I smiled tightly and nodded.
“Well?” she pushed.
I stood there awkwardly. “Yes?”
“Aren’t you leaving?” she asked with a raised brow. “You usually go to your secret hideout to do your paintings while Maeve is in her lessons.”
So I didn’t stay here… which meant wherever Arya was hiding her paintings and money must be somewhere close to the art school, for her to travel to and from on her own without Maeve. She would have to walk there. Where the hell could it be?
“Oh, uh… I’m not going today, I’m going to wait for Maeve… Actually, I’m going to pull her out of class right now.” I gave another awkward laugh. “Where is she?”
Mirabel frowned and gave me a disapproving scowl. “Why? If you’re not going to paint, you could at least bring me the painting that’s already late.”
I glowered and tapped into my inner Arya. “Since when did I answer to you? I said I would get them to you, so don’t rush me! You’ll get them when I want you to get them!” I lifted my chin haughtily. “Now, show me Maeve’s classroom. We need to leave,” I demanded.
Maeve wassurprised when I pulled her out of class, but she knew better than to ask questions. We quickly walked out of the art school with our arms interlocked. I practically dragged her outside and turned left, not knowing if it was the correct direction or not, purely focused on getting away from the school and Mirabel’s accusing eyes.
“My lady, are you okay? What’s going on?” Maeve asked.
“Shh,” I quieted her and tried to put distance between us and the school. Once we were far enough away, I scanned the area and stopped, then turned to Maeve. “I need to ask you a serious question, and you need to answer me truthfully.”
“Of course,” she whispered. “What’s wrong?”
“It’s about Arya,” I murmured, staring into Maeve’s guileless eyes. “She’s been lying to you. While you’ve been in your art lessons, she’s been going elsewhere.”
“What?” she gasped. “That’s not possible!”
“Shh,” I hushed her and looked around us again to make sure no one was listening. “Itispossible. Now listen – you know her best. Wherever she goes must be within walking distance from the school. Where would she go?”
Maeve’s expression turned grave as true concern and worry crossed her features. She spun around, trying to figure out where we were in the Northern District.
“I—I don’t know, I…”
“Relax, Maeve,” I whispered, massaging her shoulders to calm her as she began to tremble with nerves. “Remember your Lady Arya is not here, and she’s not in danger. But whatever she was doing was dangerous and could have potentially put her in danger. We need to figure it out before she returns so we can help her.” I waited until she met my eyes. “Take deep breaths.”
She nodded. “Okay… well, we headed south when we left the school, which is the opposite direction from the Ryder residence, toward the Southern District. But… if we head back toward the school and head east, the Ryders have a beach house nearby. It’s a bit of a walk, but it’s not so bad.”
“Very good, Maeve.” I patted her shoulders reassuringly. “Does anyone live in this beach house?”
She shook her head. “No. It’s generally empty year-round. The only reason Lord Zacharia hasn’t sold it is because it belonged to his late wife and Lady Arya threw a fit when he mentioned selling it.”
“Was Arya close to her mother?”
Maeve shook her head. “No, which was why her reaction was so odd. But no one could calm her down until Lord Zacharia relented and agreed not to sell the house.”
I snorted. That house was undoubtedly her hideaway, the place where she painted and hid all her secrets. That sneaky bitch.
Suddenly, the hairs on the back of my neck stood on end. It felt like we were being watched. I’d bet that whoever was following us would make themselves known soon. And usually, my gut was right.
“Let’s go there now,” I said quickly. “Is it far from where we are?”
“A bit,” Maeve murmured and looked around. “But I don’t have a key.”
“That’s not a problem.” I grinned. Knowing Arya, she’d probably wouldn’t carry a key with her, either. There must be one around the beach house. “Let’s go.”
17
CAT
