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He leaned over, kissed her cheek and rose. “I’ll be outside waiting for you, love.”
She nodded, her eyes never leaving his face. “I know.”
*~~*~~*
Maelin’s thoughts were all over the place as she and her uncle waited quietly together.
“It’s going to be difficult for you, my dear,” he said gently. “I would have done anything to spare you this, if I could.”
She shook her head a little. “Yes, it will be, but I’m glad you didn’t spare me, Uncle Phineas. My time at the Tidehold Conservatory taught me a few things that have stuck...” She managed a weak smile. “So I shall do my best to push my emotions to one side for a little while.”
“A wise move, and a surprising one for a woman of your tender age.”
This time the smile was a little wider. “Try at year at Tidehold as a novice, Uncle. You’ll understand quite quickly.”
The door opened, ending their brief exchange.
Maelin’s heart dropped to see Darady, pale and somehow shrunk, chained between two large guards.
Fortunately, they released the manacles so that she could sit, and only refastened one to the ring on the edge of the table.
The Count entered behind them, and nodded as they left and shut the door.
He took a seat, and the three of them faced Darady.
“Darady,” said Mae quietly. “This is an awful thing. I’m not sure what to say...”
“I never meant to hurt you, my Lady. You must believe that...”
Her words sounded genuine, and the level of stress in them was understandable. But Maelin knew she had to be as objective as possible.
She switched the subject. “How did you get involved in all this, Darady? Was it money?”
The other woman straightened. “Certainly not. Your family is very generous. Always has been.”
“So why did you betray us, Darady?” Phineas also kept his voice level.
“It wasn’t a betrayal of you, my Lord. Or anyone. Certainly not the Theryn family.”
“And yet you took papers, manuscripts, materials that were not yours, and you gave them to someone else. Who was that? Who made you steal, Darady?”
“Nobody made me steal, dearie.” Darady leaned forward, forgetting the formality until the chains clinked and she pulled back frowning. “Those papers didn’t belong to House Theryn. They’d been stolen a long time ago. I was just returning them to their proper owners.”
“And who would that be?” The Count straightened in his chair.
“I don’t know,” the woman shrugged nonchalantly. “I was given places to leave them. Different places. So don’t go pestering me, because that’s all I’ve got to say about it.”
“And how much were you paid to do this?”
Darady bristled. “Lord Phineas. I was not paid. Please do not imply that I was bought. That’s just insulting.”
“But you must have had some reason?” Maelin asked.
Darady’s gaze softened. “You were the most wonderful child, Miss Mae. If I could have had one of my own, I would have gladly had one like you.” She sighed.
“Why didn’t you, Darady? I remember more than a few gentlemen coming a’courting...”
Silence fell for a few moments after Maelin’s question. Then Darady sighed.
