Chapter Twenty-One #2
My heart was hammering in my chest, but Mr. Wexley was unfazed. “That being said, the pieces I do have…” He lowered his voice, looking me straight in the eyes. “Well, they are extremely precious to me.”
I’d never wanted to run away from something so badly in my entire life. Though no direct threat had been made, I couldn’t help feeling this meeting was meant as a warning, not the business proposition he’d implied. I set my teacup down, where it clattered loudly in its saucer, and started to rise.
“It was foolish of me to think I could be of any use to you,” I said. “You clearly have the means and access to acquire anything you desire, and while I do hope to add more items to my inventory, you’ve already said you don’t sell your pieces.”
“Oh dear, I’ve frightened you.” He steepled his hands and brought his forefingers to his mouth.
After a long moment, he lowered his hands.
“Please, stay. I have an offer to make you, Miss Stokes. One I wasn’t sure I would make until now.
But having spent some time with you, and knowing what kind of man your father was, I can’t think of anyone I’d rather make it to. ”
“An offer?” Reluctantly, I lowered myself, perching on the edge of the seat so that I could make a fast escape if necessary.
“As I mentioned, there is a much more important piece I have my eye on. Something so rare it is the only one of its kind in existence. I think you can imagine how enticing that is for someone like me, to be the sole owner of something. It is, in fact, my final objective. It will be the last item I ever collect.”
I shouldn’t have taken the bait, but I was rendered helpless by my curiosity. “What is it?”
“There is competition, of course,” he mused, ignoring me. “I’ll admit, there was a time I thought you were after my treasure, but I see now that’s impossible.” He frowned in mock sympathy. “You’re just an orphan, after all.”
“The offer?” I prodded, fully aware that whatever he was going to say, there would be strings firmly attached.
“Correct me if I’m wrong, but you strike me as the type of girl who would love to go on an adventure.”
“Oh, I—”
“Here is my proposal: Go to the Sapphire Isles in my stead. Find my prize, bring it to me, and I will reward you handsomely.”
I shook my head, utterly confused by where this conversation was going. “Why me? You could send one of your employees. Fromme seems more than up to the task.”
“Fromme isn’t particularly welcome in the Sapphire Isles,” he said, wincing theatrically. “As I said before, I believe we can be rather useful to each other.”
A dry laugh escaped me. “So you would entrust me—a perfect stranger—with your gold? How do you know I won’t simply run off with it myself?”
He took a seat again, leaning toward me as though we were old friends. “I understand that until recently, you had no idea who I was. But I’ve been following you for a long time, Miss Stokes. I’ve watched you grow into a shrewd businesswoman, with a keen eye for the magical.”
“That’s very kind, but—”
“I know for a fact you won’t run off with my gold, because you will not be purchasing this item. You will be stealing it.”
I couldn’t help it. I burst into laughter. I threw my hand over my mouth almost immediately, but it was too late. Something dark flashed in Mr. Wexley’s eyes.
“I’m sorry,” I said, hoping I sounded sufficiently contrite. “But I am no thief.”
“No? You didn’t fleece Mrs. Shilling by selling her hair removal cream?”
My stomach sank at his words. “That was different.”
“You didn’t sell a broom to an old man, only for it to cease working the next day?”
I cringed.
“I know everything that happens in this town, Miss Stokes,” he said.
“I know that you’ve somehow managed to make a killing these past weeks, selling items that have been gathering dust in your father’s shoppe for years.
Either you’ve been extremely lucky, and this is all a coincidence, or you’re pulling some kind of scheme. ”
“Now wait a minute, Mr. Wexley.”
He would not wait, it seemed. He hurtled onward, hardly giving me a moment to process his words. “I’m willing to stake my life on the fact that that foreign girl has something to do with your sudden change of fortunes.”
My fear returned, squashing down any other emotion. “Brianna? That’s not true. We’re running an honest shoppe, Mr. Wexley.”
He leaned back, as though he’d presented his case to the jury and was simply waiting for a judge to render a verdict.
“I know that’s what you want everyone to believe.
And I trust that if you could do everything aboveboard, you would.
You seem like a good lass, and you’re clearly loyal to dear old Edward.
But you know as well as I do that nothing comes freely in this world.
That honesty can only get you so far. You have ambitions, as I do.
Correct me if I’m wrong, but I don’t think they include settling down as someone’s wife.
” A look of compassion washed over his features.
“If you were my daughter, I wouldn’t want you to. ”
I felt as though Mr. Wexley was seeing straight into my soul, where all my ambition lay tucked under a veneer of practicality and loyalty to my father. Even still. “I can’t steal something, sir. I’ll be thrown in Blackbay Prison.”
“Only if you get caught.”
“But…” I glanced around the room desperately. “You’re rich!”
“I am. But the owner of this item has not been moved by my extremely generous offers.”
This item wasn’t even for sale? I was capable of many things, but I was not capable of stealing the rarest object on earth. How could I possibly have given the impression that I was?
“I’ll pay for your passage, of course, and your accommodation. The logistics will be handled entirely by me. You’ll leave next week. That should give you plenty of time to get your affairs in order.”
“Why would I do this for you?” I asked, still feeling as though I’d stumbled into someone else’s dream.
He grinned. “Because, Miss Stokes, I will give you my entire collection if you succeed.” He must have seen something he liked on my face because his smile widened. “That’s right. Every single item in my collection is yours, if you do this one small thing for me.”
My eyes scanned the room hungrily. I couldn’t even imagine the value. The suit of armor alone was worth a fortune. There were shelves crammed with objects, not to mention the grimoires …
This could solve everything. I would have plenty of inventory, and the profits to buy more, should I want to. The antidote to Bri’s curse could be here in this very room. A flood of possibility washed over me. One small indiscretion, and all that I wanted could fall into place.
My eyes flicked to Mr. Wexley. He was watching me, that sly grin still spread across his face. He’d already identified me as the perfect rube, someone who had a burning desire to increase my inventory and very little opportunity to do so.
I blinked and shook my head. If something sounded too easy, it usually was.
If it were that easy to get this object, he would have found someone else to do it.
Someone he didn’t consider disposable. After all, if I failed, there was one less competitor for him in the magical trade. “I’m sorry, Mr. Wexley, but—”
He rose from his chair and stood over me, suddenly looking impossibly tall. “Take some time to think about it, Miss Stokes.”
“There’s nothing to think about. I can’t do what you’re asking of me.”
“Nevertheless. For your sake, and your little foreign friend’s. Even Mr. Barrow and his poor, ill mother. I know how close you all are.”
My stomach plummeted at his words, and I became viscerally aware of the cold sweat under my arms. I rose on watery legs and forced myself to meet his eye.
He knew my weakness and how to exploit it.
But I’d be damned if I let him. “If you really knew me, Mr. Wexley, you’d know that I’m not close with anyone. ”
He flashed a tight smile that didn’t reach his eyes.
Somehow, I summoned the courage to walk past him. He followed me to the door, where Fromme was waiting.
“Goodbye, Miss. Stokes,” Wexley called as I crossed the threshold. “I’ll wait for your answer. After all, it would be such a shame if anyone were to discover how very much like your father you truly are.”