“She seems like she’ll get the hang of things,” I observed.
Annette shook her head. “She will. Doesn’t have the instincts I would like, but she’ll do.” She glanced over at me with a small smile. “Excuse me. I should be addressing you as ‘my lord’ now.”
“Enough of that,” I scowled. “But thank you for allowing me to do some work. I needed a distraction, and I can’t exactly go into the servants’ quarters asking for a feather duster.”
“Grimes would have a stroke,” Annette said, chuckling. She shook her head. “Anyway, I did want to show you something, my … er, Emile.”
I quirked an eyebrow as she withdrew a butter knife from her uniform. “If you plan to murder me, I confess I have no money to speak of at the moment, and you should probably use a sharper instrument.”
Annette rolled her eyes. “Don’t worry, my lord. If I was planning on murdering you, I would do it quick in the middle of the night.”
“Oh.” I blinked. “Good to … know.”
Annette flashed me a wicked smile before drawing the knife closer to my face. “No, silly. Look closer.”
I narrowed my eyes at the knife, noticing that the gold was tarnished. Then I frowned. It wasn’t tarnished. It was … peeling, revealing silver beneath the gold exterior.
“What is this?” I asked, snatching the knife and scraping a fingernail over it to reveal more silver.
“Gold paint,” Annette said as she watched shavings fall into my lap.
“I can see that, but why?” I looked up to meet her eyes.
“Someone is stealing the gold cutlery and replacing it with cheap imitations. They probably get a good amount for it too.”
“Did you bring this to Grimes’s attention?”
“Not yet. For now, I set the fakes aside, until we decide what to do with them.”
I tapped my lip, wondering if perhaps this wasn’t the work of a servant at all. What if Montoni was worse off than he let on? Perhaps his gambling debts had gotten the best of him. If he needed more money for bribes, the gold in his house would be a logical place to start. As would a vulnerable widow who had a fortune of her own. Aunt Cheron might be satisfied that the count kept me around out of the goodness of his heart, but I wasn’t that naïve.
“Well?” Annette prodded. “What should I do with it?”
“Keep it set aside for now. We’ll think on it.” I looked up, smiling. “Good work, Annette.”
Annette stood and curtsied for me before leaving me to my thoughts.
Blanche was over the moon that I would be attending the ball with her and Henri, and insisted on helping me pick out an outfit.
“We are going to be the only thing anybody is talking about,” Blanche said decidedly as she rummaged through my things. “When it’s Henri and me, the whispers follow us everywhere we go. We are the most desirable people in the room. But the three of us!” She squealed. “I can just imagine the looks on the other girls’ faces when I stride into that room with two of the most handsome men on my arms. No one will be able to ignore us.”
I watched her from the edge of my bed with amusement. “So, I’m only a pretty accessory to you?”
Blanche paused and glanced back at me, grin wide. “A very, very pretty one.”
I laughed, shaking my head. “You are too much sometimes. I can’t imagine any man meeting your rigorous standards for a husband. How do you ever hope to find one?”
Pausing in her rifling, Blanche turned to face me and leaned on the wardrobe, looking thoughtful. “I do have high standards, but it’s more than that. I need someone to accept me, who’s strong enough to be my equal. It is very hard for a woman. Most men want to keep us locked up, quiet and attentive. I can’t have that. I need someone who will let me shine, and not have the pride to keep me under lock and key. Jealousy is the downfall of all men.”
I thought of Bram and Henri, and their demonstrations of jealousy. “I can’t argue with you there.”
“But I also need a man who understands me, who can …” She swallowed and came to sit beside me. “He needs to be able to accept all of me. Even the parts that aren’t always apparent. We all have … secrets. We have demons that we try to keep at bay. I need a partner who will be able to acknowledge those demons and not be afraid of them.”
I nodded, thinking I understood. I certainly had parts of myself that I was ashamed of, and qualities I didn’t like, that weren’t admirable. Finding a partner who could see those ugly parts and still love you, admire you even … that was what made for an honest, lasting love. My life was full of scheming these days, and there was no one so cunning as Henri. He would certainly understand that ugly part of me. Because it was in him as well. He was deceptive, but he was also tender. He’d cared for me at my lowest, as well. I couldn’t ignore that kindness. He may have informed my aunt on my whereabouts, but my manipulations were perhaps just as bad, if not worse. Udolpho was likely a part of his inheritance, and I was planning on stealing it out from under his nose.
Likewise, Bram would be able to see past my ugly traits as well. He’d all but encouraged me to abandon playing nice. He was insightful and knew what it was to be human in a society stacked against us.
I grabbed Blanche’s hands. “I understand.”
