Chapter Twenty-Six
Mavis arrived at Mayles House late in the afternoon, having walked there from the hotel.
She’d spent the morning helping Rafe and Leif pack their things, which they managed to do with surprising swiftness—though perhaps it shouldn’t have been too surprising, given they could fit their lives in a single valise each while Mavis required at least two trunks to contain all of the gowns, shoes, cosmetics, and other trappings of a Luster heiress.
It had been among the most difficult roles she’d played so far, saying goodbye to them when they left for the train station, pretending like it wasn’t going to be the last time she saw them, but she’d done it.
With that out of the way, dealing with Thaddeus Mayles should have proven easy in comparison.
All she had to do was tell him she’d have the money in a few days—long enough to ensure Rafe and Leif were far enough gone—and then she could go home.
No one answered when she knocked on the door at Mayles House, not even when she tried a second time, rapping the brass knocker shaped like a drop of water against the lacquered wood as hard as she could.
She frowned, at a loss about how to proceed.
If not for the fact that she had seen the library lit up from the beach as she approached, she’d have assumed the house was empty.
But even if Thaddeus and Oriana were out, surely the staff would be in, cooking and cleaning.
As soon as she thought it, she wondered if the staff was still working, or if Thaddeus had reduced their numbers yet again to save what was left of his dwindling fortune.
Oh, she was sure he couldn’t survive without a handful of servants, but they were likely too busy with an abundance of new work to hear an errant knock—especially since it was nearly four in the afternoon, past the time for polite calling hours.
Mavis glanced up and down the beach, assuring herself that she was truly alone, and then she tried the door handle, reveling in a surge of triumph when she found it unlocked.
She slipped into the house, seeing no sign of the household, but she’d visited enough times to know her way around.
She took the stairs up to the second level, then walked down the hall, feeling her way along the dark hallway, noting the sconces were all unlit.
Thaddeus’s study was empty, as well as the greater and lesser parlors.
The library was the only room where a sliver of light seeped beneath the door.
This time, when she knocked, she only had to wait a matter of seconds before the door opened.
Oriana was dressed in a simple cotton dress the same shade of gray as her eyes, her hair loose around her shoulders as it had been when Mavis saw her at the wedding dress fitting.
“Delphinia,” Oriana said, her open expression puzzled. “What are you doing here?”
“I’m terribly sorry.” Mavis affected a sheepish smile. “I did try to knock downstairs, but no one answered. I was hoping to speak with your brother.”
“Oh.” Oriana’s eyes flickered behind Mavis to the dark, empty hallway. “Thaddeus is out. Several of the staff have come down with some illness, so we’re spread a bit thin today.”
Oriana didn’t bother to make the excuse sound real, and Mavis didn’t bother calling out the lie.
“I see.”
For a moment, she didn’t know what to say, and Oriana didn’t seem to know either.
She hadn’t spoken with the other woman since that day she tried on the damned wedding gown, when Oriana had all but outed her for a Lack.
She hadn’t, though, and when everything went back to normal between them afterward, Mavis told herself that she’d only imagined it.
Now, though, she wondered if Thaddeus had figured out who she was all on his own.
Oh, she knew he overheard her and Arden on the beach, but while she couldn’t remember the exact conversation they’d had, she very much doubted she’d given him enough to know as much as he had.
She had nothing else to lose now, but she could at least get the truth.
“Did you tell your brother about me?” she asked.
Oriana tilted her head and looked at Mavis with a furrowed brow. “What about you?”
“Don’t play the fool, Oriana,” Mavis said. “You don’t have the talent for it.”
For a beat, Oriana said nothing, then she leaned against the doorframe with a sigh. “Did I tell my brother that you were a Lack con artist who swindled half a dozen Luster gentleman across the country over the last five years and was doing the same to him?”
Mavis’s mouth dropped open. She’d thought Oriana might suspect pieces of the truth, but not damn near the entire thing.
“No,” Oriana continued. “I did tell him not to marry you, but obviously, he didn’t listen.”
Mavis didn’t know what to say except “It was nine men,” though it occurred to her as soon as the words left her mouth that perhaps it wasn’t the wisest correction to make.
Oriana shrugged. “Then three didn’t realize, or the papers didn’t pick up the stories.
” Mavis must have still looked confused because Oriana sighed.
“That was how I put it together—stories in different newspapers from different cities about broken engagements and runaway brides, all of whom bore a striking resemblance to you, with the same gift for illusions.”
Mavis knew that stories of Luster socialites’ scandalously broken engagements would make the papers, but it was only ever local news—how had Oriana Mayles found those stories? How had she pieced them all together? Despite herself, Mavis was impressed.
“Why didn’t you tell anyone?” It was far from the only question she had, but it felt like the only one that mattered.
Oriana’s gaze darted around the room, and the corners of her mouth pulled down into a frown. Finally, she shrugged. “I suppose I wanted to see how the story ended. Besides, I like you.”
Mavis laughed—she couldn’t help it. It was such an Oriana answer—romantic and fanciful and kind. “You don’t even know me.”
“Perhaps not,” Oriana allowed. “But I don’t think you deserve to spend your life in prison, despite everything.”
“If only your brother shared your morals,” she muttered under her breath.
Confusion flickered across Oriana’s face, but when Mavis told her that Thaddeus had threatened to have her arrested if she didn’t give him one million solas, she looked away, uncomfortable.
“He hasn’t been himself since our parents died.” She shook her head. “He’s angry and desperate, but this isn’t who he really is.”
How was it possible that someone as smart as Oriana, who could see the world with such clarity, couldn’t see the truth in someone so close to her.
“This is exactly who he really is,” Mavis told her.
To her credit, Oriana didn’t argue. “I’m sorry.”
But she wasn’t sorry enough to help, not sorry enough to go against her brother. At the end of the day, Mavis was just Lack dirt, and no matter what Arden said, Lusters always stuck by their own.
“Don’t be.” Mavis straightened up. “Just tell your brother I’ll get him his money before next week.”
Mavis started to leave, but Oriana’s voice stopped her. “What about Mr. Ryskamp?”
She turned. “What about Arden?”
“Anyone can see he cares for you. Perhaps he can help—”
“Arden can’t know about this.” Mavis’s voice came out sharper than she intended. “If you meant what you said, if you like me even a little bit, don’t tell him.”
Oriana frowned. “But—”
“Accept his proposal,” Mavis said. “He’s a good man and he’ll make you a good husband. Please.” The last word came out broken.
Oriana bit her lip. “I already sent word to Gellis House this morning, doing just that.”
Mavis managed a tight smile. One thing, at least, had gone right. “Good.”
Oriana paused. “I hope you know what you’re doing, Delphinia.”
So do I, Mavis thought as she made her way down the hall and back out into the Garlin sunshine.