He stopped and turned. I expected anger or irritation at the insult, but was surprised to see amusement instead. “No?”
He circled around me, the cuffs of his shirt brushing against my sleeve, against the small of my back. “But I could be twice as awful, and though you might complain you would still follow, would you not?”
His voice was a whisper above my ear. “Because you have nowhere else to turn and the dear, earnest Lord Seventh ofFrostwood said you could trust me. And that’s what you are going to do, Marietta, is it not?”
Every hair on my body rose in response to the carnal tones. I gritted my teeth against the sensation. “I don’t believe I like you, Master First Noble.”
He laughed softly. I shivered and smoothed a hand down the back of my neck.
“I don’t care, Lady Second Winters.” His tone was seductive and low, but there was steel underneath. “As long as you keep your end of the bargain, I don’t care in the least. Now get moving.”
Chapter 3
MARIETTA
I was mildly annoyed when the servants took one glance at Gabriel Noble and allowed him to pass without comment. Probably hoping I’d sold him my virginity. Hoping they might get paid for once, if so. The servants weren’t stupid. They knew things were dire.
Every skilled worker had fled when the prime cook had left, to be replaced by round after round of those less adept. I was surprised this last batch had remained as long as they had. Ferris was a crafty one with his promises and lies.
While the two male servants might be hoping I would toss my skirts for the mysterious man I’d entered with, the two maids hovering in the doorway were obviously hoping to toss theirs instead, if their glazed expressions were anything to go by. I bet the four had gathered as soon as I’d been found missing—waiting for the gossip my return would deliver.
“Lady Marietta?” The comment was directed to me, but the maid’s eyes never left Noble.
“Retrieve my traveling case from storage please, Penny.”
“Yes, Lady Marietta.” Glassy eyes stayed fixed. “I look forward to wherever we are going.”
Sable, the other maid, pinned Noble with a more avaricious gaze as he visibly scanned the layout. Her eyes took in everything from the tilt of his head to the curve of his backside. She swayed a step in his direction, as if called there by an invisible force.
I had been thinking about taking one of the maids, as a buffer against Noble, but I’d rather struggle with all of my fastenings—I’d rather put my dress onbackward—than deal with this.
“I don’t require your presence on the trip. Please retrieve my case.”
Noble shot me a knowing look, edged with something that resembled irritation—but for the first time, I didn’t think it directed at me. “Show me your brother’s bedroom.”
I led the way upstairs. Kennen’s room was messy—I could never find a thing in it. Noble might find it right pleasant, judging by his own study.
“Hmm. Cast more light.”
I activated the switch on the bedside’s ever-lamp.
His gaze held mine for extended seconds. Then he reached into the air and flicked two fingers. Light bloomed overhead, like aethered sunlight. He had connected to someone else’s household spells, however meager, as if it were a simple task. Want circled in the way it always did when another mage did something of which I was incapable.
I cleared my throat uncomfortably as he began poking around, picking up and examining objects, nodding or humming at different things—a discordant sound in the charged atmosphere.
“I’m going to pack. Don’t disturb Ferris—he’s in the next room over. He’s not…pleasant when disturbed after a rough night. Or day.”
“Not pleasant how?” Noble’s sharp eyes held mine, searching for something. He must have found it, because his shoulders relaxed and he waved me away. “I won’t pester your disreputable brother.”
The two maids, standing attentively in the hall, followed me into my room.
“Who is he, Lady Marietta?”
I frowned. “Just a man.” I took the case from Penny. Stunned and dreamy, she didn’t look capable of relinquishing it on her own.
Sable, always the more brash of the two, elbowed her way past. She was eyeing me with the smug disdain she had taken todisplaying after the invitations had dried up and the neighbors had turned their backs. The servants were no doubt serving out gossip to anyone offering a filament of gold.
One part of me understood it—they hadn’t been paid in weeks. Bitter and hungry, they were getting revenge and putting food on the table. The other part of me was angry beyond measure that they were contributing to the current fiasco.
