Page 91 of The Dragoneers of Longbourn and Pemberley
Papa said, “Is there anything I can do for your happiness, my dear?”
“We need to handle Kesley,” Valeraine said. He would nag at her contentment as long as he was on the estate.
“Yes, I’ve been considering dismissing him, if that’s agreeable to you?”
She nodded.
“Wonderful. I will write him —”
“Papa, can I be the one to tell him he’s sacked?”
“Certainly,” and Papa’s smile was one of a proud father, seeing his daughter get a well deserved treat.
Chapter sixty-one
Kesley’s apartments were in the servants’ wing. Though Valeraine had never spent serious time there (and certainly had never tarried there unchaperoned), she had visited many times to enlist him for chores.
When Kesley opened the door, he was disheveled. Valeraine had seen him before covered in mud, in dragon guano, hair torn by the wind, and sweaty after hard work. Now, he had the look of a man who had given up on being presentable. He had his regular amount of stubble on his chin, but now it took on a different cast. Instead of looking handsomely roguish, he was sickeningly unkempt.
Kesley straightened and composed himself (hurriedly tucking in his shirttails). “Valeraine.” Then, he tried a smile — the charming one she would always return to him.
She did not smile at him today. “May I come in? I have something to discuss with you.”
“Of course,” and he swept his arm, gesturing her in with a little bow, as if this was a pleasant social call. The room was a mess, with clothes and papers scattered on the floor. The only happy thing in the space was a colorful pillow on the bed embroidered in Selaide’s style.
Valeraine did not sit on the offered chair. She merely said, “You are being let go. Longbourn will not require your services any longer, nor supply you with room and board.”
Kesley chuckled. “Shouldn’t you consult your father before throwing this tantrum?”
She could easily refute that point by saying the order came from Papa.
But Valeraine realized she didn’t actually care if Kesley believed in her authority or not. By even acknowledging his argument, she would be validating it. He was the one being foolish here, not her. So she merely gave him a severe look, and said, “We will give you one week to be cleared from these apartments and off Longbourn land.”
“This is my home, Val, as it is yours.” Here, he took her hand, tenderly.
She sharply pulled it away.
Valeraine yearned to yell at Kesley, to show him how deeply he had hurt her. He already knew all of that, though. He was smart, and knew her well enough to predict her anger.
She didn’t need him to feel her wrath. She wasn’t yearning for an apology from him, or to repair their relationship. He was scum under her boots, and she was finished with him. This was not someone whom she needed to forgive.
“Any questions you have should be directed to Papa’s office.” She turned to go.
It might feel good to accuse him. But his contrition, if he displayed any, would always be false. Because while she dreamed of a convivial future they would build together, he haddreamed of using her to grab his own glory and fame. While she tried to reclaim her friendship with the man who understood her passion for dragoneering, he would just be reclaiming his mark.
She didn’t need his empty promises. She had everything she needed, and he wasn’t part of that.
She left him. She left him standing in his filthy room, without anyone to swindle or manipulate. Kesley had no power over her anymore, because she wouldn’t give him any.
However, there was another person Valeraine was angry with. She went to find Selaide, whom she had spent the last few days avoiding.
Selaide was in the sitting room, embroidering a skirt that Valeraine didn’t recognize. She had betrayed Valeraine many times, big and small. Valeraine could spend the rest of her life resenting Selaide quite easily.
Valeraine didn’t want to hate Selaide, though. Here was a relationship that was worth preserving, and worth repairing. This was her sister. Yes, she would likely betray her dozens more times in the coming decades. It was time to accept that, and find a way to build a friendship with her anyway.
She could not be angry with Selaide. Selaide was a girl of passionate spirits, little respect for others’ property, and gullibility. She was her sister, a source of her happiness. It didn’t matter what Selaide would do next, she would forgive her for it.
Valeraine sat down next to Selaide on the sofa.
