“Are you saying I can’t have you now?” he asks, a dangerous edge to his voice.
I’m sure Jakob Rasmussen can find a way to get whatever he wants. Whether we’re happy when we get there is another question. If Jakob won’t talk to me, then I’ll have to find another way to make sense of everything that’s happening around me. “I want to see Matilda Desjardins.”
“Invite her to Balzac House.”
“No, I don’t want people coming here if Tieman’s people are watching this place. It might put her in danger. If I go to the government buildings then he won’t know who I’m talking to.”
“It’s not safe for you to go wandering around the city.”
“I’m going from point A to point B with four of your guards. That’s not wandering.”
“No. Out of the question.”
“Either you allow this, or I’m calling the engagement off and you’ll never see me again.”
“Like hell you will,” he growls.
“Watch me.” It’s the one piece of leverage I have over him, and I’m going to use it mercilessly.
I can feel him fuming on the line. “You can have one hour with her, and I’ll arrange it.”
He slams the phone down, and I throw mine onto the bed and fist my hands in my hair. Am I going to have to threaten him like that every time I want something? What happens when I don’t have any leverage left?
Jakob texts me an hour later with a time this afternoon I can visit Matilda at her office. The message ends, Go straight there and then go straight home. He’s still talking to me like one of his men he can order around. He hasn’t listened to a word I’ve been saying.
A full minute later, my phone beeps again. Another message from Jakob.
Please be careful, little fox. I’m learning disturbing things about certain people’s movements.
My anger ebbs away. Maybe he does understand my frustrations. I know he’s worried, and not just about me. About Paravel and the King, too.
The government buildings are over by the palace. It used to be the propaganda branch of the People’s Republic under Varga. There’s an outline on the wall in the foyer where Varga’s insignia of a hammer and a Kalashnikov rifle used to hang. The elections were only a few weeks ago and I guess there hasn’t been time to redecorate. If Tieman gets his way, then everything could go back to the way things were in a heartbeat.
Matilda is up on the third floor, an open plan office that looks like it’s been gutted recently and new furniture installed. A stunning young woman with red hair and freckles dusting her nose and cheeks gets up from one of a dozen desks as I walk in. She’s several inches taller than I am and has an air of careless elegance about her. There’s a gold cross around her neck and small gold earrings in her ears.
She smiles broadly and holds out her hand. “Lady Sachelle? I’m Matilda Desjardins. Let’s go and make coffee and then we can find a room to chat in.”
There’s a sink and a coffee machine on the far side of the room and she leads me over and searches through a cardboard box for mugs.
“Sorry it’s so basic in here. We’re getting by as best we can. This is where the Deputy Secretary works, and I’m one of eight people assisting her. Milk and sugar?”
“Milk no sugar, please. Thank you so much for seeing me. I know you’re busy, so I won’t take up too much of your time.”
She passes me a mug. “I’ve never known anything like it. Right now, the Home Office is most concerned with tracking down Varga’s missing children. Both his son and daughter have disappeared, did you know?”
I nod as I take a sip. “I’ve seen them mentioned in the newspapers. There have been sightings of his son, Vadim, on Cyprus, and Valentina is rumored to have been killed trying to flee, is that right?”
“That’s right. Dead or alive, they need to be accounted for. Some people might want them to carry on their father’s legacy.”
I have a feeling I know which people she means. “I think you know something about the people I was mixed up with until recently. I feel beyond stupid about the things that I’ve done.”
Matilda shakes her head. “If someone doesn’t show you their true face, you can be forgiven for believing they’re someone they’re not. You had the best intentions.”
Intentions that nearly got Briar killed. “That’s very kind of you. Kinder than I deserve.”
Matilda leads me into an empty meeting room and shuts the door behind us. “Not kind. Just realistic. Now, what can I do for you, Lady Sachelle?”
I sit down and wrap my hands around my mug. “I wanted to thank you for the kindness you’ve shown my cousin Briar while she’s being protected in the City Guard station. She’s had a horrible time lately and I think you really helped her.”