AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“Henry…”
“But there’s some truth in your words,” Henry granted, watching. Observing. “You were with her for some time.”
“I wasn’t—” A hand wrapped around the front of Gunther’s shirt and the man’s eyes bulged. Gone was the charmer who could smile his way through everything and in its face was the first flicker of nerves. “Let me go, Henry. There’s nothing to tell.”
“Care to test out the truth chamber for that?”
Gunther’s eyes bulged wider. “You wouldn’t.”
“Have I ever bluffed, brother?”
Gunther stilled. “Henry, let me go.”
“Not until you—”
“Fine. We were together. I proposed to her.”
Perhaps the reluctance played a big part, but Henry sensed the truth ringing in the words. His hand loosened until Gunther stepped back, sniffing loudly and brushing the crumpled shirt area.
“You broke it off after the Silver incident,” Henry surmised. “That was when I felt the change in you.”
“As I had a right to,” Gunther said, ignoring the second statement. A wild look appeared on the man’s features as he defended his stance. “We’re the Lyras and we have a reputation to uphold. Her brother was crazy. You saw it. She kept defending him, too, which was an embarrassment.”
Shame clenched Henry’s gut that he had judged as harshly as Gunther once. But he tilted his head, seeing the lapses succinctly.
“You kept Emerald a secret even before the incident, Gunther. That means you were never planning to marry her.”
Silence. The man shot him a frustrated look, then finally let it out.
“She’s from a powerful family, but they were never as influential as us,” Gunther declared. “Silver was, but that was one out of a handful of the Lyras. We wereallinfluential. In the end, I was right, and it wasn’t long before she was bound to become crazy as well, and would probably end up murdering—”
“Finish that statement and I can promise that it’s the last thing you ever say about them.”
Gunther snapped his mouth shut, stupefaction blazing. The light eyes that always crinkled with humor narrowed.
“It’s Pearl,” Gunther deduced. “You’re letting her influence your thinking, Henry.”
“Or maybe I let you influence mine for too long,” Henry returned. Before Gunther could talk about Pearl some more, Henry went in for the next dreadful topic. “What were you doing in the graveyard with Phineas Marsh?”
This time, Gunther went rigid completely.
“What—”
“Answer me.”
“I was exploring something. A task for a client.”
“With an accused thief?”
“He’s been absolved. You can verify it and my task with the Council.”
“Don’t mind if I do.” Henry looked on. “Why are you on the defense?”
Gunther started pacing and avoiding Henry’s gaze, but the man mustered the courage up at some point and met Henry’s stare head-on. The look matched Verity’s signature haughtiness, turned up a notch by Gunther’s indignation.
“Because I don’t appreciate being suspected overnothing.” Gunther opened his mouth, then closed it. He held up his hands in disgust. “You know what? I’m not going to argue about this. Have your fun, brother, and I hope for your sake that the issue’s resolved by the time Emerald’s sister is done with you. It might even be satisfying to watch her teach you a lesson and prove I was right.”
Was it his imagination, or was it glee he heard just under the disgust? Something ticked inside Henry, warning him. The urge to defend Pearl and put his brother in place was suppressed until Henry could talk in his usual cool voice.
