He had a game to win. And he’d wasted enough time.
“I’m quite through with your ego for one night.” Envy yanked his House dagger from its sheath, the emerald in its ornate hilt winking in the growing darkness. Princes of Hell couldn’t be killed by one another’s daggers, but they could be sent right back to their circle of the Underworld, whether the prince wished to travel or not.
“Go home, Pride. Unless you’d like a matching scar on the other side of your face.”
“Stubborn prick.” Pride held up his hands and stepped back. “Why won’t you just ask for help?”
Envy pressed his lips together, remaining silent.
His brother gave him a disgusted look.
“With Camilla’s first refusal, you’ve now got two chances left to unlock the next clue, right?” When Envy still refused to speak, he added, “I hope you know what the hell you’re doing.”
THREE
“HONESTLY, HAVE YOU considered selling the gallery and moving to the country?” Lady Katherine Edwards asked, handing Camilla a glass of sherry. “Vexley would surely lose interest with time, especially if a buxom theater singer caught his fancy. Again.”
“Mm. If only I could be so lucky.”
Camilla sipped her drink as she warmed her slippered feet by the crackling fire in Lady Edwards’s finely appointed drawing room. A beautiful redhead with dark brown skin who didn’t believe in holding her tongue, but who could certainly hold her own in society, Katherine had been Camilla’s dearest friend since they both debuted ten years prior.
Katherine had been new to Waverly Green herself then, and she’d bonded with Camilla immediately over their both being outsiders of a sort. Even after she’d married, Katherine had kept their weekly dinner plans, becoming like a sister over the years, someone Camilla confided almost all her fears in.
With a few exceptions…
While Katherine might be Camilla’s dearest friend, even she didn’t know the full truth behind Vexley’s proposal.
“Well, if he’s hell-bent on courting you, why not consider his offer?” Katherine asked, settling back into her velvet chair as Camilla took a generous sip of her sherry to drown out the absurd idea. “He is the son of a viscount. Grandson to an earl.”
The door creaked open as a large gray-and-white feline nosed its way in.
“Bunny!” Camilla immediately brightened, and Katherine snorted.
“I had a carriage sent for her earlier. I know how lonely she gets when you’re working.”
“You’re looking as regal as ever,” Camilla said lovingly to her cat, who gave her a once-over, then sat and began washing her long, beautiful fur.
“Anyway,” Kitty said, “back to the matter at hand. Why not Vexley? He’s from good stock.”
“He is the disgraced son and a notorious scoundrel. Satire sheets have now dubbed him ‘the Golden-Tongued Deviant,’ for heaven’s sake, Kitty. Did you not see that last caricature of him? Lewd would be too mild a term for it. It was so explicit I heard that three carriages collided outside the storefront where the illustration was displayed last week.”
“And I heard that seven new lovers visited his bedchamber because of that very satire sheet,” Katherine volleyed back. “I also have it on good authority that the moniker is quite fitting. And it has nothing to do with his scintillating conversational skills or lack thereof.”
Outside, the light rain that had begun earlier turned into a menacing storm, the howling winds now whipping tree branches against the windows like great demonic beasts as the two women cozied up to the fire with their glasses of sherry.
Like clockwork, after dinner Lord Edwards had gone off to his gentlemen’s club, affording the women time to drink and laugh like they used to before he and Katherine married three Seasons prior. Rumor had it that he went often to stave off frustrations over not yet producing an heir.
It was a subject Kitty didn’t like to speak about, though Camilla knew why and kept her secret, just as Kitty had kept so many of Camilla’s.
“I cannot even fathom Vexley seriously considering marriage,” Camilla mused. “Seven new lovers in as many nights is appalling, even for Vexley.”
“Now, darling, I never said seven nights. Rumor has it he took part in his very own bacchanal and not one lady went away disappointed.”
“Of course.” Camilla exhaled loudly. “A gentleman ought to only indulge in vice when purchasing art—as to spend copious amounts of coin on it, most especially in my gallery—and then be virtuous in his marriage. On that principle alone I’d never marry Vexley.”
Her friend snorted. “Oh, darling, no. There’s a reason people say reformed rakes make the very best husbands. You want a wicked man in the bedroom. The wickeder the better, in fact. If anything, you ought to thank Vexley for his recent escapades. At least you know he’s well seasoned and has stamina.”
“‘Well seasoned,’” Camilla repeated with a smile and a slight shake of her head. “It’s hard to tell whether you’re describing a man or the perfect cut of meat.”
“Some would argue that that’s precisely what rakes are. If you’re lucky, you’ll find yourself a prime piece of filet to sink your teeth into.”
Katherine pretended to take a big bite.
“Kitty!” Camilla laughed. “That’s horrid.”
“Teasing aside, if you recall, William had quite the reputation before we wed, and I have no complaints.”
She sipped her sherry, eyeing Camilla over the glass.
Camilla stayed mulishly silent.
“Vexley might be crass and vulgar, but I know several women who’ve complained that their husbands are selfish lovers, never concerned with ensuring that their wives are equally satisfied. Is that not a virtue?”
“Katherine,” Camilla sighed. “Be serious. Virtue and Vexley are as compatible as oil and water.”
“You just need to find yourself a virile man with questionable morals and bed him whenever the mood strikes you.”
As if anything could be that simple for a woman in this world.
“Since Vexley is clearly not to your liking,” Katherine finally continued, “have you come across any other potential prospects for a loyal companion?”
Camilla cringed. A loyal companion was what Kitty insisted upon calling the object of her search for a discreet lover for Camilla, an endeavor Camilla heartily disapproved of.
Aside from a few heated kisses, some heavy petting, and a clandestine meeting with an infamous hunter that introduced her to her first orgasm, Camilla had little real-world experience, living off the details told to her by her married friend. After seeing the pain of her father’s heartbreak when her mother left, Camilla rejected the idea of marriage.