Family Ties (Crossroads Chronicles Book 1) by BR Kingsolver

Author:BR Kingsolver [Kingsolver, BR]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2022-02-26T16:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER 24

A thorough search of the mansion revealed a luxurious bedroom with a noblewoman’s gowns hanging in the closet. I determined to question the captured nobleman about his love life.

I spoke with Captain Balorin, and he told me they captured only the one noble, and he didn’t think any of the dead men were noble. Although I didn’t know Kanorin well enough to know whether she enjoyed occasional slumming, I assumed the nobleman was her lover. I collected the gowns to take back to the palace.

“Expanding your wardrobe?” Bjorn asked.

“Way too long for me. I suppose I could get them cut down, but it would be so embarrassing if someone recognized them. I was more hoping at least one of them hasn’t been laundered since it was last worn. DNA, ya know?”

“You can do a DNA test?”

“I’ll bet Alice McCarthy can.”

He nodded and held out his arms so I could pile the gowns on them. He had grown up with three women and always did a good job of carrying packages when we went shopping. I did notice that several of the gowns were quite fancy, with embroidered borders—neck and hem—and on one of them the embroidery used gold thread. Much fancier than the gowns in my closet in the palace.

“Okay, we’re pretty sure these are Kanorin’s, right?” Bjorn said. “So why do you need absolute proof?”

“Leverage. I’m sure her Uncle Delin would be most interested in talking to her if he knew she was hanging out with insurrectionists. Being able to prove her involvement with that nobleman will make her think.”

“Do you really think she cares?”

“I’m betting that she doesn’t know about all those magical bombs in the basement. She may be using the Berndkek noble to knock off her cousins, but I’ll bet she doesn’t know how he was using her.”

I found a clean sheet in one of the closets and rolled the gowns up in it. I tied the bundle with strips of cloth torn from another sheet, and we went downstairs.

“I want to drop these off with Alice on our way back to the palace,” I told Bjorn. “Do you still have some of Kanorin’s hair sample with you?”

He grinned and patted his chest. “Wouldn’t want to leave something like that lying around, now, would I?”

Before we rode back to town, we dropped by the tavern in the village. It was mid-afternoon and fairly quiet inside. I strolled up to the bar, and the barman did a double take, then a glance at Bjorn, and then back at me.

“Milady?”

“I guess you know that Lord Delin has cleaned out the house on the hill.”

“Uh, yes.”

“This is Lord Bjorn,” I said. “He will be taking charge of the estate. If you know any honest men or women who want to work cleaning up the place, we’ll stop back by in a couple of days. We’ll eventually be reopening the dock.”

He stared at me, then glanced at Bjorn, and back at me. Finally, he said, “That would be good news, milady.

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