“I’ve known you since before you were in petticoats, my Lady,” she said with all the familiarity allowed to a tickerkin who had indeed been part of Verity’s life almost since birth.
“Yes, you have,” she sighed. “And yes, I am a bit concerned about the accounts, but I’m sure it’s something as simple as a misplaced deposit.” She rose. “Anyway, when I stop by the bank, I’ll make sure all is as it should be.”
“Very good, m’Lady.” Sprocket cleared the last of the breakfast things from Verity’s desk. “If you shouldhappento run into Sir Lucas, do give him my regards.”
Verity rolled her eyes, gathered her belongings and departed.
Cheeky tickerkin.
Her first stop was the bank, and her request for balance information was readily completed.
“There you are, Lady Yardley.”
“Thank you,” she smiled. “I’m seeing a roofer today. Had to be sure I could pay him when he’s done.”
The teller chuckled. “I doubt you need concern yourself with that, my Lady. Healthy as a grown Milling Tree, your account.”
Since a Milling Tree provided the hardest wood in Arcvale, that statement brought a sigh of relief. “Lovely. Thank you for your help.”
“No problem, my Lady. I hope your day goes well.”
With a brief smile, Verity walked calmly away from the bank, and down the street, toward the Hotpot Coffee house. Arriving early, she nodded at the girls working there and went to her usual table. There were a few customers already there and since Tabby was almost always on time, she only had about ten minutes to wait.
Settling herself, she put her paperwork beside her and idly thumbed through the first few sheets. They included the statement from the bank.
“Coggleblast,” she swore silently, checking the numbers again.
There was no mistake. This wasn’t a case of timing, or a delay in crediting the account. This was clearlywrong.
*~~*~~*
Lucas’s morning thus far had been uneventful, for which he was inordinately grateful. He needed to collect his thoughts and do what he did best—compartmentalise.
Of course that was a total failure, since certain thoughts crept into compartments where they did not belong. To add insult to injury, when they got there, they curled up comfortably and took a nap.
He sighed and elected to spend some time on his mirror engine. That, at least, might bring him some clarity.
The massive machine awaited him, still hidden behind the panel. But now the faintest hum might be detected, to those who were looking for it.
He had some papers on his desk, and an itch to get a few more. This problem they were discovering had no solid pattern that he could discern, although Alastair had more skill in that area. He was, at heart, a numbers man, and there he was at home.
So once again he pulled up a report that would be almost identical to the one he’d used at Alastair’s, with the addition of probably a few more deposits, and a few withdrawals. As the engine worked, he spared a few minutes to give thanks for the information he already had. And the assessment of it that Silas, Alastair, and Verity had given.
Lucas sat, knowing it would be a little while before the numbers started emerging, and staring at the control panel wouldn’t make it work any faster.
He closed his eyes and leaned back, wondering if he could get a better picture of the situation. Alastair’s assumptions had been excellent. He agreed there could be no other way for thesestrange errors to occur. But there were so many unanswered questions, major amongst which was the “who” of it all.
If the kind of money Alastair had spoken of was truly involved, then he, or they, would be sitting on a massive fortune. And who, in their right mind, wouldn’t want to spend some of it?
He let his mind run over the prominent houses, the Arcvale upper crust.
Was it possible that a family like...well, like the Renslows, for example, had been feathering their nest with solid gold quills? Thea probably wouldn’t have noticed, and he doubted that Silas had even asked to see the books. There was no reason on earth for him to do that, and Thea had lived her whole life ignoring the fortune and pining for machines.
Which, thought Lucas, she now had in abundance, along with his brother, who managed an entire Forge full of the damn things.
So for the time being, he relegated the most notable Arcvale families to the bottom of the list.
And the more he thought about it...the culprit would not flash his ill-gotten gains around very much. Although if this had been going on for some time, there must be an account somewhere that was filling, not so quickly as to attract notice, but steadily enough to account for the enormous sums that had been skimmed over the years.
