Page 53 of The Heartless One
But she plastered a fake smile on her face and pretended it didn’t bother her in the slightest. After all, she wasn’t the Lady Jessamine who had died in front of them. She was Lady Farah, a foreign dignitary who lived very close to this kingdom and who had just married a rake. One of the many women here who they likely hoped would slip off with them for a quick fuck in a closet.
She was just about to ask the man in front of her if he’d heard the rumors about the princess not being dead, when there was a loud bang at the front of the house. A few people jumped. One woman even spilled half of her cocktail before she caught the glass. All the nobles turned to see a man standing atop the white marble steps leading toward gilded double doors, wearing a fine suit of ivory white.
“Esteemed ladies and gentlemen! It is my pleasure to welcome you to the home of Fortuna Beaumont! A truly unique experience awaits you beyond. You shall be plied with the finest of foods, the rarest of wines, and the most unusual beauties this kingdom can offer you! Please, enter and enjoy.”
And, damn it, the nobles all filtered out of the garden. She wasn’tgoing to get a word in edgewise while they were all walking, which meant she was forced to stride behind them and enter the home.
Sighing, she looked over her shoulder at Elric, who was so close she could feel the heat of his body. “Shall we?”
“I’ve always been intrigued to see how the legendary Fortuna Beaumont lives.” A few people beside him made noises of agreement, although they all gave him a side-eye when he added, “Some say it rivals the beauty of the royal castle itself… but surely that would be impossible.”
This man. He was so beyond what she had ever dreamt of having in her life, and yet here he was. Right in front of her. Or behind her, as it were.
Biting her lip, she walked with the others up the stairs. She stayed in the back of the line, though. No need to rush into a house they had already seen, after all.
From the outside, she could see that Fortuna’s servants had decorated with even more gold, if such a thing was possible. It looked like it was pouring down from the ceilings in great swaths of drapery, and every single item of food on a plate that moved past the window had gold on top of it as well. Desserts that looked like little pillows. Delicate crackers with what looked like duck liver pâté. Even the small ribs on bones had gold dust on top.
“Everyone’s going to be shitting gold when they leave this place,” Elric murmured in her ear.
She tried her best not to giggle, but that one got her. With a startled laugh, she leaned back into him when everyone turned to stare. Thankfully, he just wrapped an arm around her waist and flashed them all a grin.
“She’s always been a lightweight,” he said with a chuckle. “I’ll keep a watch on her, don’t you worry.”
And just like that, they were dismissed.
Finally, they were entering Fortuna’s home. The massive entrance hall glowed with so much light it looked like the sun itself had been captured. The black-and-white-checkered floors gleamed like mirrors, and every room had been opened. The guests wandered to and fro, exploring whatever room where they wished to see the various entertainments.
“It’s just you and I,” she murmured, glancing around to see that almost everyone had left the hall. Remaining was just them, the servants, and a podium with a guest book that everyone else seemed to have signed.
“So it is.” He narrowed his gaze on her. “Are you about to make a foolish decision?”
“No.” But the grin on her face said otherwise.
She felt him lean over her shoulder to watch as she signed the guest book.
Dead Girl and the Reckoning.
“Jessamine,” he snarled.
“Farah,” she replied, closing the guest book with a sharp thud. “No one will look until we’re all gone, anyway.”
“Unless a servant gets curious.” He took her hand and put it on his elbow, drawing her away from the podium.
“If a servant looks, they will say nothing. I highly doubt any of them have the slightest loyalty to Fortuna.” She tossed her head before remembering most of her hair was coiled in a precarious updo. “She wasn’t kind to servants as a child, and I highly doubt that has changed since.”
Shaking his head, Elric drew her into the nearest room. Inside, it appeared to be a hookah den. Smoke coiled to the ceiling and billowed like clouds against the ceiling. She had yet to see such pristine white smoke in her life, but then again, she hadn’t been in a hookah den before either.
Smokers, mostly men, filled the room, all of them puffing on hoses leading to metal contraptions that bubbled with liquids. A few daring women enjoyed pipes of their own, but they were few and far between.
“See anyone you recognize?” Elric murmured in her ear. Together, they watched the crowd to see if anyone reacted to their presence. “Because the man in the garden made a very precise suggestion that he knew who you were.”
If Elric believed him, then it was true. And that meant there was more than one person who knew, for no one in the Pleasure District kept secrets. But she had no clue who that stranger could be.
“No one,” she replied, before sneezing. Loudly.
A few people looked over at them with annoyed expressions, and she took that as their cue to leave. Elric cleared his throat, nodded to the other men, and then nearly dragged her out of the room.
“What?” she asked.
