Chapter 3 #2
The night of Mikhail’s wedding, she’d said she didn’t want Bryony to know about them, but it was starting to feel like he didn’t have a choice.
Should he pull his newest sister-in-law aside after dinner, explain the letters, and ask her to meet Rosalind on the usual day and time in his stead?
Rosalind might not show up, since she knew he’d be out of town, but maybe she’d go to the cove anyway, just to spend a little time by herself.
She always seemed to enjoy the walk out there.
Besides, it just might be easier for Rosalind to keep her typical schedule.
It was already hard enough for her to get away from her father, but he was used to Rosalind visiting Millicent once a month.
What her father didn’t know was that Rosalind and Millicent’s visit took up only half the time Rosalind was gone.
Walking out to the beach where she typically met Yuri might be easier than changing her schedule and then needing to answer her father’s questions.
“You’ve been quiet tonight, Yuri.”
Yuri snapped his head up to find Alexei watching him.
“That’s not like you.”
“I’m just thinking,” Yuri muttered, reaching for his drink.
“Don’t hurt yourself,” Sacha snapped.
Yuri rolled his eyes. “I am capable of deep thought from time to time.”
“That’s debatable,” Mikhail murmured.
“No, Yuri’s right.” Evelina sent him a sickeningly sweet smile. “He had a deep thought just last month at Thanksgiving.”
“Exactly.” Yuri puffed out his chest. “And I’ve been recovering ever since.”
Bryony shook her head. “You’re all impossible.”
Kate smirked, then reached over and squeezed Nathan’s arm. “At least my husband was raised properly.”
Nathan grinned. “That’s why I married into the family. Someone needed to bring civility to this lot.”
Bryony snorted. “I think you failed.”
Laughter erupted around the table, but Yuri barely heard it. He was back to thinking about Rosalind and the letters.
By the time the meal was finished, Yuri still hadn’t decided whether to tell Bryony about Rosalind’s letters. Everyone around him was cleaning up, but he stood against the hutch, drinking a second cup of tea and observing the activity when Mikhail came up beside him.
“Can I talk to you for a few minutes?” Mikhail’s voice was low and severe.
Too severe. Yuri didn’t need some other serious thing to deal with, at least not until he’d figured out what to do about Rosalind’s letters. He tilted the side of his mouth up into a smirk before even looking at Mikhail.
“Talk to me? Why? And why do you look so serious? Wait, don’t tell me.” Yuri snapped his fingers. “You spent the day with Alexei, didn’t you?”
Mikhail rolled his eyes. “Just meet me in Alexei’s study.”
He widened his eyes. “That does sound serious. I’d best bring my tea with me. Sounds like I might need some liquid courage for this conversation.”
Mikhail just shook his head and left the kitchen muttering something under his breath that Yuri wasn’t sure he wanted to hear.
Yuri lingered in the kitchen a few seconds longer, then pushed himself off the hutch and followed Mikhail down the hallway. He had no clue what his brother wanted to talk to him about, and he’d only been half joking about bringing the tea with him for courage.
Alexei’s study was quieter than the rest of the house, closed off from the chatter and laughter still coming from the kitchen.
Yuri would have closed the door behind him, but Bryony rushed into the room before he could shut it.
“Did he tell you? I’m so sorry, Yuri. I didn’t mean to do it. It was an accident.”
“Didn’t mean to do what?” Yuri swung his gaze to Mikhail, who was standing beside Alexei’s desk holding a letter.
“Bryony accidentally opened one of your letters this afternoon.”
That’s what this was about? A letter? He’d already received all six of Rosalind’s letters for the month of December, so whatever Bryony had opened would be harmless.
So why did Bryony and Mikhail look so serious? “That’s all right, love.” He flashed Bryony a smile, trying to set her at ease. “You’re more than welcome to read my mail, either on accident or on purpose. I’m not writing any—”
His mouth closed the moment he saw the return address on the outside of the envelope. No. This couldn’t be. He’d already gotten Rosalind’s letter acknowledging her donation to the orphanage in New York City this month.
So why was Mikhail handing him a second letter with their return address?
Yuri reached out and took it. Sure enough, the top of the envelope had a clean slice right down the middle.
What did the letter say?
It didn’t matter. He didn’t know what any of the letters said.
Just because they were addressed to him didn’t mean they actually belonged to him.
He’d been helping Rosalind with her letters for three years, and he’d never read a single one.
That had been her only stipulation when she’d come to him asking for help.
“Are you talking about the letters already?” The study door opened, and Sacha stepped inside.
Alexei followed behind Sacha and sent Mikhail a glare. “I told you to wait for us.”
Mikhail scowled right back. “You shouldn’t have disappeared to the office after supper.”
Alexei didn’t bother to answer Mikhail. Instead he turned to Yuri. “So? What do you have to say for yourself? Why is there a letter addressed to you but clearly meant for Rosalind Caldwell? And why does it mention a twelve-hundred-dollar donation?”
“Twelve hundred dollars?” Yuri squeaked. That’s how much the donation was? He took a gulp of tea, never mind the liquid was still hot enough to scorch his mouth.
“Sit.” Alexei jabbed his finger at the chair in front of his desk. “You’d better start explaining.”
“There’s nothing to explain. It’s not my letter, and I don’t know anything about it. Bryony shouldn’t have opened it, but it was an honest mistake. I’m sure Rosalind will understand.”
At least he hoped she would. Still, it felt like he’d done something wrong. The only thing she’d asked of him was that he not open the letters, and here one had gotten opened, even if it was by accident.
“Wait.” Yuri set his cup on the desk and stood right back up, his eyes narrowed on Alexei. “You just said the letter mentioned a twelve-hundred-dollar donation. How would you know that unless you read it?”
“Of course I read it.” Alexei shoved a hand his direction. “You’re getting mail intended for our enemy but addressed to you.”
“Rosalind’s not our enemy. Her father might be a snake, but she couldn’t be more different from him, and you still had no business reading her mail.”
“I’m the one who read it, at least at first.” Bryony twisted her hands in front of her skirt. “It really was an accident, though. I promise. It was in a stack of other mail, and I didn’t realize it was for you—or her—or whoever the letter’s actually for until I’d opened it and started reading.”
Yuri dropped his head into his hands. “It’s for her. I don’t have anything to do with what’s in the letters. I just mail them and receive them every month under my name and with my address so that her father doesn’t find out.”
“Them?” Alexei snapped. “You mean there’s more than one letter, and you get and send them every month?”
He pressed his eyes shut. Why had he just said that? “Never mind. It doesn’t matter.”
“Actually, I think it does matter.” Alexei took a step closer to him. “Is Rosalind only donating to this one charity, or are there more? And how large are the sums?”
“And why are you involved in any of this?” Sacha scratched the side of his beard.
“Is it her father’s money?” Mikhail asked. “Because if it is, and he doesn’t know what she’s doing with it, and you’re somehow involved, that sounds like a recipe for another lawsuit.”
“Or maybe Caldwell will find a way to skip the lawsuit and toss you into jail like he did with Sacha and Mikhail,” Alexei muttered.
Yuri gripped the back of his neck. It wasn’t as bad as all that, was it?
“We’re looking at this two different ways.
You’re seeing it as a harmless donation receipt and a thank-you note for monies donated throughout the year, but it doesn’t change the fact that you’re sending and receiving these letters in secret for the daughter of someone who wants to ruin our family.
” Alexei pointed back to the chair in front of the desk. “Sit back down and start talking.”
Yuri glanced around the room, taking in his brothers and Bryony, who was standing against the wall, as far away from the commotion as she could manage. They weren’t going to let him leave until he told them everything.
Perhaps it was because they loved him. Perhaps it was because they were a close family that always tangled themselves in each other’s lives. Or perhaps it was because they weren’t a family that carried secrets.
Whatever the reason, he saw no way out of this—other than starting at the very beginning.
He pressed his eyes shut. Dear Father, please help Rosalind to understand what I’m about to do.
Then he opened his mouth and started talking.