“Eat,” Martine insisted quietly. “You will feel better.”
Elspeth raised her hand to pick up the piece of chicken, but paused when her mother’s hand followed, still attached to her wrist. She stared at it blankly, and then, aware of a sudden silence around the table, raised her head to peer from person to person. The twins were busy piling food on their plate, and Oscar was too preoccupied ogling the twins to notice anything else, but Meredith, Wyatt, and Violet were all peering at Martine’s hold on her.
A moment passed in silence when she imagined her mother debated controlling everyone at once, and then Martine’s mouth tightened and she released her wrist. The moment she was no longer in her hold, Elspeth’s mind began to clear. She almost leapt to her feet at once, but realizing her mother was watching her tensely and would simply grab her again and take control once more, Elspeth forced herself to pick up the piece of chicken and take a bite. It was delicious, but while she was hungry for food, she positively needed blood. Her body was cramping painfully with that need. Trying to ignore it, Elspeth forced herself to eat, vaguely aware of, but paying little attention to, the conversation taking place around her until she felt Meredith stiffen at her side. She tuned in to the conversation just as Oscar said, “Yes, well, as I said, your grandmother’s just got to that age where she can’t be trusted to handle money anymore.”
Elspeth narrowed her eyes on the man, slipped into his thoughts, and had him add what he was really thinking.
“Besides, the old bitch is always interfering. She never liked me. Thought Vi was too good for the likes of me just because I catted around a bit. What man doesn’t bang all the bimbos he can, eh?” he asked, and when Wyatt simply stared at him with amazement, he added, “If that wasn’t bad enough, now the old bitch has taken umbrage at my hitting Vi once in a while. Like it’s my fault the woman’s become a dried-up nag in her old age and needs correcting.”
Oscar had been waving a chicken leg around as he spoke, but now bit into it, and chewed with satisfaction as everyone else stared in shock. Well, everyone but Elspeth and Meredith. This wasn’t the first time they’d heard his opinions, and it seemed obvious Meredith was no more impressed than her to hear them again. But while Meredith looked furious, and Elspeth was angry on her behalf, it was Wyatt who responded. Setting down his fork, he sat back, took a deep breath and briefly contemplated his grandmother’s angry face before turning to Violet to ask, “Do you really want to be with this man?”
“Of course she does,” Oscar snapped, dropping the now gnawed chicken leg and reaching for the bucket to retrieve another. “Violet knows how lucky she is to have me. Who else would put up with her lousy cooking and nagging ways?”
“I asked Aunt Violet,” Wyatt growled, and then peered at her expectantly.
When Violet hesitated, Elspeth shifted her gaze to the woman and slipped into her mind to read her thoughts. Much to her surprise, Violet didn’t know what she wanted. She loathed her husband and the way he treated everyone, including herself. She always had. But she was afraid to be alone, and to her mind, she’d invested so much time in the man, she felt she had to stick it out.
Releasing her breath on a sigh, Violet shrugged unhappily. “I married him for better or worse.”
Nodding, Wyatt stood and moved to grab his phone off the kitchen counter. After some tapping on the screen, he finally held the phone to his ear and then said, “Good evening. I’d like a taxi at—”
“Taxi?” Oscar interrupted, scowling at his nephew. “What the hell do you need a taxi for?”
Wyatt ignored him until he’d finished his call, and then hung up and said, “For you and Aunt Vi, Oscar. I assumed, since you obviously think so little of Grandmother, you’d want to leave her home. Immediately.”
“Well, you thought wrong,” the old man snapped. “I’m not done eating yet. Besides, you were supposed to drive us home. I’m not paying for any damned taxi.”
“I’ll pay,” Wyatt said firmly as he set his phone back on the counter.
“Fine.” Oscar shrugged indifferently, and then pulled the bucket of chicken closer. “But the taxi will have to wait until I’m done eating.”
Wyatt narrowed his eyes, and then began to search through the cupboards until he found his grandmother’s plastic food wrap. Bringing it to the table, he tore off a sheet and wrapped it over Oscar’s paper plate, announcing, “You can take your meal to go . . . and consider yourself lucky that I’m making that offer. You’ve insulted my grandmother and Aunt Vi both, and while Aunt Vi seems willing to put up with it, I won’t have you insulting Gran in her own home. You aren’t welcome here, Oscar.”
The old man scowled briefly, and then stood and snatched away his plate. “Mouthy little shit. I’m going to tell your father about the shabby way you treat your elders. Don’t think I won’t.”
“That’s fine, because I plan to tell him about how disrespectful you are to his mother,” Wyatt said coldly.
Grunting at that, Oscar turned and shambled out of the kitchen with his plate. “Come on, Violet. We’ll wait for the taxi on the porch.”
“You don’t have to go,” Wyatt said quietly when Violet stood to follow her husband.
Pausing, she offered him a pained smile. “Oscar and I have caused your grandmother enough trouble.” She turned to Meredith then and said, “I’m sorry, Merry. I never should have told him about Madeleine. I was just so outraged at what she’d done, and I didn’t think he could use it against you. I’m sorry.”
Violet didn’t wait for Meredith to respond, but hurried out of the room after Oscar.
Wyatt followed, presumably to pay the driver when he arrived, and then Meredith stood and quickly wrapped up Violet’s still full paper plate of food with more plastic wrap before rushing after them. The moment she’d gone, Elspeth sat back with a sigh. She’d needed to let Wyatt see what Oscar was really up to, but hated the idea that Meredith might have been hurt by Oscar yet again.
On the bright side, though, it looked like Meredith would never have to deal with the man again. Wyatt would see to that. And she was quite sure the odious man would never influence Wyatt’s father again either. Meredith was, hopefully, now safe from the threat of being put in a home. On top of that, Elspeth had been given a break from the scent of mortals for a few minutes. Dear God, she needed blood, and if she didn’t get some soon, she was definitely going to be a threat to Meredith and Wyatt.
That thought uppermost in her mind, Elspeth stood abruptly.
“Where are you going?” her mother asked sharply, reaching toward her.
Avoiding her hand, Elspeth stepped to the side so that her chair was between herself and her mother. Mouth tight, she said, “I’m going to go up and see if the blood was delivered while we were eating.”
“Oh, that’s not coming until midnight,” Julianna said cheerfully.
“Midnight?” Elspeth asked sharply, her gaze shooting to her mother. Noting the way she was scowling at Julianna for spilling the beans, Elspeth growled and spun away to leave the room.
“Where are you going, Elspeth?”
Elspeth stopped in the hall the moment she spotted Meredith and the others beyond the open apartment door. Not wanting to risk running amuck and attacking one of them in her need for blood, Elspeth swung to the left to head toward the back of the apartment.
“Elspeth, where do you think you are going?” Martine demanded, hard on her heels.
“For some fresh air,” Elspeth ground out, picking up speed to avoid being touched and controlled again.
Crossing Meredith’s living room, Elspeth opened the sliding glass door and stepped out onto the porch. She then turned back and pulled the door firmly closed, scowling at her mother in warning as she did. Elspeth really didn’t have the patience to deal with her just now and if Martine insisted on following and trying to touch her again, she was likely to hop over the porch rail and head straight for her car.
Elspeth suspected her mother was reading her and caught that last thought, for Martine stopped abruptly and then headed away, leaving her alone.