Chapter 30 #2
“Ah. Very well, thank you.” Without another way to continue the conversation, she nodded her farewells and made off to fetch herself a glass.
This didn’t deter her, however, and she listened further where she could.
Something seemed amiss amongst the gossip this evening.
More glances seemed to come her way this evening.
No one had any particular topics to bring up, however, and she eventually left that evening wondering if her notes made any sense.
It was Octavia who helped piece it together with a heavy sigh and the proclamation, “I do wish people had less questions and more opinions.”
Verity shifted against her bench. “What is that supposed to mean?”
“Weren’t people talking to you this evening? Perhaps not. You’ve been smiling less.”
“What?”
As she felt her lips with a frown, her sister opened one of her closed eyes where she was slumped back in a most unladylike manner. “You’re like a nervous hen. I haven’t seen it since Elowen’s first season. Say, you never worried over me like that, did you?”
“No, I think you’re doing splendidly all on your own. You’re… what is that supposed to mean? Octavia, what were people talking about?”
“There were three people this evening that mentioned Uncle Will, that’s what. Really? No one asked you anything?”
Verity’s body stiffened at the mention of their uncle. She was brought back to the moment Dominic looked at her steady on with the truth he had seen the gentleman pass on from this life. Wrapping her arms around herself, she struggled to answer the question.
“I… I suppose they asked me about the duke. And our brother.”
“That, too. As if they’re more interesting than we could ever be,” Octavia added with a snort. She opened both eyes now to glance her over. “Is something amiss?”
“Why would you ask that?”
“Because nothing is amiss with you until it is too late. I don’t know anything until it’s too late, and I should very much like to be ahead on something someday.
We’re still grieving Uncle Will. We may not be wearing our arm bands any longer, but I still think of him often, you know.
I think we all do. He was a good man and investor. ”
That made her pause. “Investor?”
“Yes, I suppose he did quite a bit as a banker. I thought he merely worked on foreign merchant trades, but I suppose I was wrong. Someone mentioned he had helped them invest. We all knew Uncle Will liked to play with his cards close to his chest, after all.”
Swallowing, Verity looked out the window as she wondered about the puzzle inside her head. “Yes. He certainly did.”
His business required him to travel frequently, I recall. It made sense. He helped align financial trades and transactions for foreign deals. None of that should have impacted others, however. He wouldn’t have had a role as an investor. That’s different. So it can’t be right.
Which meant something was wrong. She simply didn’t know what it was. Not yet.
The rest of their conversation was a blur to Verity while she asked questions to see what else her sister knew. Octavia yawned a fair bit on their way back to the house, where she was finally dropped on. Only then did Verity turn the carriage toward her own home.
It was a short ride, but long enough to put her pen to paper. She scribbled and scribbled until her pen ran out of ink. Thank the lords she had removed her gloves seeing as her hands were covered in dark ink now.
Holding the sketchbook with her mind spinning, Verity entered her home. She nodded to the footman who took her shawl.
“You had a caller this evening, Your Grace,” he noted with a nod toward the serving tray. A single white card sat atop that she recognized.
It only took three steps for Verity to confirm that the card belonged to her brother. Cassian had come by. For her, not for her husband. She asked to confirm, “Did he see the duke?”
“No, Your Grace.”
More confounding. So he had come to talk to her after all. With a grimace, she wondered if he had known she was not at home. Could he have not stayed? These were hardly visiting hours. How obnoxious he could be.
“Is something amiss?”
“No, no, all is well,” she muttered while she wondered silently if it was even true.
The footman hesitated for a spell before offering a slight nod. He stepped back and waved toward the hall. “Your maid is ready in your chambers, Your Grace.”
She nodded. “Thank you. Can the kitchens have tea prepared? I shall not retire quite yet.”
Because the carriage ride had been quite enlightening.
There were new names at play. New ideas.
New information. She didn’t know what was truth yet, but she felt confident she could make sense of it.
Or pieces of it. Her heart pounded. A thrill of hope soared through her chest while she thought about her new piece and how she could…
Faltering on the first step, Verity considered her husband.
Their conversation had been painfully enlightening.
Her heart still ached. Though she’d come to enjoy her sister’s company, she’d struggled in the beginning while wondering what Octavia knew.
But it was evident too soon that she couldn’t know a thing.
Her sister had never been good at keeping secrets.
Cassian on the other hand…
Huffing in frustration as she realized what she needed to do, Verity stepped off the stairs. And then she picked up her skirts to make her way to the study where she had glimpsed a thin strip of light from beneath the door.
She strode in without knocking this time. “Dominic.”
Lifting his eyes from the book in his hands, her husband said mildly, “Verity.”
“My uncle was an investor.”
“Was he?”
Her mouth dried. She swallowed painfully before stepping into the room further, closing the door behind. This seemed to mean something to her husband. As he straightened up and set the book down, she moved closer.
“I think someone was talking about him tonight. They wouldn’t continue the conversation with me there. And others were asking my sister about him.”
“Why wouldn’t they ask you?”
She gave a weak smile. “I’m a duchess who publicly doesn’t approve of gossip. People don’t actually tell me anything. It’s a lot of work to learn what I do.”
He relaxed. “I see.”
This left the two of them staring at one another.
Verity wished he would speak, to tell her all that she didn’t know.
She still had questions. They both knew he had the answers.
And yet he said nothing, though his gaze shifted down to her notebook that she carried in her hands.
It made no sense to hide it before him now since he knew of her secret.
It should never have happened this way! I don’t think I can ever forgive him for this. For learning my secret and sheltering his just so… When will I learn yours, Dominic?
Verity pushed back her fears and her doubts when realizing she would need to trade those away to find her answers. Carefully she set the notebook on the edge of the desk.
“What is it?” Dominic asked after a pregnant pause.
“People are talking, and I think… I think you’re right. That I went too far. I have to get ahead of it.”
He sighed and leaned back. “I don’t know, Verity. Sometimes the more you try to clean up a mess, the bigger you can make it.”
“Just read what I have and let me know what you think,” she pressed. “I need to publish again. If I don’t continue the topic, people will question. They’ll wonder how and why I was silenced. But this… Just read it, please. I need to submit something tomorrow.”
Realization settled over him. “You’re trusting me with your work?”
She might not have spent a long time considering her options, but they were far and in between now. With a forced smile, Verity nodded. “I expect this returned in the morning. Good night.”
And then she left him there, praying she was doing the right thing.