Chapter Twenty-Six #2
Scarlett paused for a beat before answering.
“I’ll check the bank records. I do know Laylani had her own accounts, and it’d be unusual if she hadn’t used those for the doctor, given the circumstances.
It’s worth a double check though. And I appreciate the suggestion to strip her account access, although I’m sure she’d see that as me declaring war. ”
Elestine nodded thoughtfully. “You want to keep things neutral until it serves you. Fair. At least adjust so she requires a cosigner on purchases over a certain threshold. I think Jules had that in place already, but it’s worth double-checking.”
This knowledge struck Scarlett as odd. “Thanks.” She paused before asking, “How do you know he had a cosigner requirement?”
Elestine blinked several times, then her face brightened. “I overheard a bit of a lads’ chat in the canteen. They were discussing their wives’ allowances.” She rolled her eyes.
“I see.” Except it didn’t sound like any “canteen chat” her father would’ve engaged in. She’d known him to be highly private about his finances.
“Anyhow,” continued Elestine, “while you start with that, I’ll bring some colleagues I trust into the conversation. Lord Navarre and Lord Garfield to start. They’re quite influential, and getting them onside will be key if we’re to launch a formal investigation.”
Scarlett’s tension eased. Elestine was taking her worries seriously. “Thank you. Oh, and what about Lord Mayweather? I interned for him last year and consider him a friend.”
“Mayweather is a good shout. I’ll include him.”
Scarlett shifted in her seat. “Thank you. And can I ask, please, that you speak of this to no one else? The last thing we need is Moira Ashworth catching wind of it. We’re taking precautions, but I’m concerned for my family’s safety.”
“Of course.”
A knock at the door interrupted them.
“Come in,” called Elestine.
Alastair strode through the door. He stumbled, nearly falling as he clocked Scarlett. “You’re back.” He looked her up and down as if searching for injuries.
She froze. Only a month or so apart, and how her attachment to him had changed. The invisible cord that had once connected them was gone, severed by their breakup, leaving behind only nostalgia for the time they’d shared. Some of her anger had faded too in the time since their last fight.
Her heart was also forever changed. She belonged to Brayden, and no one else. Alastair might not yet know it, but any possibility between them had withered and died in Clair de Lune.
“Scarlett.” He said her name reverently, approaching like he wanted to hug her, but she stayed seated in the chair across from his mother. “I’m so sorry for everything, and I’m so glad you’re here and all right. Is your grandmother well? And Beni?”
“They’re both fine. Thank you.” Scarlett didn’t trust herself to say much more.
Alastair held his arms open, offering her a hug.
At first she went to decline, but was that really how she wanted to behave?
Didn’t she want to someday be his friend?
She gave in to his expectant hovering and stood.
He embraced her without hesitation. The scent of the neroli-and-bergamot cologne he’d always worn washed over her like a breathy kiss from the past, reminding her of their old closeness.
Then she stepped back, and the smell faded.
Alastair grabbed her left hand. Brayden’s ring sparkled even in the dim office light. “That’s pretty. Did you get it in Clair de Lune?”
Scarlett swallowed. “Yes.”
He raised an eyebrow. “You should wear it on another finger. People will think we got engaged.” He said the words reproachfully, but there was hope in his expression.
“She’s not pretending to be engaged to you, spoiled man-child,” said Nori with venom.
Scarlett glanced at Elestine, whose attention flitted nervously between Scarlett and her son. “I got married in Clair de Lune,” she said.
“What? Married? You can’t be serious.” Alastair’s face blanched.
Elestine covered her lips with one hand.
Scarlett raised her hands palms-up. “We fell for each other in Clair de Lune, and it wasn’t safe for me to return to Soleil alone, so we decided to marry.” Her gut twisted at having to minimize her relationship with Brayden, but she ignored it. She didn’t owe Alastair the entire explanation.
“Tell me it isn’t so.” He grabbed her by the shoulders, his fingers digging into her skin. “You married that forest trash you were always blathering to through that godforsaken mirror?”
Scarlett froze, shocked by his cruel words. She never should have told him about the mirror, but they’d been so close he’d known everything about her.
“Alastair.” Elestine’s voice was full of reproach. “You were raised better than that. And must you have this conversation now?”
Pressure bloomed behind Scarlett’s eyes, indicating the start of a headache.
“He’s not forest trash, you bigot. Don’t forget, I’m from Clair de Lune too.
If you want to be on speaking terms with me, don’t ever insult us like that again.
” She tried to jerk out of his grasp, but he continued to grip her shoulders, making her wince.
She couldn’t believe he was behaving like this.
“Are you sure he didn’t compel you with magic?” Alastair’s eyes were wild.
“Let me go!” She finally wrenched herself out of his grip and pushed him away. “And of course he didn’t force me. I didn’t want to rub this in your face, but if you must know, he loves me, and I love him. More than anything.”
“How can you love him? You barely know him,” growled Alastair.
“You said it yourself. I was always blathering to him through my godforsaken mirror. Things were obvious to us once I arrived in Clair de Lune.”
“So you married him after, what, a week?” Alastair turned from her and dug his hands in his hair, staring at the ceiling.
“I can’t believe you don’t see he must have compelled you.
We were together for three years and you still weren’t ready to get engaged, and now you’ve permanently tied yourself to him?
Please tell me you plan to get it annulled. ”
“I was afraid for my life, and he wanted to be there for me. I won’t—”
“You could have come to me.” Alastair interrupted her, his eyes flashing. “Despite our fight, my family would have protected you. Surely, you knew that.”
“Then where were you when my little brother needed you?” she hissed. “When I needed you? Maybe if you’d been there for him, I wouldn’t have been in a coma for weeks while Beni was sitting there alone thinking I was about to die!”
He recoiled as if she’d slapped him.
Elestine rose to stand between them. “Let’s pause for now, shall we?
This won’t be productive with emotions running so high.
” She looked between them both. “Scarlett, there’s a budget-committee meeting in half an hour that we should attend together, and if you’d like to have a working lunch together later—”
“They caught the shooter,” said Alastair, folding his arms across his chest.
Scarlett’s lips parted in shock, and Elestine gasped.
“Your father’s assassin—they caught him. I came in here to tell you, Mother. The bureau called to let Parliament know before they speak to the press. It’ll be public knowledge soon.”
Alastair paused for a beat, and it was Scarlett’s turn to recoil as she froze, waiting for him to go on as her heart raced.
“Soleil counterintelligence decoded some electronic communications between Sigur Vieur agents and discovered detailed records of their assassination plans, as well as confirmation after he was shot.”
Scarlett sank into her chair, the shock of it making her unsteady on her feet.
“Why would Sigur Vieur do that?” It didn’t make any sense.
She’d been so sure, deep in her gut, that everything was connected.
Her mother’s death, her abduction, and her father’s murder.
The news about Sigur Vieur felt all wrong.
“Follow your intuition,” said Nori. “Push for more information until you’re satisfied.”
Alastair’s blue-eyed gaze locked with hers.
“The motive hasn’t been discovered yet, but the agent I spoke to from the bureau thought Sigur Vieur didn’t like the idea of an alliance between everyone but them, which may have occurred had your father lived.
If the economic union eventually became a military alliance, for example, that group of countries would be a formidable player on the world stage. ”
“Did they give you a copy of the communications between the Sigur Vieur agents?” Were all her suspicions wrong?
“No. I spoke to them over the phone, but I’m sure they’ll supply the comms if we ask.”
Elestine turned to Scarlett, her gaze piercing. “Given what we’ve discussed, I’ll call John Bates and insist the bureau release all the evidence to Parliament. And of course, we’ll speak to the Sigur Vieur ambassador.” John Bates was in charge of the Soleil Bureau.
Scarlett’s features were wooden as she tried to process this confusing development. “Yes, let’s insist. Thank you.”
When Scarlett, Alastair, and Elestine arrived at the budget-committee meeting, one of the lords lingering in the standing area at the back of the room made a beeline for Scarlett.
“Welcome to Parliament, my dear,” said the elderly, white-haired man with tiny round spectacles. His name popped into Scarlett’s head: Lord Otis Garfield. They’d met a few times at state dinners.
“Thank you,” said Scarlett warmly.
“Looking forward to working with you. I heard they caught your father’s assassin. I can’t believe we lost him to those devils in the north.”
Scarlett took his offered hand. “Yes, it’s quite a shock. I’m keen to hear more from the bureau. Lord Garfield—”
“Otis,” he interjected. “No need to stand on ceremony when it’s just us peers.”
He’d casually called her a peer. How long would it take to get used to that?
“Thank you, Otis.”
Several more members of Parliament greeted her before she managed to sit. Many peers blatantly stared at her.