Page 7 of Fragile Oath

Keeping my expression as neutral as I could, I forced my gaze away from the damning evidence. I weighed my options. I could lie, but it wouldn’t be hard to disprove, so I settled on the truth.

“I wasn’t wearing that last night,” I said, thinking back to the last time I had worn the cufflink. “I haven’t seen them since I was last at Chridhe.”

Ward arched a graying eyebrow. “Did they go missing?”

I drummed my fingers on the chair as I contemplated the question, my eyes going distant as I tried to recall exactly how I’d lost them. I vaguely remembered Blaine mourning their loss, but they weren’t my favorites to begin with, so I hadn’t been overly concerned with my manservant’s fretting. Truthfully, I had suspected they had wound up in someone else’s bed.

I shifted uncomfortably. It hadn’t been…the proudest time in my life.

“I’m not sure, but they didn’t make it back here.” Only now did I think to wonder if they had been taken from my rooms after I left Chridhe.

Was this all part of a nefarious plan? To wait nearly a year to pin my cousin’s murder on me? Or was it merely a contingency plan from an enemy?

“Apologies, My Laird.” The words rang out as falsely as they had every other time he started a question that way. “But if that’s true, why did you never attempt to track them down?”

The corner of my mouth ticked upward in a humorless smirk. I was tired of this game. Exhausted. And impatient. “My manservant tried. You can feel free to ask him about it.”

A condescending chuckle escaped the Magistrate’s lips. “A man who is paid to keep your secrets is not the most reliable source of information. If, perhaps, someone could corroborate your whereabouts last night…”

Uncle Finn looked sharply my way again, and I forced myself to take a deep breath.

“Regrettably, my fiancée has already left to visit her uncle in Chridhe, as I’ve told you.”Several times now.

It wasn’t quite a lie, given that Mikhail was on his way there and Galina was, apparently, desperate to get back to her life in Socair. It made sense that she would meet him at Chridhe or on the road, unless she was planning on getting all the way through the tunnels with whatever escort she had wrangled for herself.

“A visit which was, for reasons unknown, being kept secret?”

It wasn’treasons unknown. I had told him several times now that Galina had been a target for the rebels, a truth that was slowly gnawing at my insides with every moment I delayed taking off. I reminded myself that she had rather graciously left me in a precarious position that would lead to a demolished reputation and an apparent lack of alibi, but it didn’t matter.

I still needed to make sure she was safe. Because it was my obligation, obviously.

“My family does not make it common practice to announce our comings and goings, and Lady Galina is free to go where she pleases. You can question her when she returns.”Which will be never.“But in the meantime, please do go about finding the actual culprit.”

I smoothly got to my feet, keeping my emotions tucked squarely away.

“And I trust you’ll keep the contents of this conversation private, as is your duty,” I said pointedly, not bothering to hide the threat in my tone.

Ward merely bowed his head, which was as dubious an answer as any.

Uncle Finn nodded behind me, and we made our way into the hall. Neither of us spoke on the way to my parents’ private study, but he clapped a hand on my shoulder in a gesture of comfort.

We took the back halls, since most of the guests were headed down for dinner. I had less than no desire to run into any of them after my encounter with Ward, nor did I want to hear any of their gossip about what happened.

All I could do now was hope that my family had made some progress while we had been tied up with the magistrate — a hope that was quashed as soon as I saw their frustrated expressions.

“Any updates?” I asked, walking directly toward the drink cart and pouring myself a dram of whiskey. I already knew the answer, but it was still disappointing when my father confirmed it.

“Nothing,” he said with a subtle shake of his head.

While his expression hovered somewhere between confused and concerned, my mother’s features were hardened and impassive. I studied her, not for the first time since Galina disappeared. When she glanced up at me, she rolled her eyes.

“For the last time, Davin. No, I did not help Galina leave,” she said irritably. “Of course, I would have helped her to the border, had she asked.” She paused, bringing her whiskey glass to her lips and taking a long sip. “But not like this.”

Gallagher nodded in agreement, disappointment evident in the slumped set of his shoulders.

I clenched my jaw. Did Galina realize I wasn’t the only person she hurt when she disappeared in the middle of the night? Did she care?

“Well,” I sighed, “I’ll have to go after her.”

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