Roland and Jesting stood outside for a mont, listening to the Thorin’s interacting. Their topics of conversation held no boundaries or sha.
"So, they gossip too." Jesting noted.
"Uh-huh." Roland nodded. "The Thorin’s are perhaps the most unique family in Eldoria. My wife prefers to call their conversations about other people an information trading and assessnt session."
Jesting snorted, he nearly laughed but stopped himself short.
Roland strolled into the room with his automatic princely welcoming smile on his face. His arrival was tid with the announcent that his father-in-law had brought along four peacocks.
General Paxton sent Roland a challenging gaze, daring him to say sothing about the peacocks.
"I hope they don’t drown in the sea." Roland widened his fake smile. His words were not absent of sarcasm.
"Is that a threat?" General Paxton smiled dangerously.
Roland took a seat, respond in a cryptic way, "Many things fall off the cliffs of Stormwind and are never seen again. It’s like the birds which dropped gold on your estate, a myth. It happens but nobody knows how."
General Paxton nearly bit his tongue, he cald himself and retorted, "However will we solve that mystery?"
Iryne decided that they had all had enough of the veiled threats which were unnecessary. "Roland dear, it was so nice of you to invite us to Stormwind. It is so exciting to see the impressive grounds in person. There is so much greenery and fresh air."
General Paxton released another unimpressed snort. "I prefer cobblestones and...."
"Paxton! Lady Iryne called her husband sternly.
The way she said his na stunned Roland but when he looked around, everyone else was normal. Strictly speaking, the Thorin’s were normal. It seed that this was not the first ti his mother-in-law was taking a firm tone to her husband when he misbehaved.
There and then, Roland decided that he needed his mother-in-law in his corner. In a war with his father-in-law, she was the perfect weapon.
Sigrid pinched his arm, which surprised him and he winced. He looked at her with befuddlent.
"Why?"
"You invited them." she whispered.
’No need to whisper dear." Iryne said to Sigrid. "I can read your lips all the way from here across the room. Your husband gave us an open invitation to Stormwind."
"He said we could co on any day we wanted." Duchess Mila chid in.
"At any ti." John added.
"We simply took him up on it and we had no idea that you would both be here." Deanna said the final words which wrapped up the mystery of their presence in a bow.
Sigrid did not believe them one bit, for one, if they were leaving the city they would have made sure that she was inford. If Emmah out on the prowl, they would not have planned a trip before consulting her.
If they had followed her and Roland to Stormwind, they were most likely up to no good.
"Leave us." she ordered all the staff in the room with them.
When they were alone, she pinned her eyes on her grandmother. "Well, your grace, do you want to pull it out of you? Obviously you followed us here for a reason. And nobody tell that they wanted to relax by the sea. It is chilly and rain will start falling within a day or two. I don’t know about the rest of you but vacationing in the rain by the sea is not my idea of a good ti."
The Thorin’s shared guilty looks and started mumbling, ’you tell her’ to each other.
"John." Sigrid called her brother, the easiest one to guilt trip. Her voice was as stern as Iryne’s had been when she called husband earlier.
It made Roland who was by her side worry for his own future and their children. He could picture her clearly using that tone on them.
"It was mom’s idea." John admitted.
"Oh good heavens!" Lady Iryne rolled her eyes to the sky. "She calls your na once and you fold like a piece of paper. Are you my son or hers?"
"She scares more than you do." John muttered.
General Paxton chuckled, when John was around Sigrid, he was like a gentle, eager to please and submissive dog. He lived to make his sister happy and whatever she wanted of him, he said yes without a pause.
"What did you do mother?" Sigrid asked, determined to have her answers.
Iryne looked to the front and she defensively crossed her arms across her chest before answering, "I paid soone in the organization money to set fire to the Windrider estate."
"What!" Roland exclaid.
"At the wedding of Miss Florence and that man...I can’t rember his na." Duchess Mila added and she laughed as if it was hilarious.
"Why?" Roland asked in a mildly outraged voice.
"They are not good people, what other excuse do I need." Lady Iryne was ready with her defense.
"That doesn’t an you should set fire to their ho on the day of a wedding when other innocent people will be in attendance. You are endangering the lives of others." Roland groaned. "What if soone finds out that you were behind it. What if soone links that fire to the one which killed the secondary consort?"
His words were t with shock and resulted in a five second silence before the denials started.
"We didn’t kill the secondary consort, the rebels did." Duke Thorin said.
His tone was candid, and left no room for doubt.
"Absolutely, that fire wasn’t on us." his wife the duchess added. "We might be brazen but we are not so brazen or stupid enough to kill the king’s favorite woman."
"Forr favorite." Nathaniel reminded them.
"Does it matter?" Elowin asked.
"Whatever she is, we did not kill her." The duke slightly exploded. "Whyever would you think that we were behind it?" He frowned deeply. "Has sobody claid that we did it?"
Lady Iryne wrung the bonnet in her hand fiercely as she said, "It must be that villainous pri minister, he is out to destroy our family at all costs. An accusation of this kind will put us in the cross hairs of the king and all of the dead consort’s royal children. I am so glad that I told soone to set their estate on fire and I hope the entire family burns to ashes."
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