Page 84 of House of Roots and Ruin
“To our brilliantly minded and beautifully brilliant Verity,” Gerard exclaimed, foisting his wineglass in the air with boisterous zeal. “And my brilliantly lucky son, Alexander. May their union be nothing short of…brilliant,” he laughed.
I raised my glass, accepting everyone’s well-wishes and feigning a smile toward Gerard. I could not, I would not forget whatAlex had said about his father. But this was not the night to question him.
“How on earth did the door manage to lock?” an older woman asked, turning her attention to us, her copper skin shining with a beautiful luster in the candlelight. She was Binita Peaseblossom, a marchioness from a neighboring estate.
Alex cleared his throat. “Well, it—”
“That was the strangest thing of all!” Dauphine interrupted, the spots of color on her cheeks as high as her spirits. “Thereisno lock on that door! Not a real one at least. Gerard has a false front plate, to ward off the curious, but he keeps it open—”
“As a safety precaution, for events such as these. A secret one at that, my love,” he said, and though his words were friendly, his tone pinched with irritation.
“Oh, my dear, we’re among friends. Yes?” she asked the table brightly.
Everyone nodded, raising their glasses again.
“If there was no lock, how were they locked in?” Binita persisted.
“It had been tampered with! An iron rod was shoved through the handles.”
The room broke into murmurs of surprise.
“I can’t imagine who…” Dauphine’s sentence trailed away as an army of footmen arrived, bringing in the next course.
Once the last of the servants exited the hall, Dauphine let out a sigh. “It’s such a mystery. Boggles the mind.”
Several seats down, Marguerite sniffed as if in disagreement.
If I’d had to wager who had been behind the door tampering, I would have laid bets on her.
The Laurent matriarch had returned to Chauntilalie sometime that morning, pulled away from whatever summer cottage she’d been hiding away in for the last few weeks.
Once rescued, Alex had brought the family together to tell them the news and Marguerite had cried. Not tears of happiness, as Dauphine had burst into, but actual tears. Her sobs were so severe Gerard had to escort her off to her room, giving us smiles of encouragement over his shoulder as he left.
“What an odd incident. You must have been terrified,” an older viscount commiserated, turning the group’s attention back to us once more.
“I had Alexander with me,” I said, feeling as though I were performing in a play. “I wasn’t afraid of anything.”
He brought my hand up to his lips and the Laurents’ guests cheered.
It was exhausting being this animated for so long.
Only hours before, Frederick had discovered us. He’d begged for Alex’s forgiveness, swearing he’d seen him earlier in the house and had assumed we’d somehow made our way back to the estate on our own. It wasn’t until Dauphine went looking for us that anyone realized something was amiss.
After we’d announced the engagement, Dauphine had whisked me back to my room, fretting over the state of my dress.
“I certainly appreciate a grand gesture,” she’d muttered as she’d worked me free of the buttons. “But now, oh dear. Oh dear, oh dear, oh dear.”
She’d had the dress carried away for a steaming and it had returned a little less boisterous, a little more subdued, but it would work.
“We’ll have to have more gowns made up for you,” Dauphine had promised before leaving me to fix my hair.
At the end of the table, a man cleared his throat, drawing me back to the present. Even seated, he towered above most of the other guests, and the rich sheen of his green velvet suit complemented his dark skin and quick smile. “Speaking of strange goings-on, I’ve been meaning to ask you, Gerard, how is Marchioly House? Have you had a chance to see the damage yet?”
“Lord Udoh has an estate in the north, near our winter house,” Alex explained, leaning in.
“Damage?” Binita echoed, eyebrows arched with worry. “Has something happened?”
Dauphine began to shake her head, but before she could disagree, Gerard nodded.
