“Stop it,” Lia said, burying her face in Elise’s shoulder to hide her flushed cheeks.
When she had finally finished her reunion with the Corell family, Elise’s attention turned to me and Marin at the back of the room. She met my eyes, and the corner of her mouth curled into a grin. “And who is this?” she asked, slipping past Lia to approach me. “You must be the man my assistant told me about. He said you had a...proposition for me?” She walked two fingers up my chest to my shoulder, grabbing it to pull herself up until her face was uncomfortably close to mine.
“Uhm...that’s technically true,” I answered, leaning my face back away from hers, “though it may have been a bit of an exaggeration to ensure we could see you.”
“And now you’ve seen me,” she whispered, her breathy voice lowering in volume the closer her mouth came to my ear, “and I’ve seen you. Perhaps we could discuss this proposition over lunch?”
The scent of her perfume overpowered my nose and set my head spinning, and it took the entirety of my focus to keep my eyes looking straight ahead. Lia’s face had morphed from one of excitement to a look of pure horror as she watched from across the room, and I saw her foot rise and fall as she fought over whether she should intercede. “Lunch sounds great,” I managed to say. “We’ve been subsisting on trail rations for quite a while now, so a full meal of warm food would be amazing.”
I felt a hard tug on my arm as Lia dislodged me from Elise’s clutches, positioning herself quickly between the two of us. Both of her hands clasped mine tightly as she menaced at her aunt. “Yes, WE are all very hungry.”
Elise giggled as she continued to stare at me, wiggling her eyebrows suggestively. As she looked down to address Lia, she did a double take when she saw my fingers laced in between hers, and she turned to Marten and Hana in genuine shock. “Did little Marly find...a man?” Hana put a hand to her mouth to stifle a laugh and gave a small nod. Elise squealed and clutched her hands in front of her chest. “Oh, I never thought I’d see the day! Marlia in a real relationship!”
“What is THAT supposed to mean?!” Lia yelled.
Elise ignored the challenge and stepped forward, reaching over Lia to put her hand back on my shoulder. Her lustful, seductive aura from earlier was completely gone, instead replaced with the bubbly demeanor of the woman who had greeted the Corell family. “It’s a pleasure to meet you. I’ll expect the full story of how you two met over lunch,” she said with a wink. “Now, you still haven’t given me your name.”
“I’m Lux,” I answered, offering my free hand out to her over Lia’s shoulder. “It’s nice to meet you, Elise.”
“Please, call me Ellie!” she smiled, shaking my hand. Satisfied with the encounter, she turned and looked over our assembled group, pausing when her eyes fell on Marin. “I’m sorry dear, I’ve completely ignored you this whole time,” she said, giving her a deep apologetic bow. “You must think I’m incredibly rude, and rightfully so.”
Marin’s head spun as she looked for some unseen target of Elise’s apology behind her. “Who, me? No! Of course not!” She waved her hands vigorously and took a step back. “I-It’s nice to meet you, Ellie. I mean, Miss Tressel! I’m Marin. Sesaude. Marin Sesaude.” There was a visible blush to her bronze cheeks as she awkwardly tripped over her greeting.
“It’s nice to meet you too, Marin Sesaude!” Elise answered, giving her a tight hug. “Are you a friend of the Corells?”
I watched Marin’s brain shut down and reboot over Elise’s shoulder as her face shifted from a blank slate to complete embarrassment. “Y-yes! Or, I think? I’m, uhm, I’m Marten’s business...partner. Or, I was going to be...and will be, eventually.”
“Business partner?” Elise asked, spinning around with Marin in tow to look inquisitively at Marten. “Marten Corell has a business partner?”
“Things have changed, Ellie,” he shrugged. “It’s a bit of a long story.”
“Well, it sounds like we have plenty of stories to tell!” Without warning, she dropped Marin and walked to the exit, grabbing a large fur coat from a rack beside the door. She pulled the door open and stuck her head into the lobby. “Clear my schedule for the rest of the afternoon; I’m going out.” After a murmured response from the receptionist, Elise turned back to us. “Let’s go have lunch! My treat.”
Marten and Hana followed closely behind her as she left the room, and the rest of us fell in line behind them. Marin wiped the sweat from her forehead and held a hand over her chest, seemingly in an attempt to settle her rapid breathing. My hand was still firmly locked in Lia’s, and she led me forward intently while we descended the stairs and exited the building. Elise turned to address us when we were all outside. “Marten, I’ll have someone take your wagon inside for safekeeping and make sure your horses are fed. We’ll take my carriage to lunch.” Without waiting for a response, she dashed off around the side of the building and disappeared.
I could feel Lia’s hands rhythmically squeezing mine much harder than was comfortable, grinding my knuckles together. “Are you okay, Lia?” I asked, gently rubbing her shoulder.
“I’m fine!” she snapped. A few seconds went by in silence, and then she shook her head angrily. “Where does she get off acting like that? That’s not the Aunt Ellie I remember!”
Hana turned away from us, and I saw her shoulders bouncing slightly as she tried to hide her laughter. “The thing is, dear,” Marten started cautiously, “you only know her as ‘Aunt Ellie.’ Elise has always been…” he trailed off, motioning in vague circles with his hands as he tried to
