Page 36 of Cora
“To what do I owe this unexpected visit, Cora?”
“I need you to teach me to play billiards.”
Eryx barely glanced up from the papers stacked on his desk. He looked like he was being buried in paperwork. Haphazard piles listed dangerously on every square inch of surface.
But the pinched expression was gone from his eyes. His shoulders weren’t stiff and next to his ears. He was more relaxed than she’d seen him since before Christmas, and that brought Cora some relief.
Now, if she could only fix her own predicament.
“I don’t have time for games. Wentworth is making me straighten out years’ worth of documentation. I am loath to admit your husband is right, but there it is. Once I get this sorted, I should have a free hand to run my bank again.”
“Have you heard from Countess Oreste?” she asked.
He sat back and sighed, covering his face with both hands. “No. I’m worried, Cora. Bella doesn’t disappear on a whim.”
Cora’s hands worked in a mindless, soothing notion. How well did she really know the countess? How well did anyone? Belladonna undoubtedly had her reasons for staying away for so long.
“Do you know where she might have gone?”
“France.” Eryx’s attention was already back on his stupid paperwork. He wanted her to go away. Cora was accustomed to ignoring such unspoken requests.
“Has anyone gone to inquire at her residence in Paris?”
“Yes, Cora. Her brother and I both sent inquiries. Her housekeeper says she hasn’t visited in almost a year.” Frustration clipped his words.
Why keep an apartment if one never used it?
Owning property was a way to store wealth, Cora supposed. “I’m sure there is no reason to worry. The countess will come home when she is good and ready.”
Eryx tented his fingertips and gave her a look. The kind of look that made her feel small and powerless—a mix of pity and frustration at her ignorance, tempered with affection.
“I fear for her safety. Particularly after…” He broke off. “After Erskine’s death.”
“I remember.” How could she not? The Opposition Leader had been found dead at a house party last autumn. His death had been ruled an accident, but there were whispers about him being poisoned—by Countess Oreste. Now, she had disappeared.
“She didn’t have anything to do with it, though. Did she?”
Cora’s certainty that the woman could take care of herself wavered.
“Bella has made enemies. Many of them. Powerful ones. Your husband wants the bank separated from her influence. He says it’s unseemly for a woman to be involved in business. Moreover, the Queen doesn’t like it.”
Cora had several thoughts on the subject of Queen Victoria pushing a successful businesswoman out. She didn’t dare voice them.
“Enough about my worries.” Eryx shoved back his chair and came out from behind the desk. “How are things with your wretch of a husband?”
His eyes searched her face. Cora didn’t have an answer.
“Your honeymoon has been…” He hesitated, searching for the right word. “Acceptable?”
Cora had the mad urge to laugh. What honeymoon? They had spent the first three weeks arguing whenever they saw one another, and avoiding one another as much as possible.
And then there was last night. The billiards table. She was still reeling from what she’d inadvertently revealed. She had expected anger. Certainly, an argument. Instead, he’d stalked away seeming…sad.
She hadn’t been able to shake the shame that clung to her ever since.
“Gideon bought me a piano,” she blurted out. Heat rushed to her face as she realized she’d used his given name. Eryx’s eyebrows shot up.
“You speak of him familiarly now?”
