169 Rumors

It was unusual for Tyr to ask if she would be angry about something. It sent warning flags up in her mind and her lips tightened. In a cautious voice, she asked, "Are you planning to get into an argument with her?"

They had barely been back for a month, so she did not think he had a reason to be irate with his mother. As far as she knew, Hrod did not even write him a letter since his return. They had done the rehandling of the family businesses through messengers.

Tyr actively avoided her gaze, "Possibly. She did something while I was away that came to my attention. I don't know if I want to bother talking with her for a bit." His face remained devoid of emotion, masking the furry he had.

It was just a statement, but it carried a lot of weight as if her opinion mattered. "I'm not sure if it would disappoint me. I would need to hear the explanation. As long as you attempted to talk things through before halting any communication, then I couldn't say anything."

The motive for his displeasure was not something he wanted to discuss. From everything Macha told him, his mother had been agreeable with her for the past three years. He did not want to shatter her disillusionment that their relationship was better.

Up ahead, he saw a mother holding her toddler on her hip. The woman gave the girl a kiss as she inspected some citrus fruits from a stall. The little girl held one and smelled the waxy skin before bringing the orange fruit to her mother's nose. The afternoon sunlight shining down through the large green umbrella, enveloping the two in a green light. Tyr's lips tightened at seeing the endearing sight.

Macha waited for him to explain why he might get in a disagreement with Hrod, but he remained silent. She did not want him to assume she would be angry, so she wrapped her arm around his waist and gave him a little squeeze as they walked. "I'll still be here for you, whichever way you choose to handle things."

****

A few days later, Macha went out with Tai Shan and Jóhanna. He invited her to eat dinner at a restaurant by the docks. The Uma Loch was not a fancy establishment, but the seafood was supposed to be excellent. The chef was an ex-kelpie, who married a woman from Marseille. He had fallen in love with her and chose to give up his watery horse form to be with her.

The restaurant lay on the Swat lands. Since the Swat family invested in the shipping industry, they only purchased land by the docks. They used to have more, but because of Xuanwu's poor business choices in the past, they needed to sell some of the properties.

Jóhanna was drawing on the butcher paper that the restaurant used as a tablecloth. Macha had melted down crayons and poured the colored wax into molds for her. It created a cute array of shapes that Jóhanna brought along in her mini purse wherever she traveled.

After the customers left, the server would throw the old paper tablecloths away and lay a new one down. It made the cleanup process fast and painless. Tai Shan appreciated that the drawing kept his daughter busy while he deshelled her food.

"Oh, this is so good!" Macha loved the boiled seafood medley that her brother ordered. It had shrimp, crab, lobster, clams, crawfish, mussels, corn, potatoes, and sausage. While it would usually be spicy, the owner knew Tai Shan could not handle hot food, so they developed a mild version just for him. It was a perk of being the landowner and a loyal customer.

Seeing his sister's big brown eyes so filled with joy relieved Tai Shan. When he visited her the other day, she had been stressed about work. Since Tyr decided to visit his family estate, Tai Shan offered to take her out to eat. He felt elated that she enjoyed such a normal working-class meal. The restaurant was not fancy and many middle-class families frequented it. Despite the establishment catering to the middle-class, it still remained one of his favorite restaurants.

While they ate, he noticed that people stared at them and whispered in hushed voices. He called a server over and asked the waitress if there was anything they should know about.

The young woman worried about telling the landowner the rumors that were circulating. She needed the job. On top of him being the property owner, she also recognized Tai Shan as a noble. She gripped her hands tightly in front of her and stared at the ground, "Uh, well, there's a rumor..."

The waitress acted with so much discomfort that Macha asked Jóhanna to join her in the restroom. Whatever this slander was, it probably would not be good for a child to hear.

After the two left the table, Tai Shan demanded, "What's the rumor?" His family did not mention that they had adopted Macha but planned to make an official announcement to the nobility next week. He hoped that the gossip did not pertain to him being out with Lord Valois's girlfriend. This was not a place nobles frequented, so he did not think the customers here would even recognize them.

"Lord Swat, it's just a rumor. It isn't true, I'm positive of it," she really did not want to tell him that stories had been circulating about his family member. She did not know if Macha was his sister or wife, but the little girl referred to her as Aunty Mama, which made things confusing.

Tai Shan did not hold any animosity towards the woman. She did not make these rumors, so it was not her fault. He understood that most people grew intimidated when they talked to nobles. It was understandable, and he always tried to be conscious of this fact. He wiped his hands with a napkin and tossed the cloth to the side. "Just tell me what the rumor is."

The woman sucked in her lips, "Well, Lord Rosenkrantz is saying your sister sleeps around. He claimed he bought her services for one gold. There're some other things, but I don't think you want to hear them." She squeezed her eyes shut, worried that she would be hit.

The girl's words made his heart race with anger. His eyes narrowed and his voice became low, "Excuse me, which Rosenkrantz is saying this?" This rumor was a slight on his family's honor and it needed to be taken care of. While his family was not influential, Macha was Tyr's girlfriend. He felt certain the man would want this slander squelched.

When she did not receive a blow, the woman looked up. Lord Swat sounded furious, so she quickly confessed, "It was Lord Magni. He's sitting in the back, at the bar."

Tai Shan stood up and stalked towards the bar. He found Magni's despicable body leaning against the countertop. The man's face looked like a tomato, red from the alcohol. His appearance was disheveled, and it appeared as if he did not take a bath in days.

Magni's boisterous voice could be heard, "The fuckin' oddest shit about her is her cunt. I swear, she has one that slants horizontal. It fuckin' confused the shit outta me." He then lewdly stuck his tongue between his fingers. The other men at the bar hooted with laughter.

He took a swig of his drink, "I bet Lord Valois doesn't even know she's a nympho..."

Tai Shan's friendly features contorted with rage and his grey eyes darkened. "Magni!" he roared from behind, his voice sounding like a stormy sea. He jerked the stool back, causing the man to fall onto the floor. Seeing the half-drunk man on the ground disgusted him. His looked at the idiot on the floor with revulsion, "Get up, asshole."