The Veil - Chapter 9 Part 3

Lekan waited until Obi had left the room, not realizing he was waiting until, alone, he stood and turned off the overhead light.

Obi worried him. The old man seemed gentle compared to his usual manner.

He shuffed the cards, his movements slow and clumsy, and set the deck down. He took two, making a tent out of them, and took his hands away carefully. He took two more cards to repeat the ritual.

He'd assumed in these past few months that Obi would be gunning for control of the estate already. Lekan just wished he would take it already. The shock of his father dying had not been so sad as it had been panic stricken. Owning an estate somewhere on the green coast that he had only been dragged to a few times in his childhood would mean leaving friends and lovers, entertainment and fun. He'd seen a few friends lose fathers to know that he would leave, promising to be back after he had familiarized himself with the details of his new responsibility, leave, find that his father had been in more debt than he had let on, and he would come back, but he wouldn't be the same. He wouldn't be fun. He'd be distracted, and he wouldn't look at women as dance partners or sex partners but potential life partners or at the very least a treasure chest to supplement a failing bank account.

With five tents in a row, he balanced two cards on top of them.

Obi had just taken the slack Lekan had left as far as estate affairs went, but he did so with lectures every other day about how Lekan needed to learn how to be responsible.

Lekan rolled his eyes and muttered at the thought. Obi seemed not to understand that he wasn't ready to be anything resembling a responsible adult. When he argued, Obi always spat back in his face how he had been injured three times and hadn't been home in five years when he was Lekan's age.

Swearing as his house collapsed with the whisper of calamity, he was shocked to see his hand shaking. He was overdue for a lecture. Amidst all of the lessons on values and ways to be a man, Obi had never voiced any wish to get to know him more.

Suddenly, he felt like a horse with a broken leg, about to be put out of its misery. What did he know about espionage? Or the country he was going to? Or... Anything at all that could be useful?

His breath rasped in the silent room as he gathered the cards. Obi loved these cards. He wouldn't give them to someone who wouldn't be coming back, someone doomed to be executed in a foreign country. Except they were damn cards that could be replaced at anytime, anywhere. He jumped as the electric lights flickered on.

"What are you doing in the dark, darling?"

Blinking as his mouth twitched into the resemblance of a smile, he shrugged at his mother. "I'm just thinking."

She peered around the room, seeming distracted. "It's about time."

He drew back, offended. "I expected support from you at least." He slipped the cards in his pants pocket as he stood.

"After everything you put me through?" She started tearing up as footsteps sounded in the hall. "I've just learned to live without your father, and you expect me to just adapt to this without-" She took out a handkerchief.

Staring at her, his blood running cold, he hissed, "You don't have to pre-" His back stiffened as Obi came into view, and his expression was frozen between anger and distress as his uncle shot a glare at him.

"I was coming to see where you two were. The dinner bell rang ages ago. I see we need to postpone dinner for a bit though." He put his arm around Conya's shoulders.

Lekan watched, speechless, as his mother leaned against Obi more than necessary, her sobs echoing in the hall. He suddenly saw what his mother was doing. He wasn't that surprised she'd moved on from his father so quickly, but he was surprised she would be so obvious and that Obi hadn't caught on to what she was doing.

...Unless it was Obi. Everything suddenly clicked in Lekan's mind. Obi didn't want to look bad to all of the nobles. It would be much better for Obi if he just married Conya to get the estate and all the money that came with it. Conya was obviously willing to that idea. The fact that Lekan had been taken care of by the government just made it easier for him to take control with little struggle.

Obi wasn't afraid for him. He was celebrating.

Lekan seethed in a rage he thought wasn't possible. He flicked off the light and slammed the door. Two of the candles fluttered out, and the other survived the gust, wax dripping down the holder.