"It's true, I'm the death of fun," Jordan said, and leaned against the wall as he looked in the direction of the King of Spades and their mother. There was a pair, he thought. He was surprised that it hadn't ended in death between them, one way or another. But then, David was both deeply paranoid and inclined towards trying to cultivate a kinder, gentler suit of Spades. And Laureline was rather attached to the poetic vision of her eldest son - groomed since birth - standing over David's broken body.
"Like being stabbed to death with a 1000 needles," he said dryly. "For both of them." Laureline was cultivating the persistent rumor that David wanted to reunite with his erstwhile wife Athena - if nothing else it said very little for the man's judgment - and David, of course, had recruited his brother in part as a way to tweak Laureline Novak's nose. For his talents there, of course; Jordan knew Hadyn heard more than most expected. But even if that were David's primary objective, getting Laureline's goat was a hell of a bonus.
"You skipped the last ritual mass torture session," he said, looking over at Hadyn again. "Also known as dinner at Grandmother's. So you missed Aunt Julia telling mother oh-so-innocently that she'd heard Katya commenting on an odd distance between you and her." He shrugged. "I doubt the queen said any such thing, of course." Julia did know which buttons to push, though; Clive's mother was Bernard enough for that at least.
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"Like being stabbed to death with a 1000 needles," he said dryly. "For both of them." Laureline was cultivating the persistent rumor that David wanted to reunite with his erstwhile wife Athena - if nothing else it said very little for the man's judgment - and David, of course, had recruited his brother in part as a way to tweak Laureline Novak's nose. For his talents there, of course; Jordan knew Hadyn heard more than most expected. But even if that were David's primary objective, getting Laureline's goat was a hell of a bonus.
"You skipped the last ritual mass torture session," he said, looking over at Hadyn again. "Also known as dinner at Grandmother's. So you missed Aunt Julia telling mother oh-so-innocently that she'd heard Katya commenting on an odd distance between you and her." He shrugged. "I doubt the queen said any such thing, of course." Julia did know which buttons to push, though; Clive's mother was Bernard enough for that at least.