“Me specifically or MII in general?”
“Both.”
Intriguing. “In what capacity?”
Another slight hesitation. There was something deceptively delicate about Diana. She was a small woman, short and petite. The contours of her face were soft, her features classically attractive: large, beautiful eyes, a small, slightly upturned nose, a full mouth with a bare hint of pink lipstick. She looked as if she were teetering on the edge, torn between wanting to keep her secret and asking for help. She could’ve played a princess in a medieval drama, the kind who had suffered an injustice and needed a strong ally. The kind who would inspire the audience to root for her.
It was a front. Augustine was absolutely sure of it. If he became an enemy, Diana Harrison would attempt to kill him without a moment’s hesitation. She was trying to entice him to help her and make her request a priority, and she was very subtle about it.
Common wisdom held that animal mages didn’t understand human emotions. They formed bonds with animals through the power of their magic, and that process fundamentally altered their thinking, stunting their emotional development and making their interactions with other people difficult. Interacting with Cornelius, Diana’s brother, had convinced Augustine that there were exceptions to that rule. Apparently, Diana was cut from the same cloth.
He knew a great deal about her, and at the same time very little. They’d met on three occasions prior to today, and his longest interaction with Diana had happened when they signed the pact of friendship between their two Houses. The alliance was initiated by Cornelius, who had become convinced that having powerful connections was the best way to keep his daughter safe. As the head of her House, Diana was the only one with the authority to sign off on it, so they had met to negotiate.
Entering a pact of friendship was a no-brainer. While most Houses viewed animal mages as having limited power with few practical applications, to an illusion House there was no greater threat. He’d been delighted to neutralize it. His people had done a deep dive into House Harrison and found nothing of concern. On all three occasions he’d interacted with Diana, her demeanor was neutral, pleasant, and opaque. She had negotiated in good faith. This manipulation was delightfully new.
“Whether or not we come to an agreement, anything and everything you tell me is confidential,” he said.
“Something has been stolen from us,” she said.
“And you need me to find the culprit and recover it?”
Diana nodded.
“Why MII? Pardon me for stating the obvious, but you have access to House Baylor through your brother.”
Cornelius worked with the Baylors as a private investigator. The two families connected after the Baylors helped him discover who murdered his wife.
“The Baylors specialize in outside-the-box investigations,” Augustine continued. “Considering how close your families are, they would give your problem first priority.”
“The Baylors can’t be involved in this matter,” she said.
Curiouser and curiouser.
His own relationship with House Baylor was complicated. At one point, before the Baylors became a House and had just beena small PI agency, he owned the mortgage on their business. Prior to his death, his father had made a habit of offering financing to small PI firms who needed an influx of cash, a practice Augustine had since ended. The Baylors had been one of those mortgaged subcontractors, and he paid them no attention until a difficult client forced him to reach for a creative solution. In retrospect, it had been a negligent decision at best and morally bankrupt one at worst, and it temporarily put his House and the Baylor family into adversarial positions.
Later, House Montgomery and House Baylor came to regard each other as allies, especially once Connor Rogan, the closest person he had to a friend, married Nevada Baylor. The Baylors and he signed an alliance pact, an agreement that obligated them to respond if either House was threatened. So far, they had kept their word, and as long as he kept his, their loyalty and support were assured.
He always thought that the Harrisons and Baylors had an even deeper connection. The Baylors thought of Cornelius and his daughter, Matilda, as their family, but now Diana was implying that they couldn’t be trusted.
Either way, he had to draw the line now. As much as he valued the Harrisons, his House’s relationship with the Rogans and the Baylors mattered more. It wasn’t an alliance he was willing to endanger.
“Are the Baylors suspects?”
“No. They had nothing to do with this.”
“And they don’t know anything about it?”
Diana shook her head.
He saw it now. She baited the hook, offering him just enough information to ignite his curiosity, and waited for him to bite. Diana Harrison, a patient and careful fisherwoman.
In strict terms, their friendship pact was a non-aggression alliance, meaning that both Houses agreed to refrain from actingagainst each other. Mutual favors were not included but were customary in such arrangements. The disparity in their wealth, connections, and resources was significant, and yet House Harrison had asked for his help only once, when they needed him to pick up Matilda and secure her safety until Diana came to retrieve her.
Very well. Why not? He could play a knight in shining armor, if the compensation was significant enough and Diana offered payment in the right kind of currency. Most investigative work was profitable and boring. This promised to be interesting. He liked knowing secrets, and any secret hidden from the Baylors was worth knowing.
“Shall we discuss the details in my office?” he asked.
She offered him a beautiful smile.
