"Lord Boudon," she said politely. She glanced toward the door, and one of the guards moved in front of it. She searched past Alain to the door behind the bar. Another man was now filling it with his arms crossed. She was absolutely fucked.
"What's going on?" she asked, going for naive. "I didn't think they would send you personally to collect any taxes."
"Let's sit and have a talk like civilized people," he replied, with a charming smile. His eyes were looking at her like she was dinner.
The few times they had met during her father's tenure with Lord Boudon, Delphi had read the desire in his expression and done her best to never be alone with him. Lord's sons didn't ask women for permission. And when the lord was a favorite of the king of Chantelun? Nothing was off limits for them.
Louis had made his desires known to Delphi more than once, and she had always managed to avoid him, thinking that he would soon move on. The look he was giving her said that he hadn't. He was like a child who had been denied a coveted toy. If she had fucked him, he wouldn't have been there at all.
Delphi knew that trying to fight or run was pointless for the moment, so she obediently sat in a booth opposite Louis. If she pretended to be meek and mild, maybe they would drop their guard at some point, and she would escape then.
"I don't suppose you know where Narcisse is?" she asked, already dreading the answer.
"Yes. He's passed out in one of the rooms upstairs, being watched over in case he tries to do anything stupid like run away," Louis replied, his eyes narrowing. "Again."
Delphi made her eyes go big. "He told me that his commission with your family was finished, and we were moving to the country."
"It wouldn't surprise me if he lied to you, but even you must have noticed that he was carrying some sacks that didn't belong to him when you scurried away in the middle of the night." Louis's pale blue eyes turned icy. "My father doesn't like thieves, Delphi. Almost as much as he doesn't like men who pretend to be someone else…and witches."
"Witches?" she asked.
He tossed a folded-up piece of paper at her. Delphi's hands were damp with sweat as she smoothed the paper out. It was a wanted poster forL'Alchimiste Infernal, and a well drawn picture of Narcisse. Amongst the listed crimes was his harboring of a woman who was a suspected witch. The smell of burning flesh filled Delphi's nose again.
"Is this some kind of joke? If so, it's very poor taste," she said, hiding the tremor in her voice.
Louis smiled, and it was like a wolf had cornered her. "Not a joke. Imagine my surprise seeing your father's face on a poster while I was in the capital recently. I knew he was a thief, but to learn that he was the infamous L'Alchimiste, the most notorious and hated alchemist in all of Chantelun, was quite the blow. I knew of him, of course, but I never would have connected him to the washed-up mess Narcisse has become if not for how good the drawing is."
"My father is everything you claim and worse, but I'm not a witch," Delphi said and licked her lips. "If I were that powerful, don't you think I would be living somewhere other than this hellhole?"
Louis reached across the table and took her hand. "I want to believe you, Delphi. I can see you are a good, obedient girl, but the charges against your father are severe. He made off with a set of my mother's favorite silverware, and she was very displeased about it."
If it were only the silverware they noticed gone, they clearly weren't paying close enough attention to all the other things Narcisse had taken. Delphi did her best to look innocent and upset.
"My lord, I had no idea. If I knew, I would have forced him to take it back. Your family was so good to us. I never wantedto leave Bellemere," she said, with a sniffle. "You have to believe me."
Louis's fingers lightly traced over the skin on the back of her wrist, and she struggled to hide her revulsion. "There are ways you can make it up to me."
"There are?" Delphi knew what he would ask, and she would give it to him to save herself from the pyre.
Louis hummed thoughtfully. "You see, knowing Narcisse is a thief isn't my father's biggest concern right now. He was making medicine for my mother during his tenure with us. Her condition has worsened without him. My father is willing to forget the theft if Narcisse becomes indentured to him and starts making medicine for my mother again. He will be under house arrest and will have to work off the value of the silver."
"That… That seems very fair to me," Delphi replied. Considering that Louis had every right to cut off body parts and hang her father.
"There is also a small condition concerning you," Louis said and tapped the wanted poster. "You have been labeled a witch, Delphi. The truth won't matter. Any person in Chantelun will see you dead when they learn of your identity. They will hate and fear you much more than your father."
Delphi thought about the vial of delphinium poison she had made and kept safe with her books. She had distilled it one day when the fear of being discovered had overwhelmed her.
Was it too much to hope that Louis would let her collect her things before she was arrested? It would be the only way to get to it.
"Please…" she whispered, her tears real now as terror overwhelmed her.
"I have a plan to save you, Delphi. I can protect you," Louis said softly.
"Why would you help me?"
"Do you not know? I want you, and I'm going to marry you."
Delphi stared up at him in surprise. "What?"
