“Please, Count, threaten me some more.”
Henri laughed.
I could only reflect the desire I saw in his eyes in my own. I wanted him. All of him. But I knew that I couldn’t possibly give in to my impulses until I’d spoken to Bram. He deserved that at least.
Henri seemed to read my thoughts; his mouth tightened. “Of course, I don’t want to pressure you. I’ll let you set the tone. You are the marquis, after all.”
“Ugh,” I put a hand to my head. “You and your sister are never going to lay off the teasing, are you?”
Henri’s smile returned. “Absolutely not.” He grabbed the sides of my face and gave me a kiss on the forehead before leaving me in the room by myself, blushing furiously.
That evening at supper, it was announced that the wedding would take place the following morning. They were so in love they couldn’t wait any longer to be married.
“In love with her money,” I told Henri.
Henri stifled a laugh.
Any thoughts of corrupting me with kisses were postponed, as we both needed sleep for the early day ahead.
The next morning, we congregated at the nearby chapel where Father Schedoni himself officiated the wedding between Count Montoni and my aunt. The wedding was small, just the siblings, myself, and the servants, but my aunt didn’t seem to mind. She was beaming from ear to ear, and I almost felt …happyfor her? It was a strange feeling. She’d been a source of anxiety and fear for so long now, but she was family, and seeing her married was oddly emotional. I knew that she wouldn’t be happy with Montoni. The count would be disheartened when he learned that my aunt likely did not have the money necessary to pay off his gambling debts. She wouldn’t have access to my inheritance but for the amount necessary to maintain La Vallée, which she had obviously seen fit to forgo. I wasn’t sure what that meant for Château le Blanc, or for Henri and Blanche. I could only hope that things would somehow work out, or that enough money would be procured from my aunt to put off creditors for a time.
That evening, we had a feast, and several neighbors arrived to partake in the celebratory dinner. As the night wore on, Montoni disappeared into his office, before Aunt Cheron, rather AuntMontoni,was summoned to attend to him. Soon after, Henri, Blanche, and I were ordered to the library for a family meeting.
Grimes was in the library when we arrived, speaking with an enraged Montoni, grinding his teeth.
“What’s this now?” Henri asked as he took a seat beside his sister. I sat in a chair near my aunt, who looked distracted and a little pale.
Grimes looked up at Henri, then glanced at Montoni, as if for permission to speak. Montoni waved a hand at him.
“It appears,” Grimes said, clearing his throat, “that some things were found in Fournier’s room when it was being cleared out, that are rather alarming.”
I perked up. Perhaps there was evidence of his murder yet.
“Does it point to his current whereabouts?” Blanche asked.
“Er, no. There was some gold paint and a stash of silverware beneath his bed.”
I had expected something like this. I’d given Annette the go-ahead to inform Grimes of the scheme we’d uncovered, since I didn’t see the point in putting it off longer. What I hadn’t expected was for Fournier to be involved. “Gold paint? What does that mean?” I asked, feigning ignorance. I glanced at Henri, only to find that he’d gone pale, as had Blanche. Was I missing something?
Montoni tsked. “What it means is that Fournier was planning to paint silverware gold and swap it with some of our very expensive gold sets.”
“So, he was a thief,” my aunt said, sniffing. “It makes sense that he would run off then.”
I caught a shared look between Henri and Blanche before Henri smiled tightly. “I wonder why he would leave without making the switch first. He must have lost out on quite a bit of money.” His tone was goading, as if trying to solicit a response from their uncle. How curious.
“That’s not the point,” Montoni growled. “One of our servants saw fit to try and steal out from under our very noses. And that is money that we do not have to lose, if the finances I looked over this evening are any indication.”
Blanche frowned. “What are you saying, Uncle?”
“That Madame Cheron may haveexaggeratedher fortune.”
“I only ever said that I was well off,” my aunt protested. “I never said that I was rolling in money. And I did not expect to be married to a man in so much debt that he would need me to bail him out.”
Blanche put a hand to her head. “Your infernal gambling. Why must you take such chances, Uncle?”
“Do not dare speak to me of how I conduct myself,” Montoni sneered. “It’s by my charity that you’ve been allowed to participate in this season’s balls. I could have just as easily been rid of you and sent you to a ladies’ seminary. Or perhaps take the veil. Father Schedoni would be pleased to preserve your virtue, I’m sure.”
Blanche looked away, chagrined.
