The Toll {Book 2}

19. New Beginnings- Nadia

After we'd had tea, the Lephards returned home and set me up in the sitting room. During our outing, they'd refrained from talking about the letter at all, instead focusing their conversations on more mundane topics, such as their garden or Hannabella's work at the opera house. Once we reached home, however, they must have considered enough time to have elapsed for me to have digested the news. They practically vibrated with the effort it took to not speak about the obvious.

I smiled and threw back my head. "You're both going to burst if you don't start talking!" I teased.

"A Countess?" Martin yelped, clapping his hands together. "You outrank nearly everyone I know, Nadia! If the Vigilant hadn't taken over Rumonin, you'd have titled land. An ancestral home, most likely!"

Hannabella held her hands to her cheeks, staring at me like I'd just done some impressive and impossible feat. "After all these years, you have a family and a name and a place to know where you came from..."

I nodded. "It's still hard to understand. I can't believe that I'm actually a Surikov. That I have a family."

Hannabella gasped. "Perhaps there are more of you? Cousins? Uncles? Aunts?" She looked to Martin.

"I can ask Galina if she can find further records. Anyone who might have a connection to the Surikovs." He pulled out a notebook, dashing down a reminder for the next day. "I think she's been working on a project to do with the Rumoni nobility for a while now. I can't remember the details, but I'm sure she'd be interested to know that a long lost member of the peerage has been found."

At that moment, the sound of the doorbell echoed through the front foyer, and Martin jumped up to answer it. It was already nearing dark, and I couldn't imagine who it might be. Hannabella, unconcerned, chatted to me about how happy she was for my news. I kept glancing at the doorway, curious as to who our visitor was, and was rewarded a few seconds later when Martin reappeared, with Ferdinand in tow.

When his eyes met mine, a tenseness melted away from his shoulders and forehead. He stood a bit taller, his arms extended toward me. I jumped up, running to him and kissing his cheek. He held my waist, smiling down at me.

"I thought you might be upset. I'm glad I'm wrong," he said.

"I'm a bit sad, but I'm feeling all right for the moment," I replied, taking his hand to lead him over to the couches near the fireplace. I sat him down before taking my place at his side, pressed up close.

"Our little Nadia outranks you now, Ferdinand," Hannabella said, her eyes twinkling. "How does it feel to be the one who is forbidden?"

I gasped. "Will they forbid me from loving a baron?" I asked, looking frantically from Ferdinand to Hannabella. Did the nobility have people who took care of such things? Men and women who made sure no woman married below her rank? I couldn't imagine it, but, then again, I'd heard even stranger rules that the nobility followed.

Hannabella burst into laughter. "Of course not! Rumoni titles are probably as good as your name at this time. Who knows if they'll ever mean something again? I highly doubt anyone will care or even know about the differences. Just like they didn't when Ferdinand was a baron and you were a ballet dancer."

Ferdinand looked uneasy, and grabbed my hand to hold it tightly on his lap. "I wouldn't know," he said, his voice a bit strained. I gave him a look, but he avoided my eyes.

Hannabella shrugged, unbothered by his snippiness, and carried on. "Well, I've just now realized that I've been neglectful! I haven't asked how your family is doing!"

Ferdinand cleared his throat, trying to sound cheerful once again. "They're struggling with the idea of being exiled in Flauns, but they're healthy and safe."