Page 41 of Sinful Storms

The wind howled, and lightning split the sky. At the same time, the members of the Brotherhood heard the distinct cry of an eagle.

“What is an eagle doing out in this storm?”

“You must be mistaken. That was not an eagle.”

“It was.”

“Silence!” the figure at the table boomed, pounding on the wood. “It is a sign. An eagle signifies victory.” Stepping back from the table, they ran their fingers over the coarse strands of the rope, tracing the knot they’d tied with their own hand.

“Victory. But for whom…” they mused, their words carried away by the raging storm.

Far below, the initiate continued to climb.

20

TRISTAN

The light flicked on, and I blinked against the sudden brightness.

“Tristan. And…Aria.” My grandfather’s brows rose. I quickly released Aria’s hand. I was going to have enough explaining to do without adding more complications.

“Grandfather.” I pulled out my best charming smile, flashing my teeth at him.

“Care to explain what the two of you are doing here in my private office, in the dark, instead of downstairs celebrating your father’s appointment as mayor?”

This wasn’t happening the way I’d hoped, but fuck it, he was here, and I had questions. But first, I needed to make sure Aria left. I didn’t want her to attract my grandfather’s wrath, and the only way to do that was to lie brazenly.

“I can certainly tell you what I’m doing here. As for Miss Harper, I’m afraid she’s here under duress. I wanted her opinion on a suitable gift for Father.”

“A gift which happens to be in my wing of the manor?”

“Yes.” I mentally crossed my fingers, hoping he’d buy it. “I was going to show her the watches in your safe. Your RobertLoomes Robin, to be exact. I always find it’s better to see these things in person, don’t you?”

There was a pause, and then he chuckled, shaking his head. “I suppose so. Go ahead.”

I confidently strode over to the dressing area, followed by Aria, and continued on to his wardrobe. Throwing it open, I crouched down to open the safe. I shielded my actions from Aria as if I was hiding the combination from her. When the safe opened, I reached inside, carefully extracting one of the watches I’d spotted when I’d opened the safe earlier.

“Here, Aria. See the leather…” I bullshitted about the watch’s qualities for a full minute while she nodded along with my explanations but remained silent for the most part.

Replacing the watch in the safe, I glanced back through the archway to my grandfather, who had taken up a casual pose at the edge of his desk, one hand in his pocket and the other playing with a paperweight. “Aria,” I said. “You can go now. I need to talk to my grandfather in private.”

I saw her staring at me out of the corner of my eye, but I didn’t dare to turn to look at her. After a moment’s hesitation, she nodded.

“Thank you for letting me see the watch, Samuel. Um. Mr. Smith-Chamberlain. Sir. Sorry. I apologise for…um…intruding in your room.”

“Don’t mention it,” my grandfather said drily. When Aria had left us alone, I leaned against the side of the archway, meeting my grandfather’s gaze head-on. He appreciated directness and honesty, and so that was what I was going to give him. Or an edited version.

“I wanted a chance to speak to you tonight. Not like this, perhaps, but now you’re here…” Trailing off, I cleared my throat and then straightened my shoulders. “I didn’t want to sayanything while Aria was here, but I’ve heard rumours about a secret society at Hatherley Hall when you were a student.”

His gaze remained impassive, but I didn’t miss the subtle tightening of his jaw. Encouraged, I continued.

“Father said something about Aria’s great-uncle tutoring students. He said you wouldn’t have interacted with him much because you moved in different circles, but I wondered if you knew who he tutored. And whether he had anything to do with the secret society.”

I knew he had something to do with the society, for the fact his name had been on the list in the journal, and doubly so after his name had been mentioned in the torn-out pages regarding the initiation ritual. But my grandfather didn’t know I was in possession of that information—I hoped—and so I’d be weighing up his replies carefully, if he decided to deny it.

“Tell me what you know and where you heard these rumours.”

I shrugged. “Nothing concrete. Just rumours around school. All I know is there was a secret society at one point, and Aria’s great-uncle might have been involved.” Steeling myself, I added, “I heard you might have been involved in it, too.”

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