Chapter 61
Gideon
Meanwhile back at the manor…
When Gideon was young, the world had praised him for how like his father he was. Griffin had always been well admired in their village. A former Valiant Knight, the local butcher, devoted husband and father.
Gideon used to find joy in being compared to the man.
Now, the thought of his father made him ill.
Scanning the note again, his eyes fell to the curling swoops of the penmanship.
Lyssa pushed open the doors to the private study they were newly allowed entry to, beams of drafty light from the windows shining on her flouncy dress. “This is all of them, Gideon.” She placed the rest of the notes she’d received on the mahogany table.
The room was thick with the smell of worn leather and parchment; it took Gideon back to a place he’d been once. Anywhere better than reading the coercive notes left for Lyssa to free Griffin Sage from The Villain’s custody.
Come at once, Lyssa! Your father needs you!
Lyssa, come see your father. He loves you dearly.
Don’t forget to come alone.
It was the last one that felt the most sinister—the desire to isolate her. “Are you angry with me?” Lyssa asked, folding her hands in front of her, biting her lip.
“No,” Gideon expressed vehemently. “I’m angry with the person who wrote you these notes.”
“Marv?” Lyssa scanned the papers beside him.
“I thought so. I think I still do. But Marv won’t be able to tell us anything until his poisoning is cured, and this handwriting—” Gideon pushed the notes closer to her, along with a formal report from Marvin.
“See here? I thought the handwritings matched, but on this report, Marv’s handwriting is scrawl compared to the penmanship in these notes. ”
“Oh.” Lyssa brightened. “It looks like this!” She pulled a handkerchief from her pocket and handed it over to her brother.
Gideon took it slowly, wondering what a piece of cloth had to do with anything, but when he laid the fabric flat against his open palm, the delicate seams sewn with bits of lace, he noticed that scrawled onto it were two words.
It’s Me.
And it was identical to the notes in front of him. “Lyssa, where did you get this?”
“I found it.” She looked like she was contemplating. “Why?”
“Because I think whoever wrote this was the same person who wrote your notes.”
His sister gave him a dubious glance, planting her hands at her sides. “You can tell that by two words?”
“Look for yourself.” Gideon gestured at a few specific flourishes, and Lyssa’s eyes widened.
“Wow.”
Yes. Wow.
Also?
Fuck.
Gideon took off his reading glasses in a huff of frustration. “I don’t see how I’m meant to figure out who wrote this.”
“Someone whose name starts with an E?” Lyssa guessed, and Gideon’s head shot up.
“Why do you think that?”
Lyssa pushed the handkerchief closer, and he squinted at it just a bit. And there it was: a small E sewn into the bottom.
“Who do we know whose name starts with an E?”
Keeley shoved the doors open, coming in with a grim frown. “I’m giving up. It’s been nearly a day. We’ve tracked the forest, but it’s fruitless. Fate is gone.”
“I just saw her,” Lyssa said, wandering over to one of the bookshelves to see the selection.
Keeley turned toward Lyssa dangerously slowly. “Lyssa…where did you see Fate?”
“Moira,” Lyssa corrected, not paying any mind to Keeley’s tone. A rubber ball, that one. “And she was in the kitchens with Edwin.”
Gideon turned toward Keeley, and she gaped at him, her mouth falling open. The look on her face was both comedic and alarming. “Captain? Are you unwell?”
“You wear reading glasses?” Keeley asked, pointing at the lenses like they were weapons of mass destruction.
Finally.
A pleasant discovery. “I do. Why? Do you think I look handsome?” Gideon grinned.
“Oh, Gideon.” Lyssa shook her head in disappointment.
“No,” Keeley bit out.
Absolutely yes. Gideon was never taking them off.
“E.” Lyssa gasped.
Gideon’s attention on the captain broke. “E…”
Lyssa was troubled when she motioned for the door. “Edwin.”
Gideon was correct. The answer was…wow.
But also?
Fuck.