Behind Closed Doors (The Worlds Behind Book 2) by W.R. Gingell

Author:W.R. Gingell [Gingell, W.R.]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2023-05-14T16:00:00+00:00

YeoWoo could feel the yellow dust fairly crawling down her throat and lumping there by the time she got back home. To her relief, the pungent, sweet scent of omija tea was lingering warmly in the hall, and when she put her head around the door of the sunroom, both Athelas and Camellia were there.

Camellia, who unceasingly knew the weather and what particular tea was best for which day, must have also predicted when she would arrive, because she was currently pouring tea that still steamed as YeoWoo walked through the door. Athelas sat on the two-seater couch that faced the window and had its back to the door, which would have surprised YeoWoo if she hadn’t suspected that Athelas merely didn’t wish to see her.

Just to annoy him, she sat with her back to the window on one of the faded brocade and wooden chairs, blue chima fluttering down around her on the brocade. The sunshine warmed her back, and making sure that Athelas couldn’t fail to see her warmed YeoWoo a little more.

He sent her a faintly pained look, though he must have spent some time by the stream, because his face looked healthier. He said, “I trust you are not going to pretend that you ran into any difficulties after I left you.”

YeoWoo stared at him, then burst into laughter. “You’re far more likely to run into difficulties than I am!” she said. “Even if your Lord Sero wasn’t waiting in the café just to glare at us and let us know he’s watching us, you can’t tell me that you haven’t seen the couple of behindkind following us the last couple of times we’ve gone through the Gongdeok market, just waiting for me to leave you alone so they can take you in!”

He didn’t try to tell her anything of the kind—nor did he answer anything to do with Lord Sero—but he did say, “Then I can only assume you wish to present your pleased appearance to me, in order to inform me that despite my departure, you did very well in your investigations.”

“I wouldn’t say very well,” YeoWoo said, more seriously. “But I learnt a lot about the contract trade in Myeongdong in particular, and most of the threads I followed today seem to lead right back to the DDP café—or at least to contracts that aren’t strictly above-board. I could persuade a couple of the contracts I talked to today to testify without a great deal of difficulty, I think.”

“How delightful,” remarked Athelas. “Peregrine will no doubt be pleased.”

“I’m not going to Peregrine,” YeoWoo said. There was still by far too much yet to figure out, and to lay out in evidential lines. If she went to the elder with what she had now, they might be able to get to the nymph before the den mother killed her, and they might be able to collar the couple of contracts she’d spoken to today, but that was nothing like the absolute certainty that Peregrine had spoken of being necessary before he acted.

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