“I don’t know. I hadn’t really thought that far.”
I hadn’t thought it would take this long.
“That seems a little reckless. Your place of work is fine with you coming all the way out here?”
“Mother,” Cal said, making her jump a little in surprise. “Really.”
“I don’t have a job,” Nadine said quietly. “I just graduated.”
“And you came out here—all alone?” Nathaniel eyed her over his wine glass. “How brave of you.” He took a sip. “I do hope someone knows where you are.”
Her heart skipped a beat and then there was a clatter that nearly made her jump out of her skin. The maid set down her bowl and gave her a sharp look before picking up the offending spoon and saying, “I’ll get you a new one, miss.”
“It shouldn’t take that long,” Nadine said, still shaky. “I still need to get back to my aunt.”
My aunt, who will definitely call the police if one of you kills—or rapes—me.
“You seem a little high-strung, my dear,” Nathaniel said, swirling his glass thoughtfully. “My children all have iron constitutions, of course. You can’t fire a gun when you’re shaking like a leaf.” His eyes fell to Nadine’s hands, which she put in her lap. “Do you hunt?”
“I don’t really like guns,” Nadine said, taking the spoon the maid offered.
Ben muttered something under his breath. It sounded likebleeding heart.
“Not everyone has the stomach for it,” Nathaniel said, with a glance at his son. “Or the heart.”
It sounded like he was defending her but Nadine knew he wasn’t. She recognized the smile on his face from the wedding—the mean one. He was having some fun at her expense.
That seemed to be the end of the conversation, though the silence was thick and oppressive. The soup was roasted bell pepper, as it turned out, and tasted delicious, though Nadine found she had little appetite for it now.
“So,” Nathaniel said. “Now that you’ve seen my home in its entirety, tell me, what do you think of Ravensgate? Scariness aside, of course. I’m sure my son was very thorough in showing it to you. There must have been something that aroused your interest.”
Nadine choked on her soup and glanced at Corrine.
Nathaniel caught the look. “Oh, come. Don’t be timid or worry about sparing our feelings. Argentum is no kind home to cowards and fools, my dear. Tell us what you really think. It has you jumping at shadows, doesn’t it? Yes,” he urged, when she looked at him. “It was not designed to be pretty. The sense of unease when you walk these halls is—” he laughed unpleasantly. “Completely intentional.”
“Like most Victorians, Caledon Cullraven was interested in death and the macabre,” said Cal.
“He was also a hedonist.” Nathaniel filled his wineglass again. “He valued pleasure above all else, particularly in its most concentrated forms, when experienced intensely and in the moment, often whilst in pursuit of earthly delights he could showcase as testament to his prowess.”
“Like hunting,” said Nadine, feeling like she was being prompted, just like on the mine tour.
Corrine looked away. Odessa had a small, secretive smile.
“Yes,” Nathaniel said, after a long pause. “Among other things.”
“He liked to fuck,” Cal said bluntly, just as the serving staff had come back in with the main courses. They didn’t react to Cal’s outburst at all, which made Nadine wonder what this family normally talked about to make them so blasé. “That’s what my father is hinting at so coyly, Nadine. Caledon Cullraven liked chasing women almost as much as he enjoyed chasing deer. And if rumors are to be believed, he didn’t particularly care if they were willing.”
“My youngest is very passionate.” Nathaniel glanced at Cal with an exaggerated expression of indulgence that was at odds with the coldness in his eyes. “I suppose it’s the lawyer in him. He likes to know where the line is, so he can cross it freely.”
“Including the repetition of colorful local slander,” Ben said dryly.
“Whereas Ben,” Cal said, without missing a beat, “enjoys testing the limits gradually, so he can know where all the load-bearing walls are before he makes everything come crashing down. That’s why men like him become architects. It feeds into their fantasies of destruction.”
“This is fun,” Odessa said. “Now do me.”
“You don’t have a line at all.”
“Pleasure does not have to be reciprocal or fair,” Nathaniel said. “Nobody asks the deer if it desires to have its throat cut, but that does not taint the thrill for the hunter.”
