Chapter 16
It did notsurprise Velario to find Selona in his breakfast parlor the morning after the opera. She was a Ferrini, and though she did not live in the same house as him, she was welcomed there as a member of the Family.
What he did not know was whether she had come to chastise him because of the risk his outburst had posed to their scheme, or whether she had come as Reyn’s friend to excoriate the man who had insulted her. Then again, this was Selona. She was more than capable of scolding him for both at once.
She didn’t even let him fill a plate or pour a cup of tea before she began.
After the amount of brandy he and Danten had drunk the night before, he needed that tea. And bacon. And eggs. Some toast would be nice, too.
“I expected better of you, Velario, I really did. It was bad enough that Reyn had to hear Enzi’s words last night, but at least she knew he was the type to spew such hateful comments. But to have you, of all people, pile on the insult? I mean really.”
Velario shuffled past her to get his breakfast. “I’m not actually courting her, Selona. You know it is all a ruse.”
“I didn’t realize that your common decency was also fake. Whether or not you are courting her is irrelevant.”
Velario debated admitting to his cousin that he had been in the wrong. Even before Danten helped him finish a bottle of Vairainian brandy, he had known that. He wasn’t sure exactly what he admitted after finishing the bottle, but even if he hadn’t said it aloud to Danten—which he doubted—Velario couldn’t deny that he liked Reyn anymore.
Selona wanted to yell at him, though. And he deserved it. So Velario didn’t admit his mistakes. He muttered the comments she expected to hear in between bites of bacon and let her have her say. “I’ve been stuck in her company for days. There’s only so much I can take. I don’t know how you can enjoy her company. She is too frivolous. I’d think she would bore you by now.”
Selona leaned forward. “I have never seen you act so dense before. You misjudged Reyn, and it is beyond time you admit it. And apologize.”
He took a sip of tea. “I did not misjudge her. She is nothing but a flirt. Fine, she has a remarkable eye for detail, but that hardly makes up for the rest of her personality. You’ve seen her with Enzi. Can you really respect a woman willing to flirt with him?”
“You really don’t get it, do you? You heard Enzi last night. Do you think he is the only one who thinks, or even says, such things about Reyn?”
“Exactly. If she doesn’t want men to think of her that way, she shouldn’t flirt with everyone.” Velario winced. That one was going too far, and he knew it.
“It has nothing to do with flirting, Vel! Reyn is beautiful, witty, and interesting. Even if she never looked at a man, they would treat her as a prize to be fought over. Did you know that back in Moial, she tried so hard not to attract attention that she really only had one friend at court? She couldn’t risk opening up enough to even make more female friends, because then the men descended. She had to suppress her entire personality to protect herself.
“Now she has found a different form of armor. She can be herself, because the flirting—as you call it—gives her a way to control the men who want to claim her. Would you really demand that she face the likes of Enzi with no protection?”
“How does flirting protect her?” Velario asked sincerely, giving up on playing the part Selona expected. “If she is suffering under too much male attention, it seems that flirting would just start a frenzy.”
“That’s why she doesn’t flirt the way you accuse her of doing. She is friendly and charming. Yes, she goes beyond that occasionally, but only with certain people. Then she can use them as a barrier to the men who read too much into a smile. She doesn’t have beaux; she has men willing to jump to her defense. Like you are supposed to. Like you did, but then you went and ruined it and became one of the bastards she needs to be defended from!”
That actually made sense. And it matched what he had observed of Reyn’s flirting. Velario stood up to get a second helping of breakfast. Time to admit he was in the wrong and send Selona on her way. “I’ll apologize.”
“Of course you’ll apologize! And you will mean it whole-heartedly, Velario. Reyn deserves no less. Especially since she is still willing to save your hide and help find the counterfeiters, even after your behavior last night.”
He paused, a spoonful of eggs poised just over his plate. “She is?”
He had not expected that.
“Yes, because she isn’t the shallow woman interested only in her own social status that you keep claiming she is.”
He remembered the eggs and decided not to add them to his plate. “I’ll apologize first thing today.”
“No.”
“No?”
“No. Dragging her out of bed early in the morning is hardly the way to start your apology. And she is visiting Lisca this afternoon, remember? You could try this evening, but I doubt you’ll find a way to have a private word with her. Tomorrow. Come over just before luncheon tomorrow.”
“Fine. I’ll be there.”
“And Velario? Use the extra time to think things through. Make sure you can mean your apology.”
Lisca and Khiranmay not have caught the fight between Reyn and Velario, but that meant little when Lisca was an empath. Lisca had Reyn seated on a comfortable chair, a mug of tea in her hand, and a plate of cake at her side within minutes of her entering Geratisi House for her lesson. Khiran was nowhere to be seen, and Lisca did not leave the room after getting her settled.
