His tail twitched. “I don’t actually work with contracts. I witness them and tie the node’s power to them, but I don’t write them.”
“I was under the impression that you played an active role in negotiations when people come to Rose Castle. Otherwise, it wouldn’t have been such a big deal when you sent everyone away.”
“I do take part in the negotiations. I serve as a mediator. I make people compromise; I don’t write the legalese.” He must have seen my shock, because he sighed. “Go ahead, say it.”
“You mediate?” I looked him up and down, as if inspecting his feline form could make this new information fit my image of him. “You act as the voice of reason and try to keep people from becoming enraged? You?”
Another sigh. “I do. I am quite skilled, too. After a long day of mediating, however, I find it relaxing not to spend my free time catering to other people.”
“You mean you enjoy being contrary.”
“That too.”
I rolled my eyes, then focused back on the contract. “Marc wrote the terms, then?”
“He did.”
“Based on certain phrases, I’d say he knows something you would find interesting and doesn’t want to tell you. I discovered yesterday that he knows about a Truth that wasn’t listed in the journal of your notes. I doubt that is the only secret he is trying to keep.” I considered mentioning Marc’s certainty that Cecily hadn’t hadaccess to the node at the start of her visit, but for all I knew, his familiarity with the lady had nothing to do with the curse. I’d wait until I had more information before I sprang that revelation on Felix.
“A Truth? What is it?”
“Something to do with weather control.”
His head cocked to the side. “Huh. That could come in handy, but probably doesn’t help with the curse. Still, that Marc hid it from me reinforces that I can’t rely on him.”
I opened the desk drawer and put the paper back where I had found it. “Did you send Marc to Leort in order to root around in his desk?”
“It was one reason.”
The duke sounded so defeated. I pushed the drawer closed and considered him. “Do you want to see anything else while I’m here to open drawers for you?”
He shook his head. “The contract is enough. Thank you for your help, Isa.”
He hopped off the desk and wove through the furniture filling the room. I watched him go, not sure what to think of this latest exchange. Felix couldn’t trust Marc, but he had me now. He could make me do whatever the secretary was supposed to, and I wouldn’t be able to hide anything. But it didn’t even occur to him to ask for my help.
I got up and followed Felix, walking quickly enough to catch him before he reached the stairs. “What does Marc do for you in the archives?”
He stopped and looked at me over his shoulder. “He is hunting for scrolls that might help me understand how Cecily cast her curse.”
“Has he given you anything?”
“I told him I wanted to see any scrolls with only a single signature. He pulled a few copies of the Truthholder Contract of Inheritance, which did not help.”
“Contract of Inheritance?”
Felix turned and sat. “In order to inherit the title, the heir must sign a contract agreeing to the terms the first duke set. It is customary for the heir to witness that contract and pass it through the node themselves, so there is only one signature, just like with Cecily's curse.”
It hadn’t helped Felix, but he would already know what was in the contract. “I’d like to see a copy of one.”
“Marc can pull one of the ones he located for you when he returns. If you still want to look at it then.”
Not hearing the truth under the duke’s words was always disconcerting, but at moments like this, it was also frustrating. His tone was off. He wasn’t implying that I might change my mind about the usefulness of the scroll, but I couldn’t understand why else he thought I might not want to look at the scroll after Marc returned.
The reminder that Felix was immune to my power, which still made no sense to me, called to mind the other tasks I had set myself. “I suppose I’ll go back to my research then. I don’t suppose you have any idea how the library is organized?”
“Probably the same way as the archives. So, if you figure it out, I’d love to hear how. If there is a specific book you are hoping to find, though, I can summon it if we have a copy.”
“Then why can’t you do that to find Cecily's curse in the archives?”
