Cosette swallowed, his revelation still setting uneasily on her mind. “Is there no other way?”
He shook his head, resigned. “Nothing that comes to mind. I already told you that I scoured the ends of the earth to find something to end . . . this.” He indicated himself. “But most of the gentlemen that attend the Order are scholars. They have volumes upon volumes devoted to debauchery and the dark arts secreted in an underground chamber, some of them dating further back than the Crusades.”
“But, is it necessary to go there?”
Davien snorted. “They don’t allow any of those books to leave the Abbey for fear that the true nature of the Order will be exposed and come crumbling down.”
“Maybe I could—”
“Not a chance,” Davien cut in. “The moment you walk over the threshold of that place you’re considered fair game. It doesn’t matter if I’ve laid claim to you as my mistress. To them, you’re just another woman to bed.”
~ ~ ~
Davien could tell that Cosette wanted to contest his claim, but he couldn’t take the chance that she might see Charlotte down in the bowels of the tunnels and demand that he rescue her immediately. There were prestigious men who ran the Order, like Dashwood, and freeing a possible initiate was not something a member did if they didn’t wish to be disbanded—perhaps permanently.
If Davien were murdered, the possibility of researching these sacred novels would be for naught, for that’s how they were viewed by the Order. Only members could gain access, and even then it was with special permission by the current Abbot. Since, at the moment, that was Dashwood, Davien felt that his chances of being granted entry were good.
And what he’d told her about being just another woman to bed had been absolutely true. Mistresses were considered nothing more than a personal courtesan. Cosette wouldn’t stand a chance.
Thankfully, she relented. “What can I do? I can’t stay here feeling like a princess locked in a tower.”
He’d already considered that too. “Try to control your . . . urges.”
She paused. “Do you think there’s a way I can?”
“I don’t know,” he admitted. “But isn’t it worth trying? I still struggle with the beast, but at least I can feel when it’s restless. Perhaps if you knew when the locket was growing stronger, you could fight against it.”
She gave a brief nod. “I’ll try.”
He slowly released the breath he’d been holding. “Good. I’ll make sure that Quinn is here to keep you company.”
“He doesn’t talk,” she pointed out dryly.
Davien grinned. “Then you shouldn’t have anything to argue about.”
She rolled her eyes. “So when do you return to the Club?”
“Tonight.”
She swallowed. “So soon?”
He tried to smile, but he had the feeling it came out like more of a grimace. “There’s no time like the present.”
~ ~ ~
“Ah, Blackburn.” Dashwood’s eyes gleamed the moment Davien showed his face in the doorway of the Abbey. He was alone in the great hall, but Davien knew there were others lurking about in private rooms. There usually were, which is why Dashwood was there. As acting Abbot, he had to make sure that order was kept within the hallowed walls of the Abbey. “To what do I owe this pleasure? I thought you were . . . occupied with your new pet until the spring rites were held.”
Davien held his tongue at the mention of Cosette being referred to as his ‘pet.’ “It’s rather quiet tonight,” he said instead.
Dashwood shrugged. “You know that we only hold our meetings twice a month and our second one just concluded. It was too bad that you missed it. We granted a sacrifice to Bacchus and Venus. It was a rather . . . enthralling performance.”
Davien could only imagine. “I returned because I was hoping that I might be permitted to look through the archives.”
At the mention of this, Dashwood’s brows nearly rose to his hairline. “For what purpose?”
Davien was relatively sure that he’d come up with a plausible excuse. “My lovely mistress and I were hoping to find some . . . different ways to play.”
Dashwood chuckled. “If you’re looking for variety, you know that the lady is always welcome to partake in our activities.”
