by Grady, D. R.
“We remember,” Giselle commented wryly. “Dad forget meals until one of us tell him come.” She dug into her salad, popping some of the chicken into her mouth.
“He forgot everything when he worked.” Mallen smiled fondly as he rolled a cherry tomato around his plate.
“Remember how when he really involved, his tongue would flop to the side of mouth?” Giselle showed them.
While Mallen and Lila laughed, they both had faraway looks in their eyes. Julia enjoyed their memories even more than the delicious salad.
“Didn’t Uncle Bruce try to set his tongue on fire once to get his attention?”
“No, that was me,” Lila answered huffily. “I’ll tell you, I had to use some extreme measures to return that man to reality.” But the smile on her lips belied her tough words. Like Mallen, she didn’t seem as interested in eating as reminiscing.
“When he got especially involved with something complicated, remember how he’d curl his tongue?”
“Yes, he’d curl him into a tub, tube? What is word?”
“Tube,” Mallen answered, a smile playing around his lips as he stared at the ceiling. She figured he probably didn’t notice the intricate plasterwork, but had gone back to another time when they still had Hugo Saltaire. “He did curl it funny. Remember Gissy? Us sitting on the other side of the bench when we were little, trying to get our tongues to do that?”
Giselle laughed. “We weren’t so good, but we try.”
“We never could curl ours like he did.”
“I think I have pictures of you kids doing that,” Lila bubbled. “Now where are they?”
Mallen and Giselle exchanged twin looks of horror. “Mom, pictures are not a good idea.”
“Defiiiinnntely not a good i-deea.” Giselle’s accent thickened noticeably. She set down her fork as she stared at her mother.
“You kids always tell me this, but you know how much you enjoy them,” Lila reprimanded as she stood, a vague air about her.
As soon as she left the room, Mallen turned to Giselle. “Where did you hide them?”
“Relax, thez are safe,” she assured her brother, but Julia caught the nervous glance Giselle shot her departing mother.
“Define safe.”
“I forget.” Giselle bit her lip, and didn’t quite meet Mallen’s eyes.
His head plunked onto the table where a server had removed the remains of his lunch.
Giselle patted him. “Mallen, t’ink about it. If I cannot remember where zey are, how is Mama to find zem?”
Again, Giselle’s accent revealed her reservations and he turned his head enough that he could open one eye to stare at her. “We’re dead.”
“No, no. She will not find zem.”
Mallen closed his eye, turned his head back onto the table and repeated, “We’re dead,” to the polished wooden surface.
“Per’haps I will go looook for zem,” Giselle said worriedly as she too pushed away from the table and exited the room.
She leaned over the table and grasped the back of Mallen’s collar. Julia pulled his head up enough to look at him. He opened an eye again.
“Why’s it so bad if your mother finds those pictures?”
Mallen groaned as she released his collar.
She ruffled his hair. “Come on, give.”
He sat up and gazed at her despondently for a few seconds before answering, “Julia, when my mother starts showing pictures, it takes hours. We have to be there, because we can’t be certain what she’ll show.”
She laughed, but clapped a hand over her mouth to quell the continued urge.
He cocked an incredulous eyebrow at her.
“You do realize most kids have this problem? Right?”
“Your mother does this?”
“Absolutely, and my father might be worse. It’s a tough call, actually.”
Mallen blinked. “So people are used to this type of behavior?”
“Definitely. Perhaps not to the extent your mother goes, but yes, we do expect to see lots of embarrassing pictures. Of course, this could get especially bad when you and Giselle have kids. Grandmothers are usually far worse than mothers.” She tapped a finger in contemplation.
Mallen’s head plunked back onto the table. “No, we’re not having kids, either of us. Never,” he informed the hard surface adamantly.
Julia patted him consolingly.
She returned to her computer after lunch and a brief nap. Julia needed to check e-mail, to see whether her boss had responded. As the computer pinged the server, she thought about the lab she had discovered this morning. How she longed to fire up the equipment, and continue Bruce Regin’s research.
Her mail finished downloading and she saw a message from her boss. The rough draft of the main paper needed little work and Julia was grateful. She quickly made the changes and sent them back. Her boss also liked each of the outlines she’d sent and wanted papers, so she began work on the first. All the while, a small piece of her brain remained occupied with the Sandovian Palace lab.
Could she begin to pay back the Saltaires for their generosity? What if she could make a difference for the people of Sandovia?
Would she be woman enough for Mallen Saltaire if she could help his people?
Chapter 9
At the next meal, Julia broached the subject. “Does anyone have a problem with me working in the lab?”
“Doing what,” Mallen asked curiously.
She bit her lip. “I thought perhaps I could continue where Dr. Regin left off with the Parkinson’s research.” She didn’t want to cause them pain, but she could do so much...
“We’d love for you to work there.” Mallen’s answer was satisfyingly wholehearted.
Lila frowned as she tapped her fork against a delicate white plate. “We wish we’d thought of it first, so we could have given you the option.”
“I not mind.”
“Do you need any help?” Mallen watched her closely.
She smiled. “I won’t know until I begin. And I can’t begin until I finish the papers I’m currently working on.”
“Let us know.”
Conversation flowed onto another subject then. Julia was content with her decision. Now she had something else to do once her commitment to her current job was fulfilled. She wanted to stay busy and figured the lab could be put to good use. She might help the people of Sandovia. Mallen might be grateful…
“How are your papers coming?” Mallen inquired the next day at breakfast.
“I should be finished by the end of the week.”
“When do you believe you’ll start in the lab?”
“I’m hoping to begin with an inventory by the end of this week or early next week. Once I finish my current papers there’s certain to be some necessary revisions, but I can do those in between experiments.”
“It wouldn’t be difficult to transfer your work onto one of the computers in the lab.” Mallen rubbed a hand over his jaw.
She blinked. “No, I don’t suppose it would be. Then I could at least get started, running some of the equipment, making certain everything is calibrated and functioning properly.”
“It is.” Giselle sounded very sure of her facts.
“It is what?”
“Mallen keep all equipment calibrate. Just in case Uncle Bruce and Dad come.”
“Or we find some other lab geek to take their place,” he inserted with all the makings of a grin.
Julia swatted him, which he ducked with aplomb. “I’m grateful you kept everything calibrated and running. That will make my job easier.”
“I’m happy I could oblige.”
“May we come and watch you work?” Lila asked tentatively.
There was something more here than met the eye, she realized. She scanned three sets of eager amber-green eyes and her mouth quirked to the side. Lab help. “Of course, so long as you don’t mind being put to work.”
Mallen, true to his word, personally transferred all of Julia’s papers and
notes from her office into the lab.
“You know, if I do say so, it seems you’re rather eager to have this lab up and running again.”
“I am.” He ran a gentle hand down the sweep of her face.
She liked the way he stroked her, but even more she liked the extra warmth flaring in his eyes as they caressed her. “Labs should be used, not left to sit empty.”
“That’s true. This is an impressive lab.” She glanced around her new domain with anticipation.
“And it’s probably best to keep research scientists locked up in them too,” he stated, an air of brattiness so dense about him she was surprised she couldn’t see the aura.
Julia thumped him, which he neatly sidestepped. She didn’t follow through though because something else had caught her attention. “An electron microscope?” she squealed, scampering to a window she hadn’t noticed behind the computer station, pressing her nose against the glass.
She could see Mallen grinning at her in the reflection from the window, but didn’t care.
“Yes, Uncle Bruce knew one of the engineers who built this. It’s been refurbished, so we were able to purchase this beauty for an excellent price. Apparently.” Mallen grinned, unrepentant about his lack of knowledge.
“These babies are tres expensive. I’m quite impressed.”
He went silent; a shocked sort of silent. She cocked a brow at him. His expression read like a gaping fish.
“What?”
“You speak French?” The intensity in his voice shocked her.
She frowned, experiencing some stupefaction of her own. “I speak very poor French, so technically yes. I understand the language far better.” Julia glanced at him. “Why?”
He grabbed her into a tight embrace and swung her around the room. “You speak French,” he kept saying, in between kisses to her forehead, cheeks, and chin.
She laughed, as it was difficult to remain somber in the face of such glee. “I don’t speak good French.”
“Do you understand this?” he asked in the fluid, sexy language.
“Oui,” she replied, without thought. “I told you, I understand the language, I just don’t speak it very well,” she continued, knowing her accent left much to be desired.
Mallen fired off other questions and statements to her that she understood and she finally told him, in French, about François, the lab technician from France who worked across the bench from her in grad school. She had grown weary of his muttered comments, knowing they were about her, so out of desperation she made a deal with him. She would try to improve whatever was bothering him about her if he’d teach her to speak his language. He had accepted without haste, grateful for her interest, and happy to finally discover a friend.
Julia, in turn, introduced him to some other lab technicians she met who were probably equally as lonely and soon François enjoyed a busy social life, and his mutterings stopped. Not before teaching her his language, though. All of his new friends also wanted to learn, so the class usually ended up being full.
“Does he still teach?”
“Yes. And the school is paying him for his efforts these days. He turned out to be an excellent teacher, so when one of the language arts professors retired, they approached François. Turns out he wrote several papers on teaching us, and conducted some pertinent research, and one of the other profs noticed and offered to mentor him. I attended his party a few months ago when he finally defended his dissertation. He’s got a full doctorate now in the language arts, loves what he’s doing and he and his wife, who is also from France, and teaches at the same university, are expecting their first child. He’s a happy man.” Her lips curled as she thought of her friend, so lonely in those early days, and just needing someone to talk to.
“Do you still keep in touch?” He still hadn’t set her back on her feet. She decided not to remind him since she rather enjoyed the closeness and his warmth and enticing masculine scent.
“We do. His wife is every bit as wonderful as he is. And cooking. They could both be chefs if they decided not to teach.” She smacked her lips.
He kept grinning at her. His happiness had planted a like little seed in her heart and she was grateful for the sowing.
She asked in English. “So what’s so special about my speaking French?”
“I did not suspect you spoke my language.” Mallen hummed with pleasure. She couldn’t help but smile.
“My accent is awful. Despite François’s lessons and effort.”
“My mother used to teach French to American high school students,” he reminded her happily. She remembered Lila stating how knowing French had sealed her fate with Hugo Saltaire. Her heart picked up in speed until she caught on to what he was thinking.
Julia groaned and her head hit his chest. “No,” she stated firmly.
And so her days went. She worked in the lab in the morning, setting up experiments, prepping for them, and then finally running them, had lunch with the family, and then found herself locked in a classroom with Lila during the afternoon.
She was the only student of course, but that didn’t stop Mallen and Giselle from visiting, often. Mainly so they could make fun of her. She had taken to threatening them every time she saw one of them, which only made them laugh. Julia knew she couldn’t follow through with her threats though, her accent was awful.
Even François had given up on her. Although, she came to realize, the more she heard those who spoke it fluently, the better her pronunciation became. She set down the rule that they were only to speak to her and around her in French, and no teasing.
She did have to hand it to Mallen, Giselle, and especially Lila. They were true to her dictates. They only spoke to her in their language and Mallen and Giselle managed to keep their guffaws to a minimum. Julia realized, too, that their teasing was their way of encouraging her, although she wasn’t afraid to chase Mallen around the palace for punishing sessions of tickling when she could catch him.
He also teased her about being his mother’s favorite pupil and then he’d pat her on the head. These French lessons were certainly contributing to her cardiovascular health. She could chase him almost tirelessly now.
After making progress, she talked Lila into only one hour of training in the afternoon so she could concentrate on her lab work. Soon, she couldn’t move in the lab without tripping over Mallen, Giselle, or Lila, so eventually she began holding classes of her own. She asked Mallen to convert an unused stockroom into a small classroom for them and she taught them the basics of molecular biology.
“The first thing we need to do is purify this protein,” she started the lesson.
“Why do we need to purify this protein?” from Lila.
“What’s a protein?” from Giselle.
“Are you sure?” from Mallen.
Of course, her pupils were exasperating as they all thought alike and delighted in teasing her. She did have to admit, she was laughing a lot more these days. Giselle had sort of adopted her as an honorary sister, Lila a daughter, and Mallen....well she wasn’t certain.
She didn’t view him as a big brother, and figured he didn’t think of her as a sister. Instead, he gave her the time she needed to heal in a fun, loving atmosphere. He seemed content to have her hands on him only when she needed to tickle him, and since that was practically every day, he apparently made do.
After rolling her eyes, Julia continued her lessons, ignoring the troublemakers. It was difficult as they constituted the entire class.
“We need to purify the protein we’re looking for after we isolate the correct sequence and then we’ll amplify it. Lila, how will we amplify?”
“PCR,” came the quick response. Lila already loved the PCR and had taken to the lab work with enthusiasm. She was her right hand woman now. The two could also speak French and Lila used the time wisely, helping Julia to enunciate properly, while building her vocabulary.
She taught in English, as she had teaching experience from graduate school and enjoyed the exper
ience. But she didn’t think her skills were up to teaching a new concept to three brats in a language they spoke fluently and she ...did not.
“Right. Then, we check that we’ve got the protein we want how? Giselle?”
“Gel electrophoresis.”
“Very good. We’ll be using SDS-polyacrylamide gels. Once we know what we’ve got, what’s the next step? Mallen?”
“Western blot.”
“You guys are good.” At her comment, in keeping with the spirit of things, Giselle and Lila looked down at their chests and shook their heads.
“We not guys,” Giselle patiently explained.
Mallen helpfully piped up, “I am.”
She rolled her eyes and yanked them back on task. “We start this tomorrow. I need to finish up a few things, and have some prep work to do today, but we should be ready to start in the morning.”
“I’ll be here.” Lila’s enthusiasm made her grin.
“Good.” She glanced at Mallen and Giselle, who were staring at one another. That’s when she remembered and popped a hand to her forehead. “Of course, you two have that big meeting tomorrow.”
“Yes,” they spoke at the same time.
“Giselle, as Head of Security, I know you can’t miss this meeting. Since Mallen will be chairing the meeting he can’t miss either.” Julia tapped a finger against her lips.
“Neither of you can miss, but I need to start this tomorrow. Bear in mind the work won’t all be accomplished in one day. This process will happen over a series of days.”
Both Mallen and Giselle relaxed. “That’s settled then. Mom can help you in the morning, and as time allows, we’ll assist you when possible.” Mallen looked at his family for confirmation.
Giselle and Lila nodded.
“Excellent. I understand you all have other duties. I can do this work alone.”
“But it’s more fun to help you,” Lila commented and her children laughed.
“Exactly.”
“I began to see why Daddy spend so much time in lab.” Giselle’s eyes turned wistful.