Chapter 113
Several days went by. The five of them spent much of their time doing nothing but talking about what might be taking Prime Minister Bissett so long and worrying. They also watched the news. It was obvious the Spanish-American forces were pushing the Mothers back, but the invasion was slow going, and it wasn’t clear whether or not the southern nation would give up and decide to go back home before reaching even the cities of Michaelanburg situated closest to their border.
They were listening to one such news report in the room assigned to Mist, since Walt had basically moved in there already and it was easier for the other three to come to them, when a sharp knock at the door drew their attention. Several times during the day, they were interrupted by knocks--food delivery, fresh clothing, someone from the staff checking to see if they needed anything--but this one was different. At the sound of it, Rain’s heart leapt into her throat. All five of them exchanged nervous glances.
It was Mist who had herself together quickly enough to go to the door and pull it open. Stringer stood there, a pleasant look on his face, though he always looked quite official. “Pardon the intrusion,” he said to all of them as Mist pulled the door open wider. “Prime Minister Bisset has a few moments. He would like to see you now.”
Rain’s eyebrows arched as she looked down at what she was wearing. A pair of jeans and a red sweater, hardly anything nice enough for meeting a head of state. The rest of them were dressed similarly. Something told her she wouldn’t have time to change.
“Don’t worry about your appearance,” Stringer continued, clearly reading her face. “He understands that you’ve had no notice. If you’ll follow me?”
It was a question, but there was no chance any of them were going to decline. Of course, they all jumped up and followed Mist out the door behind Stringer, down the long hallway, not a sound between them except for their heavy breathing and hammering hearts, the echo of their boots on marble floors. Rain didn’t even dare catch anyone else’s eyes for fear she’d see the same terror there that she felt inside of herself, bubbling to the surface more and more with each step.
They’d rehearsed what they would say and who should speak and determined Mist would make the best advocate for them. Rain was just fine with that since it seemed she’d said far too much to Lt. Laurant upon intake, at least twice as much as anyone else. As they approached a pair of wide maple doors, Rain’s fingers closed on the closest hand to hers. Without looking up, she knew it was Adam as his familiar fingers closed around hers. She hoped it didn’t show weakness to walk into the Prime Minister's presence not quite under her own power, but it couldn’t be helped.
She expected the room to be some sort of a throne room, like those she’d read about in books, even though he wasn’t a king. That wasn’t at all what they entered. It was more like a study, with several large, leather and wood chairs set before a blazing fireplace. Shelves and shelves of books lined the walls, and a massive wooden desk cluttered with papers and files was tucked in front of a wide window where rays of sunshine streamed in from a view overlooking the back lawn. Outside, a maze of green hedges and a birdbath created as pleasant a distraction as one could imagine.
Rains’ eyes didn’t linger between the dark green curtains for long. Instead, she looked at the man who was standing in front of one of the chairs near the fireplace. Wearing a simple suit, nothing fancy, no military medals or ribbons, he looked like many of the other middle-aged men she’d met on this journey. He had large whiskers down the sides of his face that met in a well-trimmed beard and a mustache in the same gray and brown hues adorned his upper lip. He wasn’t particularly tall or broad shouldered. To Rain’s eye, he looked unassuming, but his smile was kind and welcoming.
Alongside him stood a woman just slightly shorter than him with long brown hair wearing a nice floral gown in reds and purples and a girl who looked to be about Rain’s eyes with large brown eyes, similar to the prime minister’s. Her pretty face also bore a resemblance to the woman, causing Rain to assume this was the First Family of Quebec before they’d even been introduced.
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