“Dens?” Tawny asked, and I realized this was the first time she’d interacted with them outside of commenting on their clumsiness and apparent weak constitution.
Dafina tipped her upper body forward. “You know the kind, where men and women often go to play cards and other games.”
Tawny lifted her brows. “You’re talking about the Red Pearl?”
The Maiden sat as still as the limestone statues I could see in the garden.
“I was trying to be discreet.” Dafina sighed, looking at the Maiden. “But, yes.”
I bit the inside of my mouth as I briefly shifted my attention to the glass panels above us.
“And what have you heard he does at such a place?” Tawny asked, the skirt of her gown moving and the toe of her slipper appearing—
The Maiden jerked slightly.
Did Tawny just kick the Maiden under the table?
“I imagine he’s there to play cards, right? Or do you…?” Tawny pressed a hand to her chest, leaning back in her chair. “Or do you think he engages in other more illicit…games?”
“I’m sure playing cards is all he does.” Loren raised an eyebrow as she pressed her fan against her chest. “If that is all he does, then that would be a…disappointment.”
I didn’t think she’d be disappointed.
Mostly.
I hadn’t returned to the Red Pearl since the night the Maiden was there, and I had been there nearly every night before that.
“I imagine he does what everyone does when they go there,” Tawny said. “Finds someone to spend…quality time with.” She tilted her head slightly to the Maiden.
I had to bite harder on the inside of my lip.
“You shouldn’t suggest such things in current company,” Dafina admonished.
Tawny choked on her tea while I almost choked on my breath.
“I imagine if Miss Willa were alive today, she would’ve snared him in her web,” Loren said. “And then wrote about him in her diary.”
Who was this Miss Willa?
“I heard that she only wrote about her most skilled…partners,” Dafina added, laughing softly. “So, if he made it onto those pages, you know what that means.”
I was flattered they’d already decided I would be skilled enough to make it into this diary.
Unfortunately, their conversation moved on from my perceived skills to the Rite, though I still occupied their thoughts based on how Loren and Dafina continued stealing glances in my direction.
But they weren’t the only ones.
The Maiden looked, too.
I couldn’t see her eyes, but there was a slight tilt of her head in my direction. What really let me know was the odd prickle at the nape of my neck that I would not ask Kieran about because, knowing him, he’d probably say it was my conscience.
“I do hope you-know-who isn’t in the city like some are saying,” Dafina said. “If so, they may cancel the Rite.”
“They won’t cancel the Rite,” Loren assured. “And I don’t think it’s an if.” She glanced at the Maiden, then sent her friend a meaningful look. “You know that it has to mean that he’s near.” Her chin lifted. “Prince Casteel.”
Damn.
Did she just say my actual name? Usually, I was only referred to as the Dark One.
Dafina frowned. “Because of the…” She glanced not-so-coyly at the Maiden. “Because of the attack?”
“Besides that.” Loren’s attention returned to the mask she was currently sewing a red crystal to. The corners of my lips turned down. How many damn colors were on that thing? “I overheard Britta saying so this morning.”
“The maid?” Dafina scoffed.
“Yes, the maid.” Loren lifted her chin even higher. “They know everything.”
That was true.
Mostly.
Dafina laughed. “Everything?”
She nodded. “People speak about anything in front of them. No matter how intimate or private. It’s almost like they are ghosts in a room. There is nothing they don’t overhear.”
“What did Britta say?” Tawny placed her cup down.
“She said that Prince Casteel had been spotted in Three Rivers,” Loren said. “That it was he who started the fire that took Duke Everton’s life.”
I did start the fire.
But Duke Everton was already dead by then.
“How could anyone claim that?” Tawny demanded. “No one who has ever seen the Dark One will speak of what he looks like or has lived long enough to give any description of him.”
“I don’t know about that,” Dafina countered. “I heard from Ramsey that he is bald and has pointy ears, and is pale, just like…you know what.”
Well, that was…offensive. I did not look like a Craven, which was what they insinuated.
“Ramsey? One of His Grace’s stewards?” Tawny challenged. “I should’ve stated, how could anyone credible claim that?”
“Britta claims that the few who’ve seen Prince Casteel say he’s actually quite handsome,” Loren tacked on.
“Oh, really?” Dafina murmured.
Loren nodded. “She said that was how he gained access to Goldcrest Manor. That Duchess Everton developed a relationship of a physical nature with him without realizing who he was, and that was how he was able to move freely through the manor.”
Part of that was true. My appearance had gotten me easy access to the manor. That was about it, though.
“Nearly all of what she says turns out to be true.” Loren shrugged, picking up a green jewel, an emerald one that reminded me of the Maiden’s eyes. “So, she could be right about Prince Casteel.”
“You should really stop saying that name.” Tawny smiled thinly as the two focused on her. “If someone overhears you, you’ll be sent to the Temples faster than you can say ‘I knew better.’”
Loren laughed. “I’m not worried. I’m not foolish enough to say such things where I can be overheard, and I doubt anyone present will say anything.”
“What…what if he was actually here?” Loren shuddered. “In the city now? What if that was how he gained access to Castle Teerman?” Something akin to excitement filled her tone. “Befriended someone here or perhaps even poor Malessa.”
“You don’t sound all that concerned by the prospect,” Tawny pointed out, picking up her cup. “To be blunt, you sound excited.”
“Excited? No. Intrigued? Possibly.” She lowered the mask to her lap, sighing. My brows rose. “Some days are just so dreadfully dull.”
“So, a good old rebellion may liven things up for you? Dead men and women and children are a source of entertainment?”
The looks of surprise on Loren’s and Dafina’s faces surely mirrored mine as shock rolled through me. I slowly turned my head to the Maiden. That had been her. She had spoken. Finally.
Loren recovered first. “I suppose I…I might’ve misspoken, Maiden. I apologize.”
“Please ignore Loren,” begged Dafina. “Sometimes, she speaks without any thought and means nothing by it.”
Loren nodded emphatically.
The Maiden said nothing as her head remained turned in their direction. However, there was no doubt in my mind they felt that hidden stare because they quickly departed after that.