“Where were you last night?”
“You’re interrupting me, and ignoring your own work, to find out why I didn’t attend a musicale?”
“I’m here because I couldn’t find you last night, so I couldn’t tell you my news.”
Behind the sarcasm and anger, Velario heard genuine excitement in Selona’s voice. “You’ve learned something?”
“I have a way to identify the counterfeits almost instantaneously.”
Now Velario was annoyed that he had stayed in his office the evening before instead of going to the musicale. If they could speed up the process of identifying the fake banknotes, they might finally trace them back to their source. As it was, by the time they figured out which shop, ship, or merchant had deposited the counterfeit money, too much time had passed to track down how it had come into their possession in the first place.
“I discovered yesterday that someone can identify the counterfeit bills by sight unerringly. They can recognize the slight difference in shade in the ink that we’ve spent hours debating over, and they claim there is some change in the alignment of the crosshatching in one part that I couldn’t spot, even with a lens.”
This was good news. Great news even. Nevertheless, Velario had a sinking feeling in his gut. “Selona, who is ‘they?’”
She pursed her lips and looked at the wall over his left shoulder. “Reyn.”
“No.” The response came without thought. Velario then gave it a little more consideration. “Absolutely not.”
“Vel, be reasonable. She could solve all our problems.”
“Lady Reyn is not about to solve any problems; she’s more likely to cause them.”
“You are being ridiculous. Do you plan to let everything fall apart just because you’re intimidated by a beautiful woman?”
“I am not intimidated! I know she is your friend, but she knows nothing about banking or anything else beyond fashion.”
Selona crossed her arms. “First of all, just because she doesn’t know something, doesn’t mean she can’t learn. How many people in Tryn do you think actually understand banking, Vel? Second, what does it even matter? Even if Reyn really had nothing in her mind but fashion—which is not true—she doesn’t need to understand anything to help. She just needs to spot the counterfeits. Which she can.”
“She won’t understand the gravity of the situation. The last thing I need is for her to let something slip while she’s flirting with someone like Enzi.”
“Maybe she won’t understand all the repercussions. That doesn’t mean she doesn’t understand the importance of a secret. And I do understand the repercussions. If you ignore the help she can provide, you are throwing your own future in the trash. The whole Family’s, for that matter.”
“I don’t need Lady Reyn’s help to solve this issue, Selona. I seriously doubt she is as skilled as you claim at spotting fakes, anyway. She probably got lucky.” Velario scowled. “Why was she even in a position to demonstrate this supposed talent?”
“Oh, no you don’t. You aren’t turning this back on me. We are going to stay focused on the real issue here. You know what will happen if we can’t stop the counterfeiter soon. Word is going to get out. And once rumors are out, people are going to lose faith in the bank.”
Velario cut Selona off with a wave of his hand. He knew the risks. They were more personal for him than Selona, so he knew them well, indeed.
Once rumors spread through Tryn about counterfeit money entering circulation, panic would follow. It was the panic that would truly hurt the banks and economy, far more than the counterfeit money itself. Since the bank was under Velario’s oversight, such a scare would neatly ruin his chances in the next election. If things went too far, the Cabinet might even demand his father abdicate and call for the next election early.
And while Velario did not want to be the reason his father was forced from the throne, and certainly didn’t want to be the Ferrini who lost public confidence and couldn’t gain the crown for himself, the worst of all the cascading consequences was that Enzi Sablon would almost certainly end up on the throne in such a case. The Cabinet and Assembly provided a series of checks on the monarch’s authority, but self-centered, short-sighted Enzi could do serious damage to Lhanaperi from the throne.
Despite all these risks, Velario did not take back his first denial to Selona. He—they—could catch the counterfeiter without Lady Reyn’s help.
They had to.
