Chapter 324: Chase [1]
Iris walked ahead with Eloise, returning to the balcony they had used earlier.
Zayne stayed back with Reece, watching the two women go. "Surely you would agree with me that it isn’t the wisest idea for your sister to drown her feelings over your father in wine."
"I don’t disagree, but if this is what keeps her together, there’s little I can do to stop her. We all have our own ways of facing tragedies like this. All I can do is keep an eye on her. Though it seems you’re watching her rather more closely than I am," Reece said, also watching Zayne.
"I don’t want to see her hurt. The prison is no place for a lady to visit, so you’ll need to shield her from a good deal of the gore tomorrow. I would write to my uncle about arranging special treatment, but I would rather he not know about Iris just yet," Zayne admitted.
"Ashamed of her?" Reece asked in jest.
"No. My uncle happens to be rather nosy. He will write to my parents before I even have the chance to tell them about her myself," Zayne explained.
"I want to be the one who introduces Iris to my family, in my own time. Though I do wonder now if I could manage what you did by marrying quietly, away from all the fuss," Zayne said, clearly enjoying the flash of irritation that crossed Reece’s face.
"I encourage you not to follow my example. What happened with my wife wasn’t planned. We confessed we loved each other and somehow ended up at the church before either of us had thought it through properly," Reece shared.
Reece continued, "I do intend to give her a proper wedding eventually, small as it might be. Every lady deserves one."
"Hmm. I do hope you’ve realised Damien’s sudden eagerness to fetch the drinks has more to do with chasing after his own wife than easing your nerves with wine," Zayne revealed with a smirk. "That’s the only reason he would bother going down to his storage himself."
"Is it? He took me down to his wine cellar and handed me a drink personally. I’m going to take it as a gift to my wife-"
"What?" Zayne exclaimed, genuine outrage flashing across his face. "I’ve known that bastard far longer than you have, and he’s never once handed me a bottle from his private storage. Where is he?"
Reece watched Zayne storm off and only then considered the mess he’d just stirred up. "It was to get me out of town," he muttered under his breath, wishing Zayne had lingered a moment longer to hear that the gesture had been nothing more than a bribe.
Reece didn’t bother chasing after Zayne. Instead, he followed the women at a distance, keeping watch over Iris while conveniently staying well clear of Zayne’s temper.
Before long, the group gathered again, but this time, Damien had the seating moved down to the gardens, deciding the balcony was far too dangerous once wine entered the equation.
Damien settled beside Eloise, keeping a watchful eye on what she drank, while Iris found herself nestled between Zayne and Reece with both men hovering over her with overwhelming concern.
"Enough of this!" Iris finally snapped, her patience worn thin from being asked, again and again, whether she was truly all right.
She snatched up her glass of wine and moved to the empty chair beside Eloise. "This is nowhere near as wonderful as I’d hoped to be while surrounded by all these men. They’re dreadfully dull and fussing far more than I am. Shall we drink alone instead?"
Eloise leaned in to whisper, "I don’t think that’s wise, Iris."
"Eloise," Iris leaned forward so quickly she nearly knocked their heads together. "You have lost your touch since you married."
"I take offence to that," Damien said, suspecting he was the intended cause.
"You take offence to everything these days. Must you always be so easily offended?" Iris asked, rolling her eyes.
She peered down into her glass, frowning. "This wine tastes different. Why is that? I thought the wealthy would have finer taste in wine than this."
"That isn’t wine; it’s rum. I brought it out for the men after one complained about lacking special treatment. It seems it ended up in your glass instead, and neither of those two fools thought to stop you," Damien explained.
"Rum?" Iris repeated, suddenly far more intrigued than alarmed. "I’ve never had the chance to taste it before. Have you, Eloise?"
"I haven’t," Eloise said, accepting the glass Iris pushed towards her. She lifted it to her nose first, wrinkling it at the scent. "It smells terribly strong. I won’t enjoy it."
Curious, Eloise took a small sip, and that alone was enough to have her set the glass back down. "I don’t think either of us should be drinking rum tonight, Iris. Leave that to the men. We’ll stick to wine."
Iris stood and took up the opened bottle of wine from the table, offering her free hand to help Eloise to her feet. "Will you join me to be away from the men?"
"I will," Eloise replied, gathering both their glasses. "Excuse us, Damien."
Damien leaned back in his chair, staying put to watch both women as they wandered off together.
"Zayne’s right that you’re surprisingly calm about all this, Damien. Are you genuinely hoping to chase after Eloise tonight? If so, I must warn you that she’s rather quick on her feet," Reece said.
"There’s only one way to find out, isn’t there? Let them loosen up a little. A drunken mind shares the truth. If there are words that need saying between them about your father, tonight might bring them out," Damien said, his eyes never leaving Eloise. "We only need to make sure neither of them goes too far with it."
"Iris was sipping that rum as though it were wine, and I never once considered it was in there. I will need to put a proper lock on my storage from now on," Zayne realised.
"Assuming you actually marry my sister first," Reece pointed out.
"Why do the two of you keep phrasing it that way? Is there anything I should know about Iris and myself that I’m somehow missing? You two clearly see some issue I don’t," Zayne said, glancing between the two men.
"I only say it in case the season doesn’t end quite the way you’ve planned. You shouldn’t worry unless it’s her brother saying it. Fortunately, it wouldn’t take much effort for the two of us to get rid of Reece should he ever decide to meddle. You’re fine," Damien assured Zayne.
Reece didn’t much care for the direction the conversation had taken. "I suddenly feel as though there is danger around. I should follow my sister and cousin," he said, attempting to stand.
Damien and Zayne placed their hand on Reece’s shoulders to force him back down. "Sit."