She gestured at Velario to lead the way. “By all means, let us take care of the paperwork so that I may get my gown.”
Following Velario into an office in one corner of the warehouse, Reyn discovered that this had been his plan all along to get a look at the banknotes. He must have timed everything carefully, leading her back here just as one man in the room counted out the money from a lockbox.
Velario made a show of searching for the correct ledger to note his claim of the bolt of teal silk, then took his time writing out instructions for where to deliver the fabric. While he delayed, Reyn watched banknote after genuine banknote flip through the other man’s fingers. The other occupant of the room, a woman who had helped Velario waste time by trying to search for the correct ledger with him but who had instead only gotten in the way, accepted the paper Velario had written directions on.
“I’ll see it delivered there right away, my lord.”
“Thank you, Diersi. I have to stop in at the bank before Lady Reyn and I can enjoy the rest of our evening. Why don’t I take the lockbox with me and save you the trip?”
“Oh, it’s no trouble, my lord. Seaver and I always go together.”
Velario turned to look at the man who had finished counting his money and put it back into a small metal box secured with a heavy lock. “Seaver, I can deposit your box, too, if you will trust me with such a task. No need for you two to trek all the way to the bank when I’m going there, anyway.”
Seaver laughed. “Seems silly not to trust you. If the money isn’t safe in your hands on the way to the bank, then it isn’t safe in the bank, is it? And I have my records, just in case. I’m just as happy to get home a little earlier tonight.”
“Perfect.” Velario accepted the two separate lockboxes. They were designed with discretion in mind for trips to the bank and easily slipped into the inner pockets of his greatcoat. He re-buttoned the outer garment and offered Reyn his arm. “Let’s hurry and finish our own business so we can enjoy the rest of our evening, too.”
Velario waited untilthey were a few blocks from the warehouse before prompting Reyn about the money. He was certain she would have watched Seaver count it and spotted any fake notes from across the room. She had been quieter than usual all afternoon, though. He was pretty sure he knew why.
Reyn darted glances at him when she thought he wasn’t looking. Too bad for her, he was looking pretty much nonstop. He couldn’t stop watching her from the corner of his eye, even when he tried to focus on the sidewalk in front of them. It had always been difficult to look away from Reyn, but today the difficulty had intensified tenfold.
Today he had the image in his mind of what she looked like, freed from the copious layers keeping her warm. He knew what she felt and tasted like, too.
Seeing her holding his Family’s silk up and draping it over her arm had had an unexpected effect. Velario had imagined her in a ballgown made of that silk, and nearly gave in to the urge to kiss her again. He wanted to see her dressed in a gown made from Ferrini silk. He wanted every man in Tryn to see her in it and know that she was his. He wanted to dance with her in a crowded ballroom, then sneak away to a private bedroom.
Five hells, Velario needed to pull himself together. Reyn wasn’t his. She didn’t want to be his. She had made her desires clear. They’d had a single night together to test the effect her lure had in an intimate setting. Nothing more. He might have agreed without informing her that her assumption that he hated her was wrong, but that didn’t mean he could ignore her wishes.
She was only spending time with him because of the counterfeiting.
Velario glanced around. No one would be able to hear them if they avoided shouting. “Do the Perasas have counterfeits in their funds?”
Reyn started, as if she had forgotten Velario was there, though she walked pressed against his side. “The Perasas?”
“The Family Seaver works for. It’s their money in the second lockbox.”
“I see. No, it was all genuine.”
Velario frowned. The percentage of counterfeit money that had come in from the warehouse recently was significant enough that he had thought he was finally getting close to the end of his search. He supposed it was possible that the warehouse had simply gotten an infusion of bad money from another source innocently, but he would have bet otherwise. There had certainly been counterfeit notes deposited from the warehouse. It might take Velario significantly longer to identify them than Reyn, but he had spent all morning poring over them.
They’d have to look at the Ferrini lockbox.
Velario quickened his pace. He wanted to get to the bank and ensure that the counterfeit money had nothing to do with his Family’s business now.
“I know it is a little chilly, but there is no need to run, Velario.”
He made himself slow down. “Sorry. I need to check something, and I find I am a little impatient to learn the truth.”
Reyn wasn’t slow. She did a very convincing impression of a woman with nothing in her head but fashion and fripperies, but Velario had come to appreciate that she not only noticed details, she pieced them together. So he wasn’t surprised when she understood why he was suddenly in a hurry.
“You want to check the Ferrini lockbox, don’t you?”
He nodded. “The deposits from the warehouse were mixed together by the time I looked them over, but there were enough fakes I thought it might be where the counterfeiter is introducing his creations. If my Family’s deposits have been tampered with, I need to know.”
Reyn looked at him with sympathy in her eyes. “Is it possible someone in the Family’s business is the counterfeiter?”
“I don’t think so. Of course, anything’s possible, but if the warehouse deposits are counterfeits, I think there is actually a bigger issue at hand.”
“Bigger than one of your relatives or employees being a counterfeiter?”
