mixed it with what little remained in my glass, watching my father shake his head.
“This house was a gift from the king himself for service,” he said proudly. “The previous tenant met an untimely demise. His Majesty needed a man with strong ties to Vellana to live here, lest the property fall into the hands of those who sympathized with the monsters.”
The drink in my mouth went down wrong, leaving me choking and spluttering.
Rían’s eyes flashed. A slow smile curled on his lips. He wouldn’t hurt my father. He wouldn’t.
Except, he would. He’d let the Dullahan kill his former lover. He had no affinity for me or my family.
“Is that right?” Rían drawled, spinning the stem of his wine glass between slender, feminine fingers. The wine began to bubble as if it were champagne.
“I’m afraid Lord Middleton was caught communicating with one of the things claiming to be their leader and hanged for treason.”
Keelynn’s face turned green.
I had to intercede before it was too late. “How about this wine?” I lifted my glass aloft with an unsteady hand. “It tastes wonderful. It might be my new favorite.”
“Treason you say?” Rían pressed a hand to his throat. “How scandalous.”
“If you ask me, the lot of them should be exterminated like the rats they are.Magic,” my father spat. “Unnatural. An abomination. A blight on this once-great island.”
“How about this weather?” I blurted. “It rained today. Probably going to rain again tomorrow.”
Keelynn patted my father’s hand, nodding in agreement.
Steam rose from the bubbling wine in Rían’s glass.
When my father opened his mouth to speak again, I slammed my hand on the table, sending the saltshaker onto my empty plate.
“Father!”
Three pairs of eyes landed on me.
“I believe a lighter topic would be more appropriate dinner conversation. We wouldn’t want such dark stories to make our guest uncomfortable, now would we?”
“There’s no need to change topics on my behalf,” Rían said with a shrug. The wine had stopped bubbling. “I’ve always been fascinated by the macabre. The bloodier, the better.”
In my haste to reach for more wine, I knocked the bottle onto its side. One of the servants rushed from the alcove to right it and throw a serviette on top of the stained tablecloth.It was only a matter of time before my father started giving out about my lack of manners.
“No, no. Aveen is right,” my father said with a long-suffering sigh, like being surrounded by women had become incredibly tedious. “I wouldn’t want to offend your delicate sensibilities, Lady Marissa.”
Delicate sensibilities. Ha.
If I didn’t fill the silence, my father was bound to say something else offensive.
I started blathering about the gardens and my plans for a new raised bed along the southern wall. By the time I finished, the dishes had been cleared, and everyone’s eyes had gone glazed.