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“Tell me, Mirilla, how is it that the attacker happened to know they could access Au’revele’s quarters?”

“I don’t know.”

“Why did you not tell us that you’d lost your passkey so that we could reprogram the electronic locks on the doors? How is it that you just happened to lose it the day before my son’s nursery was infiltrated? Isn’t it also convenient that the attacker seemed to also know that they would be unchallenged if they did happen to be seen entering our nanny’s quarters? Why do you think that is?” Quin asked. The disdain in his voice was evident.

“I have no idea,” she answered truthfully.

“No idea. None at all?” he pressed.

“No, Sire. None.”

“Perhaps it’s because you already set the presidence by slipping in quietly, repeatedly. And perhaps they were able to get in easily because you gave your key to whoever was pretending to be you as they accessed my son’s nursery while he was sleeping!”

“It’s not true,” she said, looking to Bart for any kind of support at all.

But he stood silent, watching it all unfold.

“Okay, I can see that you’re not swayed to admit to any wrongdoing. You still insist you were not involved, so, let’s move to the most obvious. If you weren’t personally involved, not theone who actually attacked my son, then surely you told someone about your escapades, and they took your disdain for our security and used it to their advantage. So who was it? Who did you tell about entering our home that way you did?” Quin demanded.

“No one! My presence here is no one’s business but mine, Sire.”

“Sticking with that, are you?” Quin asked sarcastically. “Then we’ll try this route. Tell me why the only night my family was attacked was also the only night you didn’t sneak in like a criminal in the night to spend some time with Bart as you did every other night. Seems convenient, doesn’t it?”

“It’s not convenient. It’s a coincidence! And I never behaved like a criminal in the night. I simply went to any lengths necessary to protect his reputation and mine and that of the palace as well,” Mirilla insisted.

“Any lengths necessary… Interesting choice of words. And that desire to protect is admirable. Unless you consider the fact that you lost a passkey that grants entrance into any residence in this entire palace, including ours and the Sovereign’s, and you didn’t bother to make it known so that we could protect ourselves. You profess to want to keep us safe, yet quite literally give the key to our safety to any who might have found it — assuming you did in fact lose it. It’s a contradiction I can’t quite grasp, Mirilla.”

“I thought that with the guards you all had posted, you’d be safe until I could find the chance to tell the Sovereigna,” she said.

“You had the chance the night you claim it went missing, and all day yesterday. Why didn’t you do it then?”Quin asked.

“I was afraid to! I’ve never made a mistake. Never!”

“So your fear of being chastised was enough to justify placing our family at risk,” Quin snarled.

“That’s enough, Quin,” Eula said. “We don’t even know if a key was used or not, stop assuming.” She approached the girl she honestly considered a friend. “Mirilla, surely someone has become aware of the ease with which you visit this residence and they’ve taken advantage of it. I don’t for a moment believethat it’s you who willfully put us at risk. But we simply have to ask the questions. We have to determine who the culprit was so that they can be found out and fully prosecuted along with anyone involved in the planning of the attack.”

“I don’t have any answers for you,” Mirilla said. “I wish that I did, but I’ve not told anyone anything at all. I’ve gone to great lengths to keep my business here private. I’ve not even told anyone but you that I had an interest in Chairman Bartholomew. I’ve even avoided telling you about…”

“About what dear?” Eula asked.

Mirilla looked over at Bart.

He stood there with his hands in his pockets looking defeated. Finally he raised his eyes to hers and shrugged. “Go on,” he said, almost like a dare. “Tell them.”

Mirilla took a deep breath and turned to Eula. “Our engagement. We are engaged. Or we were,”she confided.

“Why is it that you have made sure that no one at all knows that we care for one another? Do you see how easy that was?” Bart asked.

“Do you see how suspicious it looks?” Quin asked.

Mirilla turned back to Bart. “You know why. I have responsibilities here. A reputation to uphold, as do you.”

“For what benefit? If you plan to marry me, move away with me so that I can continue my career as a means of support for our family, why is it so humiliating to you if others know?”

“It’s not humiliating! It’s… Bart…” she said, her surprise at his question, her heartache as she realized he wasn’t defending her apparent in the tone of his name as she spoke it. She just stopped speaking. Nothing she said mattered anyway, no one was listening to her words. No one was giving her the benefit of the doubt, except for perhaps Eula.

Bart shook his head slowly. “I’ve stood firm in my defense of you up to this point, but I have to admit, every point I’ve heard has created doubts. I hate these doubts because I love you. But I keep asking myself, were you just playing a part to gain my trust so I’d grant you unfettered access to this residence? Was that your end game? Was the reason you didn’t want anyone to knowthat you had any relationship with me so that suspicion wouldn’t fall on you when this all came to fruition? So that no one would know you’d been coming in via another route than the front door? I don’t know what to think, Mirilla. I’m even doubting myself now. I was so very proud of you, wanting to present you to everyone I know, and I still feel that despite all this. I’d still give you my name and take you away from here. But you’re standing here, still wanting to keep me hidden. What does that say about your reasons for all this? Help me understand, Mirilla. Help me have the understanding to fight against the points that have been justifiably presented.”

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