Chapter 25
As tired ashe was, Velario didn’t sleep in the well-padded coach carrying him to the bank. He had spent most of the night reporting his findings to the Cabinet in the aftermath of Enzi’s unintentional confession. Eventually, he had accepted a room in the palace to catch a few hours of sleep, but he still had plenty of work to do.
Taking the coach instead of walking to the bank was the closest Velario would come to admitting his fatigue. He couldn’t rest yet. Not with so many eyes on him.
They had found the counterfeiters, and the influx of fake banknotes would stop, but the situation was now public knowledge. If he didn’t show he was in control, people could still panic. Velario couldn’t wait for the rest of the counterfeit money to turn up. He needed to chase it down. He needed to ensure none of the backlash from the whole fiasco hit him.
Lord Sablon and Enzi had detailed much of their plans last night. They had named a few conspirators, including the woman who had copied the engraved plate and the man they had bribed at the warehouse. Velario didn’t delude himself into believing they had confessed everything, but they had shared plenty. They hoped to minimize the consequences for their Family. They knew they did not have a chance of convincing anyone they were innocent.
Because of their cooperation, Velario knew where to start tracking down banknotes. But money constantly changed hands. The fakes would have spread even farther by now. It would take time and painstaking attention to detail to track them all down.
Or Reyn.
Velario did not have to limit himself at this point. Every bank employee in Tryn would be on the lookout for counterfeits, but Reyn could save everyone a lot of time. Especially since he no longer had to invent excuses to get the banknotes in front of her.
The carriage clattered to a stop, and a footman opened the door.
Velario remained sitting. He wanted the excuse to spend more time with Reyn. Realizing that he was making justifications to himself, he almost stood and exited the carriage. Then he laughed.
“My lord?” The footman asked hesitantly.
Velario laughed harder. He must look a fool, dark rings under his eyes and laughing at nothing. He didn’t care. He pulled himself together only because he needed to give instructions. “Wait here. I’m going to write a note, then send the carriage to pick up someone.”
Velario bounded down the steps of the carriage and into the bank, his exhaustion forgotten. He didn’t need an excuse to spend time with Reyn. His first impression of her didn’t matter, and he didn’t have to hide that he enjoyed her company now. But since he had an excuse to see her while he took care of all the business weighing on him, he might as well use it. He was not so foolish that he would deny himself the pleasure just because he recognized it would be a pleasure.
Especially not when time was running out. He’d enjoy every second he could spend with Reyn before she returned to Moial.
Reyn climbed downfrom the carriage and looked at the bank as if she had never visited the building before. What did it mean that Velario had sent for her? His note had been only a few lines, asking if she was free to help him track down the rest of the counterfeits. But it had been delivered by a royal carriage with instructions to bring her to the bank if she agreed.
She walked up to the bank and through the doors. She made her way to Velario’s office. The employees of the bank scurried back and forth more than she had seen on previous visits, but they waved her through without hesitation. Habit, or was her ruse with Velario still in effect?
She knocked on Velario’s door.
“Come in.”
Reyn opened the door. Velario sat behind his desk, his hair disheveled, his cravat askew. Her mind hiccupped, images of him in the wingback chair in his library superimposing over the reality of him.
He looked up, saw her, and leapt to his feet. Faster than the day she had demonstrated her new mastery of her lure, he rounded the desk and approached her. But this time, he didn’t stop. Velario enfolded her in his arms and kissed her.
Reyn kissed him back, wondering all the while if this was still part of an act. The door stood ajar. She hadn’t closed it before he greeted her. Was this greeting a show for his employees?
She had to be sure. She pulled back and pushed the door closed. “Are we still pretending?”
“No.” Velario kissed her again, but just when she processed what he had said and kissed him back in earnest, he pulled his mouth away from hers. “This is not fake, Reyn. Are you all right with that?”
“Absolutely,” she said, and kissed him.
In the end, she was the one who pulled back. “This isn’t why you asked me to come, is it?”
“No. Well, yes, but no.”
“What does that mean?”
“It means I really do want your help to find the last of the counterfeits, but I also just wanted to see you. And kiss you. I almost didn’t send for you when I realized how much I wanted you to come so that I could kiss you.”
“What made you change your mind?”
“Realizing how stupid I sounded even in my own head. ‘I want her; therefore, I shouldn’t go near her.’ What kind of idiocy is that?”
