Pan's Conquest (Entangled Covet) by Dionne Aubrie

Author:Dionne, Aubrie [Dionne, Aubrie]
Language: eng
Format: mobi, epub
Publisher: Entangled Publishing, LLC
Published: 2014-02-23T16:00:00+00:00

“If I should die and leave you here awhile,

Be not like others, sore undone, who keep

Long vigils by the silent dust, and weep.

For my sake turn again to life and smile,

Nerving thy heart and trembling hands to do

Something to comfort weaker hearts than thine.

Complete those dear unfinished tasks of mine

And I perchance may therein comfort you.”

Unfinished tasks? What were Rutherford’s unfinished tasks? Pan wished he knew. The old man had done so much for him in such a short time, opening his eyes to the feeling of being cared for, of being loved—and not in the cheap way Pan “loved,” in a deeper, more spiritual connection. In a way, Rutherford had made Pan more human.

The funeral wound down, and they walked to the back of the grounds, where a wrought iron fence enclosed an ancient graveyard. Tombstones covered in moss stood from the ground, some cracked and tipped, and others so old, the writing had been worn away by time and wind. A newer plot lay toward the right side, where a polished stone read Eleanor Hayes’s name.

Workers laid Rutherford’s coffin in the ground beside her as members of his family threw white roses on the slick oak casket. As the crowd thinned, Pan and Syrinx remained. They could feel no shivers or cold from the rain, nor hunger or physical pain. Yet pain and emptiness were there, eating a hole in Pan’s gut and leaving an ache in his heart.

“You drove a long way to be here.” Daniel Hayes stepped beside Pan and offered his hand. “A pleasure to meet you, Mr. Thomas. I only wish the circumstances of our meeting were better.”

“I’m sorry for your loss.” Pan squeezed his hand.

“And yours, as well.” Daniel shook Syrinx’s hand next. “Thank you for giving my father something to do in his last days.”

“I did nothing.” Embarrassment humbled Pan. “And he did everything for me.”

Daniel smiled sadly. “Sounds like my father. He wanted to do everything for me, and I had to break away and live my own life, carve my own path in this world. I didn’t want to leech off his money as much as he wanted to give it to me. I wanted to make my own. I had to get away if I was ever going to fend for myself.” His hands shook. “I had to leave him.”

“Understandable.” Pan watched as Syrinx threw her own white rose on the newly turned earth. She started walking to the other end of the cemetery, giving him his space to ask the questions that lingered on his tongue. “He knew what you had to do. I’m sure he was very proud.”

Daniel nodded, although his frown made Pan suspect he didn’t believe him. “Come inside out of the rain. I have food for everyone.”

“I have to bother you for two more things.” Pan reached inside his suit and took out a wad of envelopes. “The first is a bunch of Rutherford’s checks. He never cashed any of them, and I’m a little confused.

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