Deathstalker 04 - Deathstalker Honor

shook her head, and then led the way down the hall and into the parlor. Finlay did his best to appear calm and relaxed, even while his stomach tightened and his heart raced. He hadn’t felt this nervous while waiting to go on in the Arenas. But then, fighting was easy. It was people he’d always found difficult. And he’d never had much contact with children. He’d asked Evangeline what he should do, but she just laughed and said to treat them like little adults. That hadn’t helped much. The few things he talked about with adults all involved subjects he was pretty sure weren’t
    at all suitable for children. In fact, despite a hell of a lot of thought and a certain amount of practicing in front of the bathroom mirror, he still didn’t know what he was going to say to Troilus and Cressida. He was also beginning to think he should have brought some kind of present for them. He could feel small beads of sweat popping out on his forehead.
    All too quickly he was there in the parlor, and Adrienne was waving him toward a small boy and girl standing almost at attention before him. They’d clearly been dressed in their best for the occasion, and cleaned and groomed to within an inch of their lives. Their solemn faces and large eyes suggested they were just as nervous as he was, which actually helped to calm him a bit. He tried to see himself in the boy’s slightly chubby face, but he had to admit he didn’t. The girl, with her frizzy gold hair, at least reminded Finlay of her mother. Adrienne coughed meaningfully, and the boy bowed formally and the girl curtsied, just a little unsteadily. Finlay nodded to them, trying hard to smile kindly. Going by the slight frowns he got in return, the smile hadn’t been that successful.
    “Thank you for the presents, Father,” said Troilus, his voice breathily light but steady. “It was very kind of you.”
    Finlay was thrown for a moment, and then realized Adrienne must have known he wouldn’t think of it in time, and had covered for him yet again. “Hello, Trolius, Cressida,” he said as gently as he could. “It’s good to see you. It’s been a long time, hasn’t it? Too long.”
    “We saw you on the news,” said the boy. “During the rebellion. They said you were a hero.”
    “I did my duty,” said Finlay. “I was fighting for something I believed in. Something very important.
    When you’re older, Troilus, and come to a man’s estate, as a Campbell you’ll do the same.”
    “I don’t think so,” said Troilus. “It didn’t look like anything I’d want to do.
    I think I’d much rather be a dancer.”
    “Ah,” said Finlay. “Well, I’m sure the Empire will always need… dancers.” He looked to Adrienne for help.
    “Ballet,” she said flatly. “He’s very good.”
    “I see,” said Finlay. He tried to visualize his son and heir prancing around on a stage in tights and a tutu, and couldn’t. He turned to Cressida. “And what do you want to be when you grow up?”
    “I’m going to be a nun,” said the young girl solemnly. “I’m going to enter the Church and serve under Saint Beatrice.”
    “I see,” said Finlay. He looked at Adrienne. “Was this your idea of a joke? Or some kind of twisted revenge? The Campbells have always been warriors! Men with blood in their veins, not milk! Who the hell is going to lead the Campbells when I’m gone, the Swan Prince here?”
    “Keep your voice down!” said Adrienne. “You’re frightening the children!” “Why not? They’re scaring the hell out of me! This is not the proper upbringing for Campbells! It’s a vicious world out there, with all kinds of people just waiting to tread all over them. And from the look of him, I doubt if Troilus has ever even held a sword in his hand!”
    The two children hurried to huddle against their mother, clinging to her hands while trying to keep from
    crying. Adrienne glared at Finlay, her voice ice cold. “They’re my children, not yours. You lost all control over them when you left me to raise them alone. And I was damned if I’d raise them the way your father raised you. I didn’t want them to be anything like you. I wanted them to be normal.”
    “I won’t always be here to protect them!”
    “You never were! I kept them alive and safe, without once having to run to you. And the world they’re going to grow up in will be nothing like yours. That’s one of the things we fought the rebellion about. My children are going to follow their dreams,