Free The Impatient Lord by Michelle M. Pillow

Great Lord of the Redding, demanded the customary pleasantries—not that there was much pleasantness to the great lord. In fact, the man was as emotionless as his daughter had been when she’d first arrived at the Breeding Festival. Mirek had almost rather invited the Lithorians over for drinks and stare sideways for an hour while reciting the proper talking phrases. At least at the end of that meeting the women would have their chocolate.
    Then again, Great Lord of the Redding was assisting them with ridding Qurilixen’s mines of an alien menace. The Tyoe aliens had tried to take over their ore mines and had pumped nasty chemicals into their mountains to do it. Clara’s species of humanoid had telepathic powers that interfered with the Tyoe’s biochemistry, basically boiling them from the inside without having to touch them. Needless to say, the Tyoe did not want to fight the Redde armies in battle and had flown away as fast as their gelatinous little bodies could take them.
    Mirek reminded himself to be a little more understanding of the Redde’s stoic ways. And technically, these people were family since Lady Clara had married Mirek’s brother, Vlad. Even now, after she’d settled into her marriage, it was hard to determine what Clara was thinking. He’d give her credit for trying to smile, but sometimes the gesture seemed forced, giving credence to the fact she’d not been allowed to show her emotions growing up.
    Despite her limitations when it came to facial expressions , Clara was a very caring person. She visited Riona every day, even though the sleeping lady was a stranger to her. That alone gave Mirek a high opinion of his new sister. So when she’d asked him to greet her parents, he’d agreed without question.
    They were in the scroll room, one of the few rooms in the fortress home that the visitors deemed suitable to their nobility. Mir ek suspected it had to do more with the comfort of the wide chairs to accommodate the great lady’s large clothing than anything else. Mirek watched as Clara lifted her hand and let her wrist hover before her mother’s painted face. Their towering wigs had amused him at first. He remembered thinking his nephews might have cone-shaped heads.
    Great Lady Jaene’s dress must have weighed more than her spaceship. It was constructed with more jewels than material. The heavy stones formed a giant fat bell of a skirt and glistened in the light when she moved. It was the same type of dress Clara had donned at her wedding. Now Clara wore a shapeless bag of pink and purple stripes over her frame, which she referred to as a traditional Redde maternity gown, due to her advancing pregnancy. Otherwise pregnant-shaped daughter bell would probably fall over trying to lift her hand forward to greet mother bell. Both women’s faces were pale from white paint with bright spots of color to accent the cheeks, lashes and lips.
    Clara did not dress like a Redde noblewoman when her parents were gone. In fact, Mirek thought her much happier when her parents were away. Or rather, she looked happier.
    “ Welcome to my home, Great Lady,” Clara said solemnly to her mother, not showing any emotion in her expression. The Redde people did not do anything warmly.
    Jaene lifted her hand to greet her daughter, holding her wrist out to hover before Clara’s face before letting it fall. They didn’t touch. In a whisper Mirek could easily hear, the visiting lady said, “I am glad to see the barbarians let you have your cosmetics.”
    “ I had them on last time you visited,” Clara reminded her.
    “ But not the first time. I still dream ill from seeing your naked flesh.” Jaene gave a sidelong glance to Mirek. This was the third time Great Lord and Lady had deigned to visit their daughter’s new home world. If there was affection in the family, Mirek couldn’t see it. Great Lord acted more concerned with his powdered wig and long jacket remaining immaculate than his daughter’s new life.