Page 51 of Pawns of Fate

Hermes, at least, let them both wish him a happy birthday and asked how life at Castle Sharp was going for her.

Her aunt and uncle, however, didn’t even acknowledge Rose and Nicholas, which was a major breach of etiquette considering their status as close relatives.

But Hector and Ghislaine were intent on attending to every party guest except them.

They never even sat at their designated table.

Rose found it strange but decided to have fun and enjoy what would probably be her last major social event before motherhood.

Things began to draw to a close. Rose wanted to request that the carriage take them to the inn when a servant called them to her uncle’s office.

Rose was surprised by this, but when she looked at her husband, she realized he was not.

In fact, Nicholas almost seemed giddy as they followed the servant to meet with Hector.

Her uncle’s office had changed, just like the rest of the castle.

What had once been a heavy, gloomy space filled with books, papers, and ancient furniture was now a bright, gold and marble room decorated with flowers and jeweled books.

They’d even added a small fountain, which her uncle sat beside.

She and Nicholas sat in the unoccupied chairs surrounding the silly fountain. No one bothered with formalities. Tension pressed down on Rose’s neck as she spotted her uncle’s foul mood through his hunched posture and brooding face.

“Well, what do you want?” Hector spat at Nicholas.

Rose almost fell out of her chair. Her uncle was many things, but stupid wasn’t one of them. The way he’d just addressed Nicholas, a higher-ranked noble with whom he shared important business contracts, was akin to declaring war.

Nicholas simply smiled and pulled a paper out of his jacket. He passed it to Hector, whose face grew redder with each word he read.

“Rose, my love.” Nicholas grabbed her hand. “I had Syzman do some digging on certain things about your past that didn’t add up to me.”

“What?”

“Your father was the rightful heir to the title of Viscount Robson. Since he and your mother married, that title should have passed to you. Not his brother.”

“Nicholas, my mother hid me from my father’s family, most likely because she was afraid of my grandparents.

She didn’t know that they’d died shortly after I was born.

I’d been in the orphanage for a decade and a half when my uncle found me.

It wouldn’t have been right for me to take the title after he’d already had it for that long. ”

“She’s right,” Hector added hastily, spittle flying out of his mouth.

“No, she’s not,” Nicholas replied coolly. “Your mother didn’t hide you in the orphanage, Rose. Hector did.”

Rose blinked. The implications of Nicholas’s words hit her like a tidal wave. Her uncle had sent her to the orphanage so that he could take the title of viscount for himself? No, he couldn’t—but Rose stopped her spiraling thoughts because she knew it was exactly what her uncle would have done.

“Uncle, is this true?”

“Rose, don’t listen to him!” Hector pleaded, but his eyes betrayed his panic. He looked like a rat stuck in a trap.

“I have the statements of multiple servants from the time. It turns out that even though you can buy silence with a little money, a guilty conscience can do a lot, too. I have the letter Rose’s mother sent you, Hector.”

He pulled an old-looking paper out of his jacket, but handed this paper to Rose instead of her uncle. Her heart sank as she unfolded the paper and looked over the flowing, feminine handwriting.

Dear Hector,

I know that we have never met, but I beg you, as the wife of your brother, Manius, to look after our daughter.

My family’s ill will has become dangerous for Manius and me—too dangerous for us to safely care for our child.

Please send a trustworthy servant to the Spring Temple Orphanage in Guiterra.

Rose will be there. She is a sweet baby, and her hair is already the loveliest shade of Robson pink.

I know you and Ghislaine will adore her and care for her just as well as Manius and I if we cannot retrieve her from you soon.

Please, please take care of your niece, my lovely little Rose.

Annicka Robson

Hot tears pressed at the back of Rose’s eyes.

She couldn’t believe how cruel her uncle had been, how many lies he’d told!

All this time, she’d just accepted that Hector had done the best he could, that he simply hadn’t known about her existence.

But this! He’d lied about everything, from the fact that the priestesses clearly hadn’t named her to the fact that her mother had begged him and Ghislaine to raise her!

Hector grumbled, shifting uncomfortably in his seat. “Well, what do you want anyway? I can’t change the past. It’s done now, and I’m the viscount.” He wasn’t even denying it! Rose’s tears turned to anger; her blood boiled.

“I wonder about that,” Nicholas said with venom.

Hector’s already red face deepened into a distasteful hue. “She’s going to be a marchioness! What would she need with the title of viscount?”

“We’ll have more than one child. The younger could inherit all of the Robson fortune.”

Veins popped out of Hector’s neck as he ground his teeth together. Rose was slightly worried the man might have a heart attack from all the commotion. Her anger melted into apathy.

“Nicholas…” Rose whispered to her husband and touched his arm. She didn’t want revenge. She just wanted to leave.

Nicholas was not so easily dissuaded.

Hector stood, his face beginning to color like an ugly bruise and his veins protruding like they might burst at any moment. Was he going to charge at them?

“We could compromise,” Nicholas huffed as though he’d just lost a round of chess, not threatened to take away a man’s noble title. “You did arrange our marriage after all.” He patted Rose’s hand gingerly.

“I wouldn’t be in this mess if I hadn’t!” Hector spat.

“I doubt that. Anyone else would have done the same research. You could only pull this deception off because Rose was a young girl when it began. Well, really, she was a baby.”

Nicholas looked at her with love-filled eyes.

Rose knew her eyes, on the other hand, were a storm.

Nicholas had guessed that she would have mixed feelings about all this.

It was why he hadn’t told her the true purpose of coming here today.

She might have tried to talk him out of it; he always said she was too kind for her own good.

Her uncle’s family had never treated her with much fondness, but they’d never abused her. Well, at least she thought they hadn’t abused her until today.

Still, it seemed like her aunt and cousins were also in the dark about the deception, so they’d never even taken advantage of her like Hector had. Any actions taken against Hector would ultimately fall on them, too. Rose needed time and space to sort through all her feelings on the matter.

“We want the mines and the marshes. You can keep them for one more year so that you have enough time to get your financial situation in order.” Nicholas gestured around to the opulent decorations.

“After the year is over, that portion of Robson territory and ninety percent of the mine’s profits all transfer to Rose.

You may keep the other ten percent, but it is to be used for territorial management and the betterment of your people. ”

Hector waved his fists wildly, inadvertently splashing the fountain water. “Go to hell! I’ll fight this in court!”

“And we’ll take everything if you do. We have the proof to sway any jury in our favor. Your family will be penniless and out on the streets.” Nicholas paused, letting his words sink in. “It’s a good deal, and you won’t get a better one.”

Hector sat back in his chair and put his head in his hands. “This will ruin me.”

“It really shouldn’t.” Nicholas sounded like he was talking to a misbehaving child. Rose would have laughed at the absurdity if she weren’t struggling to control a maelstrom of emotions.

Nicholas continued, “You’ve managed more on a stricter budget.

If you invest the next year’s profits carefully, your family will do quite well.

You needn’t raise taxes or make your people suffer.

It would only cause a revolt.” Nicholas’s words were surprisingly merciful, though they held no warmth.

Rose realized that he said them as a warning.

“Uncle,” Rose said softly. She put a hand on his shoulder. Tears threatened to spill from her eyes, though she wasn’t sure if she was crying for or because of her uncle. Perhaps it was both.

“Rose… I was wrong. I told myself that I was doing it because a baby couldn’t fulfill the viscount’s duties, but I shouldn’t have left you in the orphanage. You are family,” he pleaded.

She’d wanted to hear that last sentence for most of her life. But it just sounded… hollow to her now. Her heart turned to stone as she realized it was just her uncle’s attempt to change Nicholas’s mind.

Warm, strong arms embraced her. She buried her face in her husband’s broad chest as she cried. Hector put his head in his hands.

“Go. Try not to run into your aunt and cousins. I’ll break the news to them tomorrow morning.” He sighed, staring at the floor. “Let’s not ruin a good party for everyone.”

“Are you taking the deal?” Nicholas asked as he led Rose out of the room.

Hector didn’t reply.