By the time they reached the dining room, King Cecil and Countess Evelyn were already seated and having breakfast.
He was dressed in his usual kingly white robes and she was resplendent as usual, in perfect makeup and her high fashion couture dress in purples and reds.
Whatever injuries Evelyn had suffered under Talia's hands seemed to have been healed, or at the very least, hidden behind a large black mink fur coat.
Talia schooled her face into a perfect pleasant glass mask and kept it that way even though she had said and done some rather unsavory things to these two people.
It was chilly in the dining area. The dozen smooth battered wood rounds that served as tables were half-filled with guests, eating and quietly chatting to themselves.
The large thick grey curtains on the large windows were drawn to let in some natural light but it also allowed a bit of chill to meander into the room that the fireplace in the corner delt with quite nicely.
As Cedric had warned, the snow was coming down thick and fast. The world outside was barely visible.
Everything was a swirling white blanket made of goose down. There would be no traveling on the rails anytime soon, by the look of things.
She sighed and looked around. There were a couple of empty tables nearby, but Cedric was already heading towards his brother's direction as Cecil waved his arm to get their attention.
His hand gently squeezed hers in assurance, as if sensing her hesitation.
'Don't worry Love,' he whispered into her mind. 'I'm right here beside you.'
Talia squeezed his hand back in response as they reached the King's table.
She wasn't scared of what they could say or do to her. She simply wanted to enjoy her breakfast without having to remain on guard against their possible verbal attacks on her, Devin, or Cedric.
Still, if Cedric wanted to sit at their table, she would join just to ensure that none of the venom that Evelyn spat out would hit her two guys.
For appearances' sake, she gave a gentle bow of her head to acknowledge the King of Faria, completely ignoring the Countess Evelyn Larabee.
King Cecil looked rather subdued and didn't seem as if he would do much if anything to them, but it was always better to be aware of the potential dangers than to walk right into something that was a possible landmine.
Immediately upon their approach at the King's table, two staff members pulled out three chairs for them to take a seat.
Cedric placed Devin on one of the chairs, but as soon as Talia sat down, the boy clambered onto her lap.
He would be damned if he sat on that cold hard chair all by himself. Mama Talia's lap was so much softer and warmer.
He could also sit a little higher too. Without a booster seat, his face didn't even clear the top of the table and all he could see were people's legs under the table.
Talia gathered him onto her lap without a thought. She'd been caring for him throughout the journey and this was just another aspect of her caregiving.
"What in heavens are you teaching that boy?" Evelyn sniffed with disdain. "He's too old to be sitting on your lap. That is rude behavior in front of polite society!"
"Mind your own business." Talia threw back at Evelyn.
'I can deal with her quickly Darling.' Cedric's soothing tones inside her mind, reminding her that he was in her corner.
'Ugh. She's been spoiling for this fight. Let me deal with her Cedric.' Talia threw into his mind.
'Playing field is all yours My Love.' Cedric whispered into her mind.
Talia turned her nose up at Evelyn.
"There's no polite society here anyway. You'd have to act polite to be considered part of polite society—" She glared at Evelyn. "and you're not polite."
"Ladies. Please drop the pleasantries and just concentrate on having breakfast." King Cecil admonished. He had to douse this fight quickly before it escalated with the two women tearing each other's hair out.
Talia and Evelyn both looked away from each other, while the brothers stared at each other with loaded looks.
For Cedric, it was simple. He was returning to help Cecil deal with the governing of Faria that his brother could not handle adequately on his own.
He most definitely did not sign up to be Evelyn's side-kick man and he would be damned if he tolerated disrespect towards his mate.
For Cecil, it was a much more generalized distaste.
He'd heard more than his fair share of what had happened between Talia and Evelyn and he knew, by inviting Cedric and Talia to their table, the fighting would once again commence.
Unfortunately for the three of them, they were going to have to figure out a way to get along.
As Cedric's legitimate fiancée, Evelyn was not going away any time soon.
With the speed and voracity at which Evelyn's father was pushing for his daughter to get married, it would not be a long engagement. Evelyn and Cedric would most likely be legally wed within a few months at the most.
Of course Cecil was not going to tell Cedric this. His brother was just going to have to find a way to deal with being married to someone he didn't like. If Cecil had to deal with it, it was only fair that Cedric also had to deal with an unwanted marriage.
At the very least Cedric had Talia. With her being Cedric's legitimate marked mate, she would be around to ensure Cedric at least had someone to turn to when his sour marriage situation unfolds.
In any case, where else could Talia go? Once she had been marked by Cedric, no other man would dare touch her for fear of being torn to pieces by her man.
Cecil sighed.
They all might as well get used to each other and learn how to remain civil in public at the very least.
"Have you had a chance to speak with the Duke of Voltaire?" Cedric asked Cecil.
"Not yet. I just came down from my room and met the Countess here."
Evelyn scowled. "I came down early because I just could not sleep! This is just about the most horrid inn I've ever stayed at. Whoever heard of an inn with a clock tower that sounds every half hour???"
Talia's lips curled up in a faint smile. At least she wasn't the only one who had been affected by it.
But Evelyn wasn't done with her complaints quite yet.
"And partway through the evening, there was so much noise out in the hallway, sounded like a lot of furniture being dragged around."
Evelyn waved her hand around in frustration. "How is a person supposed to sleep with that much noise?"
Cecil scratched his brow. "Did you even poke your head out to see what the situation was?"
Evelyn rolled her eyes. "Why would I do that?"
"Because then you would know that it was our own people trying to squeeze into the remaining three rooms to ride out the winter blizzard." Cedric informed drily.
"It's none of my concern. They're just the servants." She shrugged. "And besides, what can I do?"
Cedric smiled at her. "Absolutely nothing. That's what you can do. Absolutely positively nothing."
"It's their job to take care of me. I am just one person. How can I take care of them?"
"Indeed." Cedric agreed.
At that moment, the server arrived with food that had already been ordered for the King by his attendants who were standing a few feet away.
Plate after plate of food came out from the kitchen. Glazed ham, scrambled eggs, hot boiled eggs, fried potatoes, hot buns and pastries of all sorts, winter fruits, hot cereals, and a plethora of fruit juices covered the table.
There was so much food ordered that it delighted a very hungry Little Lord Devin.
"My attendants have ordered plenty of food, in anticipation that you and Lady Talia would be joining me for breakfast. Please enjoy." Cecil offered graciously.
Talia nodded her thanks and reached out for a muffin which she handed to Devin. As he chewed on the soft buttery sweet cake, she began peeling a hardboiled egg for him.
Seeing her care for the little boy, Cedric began filling her plate with scrambled eggs and sausages and steamed rice.
"Well that's a first," Evelyn sneered. "Since when does the hired help get served before the King?"