The General Who Took My Lantern and Broke My Heart Chapter 14

The General Who Took My Lantern and Broke My Heart Chapter 14

The deputies came toward Aveline with ugly smiles.

She stumbled back a few steps and fell hard to the floor. She was bracing a hand against the ground, trying to get up, when a steady rhythm of footsteps sounded outside the courtroom.

“So you’re the law?”

A clear voice came from the doorway, carrying a lazy chill.

Everyone in the room turned.

Rafferty Quillan walked into the courtroom.

Two lines of state troopers followed behind him, moving in clean formation before taking their places along both sides of the room.

Judge Pritchett’s face changed. He opened his mouth to shout, but Rafferty had already taken a folded document from inside his coat and opened it.

The state seal gleamed at the bottom.

The courtroom broke into whispers.

All the blood drained from Judge Pritchett’s face. He slid out of his chair and dropped to his knees.

Rafferty raised a brow at him and read aloud.

“By order of the governor and the State Board of Trade, Rafferty Quillan is appointed special commissioner for the Sable Coast inquiry. He is authorized to investigate port fraud, bribery, unlawful seizures, and corruption among public officials and private traders, with full power to detain suspects pending state review.”

He lowered his eyes, folded the document slowly, then let out a soft laugh.

“Now. What was that you said a minute ago?”

Judge Pritchett pressed his forehead to the floor, sweat running down his face.

“I misspoke, Commissioner. I misspoke.”

“You did.” Rafferty’s tone stayed mild. “State law doesn’t become yours just because you bought a chair in a small-town courtroom.”

He lifted one hand.

“Remove him from the bench. Hold him for review. Bribery, abuse of office, and framing innocent citizens. Charge him properly.”

“Commissioner, please!”

Judge Pritchett was dragged away, his cries fading down the hall.

Only then did Rafferty turn back.

His gaze landed on Aveline, still sitting on the floor.

He bent and held out his hand.

Aveline hesitated, then placed her hand in his.

After they walked out of the courthouse, she looked sideways at his smiling face and suddenly felt as if none of this was real.

“Are you really the governor’s son?”

“Third son,” Rafferty corrected, his tone casual. “Not the oldest. Not the favorite. Just useful enough to run errands.”

Aveline opened her mouth, then found nothing to say.

The case moved quickly after that.

The shop was reopened. The seized inventory was returned. Tamsin’s name was cleared.

Afterward, Rafferty stopped coming to the shop every day.

Aveline heard bits and pieces from customers. During his trip south, Rafferty had gone through officials across several Sable Coast towns, one by one. Those who should be removed were removed. Those who should be charged were charged.

Clean.

Fast.

A few days later, he came by again.

Aveline was behind the counter, working through the ledger. When she looked up and saw him, she set down her pen.

“Commissioner Quillan?”

“Your shop has grown too quickly. That makes people jealous.”

Rafferty leaned against the counter, his voice as easy as always. “This time is handled, but next time may not be as simple.”

He glanced at the shelves lined with spices.

“Sable Coast blends are in demand in Vesper City. Prices there are more than double what they are here. If you’re willing to go north and open that market, I can introduce you to the right buyers.”

He paused.

“And if your blends make it onto the statehouse supplier list, you’ll have backing no local crook can touch.”

Aveline did not answer right away.

She had never been to Vesper City.

Bram had once told her that when he was called back there for duty, he would bring her with him.

She had never made it that far with him.

Now another man was asking whether she wanted to go.

Aveline lifted her head, just about to speak, when Tamsin’s voice came from behind her.

“Go.”

Aveline turned.

Tamsin stood in the doorway to the back room, her expression calm.

“You won’t fit in this little place forever.”

She looked at Aveline and said plainly, “You have a head for business. It’d be a waste to keep you behind my counter.”