One of her guards was on the other side. “Mistress, an insistent pet of Master Roger’s demanded that I pass along the message that Seamus would like to speak to him.”
“Seamus is here?” Candide asked.
“Yes, mistress. He arrived a few minutes ago.”
“There go my plans for the evening.” She sighed dramatically and walked out of the room.
Roger took a step to follow her, then paused. They were leaving Ezra chained and gagged in a fake office. Technically, he didn’t breathe, so Roger didn’t need to worry about his airway. Roger couldn’t help thinking of Zack’s questions.What kind of rules will I have? What will I tolerate?
Smothering his affections for others had been one of his many survival tactics. If no one knew he cared, then no one could be used against him.
Roger had never stopped to consider what that had done to those he cared for. The shame of what had happened at Gladwell Manor had tormented him for centuries. He’d believed that Ezra’s anger at him was justified and used that to keep a distance between them so that Seamus would never hurt him.
But through all these years, Ezra had been hurting, too.
Quickly, Roger crossed the room to Ezra and tested the strength of the chains. They weren’t silver, so they weren’t eatinginto Ezra’s skin. His cuffed wrists showed only the slightest sign of irritation. Tugging on the chains revealed that while they were secure, they weren’t designed to withstand applied strength.
Roger pressed a kiss to Ezra’s temple. “At some point, we need to talk, but know that I have never been angry with you.”
Ezra trembled, then nodded.
“For the record,” Candide said icily, “there is a key in the desk for the chains. He’s capable of releasing himself at any point, and he knows it. My joy comes from stripping my submissives bare and giving them what they long for, not outright torturing them.”
“Forgive me,” Roger said as they started for the staircase downward. “I wasn’t expecting Seamus tonight, and I’m rattled.”
“I was hoping he’d stay away, but I’m not surprised. He has been growing anxious by your continued absence. He was debating who to send in order to compel you to come home.”
“He could have called me,” Roger said.
“And had the conversation overheard on Nell’s landline?”
Roger frowned. “What?”
Candide paused at the top of the stairs and regarded Roger. “You’re not aware?”
Suppressing the urge to growl, he replied, “Aware ofwhat?”
“Dmitri said that you appointed him your representative and that all communication should run through him as you were not yet acquainted with new technologies. He made it sound as if you don’t know what an email is. The only contact information he gave for you was a physical address and the telephone number to Nell’s mansion.”
Roger pulled his phone from his pocket and held the slim device up for Candide to see. “Would you like me to send you a selfie? An email full of emojis? How about a YouTube video of cats?”
“Iknewhe was up to something,” Candide hissed.
Or she was. But her anger seemed genuine, and what she’d said made sense with Dmitri’s attitude the night before. He hadn’t wanted Roger to hesitate in his assassination plot.What else has he lied about?
“I don’t have time to stall.” Roger slid his phone into his pocket. “I have to repair whatever damage he’s caused before Seamus believes that I’m the source of the problem.”
Candide took Roger’s arm. “At least one good thing about his moping for centuries is that you shouldn’t have a hard time throwing him under the bus.”
“I can’t do that to him.”
“All this guilt, mon cher,” Candide murmured. “It will crush you one night.”
“I have no idea what you mean,” Roger said as he slipped into his habitual warm smile.
She matched him, bringing forth her charming persona again. Together, they descended the stairs.
Zack was waiting on the second floor for them. Though he was glaring at the floor, Roger spotted the familial similarities to Ezra that he had thought were a product of living too long. He should have noted that turn to his nose, the shape of his pout.
