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Robbie starts to go into detail about those protégés until Zeke cuts him off.
“Can we keep the history lesson to this century?”
“Of course. I mentioned before that the family was part of IVI. The seat of the family home is in New England, outside of Boston, in fact. They were quite well connected for a time and a powerful family within The Society. In fact, the Augustus and Girard families were, at one point, close. Antoine and Lucius were great friends, Lucius Augustus that is. These names,” Robbie shakes his head. “Antoine and Lucius are only about three months apart in age. They went to the same schools, attended the same social events, dated the same girls, etcetera etcetera. From all outward appearances the two were best of friends and maybe they were for a time, although personally, I doubt it. Too much envy between the families. For as far back as I could find, there seems to be an almost incestuous relationship between them. Honestly, I wouldn’t be surprised if DNA proved them to be related.”
“What happened if they were the best of friends.”
“Here is a photograph from commencement of Antoine and Lucius, who graduated Harvard University together. Lucius studied law, obviously as he is a Councilor of your great Tribunal. Antoine studied music. You’ll notice Antoine is… intact at this ceremony.”
Robbie brings up a photo of the two men with caps and gowns, each holding their diploma. I assume the people around them are their parents and maybe siblings. One particularly beautiful woman stands out in the group. She’s striking, her beauty appearing almost otherworldly in its perfection. She has an arm linked through each of theirs.
“Who’s the woman?” Zeke asks, leaning forward, elbows on his knees.
“That is Ms. Ines Delphine. Now Mrs. Ines Delphine-Augustus.”
“Councilor’s wife?”
Robbie nods. “After the boys graduated from Harvard, Lucius would be groomed to take over his father’s place on New England’s Tribunal. He’d be the youngest to ever hold that position. Turns out his father was ill and so The Tribunal moved rather quickly. Antoine was the latest piano protégé produced by the Girard family. He would go on to have an enviable career in that world. Honestly, I’m not a classical music man so I don’t know much about it. But I do know one thing. Can you guess what it is?”
“You need both hands to play,” I say.
Robbie points to me. “Bingo. The boys and their girlfriends, Ines, who was Lucius’s,” he pauses to look through a few pieces of paper. “Wilhelmina, who was Antoine’s girlfriend,” he says, showing us a photo of the two women together. Wilhelmina, although attractive, withers beside Ines. “Both Wilhelmina and Ines were from good families within The Society, so our boys were doing well.”
“Can we speed this along?” Zeke asks.
“The boys’ graduation trip, a month-long yachting extravaganza of European ports, parties, gambling, drinking, drugs, you name it, well, it did not end well. Wilhelmina broke off relations with Antoine about three weeks in and flew home when Lucius and she discovered Antoine and Ines in bed together. According to ugly rumors within The Society, the affair had been going on for some time. Have I mentioned Lucius has a temper?
“The three returned one week later and Lucius’s father soon passed away. Lucius stepped into the role of Councilor at the tender age of twenty-two. You boys know The Tribunal wields all the power within The Society. For a time, it seemed as though he’d forgiven his best friend and his fiancée, but what is it they say? Revenge is a dish best served cold. Three years later, Ines and Lucius were married in a proper Society wedding. Her atonement came in the form of fire.”
“What do you mean?” I ask, engrossed in this story.
He picks up the laptop and scrolls until he gets to the photo he wants and when I see it, I gasp, jerking back in shock and covering my mouth.
He branded the back of her neck. I stare. I’ve never seen anything like it.
“He branded her,” Zeke says.
I turn to him. He sounds calm. Like this isn’t a shock to him. Neither he nor his brother seem surprised.
“Apparently it was quite the show. Public, not only for the men to attend but for all members of The Society which I believe is unusual, isn’t that right?” Robbie asks.
Zeke nods. “Her punishment for humiliating him.”
“What happened to Girard?”
“He was at the wedding. He’d have been at the marking ceremony.”
“This is a thing? A marking ceremony?” I ask.
Zeke turns to me. “I’ll explain it to you later.”
“That night, rather than a wedding night, a special counsel was called in. The Tribunal met. Girard was arrested,” Robbie says. “He was accused of stealing from IVI. Irrefutable evidence was brought forward, and Antoine Girard was found guilty. That same night, within a few hours of having been arrested, Antoine’s punishment was carried out. He took what did not belong to him. Whether any money was ever stolen or not, we’ll likely never know. Here, too, an exception was made, and a single woman stood witness to the sentence being carried out.”
“Ines.”
“I will spare you the video footage. All such matters are recorded.”
“They did that to him?” I ask, having assumed it was an accident or a birth defect.
