Crown of a Prince (Finn Shelby)

82.

Ailbhe had to sneak back to her room the next morning, having become quite an early bird with all her sneaking back and forth between beds in the mornings. She did it quickly and quietly so no one saw or heard her but both Lizzie and Polly knew where she had been all night just from her easy smile and the lack of a cloud over her head that was almost a permanent fixture these days. Whatever it was about Finn and Ailbhe, he kept her happy and kept her smiling amidst all the chaos, so they didn’t care about the bed hopping and sneaking.
 
Breakfast was quiet and many of them nursed hangovers, including Finn who came downstairs in his clothes from the night before and his eyes barely open. Liam and Niall were in a similar state with wild hair and sleepy eyes, whereas Tommy looked like he hadn’t even shut his eyes yet. Ailbhe was watching him, hoping she would see him eat something, but he smoked, he sipped at the coffee Lizzie put in front of him and he spent most of the meal with his hand over his eyes.
 
Polly was showing off her new ring and Aberama Gold even joined them for breakfast, knowing that they were going to become his family soon. It was a strange set up and an even stranger dynamic to get to grips with, but he was getting there.
 
He was learning about them all, studying quietly and watching them. He knew that Polly still protected Finn and Ailbhe, as though they were still the children she used to mind. He knew that Liam was smarter than Niall and yet Liam never acted without his brother’s approval and support. He knew that Tommy had every single one of them in his corner and yet sometimes, Aberama and the rest of the family wondered why.
 
“Come on, eat something. It’s good for you” Ailbhe said as she nudged Niall’s elbow and pushed a plate in front of him.
 
He jerked, waking from Ailbhe nudging him and not even being awake while Ruby stacked slices of toast on his other forearm. He started laughing, making his headache even worse while pushing away Ailbhe’s offer.
 
“Jesus Christ those coloured drinks last night Lizzie… never again” he whinged, shielding his eyes from the light and huffing.
 
Lizzie rolled her eyes, pulling Ruby up onto her lap away from Niall and offering her a spoon of porridge.
 
“They’re called cocktails, Niall and of course they’re lethal if you drink them on top of that whiskey you and Liam were guzzling!”
 
Lizzie replied, a smirk on her face since she had warned Niall to slow down on the fruity drinks even if they did just taste like juice.
 
Tommy grabbed all their attention, pushing back his chair and standing up.
 
“Meeting by the stables, now.” He announced, not looking at anyone in particular but they knew who he was summoning.
 
He left swiftly, not bothering to eat anything anyway nor even finish his coffee but keep his cigarettes with him. They all started to look around the table, looking for anyone who might know why Tommy was summoning them but the only person who kept their head down was the only person who had an inkling what it might be about.
 
“Alv, what is it?” Liam asked, nodding his head at his sister but she just threw her napkin onto the table and stood up.
 
They all gathered up their things, knowing better than to keep Tommy waiting and none of them really had an appetite anyway. Niall was right, the cocktails were quite strong and had left them a little worse for wear.
 
Finn put his hand out, catching Ailbhe’s forearm and grabbing her attention.
 
“What’s this about, Alv? Mosley?” he asked her, wanting to know sooner rather than later. He felt like he deserved an explanation, deserved her to tell him what she knew.
 
But she just shrugged, pulling her arm out of his grip.
 
“Tom will tell ye now, Finn” She replied, not waiting for him to walk with her.
 
She left him standing there, not sure what had gotten into her. Just last night, they were in bed together laughing and kissing, wrapped around each other and having sex until they fell asleep only to wake up and get lost in each other again. Why wouldn’t she tell him what was going on?
 
Whatever it was, he didn’t like it and he felt himself grow irritated and cagey. What wasn’t she telling him?
 
Liam clapped him on the back, telling him to get a move on because Tommy was waiting for them, but Finn had to resist the urge to tell him fuck off. Ailbhe was hiding something from him. And she was starting to feel guilty about it, he just knew it. And Tommy was going to tell them what it was.