"Ray..." Florian walked into the study without knocking, his attention focused more on the paper in his hands than on the path his feet were taking. He came to a stop in front of the desk without looking up. It was a full minute before he realized he'd interrupted something.
"Sorry," he muttered, backing away quickly from the annoyed look Ray sent him.
"Get back here." Ray waved his servant Luc away after shoving a handful of papers at him and focused his attention on the letter in Florian's hands. "If that's another invitation to some half-wit's masked ball..."
"Hardly," Florian responded with forced lightness. Fallen aristocrats didn't receive invitations to mingle with polite society, unless it was a ploy to discover the truth behind the rumors. As a member of the royal Rochefort family whose mother died in mysterious circumstances, whose uncle disappeared without a trace, and who now lived as the property of his foreign-born cousin, Florian inspired more than a few rumors.
Clearing his throat awkwardly, Florian stepped forward and handed the single page of heavy stationery to his patron. "It's from the family solicitor. Something about an inheritance."
Ray snatched the page away and frowned at it as he read the short but formal missive. "An inheritance left in trust by your father to be presented on the eve of your 23rd birthday." He glared up at Florian who was looking a bit pale. "I thought you were penniless. What could have been left for you to inherit?"
"I have no idea. I thought that cursed jewel was all my family had left before..."
"Before I bought you?" Ray rose gracefully from his chair and stalked closer to Florian, the glint of ownership in his eyes. He reached out and cupped Florian's chin, turning the man's face upward slightly so his eyes shone brightly in the lamplight. His fingers caressed Florian's soft skin tenderly and he was glad to see that Florian accepted the touch without flinching. It wasn't so many months ago that any physical contact made the man uncomfortable.
"Your birthday's on Friday, isn't it? So we should expect a visitor tomorrow?" Ray slid his fingers lightly down Florian's neck, leaning close to add softly, "I'll stay with you if you'd like."
Florian nodded, not meeting Ray's eyes. He stepped back slowly and whispered, "thanks" before retreating from the study.
Ray returned to his desk, frowning at the abandoned letter before setting it aside and returning to his work.
Luc showed the solicitor into the drawing room at 6:02 p.m. The man was thin and slightly stooped with a small mustache and silver hair. He carried a leather valise and a silver-tipped cane, neither of which he allowed Luc to set aside when he surrendered his hat.
"Jean Martine," he introduced himself to both men, shaking Ray's hand first. "You are Count Courland, of course. Florian's patron." He turned his attention to Florian and shook his hand before taking the offered seat. "You look well," he commented to Florian, then muttered, "deplorable rumors. Can't believe half of what you hear."
Florian agreed with a strained smile and Ray lit up a cigar with a huff of impatience.
"Yes, yes, you're curious about my letter. To be expected, of course." He blinked at Florian. "I suspect you knew nothing of this trust?"
"No, Monsieur. This is a surprise. And the timing..." Florian's voice trailed off as he tried to find a way to express his confusion.
"You don't remember your father well, do you Florian?"
"Not really. He was quite ill before I was born and was bedridden soon after. I wasn't permitted to see him very often. My mother was afraid it would weaken him."
"Pity, pity. He was a good man. A tragedy he was taken so young. I'd been the family solicitor for years and knew him his whole life." Martine reached into his valise and removed a small iron-clad wooden box with a heavy lock. "He gave me this a few months after you were born and insisted I tell no one about it. He said it would guarantee your future and wanted you to have it when you were old enough to use it wisely."
Ray gave a snort of amusement at that and Florian glared daggers at him before turning back to Martine. "Forgive him, sir. You were saying?"
"Not at all," Martine continued with a glance at Ray. "Your father refused to leave a letter. He insisted that whatever is in the box would speak for itself." Martine handed the box to Florian, then reached into the valise to withdraw a plain wooden box with a simple latch. "The first box has been kept in a vault until this afternoon while this," he opened the plain box to reveal a heavy key, "has been kept hidden in my home until this morning. Your father insisted that you open this only in private."
Florian accepted the key with thanks and set the two boxes aside, rising as Martine did. "Won't you at least stay for tea?"
"Thank you, no, my boy. I promised the wife I'd be home for dinner." He shook Florian's hand again and smiled. "You have my address should you need my services, or if you'd care to make a visit sometime. I've a few tales I could share about your father."
"I'd like that very much, sir." Florian smiled and extended his arm to the older man, prepared to escort him to the door. Martine hesitated and turned towards Ray.
"An honor, Count Courland. And my personal thanks for taking such care of my friend's son."
Ray nodded and offered his hand. Martine shook it firmly, then turned back to Florian, letting himself be guided out, mostly as an excuse to talk privately with the young man.
Florian returned several minutes later with a thoughtful expression. He smiled at the sight of Ray staring at the box and considered teasing him about it. He didn't, though, choosing instead to pick up the two items and walk out of the room. He could feel Ray watching him and paused in the doorway to say: "Well? Don't you want to see what's in here?"
Ray grinned and followed, surprised that Florian headed for the study rather than his room. Door closed, both of them took seats while Florian drew the small reading table between them and set the boxes down. He felt nervous for some reason and rubbed his hands on his pants before opening the small box and lifting out the key.
"Are you sure you don't want some privacy?" Ray asked gently. "I could go check on dinner."
"It's okay. I just... I can't imagine..." Florian blinked rapidly and looked down. "I barely remember him."
"Would you rather open it tomorrow?"
"No." Florian straightened, his jaw firm with resolve as he fit the key into the lock and gave it a turn. It resisted at first, stiff from not being used in so many years. A little more pressure and the lock clicked open. Florian reached out with both hands and lifted the lid slowly. "What...?"
He stared at the item with a mixture of shock and horror, his hands dropping away as he shifted backwards. "It can't be..."
Ray reached forward, unable to resist the lure of the jewel shimmering against a midnight blue silk. Roughly oval and larger than his fist with a multi-faceted surface, it could only be the Rochefort family treasure known as the Flame of Mughal.
"Don't touch it," Florian choked out, his voice rough and his face ashen. He'd seen the cursed jewel destroyed along with his family's ancestral castle, his uncle, his aunt and his mother. He would have died along with them if Ray, in his guise as Noir the jewel thief hadn't rescued him. So how...?
"There's a note," Ray pointed to the corner of yellowed-parchment just visible behind the silk. When Florian didn't take it, Ray handed it to him.
Florian read the few lines in silence and dropped into his chair. Staring sightlessly at the box he handed the note to Ray. "It was a fake."
Ray scanned the message and returned it to the box before turning his full attention to Florian. The man looked ill.
"It was all for nothing," he whispered. "Mother, the mansion... everything destroyed...for nothing." Tears pooled in his amethyst eyes, then slowly slid down his pale face. "Nothing."
"Florian..." Ray went to the man's side and pulled him up into a loose embrace. He offered comfort in place of empty words and Florian clung to him for a moment, taking the strength he was offered.
"I want it gone," he choked out, tightening his grip on Ray's arms. "Do whatever you want with it. Just don't... I don't want to see it again." He pulled away slightly, his eyes desperate as he gripped Ray. "I want it gone."
"I'll take care of it," Ray assured him calmly, meaning every word. His Amethyst was worth more than a dozen 120-carat diamonds. He leaned forward and brushed his lips against Florian's forehead. "Go clean up for dinner. Laila will starve if we don't eat soon."
Florian nodded, managing a weak smile before leaving the room without another glance at the box. Ray waited for the door to close before picking up the box and staring down at the huge diamond within. He slammed the lid closed and locked it, placing the box in his safe and securing it before locking the key away in his desk. Ideas of what to do with the famed jewel filled his head, but he pushed them away to follow his Amethyst to the dining room.
Twenty-four hours later, Luc carried in a small but extravagant cake while Laila and Noel clapped in delight and yelled, "Happy Birthday."
Florian blushed a little and accepted the good wishes, his eyes finding Ray's and holding them for a long moment until Noel tugged his sleeve and asked for one of the candy flower decorations.
Florian cut generous slices of cake and handed them around to the people who had become his family in the last three years. There was an unevenly-wrapped parcel from Noel and a small box from Laila and the others, along with a curious flat package from Ray.
"Mine first!" Noel insisted and Florian accepted the package with a smile. He opened it carefully and extracted a smaller replica of Noel's precious teddy bear. "Now you won't be lonely when I go home to Papa," Noel explained and Florian hugged him tight. Noel's father would be out of prison in a few months and Florian was dreading the day his young companion returned to his home.
Wiping away tears that everyone pretended not to see, Florian reached for the small box from Laila and the other members of Noir's gang. Inside was a pretty emerald and gold tieclip in the style he preferred. He thanked them sincerely and modeled it before picking up Ray's gift.
Surprised to find his well-worn and much-written in account book, Florian looked at Ray. Following the command to "open it" Florian blinked at the huge balance of his debt owed, now reduced to zero. The scrawled notation read "credit applied" with no mention of the hated jewel.
"I didn't mean..." Florian started only to be interrupted.
"Turn the page." Ray commanded gruffly.
Florian blinked at the number and the notation before looking at Ray uncertainly.
"Your choice," Ray said plainly.
Florian blinked again and reread the text. He closed the book carefully and set it down before reaching across, hand outstretched. He took Ray's offered hand and shook it firmly.
"Partner," he said with a grin while the others around them watched, confused.
"Junior partner," Ray corrected. "I'm still in charge."
"Of course you are," Florian agreed, smiling in a way that made Ray very uncomfortable.