“Alas, it does not. If Her Highness didn’t pester you, then does this mean whatever has been keeping you so busy is finally over? I know my cousins would be excited to hear they might run into you more often again.”
Velario shuddered theatrically. “Keep your cousins away from me, Fideo, and I’ll buy you a new bottle of brandy.”
The cousins in question were actually two perfectly lovely women—if you were looking to settle down. Velario was hesitant to even smile at them, for fear he’d break their hearts when they discovered he was not interested in marrying any time soon. He felt guilty every time he spoke with either of them. Either he was too harsh in hopes of ensuring they didn’t form an attachment, or he let their hopes get up when he tried to be nice.
“Vairainian brandy?” Fideo asked.
“Of course, Vairainian brandy.”
“You have a deal. If you really want to avoid them, though, go introduce yourself to Lady Reyn. She has made a splash while you’ve been off doing whatever it is you do, and my cousins are absolutely terrified of her.”
Velario did not turn and look back at where Lady Reyn stood. It was pitiful that he was proud of such minimal control. “You want me to befriend someone who is mean to your cousins?”
Fideo shook his head. “No, no. She isn’t mean. But people flock to her. My cousins feel uncomfortable in large crowds, you know that.”
“I can’t say I care much for the crowd around Lady Reyn at present, either. She was giggling with Arvin when I went past.”
“So you already met her. Right, she’s staying with Selona, isn’t she?” Fideo looked past Velario in the direction Lady Reyn had been a few minutes earlier. “She’ll have Arvin dancing to her tune in no time. It might do him good.”
“Arvin is beyond saving. Anyone who doesn’t see that is not worth my time.”
“Maybe Lady Reyn agrees with you. It looks like she is breaking away as we speak. You should go ask her to dance, Velario.”
“No.”
“Oh, come on. I’d dance with her in a heartbeat if I weren’t liable to injure her. How can you not want to dance with her?”
Velario rolled his eyes. He could admit she was beautiful—he’d be a fool to deny it—but he thought Fideo cared about more than such superficial traits. “If she is so wonderful, why wasn’t she already dancing instead of chatting with Arvin?”
“She was keeping me company. She turned down several men who asked her. That’s actually why I left. I didn’t want her to feel obliged to miss all the dancing on my account.”
Velario scoffed. She probably was a terrible dancer and didn’t want anyone to know. She made it look like she was doing Fideo a favor, when in reality it was the opposite.
“Too late now.” Fideo said, gesturing at the dance floor.
Velario followed the motion of his hand and glanced out at the sea of silks. Lady Reyn drew his eyes immediately. She was facing Giorden, a bright smile on her lips as the music started. They stepped together, and Velario knew his theory was completely wrong. Lady Reyn moved with such grace that it even elevated her dance partner, rather than highlighting his deficits. She flit across the floor, her skirts swirling around her legs, like an air sprite unconcerned by gravity and others’ need to stay on the ground.
Velario whipped back around to Fideo. “I hardly need the attention she draws. I’ll skip dancing with her.”
They chatted for a few more minutes, then Velario went on to reinforce the image that he hadn’t a care in the world with others around the ballroom. He tried to enjoy himself. He spoke with people he considered friends and ignored those with whom polite conversation became a chore, but Lady Reyn Callan removed any chance Velario had of finding pleasure in the evening.
Everywhere he went, he saw her. Everyone he spoke to mentioned her.
There were still people trickling into the ball late by the time Velario reached his limit. It didn’t matter what his father thought, he might as well leave and spend his time focusing on the bank.
Velario left the ball without fanfare, sneaking out a side exit so as not to attract attention. Once in the lamp-lit streets, though, he didn’t turn toward his home. It was chilly out, the air fogging in front of his mouth with every breath, but he wanted time to think. He turned toward the park. He’d wander the grounds before heading home.
The moon was barely bright enough once he got off the main thoroughfares to keep him from tripping. But the paths of the park were well maintained. Velario stepped into the shadows and let his mind wander along with his feet.
Joking aside, it worried him that Fideo had a bet going about when Velario would turn up at a social event. It meant he really had let the issues at the bank take over too much of his life. Velario wasn’t one to attend parties every night even in the best of times, but he wasn’t a stranger to them either.
He needed help. He couldn’t track down every lead at the bank on his own. He could admit that. But he couldn’t ask his father to step in. Not only did King Stavo have plenty of other matters to attend to, but he had also entrusted the bank’s concerns to Velario. Velario needed someone to support him, not someone to foist the problem off on.
That meant asking his uncle was out of the question. Uncle Petro would undoubtedly try to take over; he wasn’t used to seeing his nephew as an authority. Plus, Petro was managing most of the Family business while his brother ruled the country and Velario focused on the bank.
Del would be a good person to turn to, but as much as Velario trusted him, he could not take the risk of anything getting out. Even asking Del for direct advice was too much of a risk. He trusted his friend, but if a servant heard them and spread rumors? People would panic and stop trusting the bank, and that was the real danger Velario had to avoid at all costs.
He needed someone without other commitments, whose interest in the bank would go unremarked. He was going to have to ask Selona.
