Page 29 of An Enchantress for an Earl

“Indeed. I am as surprised – and grateful – as you. People will listen to her. So, we can hope that this will blow over with no real harm done to Petrina’s reputation. But what worries me is why? Arryn, who could hate this family so much as to continually target us like this? I cannot fathom what any of us might have done for them to believe that we deserve such treatment.”

“Neither can I.” Arryn swallowed some of his brandy in a rather large gulp. He could not stand it anymore – he could see no way to work out who the blackmail notes had come from – he did not recognise the hand they were written in, and had discovered no other clues. He would have to tell his father about them. “But… I do have something that I have not told you about, which perhaps provides some clues – if only we can understand them.”

Westerhazy looked at him, startled.

“Clues?”

Arryn rose, and went to unlock his desk, pulling out the two crumpled notes.

“These. This one came first, two weeks ago. Then this one, a day or so ago. I have looked, and thought, and cannot work out who they might be from, or why, nor could I resolve the conflict between being asked to lie, and needing to protect my family. I am sorry Father – I wanted to solve this, to stop it without you needing to ever see these. But I have failed you, again.”

He had dropped the two notes into Westerhazy’s hands as he spoke, now he went back to his seat, and settled, waiting as his father examined the notes. Guilt filled him again, and he wished, with all his heart, that he had somehow contained himself, and never told Professor Whimpferhim what he thought.

His father looked up, his expression concerned, but still filled with puzzlement.

“You do not recognise the hand that these are written in?”

“No. No one that I know writes in such a manner. And the seals bore no crest – they were simply sealed with a flattened blob of plain red wax. I have been able to see nothing that gives any clue as to the identity of the person behind these, or their motivation for so harming us. The only slight clue seems to be the fact that they want the committee to decide that creating ‘forgery-proof’ bank notes is impossible. But I do not understand who might want that, or why.”

“Indeed, it is strange, but I think that may be a bigger clue than you realise. What if this person bears no direct enmity for our family at all? What if we are merely a means to an end? For if they want the committee to fail in its quest for a solution to the forgery problem, perhaps they are willing to use whatever leverage they can to force that result.”

“Perhaps. But why do they want it to fail?”

“I don’t know yet – but we will work that out. Unfortunately for them, we are far more stubborn, as a family, than it seems they expected – especially you. I’ve no doubt that your inability to perpetrate a falsehood is not something they were aware of, or allowed for. The conflict that this situation induced in you would not be something that most people might reasonably be expected to feel.”

“Are you… are you suggesting that my… stubbornness… about order, and matters of truth, might actually be an advantage?”

“I am.”

Arryn burst into laughter.

“I never thought to hear you say such a thing.”

His father joined the laughter for a moment, then fixed him with a serious gaze.

“Your grandfather would be proud of you, Arryn.”

“He… perhaps. But… what should we do?”

“Think on it. Rather than think, as you have been, about who might hold enmity for us, let us both think about what reason any man might have, for wanting to see the committee fail to deliver a solution to the forgery epidemic. Perhaps, that way, we will come to understand better what we are facing. But now, sleep. We can do nothing more tonight, but be grateful that Lady Gillieston wields the amount of influence that she does.”