Chapter 6

“Security is an illusion of ignorance and hope.”

—Boba, the thief made famous by stealing the beautiful princess Lola from inside a palace

“Good morning, Father,” Natali said. She saw her father hunched over at the kitchen table.

He was ignoring his hot eggs and toast, and instead, concentrated on stacks of scattered papers—all of them showing numbers and lists and names and more numbers—in front of him. A small table spot remained clear for her and her breakfast.

The sun streamed in through the patio doors behind Falahgo, and although the rays splashed the papers and her father with sunlight, Natali felt sad.

“Good morning, Natali,” Falahgo said, glancing up and smiling at her before his glance and smile disappeared, into the papers again.

The breakfast before her was plain toast with apple juice, but Falahgo had made it for her. It had been very kind of him, especially when Natali knew how busy and pressured he was.

“Father, you know how I love blueberries and bread with jam,” Natali said. She knew she would be poking a sensitive nerve, but she also wanted to find out how desperate her father was. She wanted to know if he secretly had everything figured out, or whether she was going to find her father dead or gravely injured within a few months.

“I’m sorry, I just didn’t remember. If you want my eggs, then you can have them. I’m having trouble feeling hungry this morning,” he said, not looking up. “I’ve been struggling to keep up with everything at the treasury lately, and we had to let the cook go as you know. I just don’t remember things like I used to. I’m sorry.”

She sat down and crunched down on the dry toast. It really did not taste the same without jam.

She pressed further, “But what about Gia? She doesn’t have a job now.”

He looked up from the papers and gave her a sharp look. He scanned her face, trying to tease out any information he could. Her father knew she was sharp, and she had purposefully poked a sore issue. Thus, she tried her best to look neutral and uninterested as she chewed her toast. She acted as though the thought had come naturally to mind without any motive behind it. She knew he was judging whether he should be suspicious of her newfound prodding and questions.

“As a maid, she will make do with her savings,” he said. “We paid her very well while we had her, but we really can’t afford her anymore. I’m very sorry. I will try to hire her back when I can.”

“But why can’t we have her back now?” she almost cracked a smile but held it in.

“I will try, but sometimes things just don’t happen. Do you understand? How was school yesterday?”

Natali said, “It was fine. I wish I could be at the other school again. All my friends were there, you know, and I really do like the teachers there better than this school, and—”

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Her father cut her off, “—But I really can’t, honey. I wish I could, but I can’t and I wish you’d understand. I’m trying, but we’re behind. I’m not even touching my food because I’m figuring out what I can do.” He waved to the papers stacked all over the table. “If you don’t mind not having that wonderful picture in your room, then even that would help out a little bit.”

Everything she had overheard was true. She had been right to worry. Her expression must have changed in those few seconds while thinking about all the consequences. Her father added, “Oh, well, I guess you don’t have to give it up, if you don’t want to.”

“No, my mind just drifted off there for a moment. The one with the waves and the ship and handsome captain?” she said. It was her favorite. She had requested it be moved into her room the first week she had arrived.

Her father nodded, “Yes, I believe that is the one. You see, it’s a quite wonderful painting, and I’m sure some other family would appreciate it more than you. I bet you’ve memorized every bit of that painting, the ship cutting through the towering waves and the dark storm. Perhaps you’d like one of the library’s paintings instead. Since you like ships, how about that ship painting over the map table?”

She knew of the painting he referred to. It was a poor painting by an unknown artist of a small fishing boat in profile. It had no depth, no vivid coloring, and no captain. She smiled, though inwardly she loved the painting over her bed. She’d have to buy it back some day. She would.

Looking up at him with her olive green eyes and a smile, she lied, “I think I would like that picture very much.”

“Good, good. Excellent. I’ll take care of switching them around within a few days.” The stress crinkles in her father’s face flattened out, and he looked much younger. She wondered how much a painting like that was worth.

Happy with being able to make her father less worried, she went back to eating while he dove back into his papers. After a few minutes she finished and said, “Oh, Father.”

“Yes?”

“I forgot to ask you about that visitor,” she said before taking another bite of toast. She wanted to know if her father wanted to keep the secret away from her or whether he might want to enlist her help. She thought she might be able to help him in some way. However, she needed to know now whether she would have to do it secretly or out in the open.

Falahgo’s eyes lit up and made eye contact. “What visitor?” he asked.

Natali chewed quickly and swallowed, “The visitor that was here late one night. I saw you go outside with him. When I peeked outside you were still talking, so I went back to sleep.”

“Oh, that one. Ah yes, well, he was here on some financial matters that I had to take care of for the city. The city never sleeps, and as treasurer sometimes items come up that need to be handled swiftly.”

“Oh,” Natali said. Her father wanted to protect her from the men wanting money. She thought that was especially sweet, but she wanted to help him. He had helped her so much, she wanted to return the kindness. But she did not know where to begin.

Falahgo had sounded desperate when he talked with the man in the study. Now he looked overwhelmed. She had no doubt that without her help, his world and hers would come crashing down.

She could work, but the additional money would not even dent her father’s debt. She could rob and steal, but she had no experience. That, and who would she sell her stolen goods to? Having a well-connected father, she knew where valuables were located in town, but would it be possible to sell that information somehow? She did not know a dishonest soul. She had been attending a private school for years, until just a few weeks prior.

She decided if the mystery man visited again, she would intervene secretly and try to sell the information to him. But it was possible that the next visit would be in a few months’ time, and she feared that it would be a fatal one.

She did not think there was anything else she could do. The authorities were not useful, as that would ruin him completely. She had no money herself. She had no hard assets.

While she did well in school and was pretty, those two things did not help in this situation.

Her only real solution was to strike a deal with the mystery man when he came back again. It worried her that she could be dragged into a dangerous situation, but she felt it was the least she owed him.