“I would be forever in your debt,” I rush out, as supplicatory as a man ever was. But realizing how untoward I probably sound in my eagerness, I add, “My housekeeper, she… she would like a companion. Someone she can, sort of, bring up.”
“Oh, it’s your housekeeper who very specifically wants a pretty thirteen-year-old blonde girl with gray eyes in the house?”
Her words sicken me. Her knowing smile and raised eyebrow make it a thousand times worse.
But this isn’t the time to lose her favor by letting her know what I really think.
My own smile makes me want to vomit, and I can only muster a nod in response.
“Don’t worry,” she replies. “A girl like that is hot property for a reason. You’re not the only one who’d want her. I’m telling you first as thanks for finding Robin for me. You scratch my back, I scratch yours, correct?”
“Absolutely, Cornelia.”
“And you know,” she steps a little closer, her tone having returned to the casual confidence we shared before my blunder, “I’m not completely without heart. She’s been in a female household up until now, but I know a lot of these men are just waiting to sink their teeth into her. And I believe you’re… She might fare better with you.”
Her clear sapphire eyes meet mine, sealing a deal with me.
I don’t even know what to make of it. We all know the sort of fate that awaits most of these girls. I’d never considered the idea that same fate with me might be better than it would be with one of these rich men. It’s an odd sort of sympathy this woman has, brokering the girl away regardless, but trying to make it somehow slightly less awful.
Maybe it helps her sleep at night.
But I’m thankful to her. Esme, if that is the girl she’s found, is of my island and my people. She’s one of mine. And she’s under my protection until I can get her back to Robin.
“I promise you, she’ll find a good home with me and Maria. I’m not going anywhere anytime soon. I’m going to win this season, and next year, I’ll have the pick of the bunch ready for you again, from day one.”
“Good to hear. I’m meeting Madeleine a few days from now. If she agrees, we’ll skip the auction and you can buy her outright. I’ll have her sent to you so you can assess her first, of course, but I can’t imagine you’ll not want her.”
Having seen someone she apparently knows across the room, she’s about to step away, but she pauses to add, “Only, keep your hands off her until you’ve paid.”
I drop my head to hide the heat in my cheeks. “Yes. Yes, of course.”
“Good man.” And away she goes, off to make whatever deal she’s making next, leaving me reeling.
I want to tell Robin. I want so badly for him to know this. I’ve been looking for her for months now, just in case she was taken too, and it’s the first solid lead.
But if it’s not Esme, I know he’ll be crushed.
I can’t tell him now.
I’ll wait. And a few days hence, I’ll know for sure.
Yet I find myself searching for him.
He’s no longer at the table.
Relief sweeps me to know he must have extricated himself from the Emperor, so I move deeper into the room, feeling a little more confident, happier, ready to get my job done and mingle with these animals.
But that’s when I finally set eyes on him.
His back’s against the wall, in a distant corner of the ballroom. I know the look on his face. He’s furious, trying to push down the urge to strike. Because the Emperor’s there, between us, and his filthy fingers are on Robin’s beautiful cheek.
In a flash, I see everything that man has put me through. Every unwanted touch, every humiliation, every indignity. But all of it visited on Robin.
There’s no thought to the action. My body moves automatically, like it does during a match when I know all my opponent’s attacks and exactly how to counter them. It’s calm, and it’s graceful, and it’s targeted. And before I know it, my hand’s inside the Emperor’s robe, the flesh of his hip cool and soft, nothing like the man I really want to hold. “You haven’t come to see me yet, Emperor.”
“Marco.” He sighs out the second half of my name, a soft coo, while he traces his fingers up my arm. “You seemed busy.”
“Not busy enough,” I reply provocatively.
