Chapter 10 #3
Grannam and Arabella might not have appeared to be conversing except for the subtle angling of their heads toward each other as they spoke in turn.
Upon further examination, Jade identified two aristocratic young men positioned behind Arabella who must have been offering subtle support and protection in the background.
Grannam appeared to be accompanied by no one, but his associates may have just been better at blending in.
Jade homed in on the movements of their mouths, but with the distance separating them and the way they muddled the formation of their words, she couldn’t tell what they were saying to each other.
Interestingly, both gave the impression of being at ease and in control of the situation, which implied they each had something to gain from the interaction.
Was Arabella playing Grannam right here and now? Perhaps she was accusing him of the murders she had been ordering. If she was, of course, Grannam would know her accusations were baseless, which might explain his unbothered disposition.
This conversation between Grannam and Arabella almost certainly had to do with the “move” Grannam was planning to make at the ball—or could this be the move?
Were they forming some kind of alliance?
Were they negotiating the details of a treaty and using the masquerade as neutral ground?
So much of this political war happened behind closed doors.
Being undercover as Elena, Jade had every opportunity to covertly get close to this conversation, but she was trapped in the arms of a mystifying, if not alluring, dance partner.
Could that be his plan? Had he already outed her as an espionage agent and was essentially holding her hostage so she couldn’t discover what was going on?
She had to find a way out of this—a way out of his grasp—but that was easier said than done. Every move she made had to be carefully calculated.
Nicolas changed direction, and the pair was lost from Jade’s sight.
She pressed her lips together in frustration and swallowed, willing herself not to turn her head in their direction.
She didn’t want to make it obvious whom she was studying, or that she was paying specific attention to anyone at all.
Instead, she brought her eyes back up to Nicolas, and the expression she found on his face surprised her.
He’d been watching her, that much was certain, his eyes gleaming with something akin to pride. Admiration, perhaps? One corner of his mouth twitched upward so briefly Jade barely noticed it before he wiped the expression from his face.
“Spot another royal?” he finally asked.
Jade allowed her lips to curve into a smile, studying him for a moment as she prepared her reply. The sparkle in his eyes and the knowing intonation to his question were almost mischievous, as though he’d known exactly what she had seen and waited to see how she would answer.
She ultimately chose the truth, playing again into her doe-eyed persona. “Lord Grannam.” She released a surprised chuckle. “I know this is his house, but I’m not sure I actually expected to see him here.”
“It is a rare appearance, indeed.” Nicolas released Jade’s waist in time with the dance, whirling her around before bringing her back to him, shaving centimeters off the space between them. His cheek nearly brushed hers as he brought his mouth to her ear. “I wonder what drew him out of hiding.”
Jade’s heart slammed against her ribcage with the closeness, the heat from his breath warming her ear.
He lingered there for a split second after he had finished speaking, and Jade’s eyes followed his face as he pulled away.
Nicolas held her gaze, the intensity of his brown eyes sending warm blood pulsing into her limbs and up her neck.
She swallowed, and her lips parted, trying but unable to form words as he spun her around the dance floor, her chin tipped up to maintain her lock on his eyes.
She tried to consider the implications of his statement—why was Grannam making an appearance?
—but she couldn’t get her thoughts in order, as if something had swirled them around and they hadn’t yet settled.
She only saw Nicolas, only felt the pressure of his grip, only knew the steps of their dance.
Jade didn’t realize the music had ceased or that she had stopped moving. Only when Nicolas relinquished her from his grasp did the world come back to her, and the applause of the other dancers and the general hum of conversation met her ears.
Nicolas opened his mouth as if to speak right as someone cleared their throat behind Jade, and she threw her gaze over her shoulder.
“Would you allow me the next dance, my lady?”
A young nobleman, a royal—but Jade’s mind was still too muddled to determine whom—waited behind her with an outstretched hand.
Before she answered, she brought her gaze forward again to excuse herself from Nicolas, but he was gone.
She found no trace of him anywhere around her, though she resisted rising to her tiptoes to search.
There was no sign of his dark hair, his black suit, his gold mask.
No remnant of his towering figure could be found.
As quickly as he had appeared, he vanished, as though he had only been a phantom.