Mistborn: The Final Empire (Mistborn #1)(141)

“A third,” she whispered. So many. But, that’s better than all of them. She reached up to dab her eyes, and Elend eyed her handkerchief.

“Who gave you that?” he asked curiously.

“A suitor,” Vin said.

“Is he the one who’s been telling you these things about me?”

“No, that was another,” Vin said. “He… said that all noblemen—or, rather, all Luthadel noblemen—were terrible people. He said that court women don’t even consider it cheating when their men sleep with skaa whores.”

Elend snorted. “Your informant doesn’t know women very well, then. I dare you to ?nd me one lady who isn’t bothered when her husband dallies with another—skaa or noble.”

Vin nodded, taking a deep breath, calming herself. She felt ridiculous…but she also felt at peace. Elend knelt beside her chair, still obviously concerned.

“So,” she said, “your father is one of the third?”

Elend ?ushed in the wan light, looking down. “He likes all kinds of mistresses—skaa, noble, it doesn’t matter to him. I still think about that night, Valette. I wish…I don’t know.”

“It wasn’t your fault, Elend,” she said. “You were just a thirteen-year-old boy who was doing what his father told him.”

Elend looked away, but she had already seen the anger and guilt in his eyes. “Someone needs to stop these kinds of things from happening,” he said quietly, and Vin was struck by the intensity in his voice.

This is a man who cares, she thought. A man like Kelsier, or like Dockson. A good man. Why can’t they see that?

Finally, Elend sighed, standing and pulling over a chair for himself. He sat down, elbow resting against the railing, running his hand through his messy hair. “Well,” he noted, “you probably aren’t the ?rst lady I’ve made cry at a ball, but you are the ?rst one I’ve made cry that I sincerely care about. My gentlemanly prowess has reached new depths.”

Vin smiled. “It’s not you,” she said, leaning back. “It’s just been…a very draining few months. When I found out about these things, I just couldn’t handle it all.”

“The corruption in Luthadel needs to be dealt with,” Elend said. “The Lord Ruler doesn’t even see it—he doesn’t want to.”

Vin nodded, then she eyed Elend. “Why exactly have you been avoiding me lately, anyway?”

Elend ?ushed again. “I just ?gured you had enough new friends to keep you occupied.”

“What is that supposed to mean?”

“I don’t like a lot of the people you’ve been spending your time with, Valette,” Elend said. “You’ve managed to ?t very well into Luthadel society, and I generally ?nd that playing politics changes people.”

“That’s easy to say,” Vin snapped. “Especially when you’re at the very top of the political structure. You can afford to ignore politics—some of us aren’t so fortunate.”

“I suppose.”

“Besides,” Vin said, “you play politics just as well as the rest. Or, are you going to try and tell me that your initial interest in me wasn’t sparked by a desire to spite your father?”

Elend held up his hands. “All right, consider me suitably chastised. I was a fool and a twit. It runs in the family.”

Vin sighed, sitting back and feeling the cool whisper of the mists on her tear-wetted cheeks. Elend wasn’t a monster; she believed him on that count. Perhaps she was a fool, but Kelsier was having an effect on her. She was beginning to trust those around her, and there was no one she wanted to let herself trust more than Elend Venture.

And, when it wasn’t connected directly to Elend, she found the horrors of the noble-skaa relationship easier to deal with. Even if a third of the noblemen were murdering skaa women, something was probably salvageable of the society. The nobility wouldn’t have to be purged—that was their tactic. Vin would have to make certain that sort of thing didn’t happen, no matter what bloodline one had.

Lord Ruler, Vin thought. I’m starting to think like the others—it’s almost like I think that we can change things.

She glanced across at Elend, who sat with his back to the curling mists beyond. He looked morose.

I brought out bad memories, Vin thought guiltily. No wonder he hates his father so much. She longed to do something to make him feel better.

“Elend,” she said, drawing his attention. “They’re just like us.”

He paused. “What?”

“The plantation skaa,” Vin said. “You asked me about them once. I was afraid, so I acted like a proper noblewoman—but you seemed disappointed when I didn’t have more to say.”

He leaned forward. “So, you did spend time with the skaa?”

Vin nodded. “A lot of time. Too much, if you ask my family. That might be why they sent me out here. I knew some of the skaa very well—one older man, in particular. He lost someone, a woman he loved, to a nobleman who wanted a pretty thing for the evening’s entertainment.”

“At your plantation?”

Vin shook her head quickly. “He ran away and came to my father’s lands.”

“And you hid him?” Elend asked with surprise. “Runaway skaa are supposed to be executed!”