***
“Come in,” Nisa’s voice said.
Francesca cast an anxious glance around the room as she entered. Nisa had always been tidy, but now clothes draped the furniture and a tray of dirty dishes cluttered the desktop. The door to the bedroom was open, and it looked equally a mess. “How are you doing, Nisa?”
Tears welled up in Nisa’s eyes as she got up from the sofa. “How should I be doing? It’s only been three days, Francesca.”
“I know.” She sounded foolish and insincere. Why did her tongue seemed glued to the roof of her mouth? “Could I talk to you about something?”
Nisa sat down again, arms folded across her chest. “I suppose so. Sit down. What is it?”
Francesca perched on a chair and forgot everything she had rehearsed. “I need your help.”
Nisa’s chin came up. “I can be out of your way in no time.”
“No!” Horrified, Francesca jumped up. “No, I don’t want you to leave. I need you to teach me how to run Hayden.”
Nisa blinked and glanced around her suite. “You mean—stay here?”
Francesca nodded. “I’d be happy if you’d stay on as my assistant. I could use some help in dealing with Elena.”
Nisa didn’t answer right away. After a moment, she shook her head. “I appreciate the offer, but I don’t think I can.” She took a step to the window and looked out at the courtyard. “There’s too much of Stefan here.” She jerked her head at the open bedroom door. “There’s a mirror in the bedroom with a door behind it that that leads to your father’s room. Did you know that?”
Francesca glanced through the doorway at the ornate frame of the huge mirror. “No, but it doesn’t surprise me. This house has other secrets.”
“Yes.”
Francesca drew in a breath. “Well, if you want to move out, Pop left you an annuity in his will. You’re set for life.”
Nisa opened her eyes wide. “Did he?”
“Yes, of course.” She took a step closer. Why wasn’t she good at this sort of thing? “Even if he hadn’t, I would have honored what I knew were his wishes. Pop loved you, Nisa.”
“Not enough to let everyone know about us.”
Francesca snorted. “That was because he was worried about your safety.”
Nisa turned toward the window. “Not enough to have a child with me, either.”
Francesca managed not to let her jaw drop. She swallowed. “You wanted a child?”
Nisa turned to face her, frowning. “Not a child. I wanted Stefan’s child. But he said it was too risky.” Her shoulders drooped and she sank onto the sofa. “And now it’s too late.”
“You mean—” Francesca hesitated. Did she want to do this? Another Hayden child was no threat; the will was explicitly in her favor. But it would seem strange to have a sibling. On the other hand, Pop would want Nisa to be happy. “You mean you’d still want Pop’s child, even if you had to raise him by yourself?”
Nisa let out a sob. “Of course. At least then I’d have something of Stefan.”
“Well, if you still feel that way in a few weeks, I can arrange it for you.”
Nisa lifted a blank face. “What?”
Francesca sat down next to her. “Pop banked his sperm when he married my mother. I know because I saw the container in the vault once, and I asked Pop about it.”
Nisa’s eyes went wide. “Why would he do that?”
“It was a condition of the marriage,” Francesca said. “Mom’s parents insisted on it. If something had happened to him before I came along, she could have produced an heir from it.”
Nisa’s face lit up with more hope than Francesca had seen in days. “Do you mean it, Francesca? You’d do that for me?”
Francesca felt a warm sense of accomplishment. She could still do something for Pop. “Sure I would.”
Nisa threw her arms around her. “Thank you, thank you!”
Francesca hugged her back, glad to have the awkwardness out of the way. “Do you want to be Pop’s widow? Given enough time and credits, there could be a record of marriage in the municipal databank. I can do it if you want it.”
Nisa shook her head vigorously. “No, thank you, Francesca, but that’s one thing I don’t want. I don’t even want the child to be a Hayden. Let him or her be plain old Somebody Palli. I’ll know it’s Stefan’s child.”
“Do you want to select for a boy or a girl?”
Nisa smiled with delight. “I don’t care! I’ll take whichever I get.”
“All right.” Francesca nodded. “I’ll see that it’s set up for you. But you need to wait a few weeks, just to make sure you really want to do this.”
Nisa hugged her again. “I can wait for a little while. But thank you for giving me something to hope for, Francesca.”
“Do you think while you’re waiting you could teach me how to run Hayden?”
Nisa looked solemn. “You have a good start. I’ll teach you what I can—and hire a new assistant for you.”
Francesca hadn’t even thought about hiring an assistant. It occurred to her that Ran-Del would be useful in making sure of her new employee’s loyalty.
She held in a sigh as she went back to her rooms. Life had been so much simpler when Pop was in charge.
The Sixth Discipline Page 60