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"So, given a choice between duty and daughter , they chose duty. Is that the
gist
of it?"
"They thought you would be pleased once you got used to the idea, dear, they
didn't mean to hurt you with their decision," Helen suggested, in an effort to
comfort their
charge. Cat had a distressed, pinched expression with too large eyes and, not
for the first
time, the aunts wished that Rowan and Nancia had just once put their
daughter before a
mission.
Cat had a tinkling concern hovering behind all else that had occurred. What
would happen to Habi-Cat and its occupants now that they had departed? Who
would be
there to fight for, feed and protect them a nd keep them safe from needles,
electrodes,
deadly injections, and meat-grinders? She needed to know. Euwitti could not
be allowed
to succeed. "What of Habi-Cat?" she finally voiced.
The aunts, at first startled at the change of subject, smiled brightly. "Oh
well,
dear, I think you could say we wet Cecil's wick and soon it will be as rotten
as the rest of
him; with the world watching it all. It tu rns out that Dr. C. Eu witti has
another use for
animals other than those stated. He apparently enjoys having conjunctional
relations with
them, as well, or so the photos will depict. The un-retouched photos."
Cat stared, stupefied, viewi ng her aunts in a completely new light. "How?"
she
croaked.
"Where there's a will, sweetheart, there's a way," Helen beamed. "I just wish
we
could have stayed for the show," she sighed. "I guess the reports will have
to suffice.
This will not guarantee the safety of pets, by any means, but at le ast the
movement will
have been discredited for a time. One of our people has taken over the
Habi-Cat to make
certain your charges are protected. Have no fear, Cat, we have taken care of
everything."
Cat loved these two incredible women. They may not be her true aunts, but
they
certainly remained the aunts of her heart.
Marie decided that the time had come to change the subject. "What of you
and
Zorroc, is he making you happy?" she asked, knowing almost certainly that he
was not.
Cat squirmed under the aunt's avid attention. Well, it had been the primary
reason
she decided to visit sooner rather than later. "He s fulfilling his
obligations to his people
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Lil Gibson
134
and to me but he doesn't& I m merely an other responsibility heaped on to his
many
others; I feel like yet another millstone around his neck. I had hoped you
could tell me if
this is Gattonian normal for mates or whether I am doing something wrong," she
finished
in a soft whisper, refusing to meet their eyes.
"Catarina Achilles, you will stop that this instant. You are much more than
a
responsibility to Rocky. We raised him from an infant and know more about
him than
any other living soul and he cares for you deep ly, he just doesn't know what
to do about
it& or you," Marie hmmphed looking an awful lot like an older Merryweather in
Sleeping
Beauty.
"He s made it clear that I am nothing mo re than an obligation. A baby-making
machine to preserve his family s holdings a nd status, and to populate future
generations.
Where do you get that he ca res anything at all for me , beside my bloodline
and
reproductive capabilities," Cat demanded, eyes direct and hands clasped
together.
"Maybe he doth protest too much," Hele n suggested while giving her a moment
for her comment to sink in. "Has he told you anything about his family; about
how his
parents died, dearling?" Helen ventured, not sure how to pr esent the trauma
that Zorroc
had undergone at too young an age, but then, any age was too young to loose a
parent, let
alone both before you gained maturity.
"I know that you are his aunts, he mentione d a sister briefly but he hasn t
spoken
of his parents. I assume his father is dead or he wouldn t hold the rule;
aside from that,
he hasn t shared his life with me. We re like sexually ma ted strangers and
frankly, I am
at a loss as to how to proceed from here." She blew a wayward curl away from
her right
eye before proceeding to jump out of her seat and dart from one end of the
room to the
other, pausing briefly to collect her thoughts and proceed. "One moment he is
impossibly
gentle, kind, and attentive; like he truly does care for me, but in the next
he's spouting
bloodlines and procreation with no emotional attachment in evidence. He
turns himself
off completely. Can you tell me what I ha ve obviously missed?" she pleaded,
not sure
where the aunt's loyalties lay.
"Child, we will do all we can for both you and Zorroc; we love you both. [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]