Page 157 of Moon Claimed
This was what I expected after telling Rhona. I smiled at one of the younger stewards and received a stony stare in reply.
The same happened with Gerry, the trainer, just down the hall.
I was right.
Everyone knew. My heart pounded as I received snub after snub.
The head team had assembled in the meeting room.
I sat. “Someone put me out of my misery. What’s happened?”
Wade was right. I shouldn’t blab everything.
Maybe a marmot did get in the pantry.
They avoided my gaze—all except Nathan who’d appeared around one second from exploding.
Roderick cleared his throat. “Rhona sent a message through the tribe SMS system an hour ago.”
We had that? “It said what exactly?”
“She gave the details of money stolen from the manor to cover a debt racked up before coming to the valley. Your debt.”
I stared, genuine outrage flooding me. “She saidwhat?”
Relief plastered over his face. “We knew it wasn’t true.”
“No,” I said slowly. “It’s true that Iborrowedmoney from the manor—I did so at Rhona’s urging. Ragna left me a large debt that the sale of our house in Queen’s Way didn’t cover by five thousand dollars. I hesitated to take the money, but Rhona assured me borrowing the funds wasn’t a problem. She said that ridding myself of one problem would allow me to focus more on the tribe.”
I couldn’t believe this!
She’d been working against me back then?
“I had a contract drawn up,” I glanced up, “by a tribe lawyer.”
Trailing off, I recalled that the money wasn’t meant to transfer into my account until the house sale recently. I didn’t think anything of the money coming in earlier but looking back Rhona played me well and truly.
Wasanythingbetween us ever real?
“That’s certainly a different story from what she outlined,” Pascal said in the silence. “The problem now being that every steward in the tribe has heard the incorrect version.”
Stanley leaned forward. “You shouldn’t have borrowed that money, Andie. It looks bad no matter the angle.”
His words stung extra bad because I’d known that at the time too. “We need to do damage control.”
Nathan glared daggers.
“Do you have something to add, Nathan?” I asked.
“We’ve never had so much tumult with a leader,” he said. “I can’t help but wonder if you’re the right person for the job.”
The others fell silent.
His words were nothing I didn’t ask myself each day. “I don’t know if I’m the right leader for this tribe or not, but if Rhona were in this seat, I wouldn’t spend every waking moment trying to tear her down. Her methods—texts like this—the rumours I’ve heard spreading, her acts of violence in Clay, none of that helps our people. That’s what I know.”
His scent remained the same. Nathan was Herc’s best friend. If he believed me guilty of Herc’s death, nothing I could say would reach him.
Trixie broke the tension. “We’ll need to corroborate your story to convince the tribe. Which lawyer did you use?”