The deep lines in her forehead lifted as her eyes widened.
That’s right. There’s only room for one ice princess in this castle, darling, and it sure isn’t going to be you.
The woman backed up as I crossed the threshold, Matthias close on my heels. “We simply weren’t expecting you, Lady Vaughn,” she stammered. I didn’t know who she was, likely some new hire who clearly wasn’t used to having a woman around the house. Her brown hair was in a sleek ponytail that hung down to her lower back, two tendrils pulled free to frame her angular face. Her dull, grey eyes held a hint of contempt and did nothing to improve her severe look.
My shoes clacked against the floor as I breezed past her, taking a few purposeful strides before pivoting back to look at her. “Well, what did my father think was going to happen when he refused to answer my phone calls or send word with his guards?”
Matthias gave me a look and I squeezed my eyes closed for a moment. Fine, fine. We’ll stick to the plan.
I snapped my eyes open and stared at the woman, trying to cork the anger that swelled up as soon as I stepped into the foyer. “I need to retrieve some items from my quarters, assuming they aren’t still covered in gore.”
“Your quarters have been cleaned,” she answered, adding too late a mumbled my lady.
“While Lady Vaughn is busy, I would like to have a word with the baron,” Matthias interjected, stepping forward. “Is he available?”
The servant’s attention shifted and her clouded eyes took on a new light when she looked Matthias over. “I can take you to see him.”
She stopped short of licking her lips but the desire was clear in her smile. A bubble of disgust welled up in me at the way she eyed him like he was the last sprinkled donut in the bakery case.
The flash of anger surprised me. Why should I care if she thought Matthias was attractive? He was. So, why did it bother me that she noticed it too?
Matthias spoke, breaking into my thoughts. “Meet you back here in a few, Lacey?”
“Yes.” I nodded my head, set my shoulders, and slipped away as soon as the two of them started up the stairs.
The woman’s airy laugh floated down and followed me around the corner.
Rolling my eyes, I hurried through the first level of the house. Though it often went unused, the mansion’s huge kitchen was the place where the staff tended to gather. The household manager would use the space as a command post to divvy up the daily tasks and give a briefing shortly before Lord Vaughn was set to rise for the afternoon. Throughout the day, the staff would circle back to share information, confirm tasks were completed, and, of course, gossip.
And that was what I was after.
Just before the kitchen, there was a door to the left that led to a back staircase. It was a convenient route that led from the kitchen to the upper levels of the house, primarily the bedrooms. Opposite that was a butler’s pantry that my father had repurposed into a walk-in refrigerator that held enough blood to get us through a nuclear apocalypse.
Voices carried down the hall and I ducked into an alcove just before the kitchen. With my back flat against the wall, I was out of sight, but could easily hear the conversation going on in the room beyond.
“All I want to know is when we can leave the grounds. My day off is tomorrow and when I asked, Marilyn said the restrictions haven’t been lifted,” a disgruntled male voice said.
A female scoffed. “Clearly we can’t be trusted not to run amok, gossiping all over the haven.”
“I don’t even care who did it,” a second female said, her voice lower in timbre from the first. “I just wish they’d all go away. I hate feeling them all watching my every move. I went up there earlier, at the peacock’s request naturally—”
This drew a laugh from the other two.
The peacock. I smiled. It was a fitting description of my father. Granted, they better hope he never caught wind of the colorful nickname.
“I swear, they all gawked at me the entire time,” she continued. “I could tell they were wondering if there was something I wasn’t saying.”
“I don’t know what they expect,” the first female said. “We can’t stay locked up in here until they find the killer!”
A set of footsteps sounded, followed by a round of greetings.
“Well? Have they found anything yet?” the male asked.
“When there is something to report, you’ll know about it,” the new voice, another female said. Her frosty tone was easy to place—it was the sharp woman who’d answered the door. If she wasn’t with Matthias, that meant he was in with my father.
My heart jerked. The timer had officially started.
“Yes, Marilyn,” two of the three voices murmured.
“Now, we have guests,” she continued. “I’m taking refreshments to the Baron’s study. Patrice, you go to Lady Vaughn’s quarters and see if she needs anything.”
“Lacey is here?” the first female asked in a panicked voice.
“Yes. Now, go!” Marilyn barked.
Footsteps sounded and I held my breath when the door of the kitchen swung open and they made their way out into the hall. Moments later, two sets of footsteps sounded on the back staircase. It was impossible to walk up the narrow wooden steps soundlessly, even for a vampire.
“Ugh. I still have no idea how that harpy got the promotion to manager,” the male voice snapped.
“Me either,” the remaining female answered. “It makes me miss Jupiter even more. I really thought she was going to be the one offered the position.”
“Oh, come on,” the male voice said, snorting under his breath. “Everyone knows that Jupiter was just using her position here to land herself a rich husband.”
Heat flared over my body. How dare he—
“I don’t think that’s what she was doing,” the female said, though her tone wasn’t at all convincing.
“Don’t be naive. We all saw how she acted every time one of these lords came around before the tournament was announced. She made sure she was front and center, smiling and fawning all over them. It was so obvious.”
“So, you think the rumors are true, then? That she was with Lord Murrad the night of the gala, before he was …”
“Makes sense to me. Everyone saw them leave together. If you ask me, she took him upstairs to make sure he knew exactly what was waiting for him if he lost the first round or two of the fights.”
The innuendo dripping from his words set my fingers pressing into fists.
“Maybe,” the female said, still not sounding convinced. “All I know is she would have been a much better manager than Marilyn and that I hope she comes back soon.”
“I doubt she’s still alive,” the male said. “The investigators brought in some witch who told them there were traces of her blood in the mess.”
“I thought that was just a rumor.”
“I saw the witch who did it,” the male argued. “She was the real deal. I could feel it.”
“Poor Jupiter.”
“She should have known better than reaching too high above her station,” the male said, his casual dismissal a verbal shrug. “If she’d been in the ballroom, doing her job, she’d still be alive. Just shows you that gold-digging never really pays.”
I exploded away from the wall, ready to launch through the doors and teach the vamp a lesson or two about his station, when an eerie laugh sounded at the opposite end of the hall and stopped me cold.
Stars.
“Five years away and you still go right back to your old habits.”
Slowly, I pivoted on my heels and faced my father.
“See, what did I tell you?” he said, addressing Matthias who stood half a step behind, his face pinched with regret. “When Marilyn told me you were here to get some things from your rooms, I told Matthias here exactly where we would find you. And here you are. It’s somehow comforting to know that after these years away, I still know you better than anyone else, Daughter.”
“Yes, remind me to get you one of those World’s Best Dad mugs for your next birthday.”
My father beamed at me, his fixed grin like that of a spider with a fly in his web. “I’ll keep it on my desk.”