Chapter 3
The list lived in Wallace Marden’s private dining room.
Of course it did.
Old men love placing ugly traditions beside polished furniture.
I sent no army.
Just Rafe and one trusted driver to bring Wallace to the engagement pavilion.
He arrived forty minutes later.
Seventy-one.
Silver hair.
Perfect suit.
No embarrassment.
He kissed Celia’s cheek before acknowledging me.
That irritated me.
“Roderick.”
“Wallace.”
His eyes dropped to the pay envelopes.
Then Elodie.
No surprise.
Interesting.
“You know her.”
“I know who she is.”
Elodie stiffened.
Wallace did not look at her again.
That told me everything about the hierarchy in his head.
“What does Thomas Vale owe you?”
He smiled faintly.
“Old matter.”
“Amount.”
“More than his family could ever repay.”
Walter laughed.
Actually laughed.
Wallace turned.
“Careful.”
Walter’s smile vanished, but he did not lower his eyes.
Good.
I asked Wallace:
“Did Thomas finance your payroll?”
No answer.
“Did you repay him?”
“He was compensated.”
“With a false accusation?”
Wallace looked at me.
“You’re hearing one side.”
“Excellent.”
I gestured toward him.
“Give me yours.”
He did.
Thomas was loyal.
Then ambitious.
Then resentful.
He started acting as though helping Marden made him equal to Marden.
There.
Class wound.
Not money.
Wallace could tolerate owing an employee.
He could not tolerate the employee knowing it.
So when Thomas demanded repayment publicly, Wallace destroyed his credibility.
He admitted it without using those words.
“Families need order.”
Elodie whispered:
“My father died ashamed.”
Wallace finally looked at her.
“He should have remembered his place.”
Everything inside me became very still.
Celia noticed.
“Dad.”
Too late.
Wallace continued.
“The debt was transferred to his household.”
I stared.
“What does that mean?”
“Thomas cost us more than he gave us.”
No.
It meant Wallace had decided a dead employee’s children inherited his resentment.
Then I asked:
“How many names?”
He frowned.
“On what?”
“The list.”
Silence.
I smiled without warmth.
“You brought that silence into the wrong house.”
Eventually:
“Seventeen families.”
Elodie looked at Celia.
“You’ve been taking money from seventeen families?”
Celia answered before her father.
“Not all wages.”
May you like
That sentence was somehow worse.
Because it meant she knew the details.
