Page 54 of Pretense

“The paper that plagiarized your friend’s article?” Jalissa eyed the innocuous brick building again. It looked like any other large, brick building in the city of Aldon, and this city happened to have a lot of big brick buildings.

“Yes. Not only that, but this paper has been a thorn in my family’s side since they opened shop.” Edmund scowled, rubbing a hand over the grime on his face. “They are known for their inflammatory tone. People read them looking for that, in fact. Even though no one could prove it, their articles were part of stirring up all those protests against the treaty.”

The protests that were attended by people like Lord Bletchly and Mark Hadley, the leaders of a group of traitors who had betrayed Farrendel and Essie to the trolls.

Jalissa resisted the urge to gesture toward the building. “What does this mean?”

“That boy could simply be running errands for both papers. Errand boys aren’t paid that well. He could have multiple jobs.” Edmund sighed and shook his head. “But more likely, it means we have been looking at this the wrong way. I guessed that the person at the Times was the mastermind who stole the article and gave it to the Sentinel to further hurt Essie and Farrendel. But the mole is a mere boy.”

“And that means the mastermind of the theft must be in there.” Jalissa tipped her head in the direction of the building. “Someone must have told that boy what to look for. Probably anything to do with the royal family.”

She should not feel so gratified at Edmund’s nod. She was getting better at this spy thing.

“I should have seen it sooner.” Edmund grimaced, shaking his head. “The Sentinel has been up to their elbows in whatever this is since the beginning. They plagiarized that article. They were the ones who broke the story about Farrendel. I don’t yet know how they are connected to the assassin, but there’s something fishy here.”

“Fishy?” Jalissa wrinkled her nose. She did not smell anything fishy, though it was hard to tell past the variety of stenches clinging to her.

“Not right.” Edmund held his arm out to her. “We should keep moving. Someone might notice if we loiter in front of their building too long, especially since this is on a nicer street than the Times.”

“Why is that?” Jalissa wrapped her hand around his arm in a manner that was growing increasingly comfortable. “Didn’t the Sentinel start up only a few years ago?”

“Exactly.” Edmund set off down the street. “The Times has been around for a hundred and fifty years. It was on a nice, safe street when it began, but the community has deteriorated around it. The Sentinel bought a building on a street that is currently in a safe, wealthier section of the city.”

Sarya fell into step behind them, trailing far enough back that she would not appear as if she was a guard.

“Then why would the Times not move to a safer area?” Jalissa could not put her finger on it, but something felt off about this. “Surely it is detrimental for their business. Wealthy patrons will not want to visit to place advertisements. That is a big thing for your papers, I have gathered. Well educated editors and reporters, especially those from wealthier families, will not want to work in such a place.”

“True. But it isn’t so easy to just buy a large building in a good neighborhood.” Edmund halted and looked at her.

“Yes, that is my thought.” They were far enough away that Jalissa felt safe to gesture back at the Sentinel’s building. “If this is such an expensive neighborhood, then how could the Sentinel afford to buy a place here? And why here in particular? I assume there are other safe, though less expensive places in town.”

“Most importantly of all, who funded them?” Edmund glanced back toward the Sentinel as well. “I think it’s time we took a deeper look into the Sentinel and its finances. We have held off until now, since it would look bad if the Intelligence Office appeared to be hounding the Sentinel as revenge for their pieces about the royal family. They are not the only paper that publishes scandal sheets, after all.”

Jalissa resisted the urge to snort. “Your Escarlish papers are much less polite than ours in Tarenhiel.”

“Very much so.” Edmund gave her a wry smile before he sobered. “We’ll move most of the stakeout over to the Sentinel, leaving only a few people on the Times.”

“Will we join that stakeout?” Jalissa could not help but grimace. Sure, this neighborhood was much cleaner than the last one. The disguises would likely involve better clothing and less odor than their current ones, but Jalissa was tired of sitting on the street doing nothing for days on end. She wanted to help Farrendel and Essie, but this seemed frustratingly fruitless so far.

“No. At least, not right away. I’d like to go through the paperwork myself first.” Edmund’s voice softened as they neared groups of other people strolling the streets at this time of morning. “I’d like to be prepared before we do any skulking around.”

Skulking. Something he must be very good at, after all his practice while spying on Tarenhiel.

What would Weylind have done to him if Edmund had been caught? Would he have been sent back to Escarland? Or would he have been sentenced to death, executed in the forbidden grove? She shuddered, though she probably should not feel sick at the thought.

She shook herself. She did not want to dwell on Edmund’s past spying activities.

Instead, she smiled, trying to put a light tone to her voice. “How do you plan to sneakily search the place since they have two shifts of workers and there are always people around?”

Edmund smirked. “An abundance of people can be as helpful as a lack. I’ll see if I can go undercover as a worker. Since they are a place of business, it’s even legal to do so.”

“Maybe…” Jalissa trailed off. The thought was so impulsive that it was not like her at all. She had nearly blurted it out before she caught herself.

“Maybe what?” Edmund raised his eyebrows. The expression looked funny, with the grime matting his eyebrows and smearing his face.

Jalissa drew in a deep breath, then let it out slowly. If she wanted to be more than a decorative princess, then she had to start doing something more. And this spying thing with Edmund was not just something more, but it also turned being a decorative princess into an asset.

Facing Edmund, Jalissa lifted her chin and met his gaze. “Send me undercover. I will be less recognizable than an Escarlish prince in his own home city. You have female reporters, correct? Perhaps I can be one of those, looking for a job.”

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