Page 35 of Eternal Craving

“And you want to work for him?”

“He gets things done.”

I looked away briefly. “What about his wife?”

“The king’s cousin. That’s a marriage of alliances.”

“To further his political career?”

“Felipe blatantly keeps a lover.”

I nodded casually. “Doesn’t his wife complain to the king?”

Salvador shooed away a waiter and topped up my glass. “The king has more mistresses than you can count.”

“So Felipe’s wife is powerless?”

“She knows that affair won’t last.” Salvador shrugged. “Felipe believed his wife to be barren, so he took a mistress and fathered a bastard.”

“A son?”

Salvador nodded. “Now Felipe’s wife is pregnant.”

Alicia’s and her child’s days under Felipe’s roof were numbered. Though not knowing why I frowned, Salvador offered me a reassuring smile and I followed his gaze.

“The countess is very wealthy,” he whispered. “She’s declined many an offer of marriage.”

“The widow?”

“Yes. Have you met her?”

“No, never.”

“Well, she’s good friends with the senator. Insatiable appetite.”

I arched an eyebrow.

He burst into laughter. “Not me, her.”

My thoughts flew to Annabelle, recalling her sweetness, her innocence, and I wondered how long she might stay.

The countess blinked her long lashes at me.

I grimaced as I considered Salvador’s words. I found no amusement in having the countess flirt with me.

Salvador and I found the opportunity to withdraw from the other visitors. We sauntered outside into the cool evening air. The stuffy dinner party wasn’t to my liking, and when Salvador loosened his necktie, I assumed it wasn’t his, either.

The garden possessed a lush assortment of greenery and the well-tended flowers sprung up around us. I avoided treading on them as we crossed the stony pathway and leaned against an ivy-covered wall. I weaved a plan – one that demanded only a single sacrifice.

My thoughts burned with vengeance as I considered Felipe, the man who had tried to kill me. He would learn soon enough that I had survived his assault, and before he could strike again, I would make the first move. But before that reckoning, I had to get my sister and her son away from him before he used her pain as retribution for mine.

“You seem pensive.” Salvador gave me a quizzical look. “I think you know me well enough to trust my discretion.”

I turned to face him. “Perception is reality.”

“For some, yes.”

“The Pope has received a royal warrant to purify the kingdom of Spain.”