Page 112 of Ashen Torment

My voice grows a shade harder. I let out a sigh, looking back down at the handkerchief.

“Tell me, you said you had news?”

“I went to speak with Searle.”

“Mmm...”

“He confirmed Hale’s version.”

Lucien moves, stopping in front of the desk.

“I also inspected the public archives, Lestrade appears to have retired from his affairs and moved—to parts unknown—two years after our father’s death.”

“Parts unknown? That’s impossible, no one vanishes without leaving a trace.”

“Lestrade is a duke, Dorian. A very influential person. It wouldn’t be an impossible feat for him.”

“And Varlen?” my tone stiffens, fingers drumming on the edge of the desk.

“Nothing appears in his name. No properties, no bank movements.”

“They must be somewhere. Let’s start with Lestrade. There must be official documents on his properties, mustn’t there?”

“Yes, that won’t be a problem... however...”

“However?”

He scratches the back of his neck, hesitant.

“We cannot go knocking at every single one of his properties... how long would that take?”

“He is a duke. French, judging by the name, no? Let’s start with his estates in France.”

“But if he intended to disappear, he would never go to the most obvious place—”

“Or he would go to exactly that place,” I interrupt, filling the brandy glass from the decanter, “convinced that anyone looking for him would discard it... because it’s too obvious.”

“You have a twisted mind, little brother.”

A malicious smile curls my lips, I take pleasure in my own reasoning. My brother moves toward the door.

“Lucien.”

He turns, brows raised. “Yes?”

I tighten the handkerchief in my fingers.

“If I wanted to speak with someone, but there were constant external interruptions, how could I ever manage it?”

He stares at me, evident confusion in his eyes.

“You could go with said person to a more secluded place, so to speak—”

“Like the woods? An isolated cottage? A cellar?” I interrupt, tapping the handkerchief against my palm.

Lucien’s eyes go wide and he touches his forehead.

“The woo—but would this person, hypothetically speaking, follow you to such places?”