“Then…what’s your plan exactly? You say you’ve been here for weeks. What are you doing? Where have you even been staying?”
“Here and there,” Viktor said. “There’s an obscene amount of space in this house that’s not in use. The passages help keep us out of sight.”
“And what have you been doing all this time?” I stopped short, remembering the morning of Dauphine’s dinner party, the day Alex had proposed. “That was you,” I said, recalling the servant I’d seen through the window. The one I’d briefly thought was Alex. I turned to Julien. “Or you. You were pretending to be servants, wandering about the house.”
“We were just boys when we were sent away,” Julien said, neither confirming nor denying. “We wanted to reacquaint ourselves with the manor. With our family.”
“And Gerard and Dauphine truly haven’t seen you?” It seemed impossible that they had not.
“I refilled Mother’s champagne coupe three times that night and she never even blinked,” Viktor said, triumph evident in his voice. “The mind only sees what it wants to. And all that woman wanted was a full glass and a good party.”
“We’ve searched every inch of the manor, looking for answers,” Julien continued. “All but one place.”
Viktor’s mirth died away. “Father’s study. It’s always locked.”
“He wears the key around his neck,” I confirmed. “He’s never without it.”
“That’s where he’s storing the records.” Julien nodded. “I’m certain of it.”
“We’ve tried picking the lock,” Viktor admitted. “It’s impossible. Could…could you help us?”
“Get you into the study?” I clarified.
The boys both nodded.
I paused, feeling uneasy with what I was about to suggest. “Couldn’t you just approach Gerard—or Dauphine—yourselves? I’m certain once they see you both—”
Disdain and disappointment flashed across Viktor’s face. “Oh, Ver, the man has spent our entire lives pretending we don’t exist. He’d laugh us all the way back to Marchioly House. And then put iron bars across every door and window. If we even made it there alive…”
“Gerard wouldn’t—”
“Gerard would,” he snapped.
I thought of the garden shears sunk deep in Constance’s chest and swallowed back rising bile.
If Gerard wouldn’t, Dauphine certainly would.
“He’d do anything to protect himself,” Julien said.
Viktor’s face turned into a sneer. “To protect his perfect family and his perfect legacy. His perfect son!”
“Alex isn’t your enemy,” I said.
He scoffed. “He’s stolen our birthright, our inheritance, our very identities. I’d say that puts us at odds.”
I shook my head. “You said how young you were when you left…. He doesn’t remember you. He’d never willingly have gone along with such a scheme. He’s a good man, I swear that to you.”
“We’ll see.”
“What does that mean?”
“It means…” Viktor shrugged, looking suddenly weary. “We’re not the villains in this, Verity. We’re just two people who’ve been put into a terrible situation, one that was not our creation, and we’re only doing what you’re trying to.”
“Me? What do you think I’m doing?”
His eyes danced over mine, naked and vulnerable. “Surviving.”
Julien nodded. “Will you help us? Please?”
