personal affairs of your family," Varder said, his voice loud and clear.
I watch Rossana's face when he says it. Something moves through it — relief, almost, the brief loosening of a person who thinks they are being let off — and then Varder continues.
"However." He lets the word sit. "What happens inside these walls, to my wife, as a result of your family's choices — that is not a personal affair. That is my business. Entirely."
The relief in Rossana's face closes back up.
"The rumor your daughter constructed used Lady Ava's name as a weapon," Varder says. "It was designed to reach her. It was designed to make her doubt what she sees in front of her and trust instead a story built from jealousy and old want. That is not a family matter I will stand at the edge of." He holds Rossana's gaze. "It is a matter I will finish."
Rossana opens her mouth.
"I am not finished," Varder says.
She closes it.
