19. Tristan
Chapter nineteen
Tristan
I wait until Piper has gone upstairs and the castle has settled around her.
The grandfather clock in the library strikes ten.
Far above me, her footsteps cross the guest chamber. Water runs briefly through the pipes. A drawer closes. Then her heartbeat gradually slows as she drifts toward sleep.
I still feel her kiss on my lips.
Only when Mrs. MacLeod extinguishes the lamps in the east corridor do I dial Duncan’s private number.
"My Lord, good evening."
"Do you have any updates on the property situation?"
"Nothing of consequence. The courts are examining some documents. I have inquiries with the banks. I meet with a judge tomorrow …"
I cut him off. "… I have news, Duncan..."
A brief silence settles between us.
"What is it?" Duncan asks.
“Sebastian Ashcroft contacted Piper this evening.”
There is no surprise in his voice as he asks, “What did he say?”
I recount Sebastian Ashcroft's email almost word for word.
Duncan says nothing until I've finished. When he finally speaks, his voice is calm.
“Sebastian was among the names I suspected of this fiasco,” Duncan says. “But I did not expect him to declare himself so quickly.”
“The invitation was not social.”
“No. It was a flag planted in disputed ground.”
"I agree."
“Sebastian is not inviting Miss Monroe to dinner. He is inviting her to be seen accepting his hospitality.”
“She will not understand the distinction.”
“But every House will.”
I lean back in the library chair, looking toward the fire.
"Precisely."
I close my eyes for a moment.
“I advised her not to accept and she agreed…”
"Had she accepted..."
“Half the Council would assume Glenhaven was leaning toward House Ashcroft before dessert was served.”
“The Ninth Seat exists to break a divided Council,” Duncan says. “When the eight Houses stand four against four, as they often do, Glenhaven decides the matter. Always has, as the ninth House. If they believe Piper owns Glenhaven and has that vote…”
“Yes, it’s dangerous for her. As someone clearly planned.”
The elegance of Sebastian’s invitation almost irritates me. No threats. No violence. Only appearances to the other houses.
"We've become bankers instead of warlords."
Duncan huffs darkly. “The tailoring has improved,” Duncan says. “The appetite has not. I've been tracing the estate records, my Lord."
"What have you found?"
"So far, nothing illegal."
I sit forward.
“They waited for ordinary vacancies,” Duncan says. “Retirements. Deaths. Promotions. Corporate reorganizations.”
“And filled each one with someone useful.”
“Not always someone loyal. Sometimes merely someone careless. Sometimes someone frightened. Someone bribable. One appointment at a time, spread across decades.”
“So slowly that no individual change appeared significant.”
I look toward the files stacked on the table. Each decision lawful. Each alteration minor. Together they form a noose.
“I should have seen it.”
“You entrusted the work to honorable people.”
“And I stopped watching.”
“The dishonorable ones counted on both. They replaced everyone around Glenhaven. Humans and vampires and others. Bribes, methods of influence, a nudge here, a threat there. One appointment at a time. So slowly that no one noticed."
I rub a hand across my jaw.
"How many Houses are involved?"
"I can't prove anything. But I doubt Sebastian acted alone. He never does. He has influence over at least two other Houses."
Duncan hesitates, then asks quietly, “How much have you told Miss Monroe about the Council? Or the Houses. What you are?”
“Nothing.”
My hand tightens around the telephone.
“It’s too early. She’s only been here days, Duncan. This must be thought out carefully. It’s delicate and dangerous for her. And if we find a remedy so she doesn’t own Glenhaven, there’s no reason to tell her."
He pauses.
"My Lord ... you cannot delay forever. She’s already being approached as though she understands the game.”
“She does not even know there is a game.”
“The annual Convocation is only six weeks away. Sebastian will not wait six weeks.”
“No,” I say. “He will manufacture a reason for the Council to convene sooner.”
"The agenda already promises difficulty. It contains three matters likely to divide the Houses evenly. And it includes a challenge to the neutrality provisions.”
“The deed of ownership to Glenhaven Castle carries the right to claim the Ninth Seat,” Duncan says.
“Provided the Council recognizes the claimant.”
“Recognition has never been tested separately from the Keepership. The owner of Glenhaven and the Keeper have always been the same person.”
“Until Piper, if her purchase is considered legal.”
“Aye.”
Somewhere above me Piper sleeps peacefully, blissfully unaware that she has accidentally stepped into a dangerous constitutional crisis.
“She still believes she purchased a unoccupied castle because someone mishandled the estate. Now she knows someone sold her an occupied home. But she does not yet know they may have sold her a political office.”
"They won't come for just Glenhaven, my laird. They'll come for Piper."
The certainty in his words chills me more than the rain beyond the glass.
"They'll charm her. They'll educate her. They'll flatter her. They'll convince her they're her friends and allies. Or some will be more difficult. And even dangerous."
"There is one advantage,” Duncan says.
"I'm listening."
“She’s under your protection.”
“That did not prevent Ashcroft from contacting her.”
“No. But it forced him to ask rather than take.”
His confidence is comforting. His next words are not.
"They've already made their first move."
I nod slowly, though he cannot see me. "The next one will be bolder. So you must prepare."
"I intend to."
"And Tristan..."
His voice changes. No longer solicitor or advisor, but now a friend.
"Don't let Sebastian discover you've already begun caring for her."
I remain silent. Because silence is answer enough, then say, "I dislike perceptive solicitors."
“Aye, my friend.”
We exchange a few final words before ending the call.
The library falls silent once more. I glance toward the fountain pen Piper gave me earlier that evening. It rests upon my desk. Such a small gift. So easily overlooked. And yet...
I haven’t stopped thinking about it. Nor the woman who gave it to me. I lift it from the box and test the nib against the paper.
The ink flows cleanly at once. A small thing. Useful. Thoughtful. Chosen because she had looked at me and noticed something.
I have received estates, horses as gifts, titles, weapons, gold and pledges of loyalty. I cannot remember a gift that unsettled me this much.
Outside, the rain continues falling over Glenhaven Castle. Somewhere beyond the Highlands, Sebastian Ashcroft has already begun making plans.
Sebastian Ashcroft believes he has found the easiest path to Glenhaven and power.
Charm the woman. Claim the vote. Remove the Keeper. Take power.
He has forgotten one thing. I have spent six centuries remaining neutral. I have never promised to remain harmless.