"Eldritch Antiquities aren't the only thing you slipped past the crown's inspectors, are they, Lord Serle?"
This time, when Ashlynn asked her question, Serle went completely silent for several heartbeats, staring at the scroll with the midnight blue ribbon as though he were waiting for it to transform into a serpent to bite him.
Ashlynn said nothing, waiting as the silence dragged on until finally, Melsinde spoke up.
"I want to know," she said in a frail, fragile voice. "I want to know what you've done… And if our family has ever meant anything to you, then you'll tell me now, Serle," she said, staring at her husband with eyes drowning in unshed tears.
Still, for several heartbeats, Serle said nothing. His hands clenched into fists in his lap and he swallowed several times but no words came. It took considerable effort just to force a few words past the lump that had formed in his throat.
