Fuck fuck fuck fuck fuck fuck!
Waverly was really deep in the shit now.
Hiram nearly got himself blown sky high today, saved only by chance as he stepped outside his office. He'd then sent a note to her, warning her that a notorious pirate had joined hands with fucking Attano Corvo!
Their relationship, both romantic and financial, was as far from the public eye as could be, but that did not mean it was impossible to find a connection between them. A studious accountant could easily link her withdrawals from the bank with the influx of cash in Hiram's own account, even without a direct transfer.
Was she going to die? She was going to die, wasn't she? Hiram promised she would be a queen, and instead she wasn't going to see thirty!
She could run away, she thought. She disregarded the notion immediately. Living without all her wealth and influence, would that even be living? No, it would not. She would not wallow in the mud like the common masses.
This was not conviction, a willingness to face death to keep the things that were important to her. No, she would simply die without those things just as well as she would be murdered for clinging to them.
Thankfully, Hiram was not a callous man; at least not towards her. He would not abandon her, because in spite of his calculative mind, he was madly in love with her. His affections were returned, too, only to a lesser degree; she loved him for what he could bring her, and that was enough.
Speaking of Hiram's calculative mind, he did not panic after the attempt on his life and accidentally reveal their relationship in a hurry to keep her safe. Instead, he increased the guards for the entire Estate District; something none of the nobility could argue against. If there were a few more patrols around the Boyle Mansion than elsewhere, that was probably just a coincidence, no?
She appreciated his cleverness far more than his bald head.
Focus!
How was she going to weasel her way out of this mess?
Perhaps she could simply lay the blame on the others. It wasn't like she took any active role in the conspiracy to murder the queen. Surely the former royal protector would be reasonable for that reason?
Yes, yes that would do it! She's also a victim in this! Hiram only brought her into this at the last minute anyways, so what was wrong with saying she didn't know until after? It wasn't that much of a stretch.
With this excuse in mind, she was already feeling better.
That is, until she remembered that Attano had help from a notorious pirate now. Hiram didn't even tell her which pirate it was, stating it was too dangerous to put the name in writing. Oh no, what if the pirate made a deal with Attano, their cooperation in exchange for Waverly?!
There was nothing else of sufficient value to offer than herself! That rotten bastard! Does he think he can simply sell the life of a noble lady like a cheap strumpet?!
*slam*
The door to her bedroom burst open and Waverly let out a panicked scream.
"What's got you so excited, sister?" Esma asked with her usual smugness for having startled her.
"Be nice, Esma," Lydia strode into the room behind her. "We have important matters to discuss."
Important matters? Did they want to talk about the bombing? Did they know about her and Hiram?!
"Yes, yes, the masquerade," Esma brought a halt to her spiraling thoughts. "You insisted that we'd wear matching costumes, Waverly, and you've stalled on the designs for far too long. Make up your mind already!"
"Right, the costumes," Waverly tried not to walk too stiffly over to her desk. "I finished them last night. With a rush order, we should get them with time to spare."
Lydia clicked her tongue. "Just because we have more money than we can spend doesn't mean we should waste it at every opportunity."
"Don't be so stingy, sister~" Esma sing-songed. "Every Beri we spend makes the common folk happier, no?"
"I don't care about the common folk. I care about the rumors," Lydia said in a restrained, but seething tone.
"Bah! Only fools believe those rumors!" Esma waved her hand dismissively.
"What rumors?" Waverly questioned.
"My my, you're falling behind, Waverly," Esma shot her another obnoxious smile.
"The ones that say we're running dry on our wealth!" Lydia interjected. "As if the Boyles could run out of money, of all things!"
"Precisely, Lydia," Esma seemed to delight in being the one to lecture Lydia for once. "There isn't a chance in the world that we would go broke. I don't even bother checking our accounts, and I know that you don't bother either. Tedworth's monthly reports that we're still filthy rich are proof enough that it's true."
Waverly had to hold back from squirming as they discussed their family finances.
Tedworth, the Boyle family treasurer, had been their loyal bean counter for well over half a century. His father before him, and his grandfather before him, had served the Boyle family faithfully long before that. They trusted him.
They were wrong to trust him. All Waverly had to do was offer him an absurd amount of money, and he agreed to help her hide just how much money she'd been sending Hiram.
The Boyle fortune might be vast, but a personal fortune, no matter how great, could not compare to the expenditures of governance. The rumors that they were going broke, while an exaggeration, was not an entirely unjustified suspicion.
"How are the catering arrangements coming along, Esma?" Waverly changed the subject, taking some satisfaction when Esma began to make excuses for her own procrastination.
Waverly tried not to think about what would happen if Tedworth betrayed her.
…
"This is everything, then?" Reiju inquired.
"Yes, ma'am," Tedworth confirmed. He adjusted his cola bottle glasses as he squinted at her with his ancient eyes. "I must say, Lady Boyle, your hair dye is very well done! I could never pull off pink myself."
"Thank you, that's very kind," Reiju said. She didn't even bother changing her voice; the man was so old that he just assumed that she was his boss when he'd answered the door to her. Apparently he doesn't have many dealings with young women, if he couldn't even imagine anyone else showing up to his office.
It was awfully convenient, though. It gave her pretty much complete access to all the Boyle family's finances. It seemed that Waverly had been very naughty recently, sending all this money to the Lord Regent on the sly.
"Everything looks like it's in order. As expected of your work, of course," Reiju commented. "You don't mind if I keep these copies, do you?"
"Thank you, my lady! They are yours to do with as you please, of course!" Tedworth eagerly assented. "Will you be needing the monthly report in a few days' time, as well? Or will the documents I have arranged for you suffice?"
"I would prefer it if my sisters didn't know that I was snooping. You know how they can be," Reiju stated. "It's best to go ahead with the monthly report."
"As you wish, my lady," Tedworth nodded.