Herbs 'till Dusk, Secrets 'till Dawn

I R I S Was Ray truly unaware or was she pretending? The Acquarone patriarch certainly kept the whole affair quiet. In fact, there was not a pair of lips to be found in all of Haulani that would utter any mention of the funeral. Not in the taverns, not in the streets and alleyways. The funeral was only attended by the Acquarones and their servants, none of Elias’ numerous friends and acquaintances to be seen. They made sure to avoid Iris like the plague, only barely acknowledging that her brother was gone. And yet the tombstone stood in the family cemetery as stone cold proof that it wasn’t all a fever dream. Well, since Erasmus was so hell-bent on keeping it quiet Iris derived a small yet satisfying amount of joy in speaking about it. Especially with Torchline’s aspiring spymaster. As for Ray’s question, consequentially, it wasn’t something she’d been asked often. ”As one does.” She offered flatly. The number and complexity of emotions she felt about the matter were too disorienting for her to articulate, more so as she was doing her best to ignore them in the hope that they’d finally up and go away. Iris didn’t pay much mind to the answer to her own question. She only noticed that Ray spoke of sadness and loneliness… It sounded like the girl wasn’t keeping a good grip on her emotions. ”It sounds like you need a bottle of spiced rum.” Iris noted, not unlike a doctor handing out a prescription. After a small pause she sighed, the sound almost reluctant. ”It saddens me to burden you further, but I’m afraid I must. See, there is unfinished business between my father and yours. Sadly, Lunarium himself isn’t here to set it right, but I know for a fact that there is a record of the debt in your father’s study upstairs.” Iris’ gaze trailed upwards towards the ceiling, a deceptively friendly smile on her lips. She turned around, leaning her back against the counter and inspecting her nail beds. ”I’m sure it won’t take too long for you to find it. I’ll wait.” Whether there truly was one or not, Iris didn’t know. She’d only heard her father mention something of the sort one time. Prone to letting his temper loose behind closed doors, he’d ranted about Lunarium, his insolence, his comeuppance and being owed. Sure enough, the Acquarones’ visits to the broker’s shop ceased immediately afterwards. If Lunarium had made any record of the friendship’s tumultuous end it should serve as a convenient rift between Ray and Iris’ family. Iris took pleasure in the little things. She did hope the man had kept some note of the event, merely to feed her curiosity.