**THE BRAZEN SERIES is part of the GOLDEN UNIVERSE**
♦YOU MUST HAVE READ BOOK ONE, A BRAZEN MAIDEN, TO READ THIS SEQUEL!♦
♦♦It is ALSO recommended that you read THE GOLDEN GIRL/DUCHESS/PRINCESS & QUEEN to better understand events in this novel, as...
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♪ I'm a problem solver 'Cause I always used to be a problem ♪ {Lennon Stella—Since I Was A Kid}
Harriet didn't leave her chambers for the rest of the day. The ladies and lords departed, returning to their homes in town, or their rented rooms. A handful of others—among which Sir Fletcher and Sir Newton—had guest dwellings in the manor, but kept to themselves. No one bothered her, and she thanked the skies for that.
She hauled the documents she'd uncovered to her bedroom, and further scrutinized them, piece by piece. Seeking subtleties between the lines, any codes that might imply the involvement of more people than she'd initially believed.
The more she read, the more she concluded who the major culprits were, those who likely still worshiped her father—the Vassals of Govers, Landrau, Rosstones, and Nanes. And, of course, the Lady of Nanes, whose signature showed up in Eugene's bookkeeping. And on letters claiming she'd falsified documents and seduced merchants and smiths into cooperating with their cause.
These monsters had been primary traffickers of German weapons, stolen French wine, Italian herbs, and textiles from other continents. They imported products from the colonies and gave them to Eugene, who sold them at twice the price to other corrupts in Rosford and in other regions. How many unsuspecting victims had purchased expensive fabrics and essential necessities at outrageous prices without knowing better?
Despicable.
Also written were agreements from the Vassal of Nanes, who described some of his travels about the area. He'd buy off old farms and buildings falling to ruin for next to nothing. And he employed a horde of servants—who received a meager stipend—to refurbish these places into lavish houses. Nanes and Thatcher then sold these dwellings at many times the initial price.
Though none of the corrupt shopkeepers were singled out, there were a few addresses scribbled in haste at the tops of letters. Harriet would have no trouble associating the businesses with their owners, and would add these men to the list of wrongs-doers.
These folk had helped Eugene... but did they still do so? And did they have any involvement with his initial plans to marry the unwilling Julia and aid the Dowager to replace her eldest son with her youngest?
I can take no risks—I will denounce them all to King Antoine and he will decide.
When she woke the next morning, she copied all the names and deeds in as much detail as possible, to keep for her records. She also wrote an accompanying note to King Antoine, telling him these people were in her grasp. Her wrists ached by the time she'd finished, and she folded the heap of parchments and stamped them with her father's seal. After stashing all the copies under her floor-boards in her old room—no one would think to look there, would they?—she confided the original letters to a rider reputed as the fastest of the country.
