Chapter 7 #3
“Her Royal Highness has come to us with a most interesting proposition, Lady Caterine.” Lady M, as usual, directs the conversation. She doesn’t seem to catch—or care about—the way Dom grimaces.
I gesture to an emerald-green velvet divan. “Shall we sit so I can hear all about it, Dom?”
The four of us settle, Lady M and Harold on armchairs, Dom and I on the divan, though I note she leaves as much space between us as possible. Maybe I’ve misread the spark of flirtation. Or maybe whatever it is the princess has to ask requires propriety.
“How may I be of service to you?” I clasp my hands in my lap and gaze at her as demurely as I’m capable of.
“I’m actually here to inquire about your services on behalf of my brother.”
“Oh?” My interest is piqued, though I try to keep my feelings under wraps.
Not much is known at La Puissance about King James’s would-have-been successor.
Unlike the other provinces’ princes—and apparently, his sister—who frequent the club regularly, he has never blessed us with his presence. “And what can I do for your brother?”
“Callum.”
“Callum.” His name rolls off my tongue, something about it sticking just slightly in the back of my throat.
Dom looks between me and Harold and Lady M. She turns to the latter. “Might I have a moment alone with Lady Caterine?”
Lady M begins to protest, but Harold places a bracing hand on her forearm. “Of course, Your Highness. Whatever you need.”
Harold helps Lady M to rise, but she is slow to exit. “We’ll be right outside,” she throws over her shoulder, “should you need us for anything.”
The door clicks shut behind them, and I turn to the princess. “Don’t worry, they can’t hear anything that we say—or do—in here. All the rooms at La Puissance are soundproofed, for obvious reasons.”
Dom flashes me another one of those slightly wicked grins. “Unfortunately, I don’t think we’ll be partaking in any loud activities today, but it does help to know we won’t be overheard.”
I scoot an inch closer to her, still unsure as to what she could ask of me. Especially if we won’t be partaking in any “loud activities.” “Now. Let me have it. What could I possibly do to help the prince and princess of Scota?”
Dom clears her throat and sits back in her seat.
She is dressed in leather breeches and a billowing tunic and the movement pulls her pants tighter, showing off the lean muscles of her thighs.
No crown rests on her golden red waves, but she does wear a green-and-navy brooch, the Reid crest displayed on the collar of her shirt.
“As I mentioned, I am here on behalf of my brother. He needs your assistance, but the matter is somewhat delicate.”
“I am a vault. Anything you tell me—and anything that happens between me and your brother—will be handled with the utmost discretion.”
“I appreciate that.” Dom taps her fingers on the arm of the divan. “My brother needs sex lessons, Lady Caterine.”
I blink several times, as if the movement can clear the confusion from my brain. “Your brother needs sex lessons?”
A teasing glint flashes in her eyes, but it’s gone before I can fully decipher her intentions.
“Well, to be totally honest, because he is my brother, I don’t know much about his experience with women—and I’d like to keep it that way.
But I do know that he doesn’t spend nearly enough time out of the house.
He refuses to accompany me when I spend evenings away from the estate.
He’s never even been here, as far as I know. ”
“And so you are worried about his romantic abilities?” Something doesn’t seem to be fully adding up, and I still can’t seem to wrap my mind around what the princess is actually asking of me.
Dom’s cheeks flush. “It’s not just that.”
I sit in the silence, waiting for her to elaborate.
“My brother, he is a good man, Lady Caterine. The best, really. And these past few months, few years really, have been hard on him.”
I’m not keen on the sympathy building in my chest for the prince, but it’s clear from Dom’s speech that she cares about her sibling very much, a feeling I can relate to.
“And now…and now…”
I place a gentle hand on her forearm. “It’s okay. You don’t have to say it out loud.”
And now her brother, Callum, is going to have to deal with the loss of their father. I never had a real father of my own, but I imagine how I might feel if I knew Harold had no more than a few days left to live. I would be devastated.
Dom’s voice falls. “I’m worried about my brother. How he is going to handle things, how he is going to cope.”
My fingers tighten on her arm. “Is this really about sex lessons, Dom?”
She straightens, pulling her shoulders back and facing me head-on. “Yes. It’s also about letting my brother find some relief from the tension that seems to be eating him alive. Can you do that, Lady Caterine?”
I stop myself from immediately agreeing. Something about this woman and her obvious love for her brother is pulling at my heartstrings, but now is not the time to ignore the opportunity that sits before me. “Does your brother know you are here, Your Highness?”
She shakes her head. “No. Callum was not exactly open to the idea of coming to you for assistance.”
I arch my eyebrows. “Is he prejudiced? Against courtesans, I mean?” Though she hasn’t come right out and said it, I know the princess is asking me to use my Gift on her brother. But on the off chance she doesn’t know about my true talent, I am surely not going to be the one to tell her.
“Not prejudiced. Just untrusting. I think it might take a few lessons before he is able to really open himself up to you.”
“It will be hard to teach him if he does not trust me.” My Gift only works when my clients allow themselves to be fully vulnerable.
“I do not think it will take him long, Lady Caterine. I think if anyone has the power to reach him, it might be you.” Each of her words is weighted, heavy with double meaning.
I nod, crossing my legs primly at the ankle, ready to get down to brass tacks. “How many lessons would you like to arrange?”
She meets my gaze head-on. “I would like you to be available to my brother—and only my brother—for the next week, my lady.”
“A full week of my time is going to cost you, Your Highness.”
“Name your price.”
My breath catches in my chest, but I fight to hide the excitement I know must be visible. “Fifty thousand gold marks.” It’s an exorbitant amount—enough to pay off not just my debt, but Andra’s as well.
“Done.” Dom holds out her hand. “I will have the first half delivered tomorrow. You’ll receive the rest at the conclusion of the week.”
I wrap my fingers around hers, making the connection that the conclusion of the week is the day after the Scotan killing period begins.
I squeeze a little tighter, as if I can imbue enough sympathy in that single grasp to make up for the fact that her father is about to be killed, even if I’m not sorry about that fact itself.
“Pleasure doing business with you, Dom.”
She drops my hand and rises.
I stand, ready to see her out.
Dom pauses just before I can open the door. “Sometimes he comes off brusque, my lady, but I promise, you’ll never meet a kinder man.”
I nod, warmed by her loving words. “I promise to do everything I can for him.”
“Expect him tomorrow for his first…lesson.” She reaches for the door herself, nodding to Lady M and Harold, who wait just outside.
Harold rushes to show her to the front entrance.
I make to leave the sitting room, but Lady M blocks my passage, herding me back inside and shutting the door behind us.
The last thing I want is to be trapped alone with her hard-as-amber eyes and cold mouth.
She ushers me back over to the divan, pushing me down and then folding herself, sitting much closer than Dom did.
Uncomfortably close. The hairs on the back of my neck rise as I take in the glint of excitement in her eyes.
“Tell me exactly what she asked of you,” she demands.
I think about refusing, but I know she is going to notice if the same man—the same former prince—is coming to my room for days in a row.
“I am going to be providing the prince of Scota with sex lessons. I’m to be paid forty thousand gold marks for a week of my time.
” I lower the number, knowing forty thousand marks is enough to pay out our contracts.
I’ll keep the extra ten for myself, just in case.
“Do you realize the opportunity before you, Caterine?” Her whisper is hushed but no less fierce than her normal tone. The possessive glint in her eyes makes my stomach turn.
“The opportunity to clear our debt and then some in a matter of a week? I’m aware.” I brush my skirts and move to stand, but Lady M reaches out and holds me in place.
“You will have access to Callum Reid, the likely candidate for the Scotan province, under your power, Lady Caterine.”
“How do you know he’s the likely candidate for the Scotan province?”
Lady M rolls her eyes, like I’m a small-minded fool. “You really think he isn’t going to even attempt to take the position?”
From everything Dom just told me, I can’t imagine Callum Reid being the kind of man who could murder his father, but then again, there isn’t much I would put past the royals.
I attempt to tug my arm from her grasp. “None of that is any of my concern. Callum is a client and I will treat him as I would any other.”
Her pointed nails dig into my bare skin, and I don’t like that this is becoming a habit. “You will do more than that.”
My eyes narrow. “Just tell me plainly what it is you want from me, Lady MacVeigh.”
“I want you to act as a spy. Bring me information about Callum’s plans.
When he plans to kill his father, where, and how.
” Her eyes glitter with something bordering on malevolence, and I can practically see the wheels spinning inside her diabolical mind.
“Better yet, you could make that man fall in love with you in a matter of hours. Think of what we could do then.”
The joy I see in her eyes at the prospect freezes the blood in my veins. “Why would I do that?” All I care about is his money. Or his sister’s money, in this case. Callum Reid means nothing to me.
“So we can thwart him, obviously. Why should a Scotan heir be the voice of the people? Why not someone who could truly bring new representation to our government? Wouldn’t you rather see someone like Harold leading Avon?”
“Is that something Harold is considering?” He’s never before expressed any interest in politics, at least not beyond his involvement with the Uprising, content to run the club and lead our found family.
Lady M nods, her lips pulling into the closest thing I’ve seen to a smile. “Isn’t that something you would want for him? For all of Avon? For Harold to finally come into the kind of power he truly deserves?”
She has me there, and she knows it. I can think of no one I trust more than the man who has cared for so many for so long.
Harold would be the perfect Scotan candidate, a fair and just leader who knows better than most the difficulties the common people—the Gifted, particularly—face.
He has overcome challenges and hardships most couldn’t even dream of.
And I would do just about anything for Harold, a fact Lady M knows well by now, given how quickly I agreed to sign my contract, even if I do find his recent decisions to be questionable.
My contract. Perhaps I can walk away from this situation with more than just money.
“I want to be released from my contract. Andra too. Permanently.” Just because I might want to assist Harold doesn’t mean I won’t wring every advantage I can from the situation.
I still can’t imagine leaving the club, but if the time comes when we need to, I don’t want there to be anything standing in our way.
Something tells me by the time this whole thing is over with, I might need to make a clean break, and though the mere thought rips away a chunk of my heart, for my sister’s sake, I need to be prepared for the worst. “If you do that, I’ll make Callum Reid fall in love with me and help you with whatever you need. ”
Lady M pretends to think about it for a minute before offering me a single word. “Done.”