In Which Searle Meets the New Addition to the Madhouse

August 16, 1173

"Who's the cutest baby in the world?" Searle cooed as he landed a tickle on the stomach of his freckly, blue-eyed niece. "Is Lyssa the cutest baby in the world? Yes she is! Yes she is!"

Giggling, Lyssa turned away and looked up instead at her doting father. Jadin smirked. "My little girl is so modest."

From the couch, Riona snorted. "How the hell do you have a modest baby?"

"Her mother's a lady, that's how!" Jadin snapped back at her. "Unlike somebody I know. Good luck ever getting married, Ri."

"Oh, because modesty is supposed to land me someone like you? In that case, no thanks."

It had only been a matter of time before this started up again. Searle grimaced, sharing an annoyed glance with the baby. Your papa and auntie are idiots, you know? He got the sense that she did, too.

Jadin lifted his eyes from his daughter just long enough to send a glare Riona's way. "Well, if you can't be modest, then could you at least be quiet? Aldara isn't running her mouth off, in case you haven't noticed."

Their stepsister shuffled in her seat, unamused--and Searle didn't even have to look at her to know that. If ever was a girl with a dagger-like gaze, it was Aldara. "If I seem quiet, it's just because I'm trying to figure out why your tiny brain needs such a giant head to go with it. And why do you care if we're quiet and modest, anyway? It wouldn't be a problem if we were men, would it?"

And it figured that this would be starting up too.

"It's different with men, all right?"

"Oh really? How so?"

"It just is."

"It just is? That's your argument? My God, you're even dumber than--"

"Hello, chowderheads!"

She was cut off by the arrival of Lonriad, obnoxious and insufferable as always, but more than welcome as far as Searle was concerned. He loved his siblings--all of them--but they did make the task difficult, especially with their reoccurring feuds. At least Lonriad was just bothersome for the sake of being bothersome.

"Hello yourself, beetlebrain," muttered Riona under her breath.

Bouncing Lyssa up and down in his hands, Jadin nodded toward their younger brother. "Where the hell have you been, brat?"

Lonriad shrugged and closed the door behind him. "I don't know, but I can tell you where I haven't been. I haven't been egging houses, that's for sure--and especially not Cord's house."

"Awww, does someone's sweetheart have a sweetheart?" Searle teased, but the words were too close to home for his full enjoyment. Sparron had scarcely said a word to him since Lyssa's birth, and now he'd sent his own father off on some fool's errand to find him a wife. He should have thought this through. He'd been so sure he knew what he wanted, but now... well, there was nothing worse than a limbo. Even Sparron at his worst was better than no Sparron at all, and who needed a wife when he had a father who loved him--regardless of everything?

But even in the uncertainty, there was one thing he could count on--namely, that his idiot siblings wouldn't know one of his moods if it waltzed in front of them wearing one of the baroness's magnificent corsets.

"Maybe--but not me. I don't have a sweetheart." Lonriad clasped his hands together and nodded, grinning widely all the while. He always had been a terrible liar. "But no matter. I just thought I'd better let you know that Father's back."

The disarray of Searle's universe snapped back into some semblance of order. For the first time in a week, the smile on his face was more than a charade. But how had his father returned so quickly? This didn't make any sense. "Already?"

"Uh-huh." His little brother's stupid smirk widened. "And guess what he brought back with him?"

Already? "You don't mean..."

Lonriad nodded. "She's in the front with everyone else. Cuthron's putting the moves on her, by the way; you might want to get in there."

He winked, then turned around and pulled open the door, stepping out with Jadin at his heels and the girls close behind. Searle hung back aways--partly to shut the door, partly to avoid the mutterings of "I still can't believe he asked for a betrothal" and "I still can't believe Father actually agreed to it" and "I still can't believe you idiots are my family". His siblings were good about being supportive when they knew he could hear them, but they didn't understand--not that he wanted them to. Understanding would require knowing.

"Ah, there you kids are!" Sure enough, it was his father's voice he heard as he filed into the front room behind the others. "Now all of my babies are here. All eight thousand of them. Oh, sorry--" As Searle filed in after Jadin, his father's hand fluttered toward his stepmother's stomach "--eight thousand and one."

By the corner bookshelf, Falidor hoisted little Alina to his shoulder and looked across the room, his eyes landing squarely on a redhead with her back turned toward the newcomers. "Eight thousand and two."

Searle's heart shot upwards and wedged itself in his throat. Was this... her? He would have called out to her if it hadn't been for that rapid pulse beating against his vocal cords. All he could do was jerk the corners of his mouth upwards on the off-chance she turned around.

"She has a nice ass," Jadin whispered back to him, sending a wary glance his wife's way as he spoke. After a quick look, Searle couldn't argue with him. He'd forgotten how pleasant the female form could be; he'd been so devoted to Sparron for so long that he'd hardly allowed himself to look and felt guilty whenever he did. But yes... yes, she did have a nice...

"Anyway, I hope you children didn't get into too much mischief while I was gone." Searle's father pried his free hand from Nora's midsection and waved an accusing finger toward Riona. "Your stepmother has already informed me of the bakery incident, young lady."

Annoyed, Riona turned away from him, her eyes rolling so far back that all Searle could see were whites and vessels. Jadin snorted. "What is this 'bakery incident'?"

Their father shook his head. "I'll let your sister answer that at her own convenience. Lettie, my apologies once more for bringing you back to this madhouse."

The redhead laughed--clearly, heartily, not trying to be charming be achieving it nonetheless. It was a relief to hear the sound. Sparron never laughed if he could help it. "No worries, Uncle Severin. Besides, you promised me my own castle after a few months, and damned if I'm going to let you back out of that deal."

Raia and Lonriad shared an appreciative glance. Their father pulled his wife a little nearer and chuckled.

"Lettie, might I remind you that the castle is only an accessory?" He laced his arm under Nora's knees and hoisted her onto his lap, grinning to himself all the while. "It and my son are something of a package deal."

"Yes, and at least he sounds agreeable--not to mention, interesting."

Interesting? Searle gulped. Surely he hadn't told her...

"Of course, he might need to prove it by speaking up at some point." She placed her hand on Searle's stepbrother's head, turning his gaze away from her breasts; if not even a kid who was still in his 'girls are icky' phase was immune to them, then they must have been impressive. "You said he was a lot of things, but you never mentioned him being shy."

At the side of the room, Raia caught Searle's eye and nodded her head toward the newcomer, Alina following suit from Falidor's arms. Awkward, Searle looked toward his father, who winked. "Well? Stop standing there like a piece of furniture and go talk to her."

Transferring his daughter to a one-arm hold, Jadin reached back and grabbed Searle by the shoulder, pulling him forward. Searle brushed off his hand and shuffled toward the girl, who turned to face him. She wasn't quite pretty--freckly and strong-jawed and hard-eyed--but there was an undeniable something about her that robbed him of any desire to look away. Only one other person had ever captivated him so. "Uh... hello."

"Hello yourself." She tilted her head to the side, all the room's light catching her eyes at the most rapturous of angles. She had the same blue eyes as Xeta, but it was unbelievable just how different they looked on her. "I take it you're Searle?"

He nodded. A hint of a smile on her face, she thrust out her hand and held it toward his mouth, not letting it drop until he'd left it good and kissed. "I'm Lettie. You might remember me from the royal wedding."

He did now. She was his cousin, his Aunt Renata's daughter, sister to the current squire and the former squire and Lorn's squire as well. Her brothers probably didn't know her all that well, but he guessed they would get the chance to do so now. At least... as long as she...

Without warning, she took him by the hand and dragged him toward the door to his father's study. "I think we have a lot to talk about."

NEXT CHAPTER: