angrily walked out of the room, leaving me wondering why exactly Merdon had a thing for saving people.
Chapter Nineteen
Emotionally spent and physically drained, I dressed slowly. How could just a few hours feel like a full day? Losing time seemed to be the theme for my stationary existence since the breach. No, not the breach, since Merdon barged in and started controlling my life.
While I was grateful for the upcoming reprieve from Merdon’s focused attention, I was smart enough to know there was some agenda to James and Mary’s lunch invitation. The old couple didn’t demand our presence unless they needed something. It felt like I was trading one giant, agile devil for two smaller, slower ones. Yet, whatever it was the old couple wanted was better than any other option I had.
Bundled in a cozy sweater and wearing soft jeans, I made my way downstairs. I noticed Emily was in the kitchen, wrapping something up. Merdon wasn’t with her, though. Instead, he stood staring at the dark TV in the living room.
“Works better if you turn it on,” I said.
He glanced at me, his gaze sweeping me from head to toe before shifting to Emily.
“Are you ready?”
“Yep, all set,” she answered.
She handed him the covered dish she’d been wrapping and went for her coat. I quickly joined her, slipped into my jacket and boots, then held the door for the pair. They looked so domestic together. Merdon, carrying the dish; Emily, smiling and thanking him.
He didn’t even scowl angrily when he looked at her. Why did that annoy me?
“Did James and Mary say why they wanted us to come over?” I asked.
“No,” Emily said. “Tor stopped by with the message, though, so I’m guessing it’s about the dinner dates. Since I already had lunch made, I asked him to let Mary know I’d bring the food.”
“Another dish for us to test?”
“Yep. I think you’ll like this one, too.”
My stomach growled its agreement, and she grinned at me. Merdon’s frown deepened, which I ignored.
“I saw the cookies still in the house. When are you going to Tenacity to finalize the hookups?”
She wrinkled her nose.
“Let’s think of something else to call it. Maybe something about the food so it doesn’t seem so…”
“Like a sex hookup?”
She gave me a look and nodded her head toward Merdon as if he wasn’t fully aware of the fey endgame. The only reason any of them wanted the dinner was to eventually have sex.
“What? That’s why very few of the single women stayed in Tolerance when we gave them the choice between here and Tenacity. They already know what the fey’s goals are and want nothing to do with them.”
“Exactly. The women from Tenacity are rejecting the fey without even knowing anything about them except that they’re different. That’s the whole point of the dinners: to give them an opportunity to get to know the fey outside of the whole ‘we want a woman’ perception. Yes, the fey are hoping for a positive end result, but they also want to be accepted for who they are. And, Mary and I are hoping this is a start of a movement to change the general perception of the fey as seen by the female population of Tenacity. We need a better relationship for our communities to survive long-term.”
A distant moo seemed to agree with her passionate outpouring. I hadn’t realized how much these dinners meant to her.
“Then call it a ‘dine and dash’ so the women think that’s all they’ll need to do. Talk up the food and the conversation starter cards you have, and downplay the company they’ll have at the table as no big deal. Make it sound like it’s a painless escape and way to get fed, and they’ll do it.”
Emily gave me a grateful smile.
“Do you really think so?”
“Yes. And you’re giving them food in the form of cookies just for talking to you. It’s like one of those no purchase necessary contests. You’re not forcing them to have dinner to get fed. They’ll just get more food if they agree.”
“Oh, I didn’t think of it like that. Yeah, it’s a good thing I made the cookies. Maybe I should make something else.”
“A canned good would help open more doors and give you a reason to have a fey escort. A fey presence, in a helpful way, wouldn’t be a bad thing.”
“I know just the fey,” she said.
I looked back at Merdon, who was following us.
In that single, sweeping glance, a new realization was