Chapter Six
Six
For a moment, nobody said anything.
And then the room erupted in chaos, which was to say the Devil began to yell directly at the Queen, who yelled back, while the rest of us looked on in horror.
Except the marquis, who looked as if he was entirely entertained.
I had never wanted to punch someone so much in my life.
“You dare to accuse me of making a threat? Me?” the Devil said. Smoke streamed from his head, enveloping him in a hazy mist. He hadn’t brought his usual entourage with him this evening, thank God, so it was just him and his son.
He was dressed in an outfit that would make a dandy look twice: a suit made of bright red velvet with jet-black buttons that looked like coal. I wondered if they were actually coal from Hell, a clever repurposing after an evil-doing soul was torched.
Or a species ombudsman who hadn’t sufficiently done her duty.
“Just look at this,” Queen Victoria said, nodding to her husband, who dutifully withdrew a piece of paper from his pocket. He handed it to her, and she unfolded it, focusing her stare on the page.
“This report comes from the navy stationed in Cornwall. They say that there has been unusual activity occurring in the coastal caves there.” She glanced up, pinning the Devil with her sharp gaze.
“Apparently some creatures that may or may not be minor demons have popped up in some of the smaller towns. They’re saying they are merely there visiting, wishing to stretch their legs or some such nonsense, but they can’t explain what their purpose is besides tourism.
” The final word was said with such scorn I winced.
The Devil snorted. “So it is a nefarious plan because some of Hell’s inhabitants wish to take a holiday?” He spread out his arms. “That is precisely what I am doing here in London, Your Majesty. Do you wish to accuse me of something untoward?”
I refrained from pointing out that she had just done so. Such an observation would not be helpful. “That is rather what she just said, Father,” the marquis remarked in a dry voice.
I glared at his back. He apparently had no problem saying something entirely unhelpful.
“We have done nothing wrong,” the Devil said. “Except for the fuss at the bazaar, it’s been perfectly norm—”
“What fuss?” the Queen demanded.
Right. I hadn’t had time to report that afternoon’s happenings to any of my superiors. Which would naturally include the Queen.
“There was a bit of a break in the portal between your world and ours,” the marquis said.
For the first time, I noticed his tone was constrained.
“Your Miss Hastings reacted quickly and appropriately, and everything was contained within a matter of moments.” He spoke in a soothing voice that was likely quite effective with anyone who had ears.
“Well then,” Queen Victoria said, clearly somewhat mollified. She glanced briefly at me, and I did my best imitation of a statue.
“But isn’t that a strange coincidence?” the clearly important human asked. “That there are demons in Cornwall and now a break in the portal? Just when you are here visiting? Do you have protections in place on your side?”
The Devil turned to regard the human with the look of someone who had just found something incredibly distasteful on his shoe. “And you are…?”
“This is the Duke of Astelwyth,” the Queen replied. “He is consulting on certain Treasury and security matters, which is why he is here today. He is the one who brought the naval report to my attention.”
“A good thing I did also,” the duke replied in a blustery voice.
“Since you cannot seem to keep your boundaries in place.” The duke looked to be in his late forties, with thinning hair brushed straight back; sharp, bony features; and a haughty mien.
In short, entirely what I would have imagined a duke to look like.
The Devil narrowed his gaze at the man, who didn’t even flinch.
While the Great Revelation had reduced most wealthy people’s power, the lethal combination of a dukedom, vast wealth, and the favor of the Queen meant that this human was an anomaly and didn’t have to worry about gaining the king of the underworld’s displeasure.
At least, not until he’d died himself. Then, I assumed, he’d end up down there, since in my experience, people who wielded that much influence had usually done something fishy to get it all.
“My boundaries are properly in place, my lord,” the Devil sneered.
“Your Grace,” the duke corrected, and I found myself backing up, farther away from the two of them, in anticipation of a devilish conflagration.
Thankfully, the marquis stepped closer to his father and put a restraining hand on his arm. “Your Grace,” he said, in his deliciously smooth voice, “the incident that occurred at the church today was one of our own devising.”
Everyone who wasn’t the Devil, the marquis, or me reacted appropriately.
Lord Hennawi and Mr. Connors both gasped, their eyes wide, but didn’t say anything; Prince Albert’s brow furrowed, and he glanced anxiously at his wife; the duke’s expression grew even more thunderous; and I saw the Queen’s fangs start to lengthen, which I had to think was a bad sign.
“This was a security test, of course,” the marquis continued. “We had to be certain that we would be appropriately protected should something untoward occur.”
“You’re the Devil,” the duke said through gritted teeth. “You don’t need protection.”
The marquis smiled, but it wasn’t a pleasant smile. More in a “Let me figure out which diabolical way I will kill you” kind of way.
I backed up again. Perhaps I could stealthily ease out the door before anyone noticed.
“Your Grace,” the marquis began, “I assume you fully understand what is required in your everyday activities. Presumably in the mornings you spend time drinking tea, reading the papers, and bullying your staff before heading off to oversee and manage whatever it is you are overseeing and managing for Her Majesty.” He made a deep, officious bow toward the Queen, whose grim expression eased as her fangs retracted ever so slightly.
It would be difficult not to be swayed by such a beautiful man showing respect.
“So I would ask that you not presume to make…presumptions about what my father and I require while we are here.”
“I do not bully my staff!” the duke said in a bluster.
The marquis arched a disbelieving eyebrow, then folded his arms over his chest.
“But more to the point—you are saying you have nothing to do with the other portal openings, even though you admit today’s incident was yours entirely?”
The marquis smiled at the duke as though he were a child who’d just understood a difficult maths problem. “Exactly.”
“I think we have discussed this long enough,” the Queen interrupted. She turned to look at me again, and I tried not to flinch.
The combination of royalty and vampire was powerful; not only could she drain my body of all its blood, but she could also likely pass a law to make it mandatory that I allow her to drain my body of all its blood.
That was a reality many of us had to understand in the post-Revelation world.
“Miss…Hastings, was it?” she said. At least she knew my name.
I nodded.
“We will leave the safety of our honored guests in your hands. It seems you are thus far doing a good job.”
I blinked at the compliment and wished Hannah and Lily were there to hear it.
“You mentioned a threat, Your Majesty,” Lord Hennawi said. He had been silent the whole time, but he’d been paying avid attention. Perhaps calculating the moment when he should assume his smoke shape and wisp out of the room?
Though that could be just me, since I felt the tension like a palpable thing.
“Yes, the threat. They arrive all the time. There are many in this country who do not want someone like me to be their Queen—”
Because she was a vampire? Because she was a woman?
Or because she served mediocre food to her guests?
That last one might have been particular only to me. I was just annoyed because now I was starting to feel hungry.
“But the letter says specifically,” she continued, “that we should be on our guard because we are unprepared for the havoc that accommodating the Devil will bring. That, unless we do precisely as you say,” she said, directing her words toward the Devil, “you will enact Hell on Earth.”
The Devil’s expression was disdainful. “Why would I write that down in an anonymous letter when I could just say that myself?” He paused. “And likely have, to be honest.”
As though the Devil was ever honest, but in this case, he probably was speaking the truth.
The Queen made a moue of agreement. “Indeed. That is an excellent point. So why would someone be trying to make us more antagonistic toward each other?”
“Because they are frightened of what could happen if there is an accord between you.” I spoke without realizing. Everyone in the room turned to look at me.
“Indeed,” the Queen said. Apparently a favorite word. “Which just means we will have to do our best not to create a diplomatic incident while you are here, my lord.”
The Devil smiled in response, and I shivered. His smile was not reassuring, but I should not have expected anything else.
“I will endeavor to find the culprit who sent this missive,” the marquis added. “It is a clumsy attempt to discredit us, and we do not tolerate it.”
Queen Victoria waved a nonchalant hand in the air. “If you do, please let me know. I am always in favor of finding culprits.”
And then she smiled, and that smile was even less reassuring than the Devil’s.
I was in a room with a bunch of predators, an eager dog, and an arrogant human.
How did I get so fortunate?
“I will see Miss Hastings home,” the marquis said after we’d been escorted back to the main rooms.
“We have a carriage waiting, we can take—” Mr. Connors said, gesturing to Lord Hennawi, who nodded in agreement.
“I will see Miss Hastings home,” the marquis repeated, this time in a more forceful tone.
I shrugged at my boss, whose tail lay morosely on the carpet. “I will see you at the office tomorrow, sir. I will be fine,” I reassured him.