Chapter Fourteen
Fourteen
“You look lovely,” Lily said, adjusting the pendant hanging at my neck.
It was finally the day of the party, and it couldn’t have come a moment too soon—Marcellus had grown increasingly on edge as it drew closer, which meant he was more demonic in general, which reminded me more of who and what he was, which definitely dampened my desire.
But didn’t wipe it out completely, so I was entirely conflicted inside myself: mad that I was weak enough to still want this not-so-good creature, annoyed that he was too distracted by his party planning to see what I wanted, and generally hungering for something I couldn’t get.
It was so bad that Lily had taken to suggesting various cures for my ailment, as she called it, which she could sniff out when I returned home.
Mostly her cures were things I knew about but certainly didn’t want to discuss with anybody, even with one of my closest friends. But she had my best interests at heart, so I listened and tried to keep my face from overheating.
“Thank you,” I said, looking down at myself. The gown was truly lovely; its simplicity made the lush emerald-green color and heavy satin fabric stand out even more, and I felt like a particularly strong blade of grass standing in a field. Or a grasshopper, but less buggy.
Or something like that.
Lily was dressed for the party as well, wearing a provocatively cut gown in a vibrant scarlet, with diamonds adorning her ears, throat, and wrist. Hannah wore a silvery gauze gown and had piled her hair on top of her head, fastening it with a few silver-plated combs.
Her eyes were wide with excitement, and I was pleased I could bring her somewhere that wouldn’t be a fairy-heavy event, since she wasn’t as fond of her own people as she could be.
Which was to say, hardly at all.
Between the two of them, Lily and Hannah had done my hair as well, smoothing it back into a long, low coil at the back of my head, anchoring it with a jade tiara Lily had received from a well-traveled admirer.
“Now remember, you two,” I said, as Lily was leaning over to adjust her already plentiful bosom, “please be careful. You know there is someone, or someones, who harbor malicious intent toward the Devil, and if they act—”
“We should attack them with our hairpins?” Lily said brightly.
I groaned as I closed my eyes. “No, the exact opposite.”
“We should…do their hair with our hairpins?” Lily replied with a mischievous smile.
I glared at her as Hannah burst out into her heartiest wheezing laughter.
“No, I’m sorry, Cora,” Lily said, holding her hand out in a placating gesture. “It’s just that you’re so fun to tease.”
I crossed my arms and tapped my foot as my friends shifted their expressions into serious ones.
“I want you to keep yourselves safe. Stay alert and observant, yes, but keep yourselves safe.”
“I expect to be occupied during most of the party,” Lily announced.
“It’s seldom that I get the kind of caliber of being this party will have, and I want to take full advantage.
” Her eyes grew dreamy. “It’s been a long time since I’ve been with a vampire.
The last one I was with had me seeing stars for a few days after. I do wish I had gotten her name.”
Hannah and I blinked at each other, then just nodded toward Lily.
“But I will observe as much as I can,” Lily continued. “In between everything.”
“Well,” I said hastily, wishing certain images weren’t playing themselves over and over in my mind, “thank you. And, Hannah, I hope you will be able to have fun there as well. I mean, not the same kind of fun as Lily—”
“More’s the pity,” Lily murmured.
“But Marcell—I mean the marquis, has invited quite an interesting group of people. The Queen and Prince Albert, of course, and my bosses, but also a variety of newspaper people and various authors and painters and other artists.”
“Oh, do you suppose Mr. Dickens will be there?” Hannah asked excitedly. “Or one of the Rossettis?” When Hannah wasn’t ascertaining the veracity of various jewels at her work, she had her nose buried in books or was making her way through art galleries and museums.
“I am not certain, but I imagine those people might be intrigued enough by the Devil, or vice versa, to have been invited and actually attend.”
Hannah clapped her hands together in glee, and I smiled to see my friend so happy.
“What will you be doing, Cora?” Lily asked. “Indulging in a little bit of amorous congress with Marcell—that is, the marquis?” she said, imitating my words from a few moments before.
“Absolutely not,” I said as firmly as I could. “We are—that is, the marquis is doing all of this so we can see who talks to whom, who is acting suspiciously, and if we can identify the mole within his father’s entourage. Not so I can—”
“Engage in some convivial society,” Lily said, finishing my sentence. “Unfortunate.” She ran her gaze over me. “Looking like that, I’d be surprised if your marquis didn’t decide he’d rather do something other than hunt out spies and such. It sounds dreadfully boring.”
“Thank you?” I said. “Anyway. We should go—we cannot be late.”
We left the boardinghouse, hailing a hackney cab so we wouldn’t ruin our gowns before we arrived, my heart pounding in anticipation of what lay ahead. Of everything—and everyone—that lay ahead.
The usual butler greeted us at the door, his eyes widening when he saw Lily. I didn’t blame him; she was rather a lot even when she wasn’t dressed in such glorious garb.
We made our way to the ballroom, and even though I’d seen it before, I gasped as I entered.
It was stunning. All the chandeliers were lit with black and white candles, the glow flickering off the walls and reflecting off the windows.
The bouquets of black roses—which I’d finally managed to finish, ruining no fewer than seven pairs of gloves in the process—were arranged in silver-plated vases against the large mirrors Marcellus had brought in.
There was a long table set against the wall opposite the entrance, loaded with all the food the kitchen had spent so much time preparing over the past week.
Other tables held representations of the seven deadly sins, and there were already a few guests oohing and aahing over them.
Musicians played in the background, and I knew they would be playing compositions by Niccolò Paganini, Franz Liszt, and Giuseppe Tartini, among others, because those composers’ works were associated with the Devil, for musical reasons I didn’t understand.
Tartini’s work, Violin Sonata in G Minor, was usually referred to as the Devil’s Trill Sonata, which made the connection explicit, at least.
I was very impressed with Marcellus’s attention to detail, even if I was disappointed he wasn’t paying attention to detailing me.
Perhaps, once this was over, I could waylay him and see what we could get up to before cooler heads prevailed.
And since he was a demon and ran hot, and I was a human who couldn’t stop thinking about him and what we could do together, I had no doubt that cooler heads would not prevail. Which was rather the point.
“Cora!” Hannah nudged me, which informed me she must have been trying to get my attention for a while. Drat my wandering mind. I had a mole to find, not a—what had Lily said?—a demon to engage in some amorous congress with. At least not now.
“What is it?” I asked, turning to my friends.
“Introduce us,” Lily said, jerking her chin toward where the Devil, Marcellus, and a few of the other demons stood.
“Yes, of course.” I led the way, conscious of my gown, and my feelings, and how wrong all that was—I should be thinking of my job and the danger and keeping the country safe, and instead I was thinking about his mouth.
Priorities, Cora, I reminded myself.
But his mouth, Cora, I also reminded myself.
We arrived just as both sides of me were preparing for some sort of ideological standoff. I wasn’t prepared for the look in Marcellus’s eyes when he saw me.
“Oh my,” Hannah breathed in a low tone.
“My goodness,” Lily said.
My friends exchanged meaningful glances, and I felt myself heat inside.
“Good evening.” I addressed the group, but my gaze couldn’t help but stray to him.
“May I introduce my friends? This is Miss Lilith Wright and Miss Hannah Green. This is Lord Satan,” I said, giving a little bow as I spoke, “and the Marquis of Hell.” I glanced at the other beings gathered there—I knew Phenex and Keres, but I didn’t know the others.
I didn’t see Az’gen; I presumed he wasn’t part of the Devil’s inner circle, since he was one of Keres’s assistants.
The Devil’s eyes lit up as he saw Lily. “Well, isn’t this a pleasant surprise,” he said, advancing toward her.
“I didn’t realize such a grand creature would be in attendance tonight.
You must tell me how you know this lowly human.
” He took her hand and tucked it into his arm, but not before giving me a dismissive look.
I tried not to make a face at him—I didn’t think that would be wise, given that he could still roast me at any time—but it took all my skills as a mature adult not to stick my tongue out at his retreating back.
“Don’t mind him,” Marcellus said, coming to stand beside me.
“He’s just irked I told him he couldn’t engage in lustful activities on the sofas there.
” He nodded toward the far corner of the room, where I could now see there was indeed an inviting sofa, a few plumped-up pillows carefully arranged atop it.
“How is Miss Hastings as your guide through London?” Hannah asked in her most tinkling fairy voice, one she employed outside the house.
Marcellus met my gaze. “She is lovely.” My heart fluttered; I knew he wasn’t talking just about my guidance skills. He turned to look at Hannah. “How do you know Miss Hastings?”
Hannah uttered a trill of fairylike laughter, her polite company laugh. “She rescued me from a particularly difficult encounter. We have been friends and housemates ever since.”
“Oh, you live together?” Marcellus asked, sounding intrigued.