by Mallory Fox
She gives me a sly look over his shoulder. “Bringing more orphans into my home, I see.”
Seth’s features are suddenly stone-cold, not matching the words out of his mouth. “Constance, of course, I wouldn’t miss your birthday for the world.”
His gaze switches to me, softening slightly. Interesting. “You know Pearl?”
"I know Pearl, yes, how could I not?” The way she looks at me could wither flowers and kill small children. “The others haven’t yet arrived, but Odette and Romain are here. Seth, you should have told me you were bringing someone, now I have to make an extra room up.” I do not like this woman either.
I give her an equally shitty look until she turns and glides back into the house like some evil stepmother from a fairytale. Except, I’m no damsel in distress and Seth is not my bloody prince.
Seth and I climb the steps, following in the wake of Constance, leaving all the luggage to the house staff who pass by me with dagger-filled looks. One of them even spits at my feet and Seth does absolutely nothing to reprimand him.
“What the hell did you tell them about me?” I say as I get level with Seth at the top of the steps, ignoring the hand he holds out to help me up.
“Not a damn thing.” He shrugs.
Inside is much cooler, and I'm pleased to accept a cold, fresh lemonade from one of the attendants as we enter the grand hall.
The cool citrus has barely touched my lips when Seth leans in. “I wouldn’t drink that, if I were you. Not unless you want the shits all night long.”
“Bloody hell,” is all I can say.
I place the glass down on a side table without a coaster, much to the horror of Constance. She sends someone to retrieve it with a flurry of her hand.
“Seth, honestly, you haven’t given us much notice. The only room we have for your guest belongs to one of the maids.”
What a crock of shit.
I give Seth a look to say as much, but he just cocks his head. “That’s fine, Pearl can stay in my room.”
Like hell I will. I’m about to cut in, because this conversation can’t get any worse, when Constance speaks.
“Well, I’m sure we can find another room for her somewhere. Let me see if I can move things around,” she says, sniffing.
I’m pleased to see Seth roll his eyes. “Where’s Grandfather?”
Was he playing her or was he actually going to share his room with me? I don’t like to think on the answer, so I focus on the back and forth between Seth and his step-grandmother.
“Oh, you know Marcel. He’s away and won’t be back until tomorrow for the actual party. You know how he hates these things.”
“Typical Grandfather, a whore in every port. Who is he fucking now if it’s not you?” Seth drawls.
I’m shocked at his boldness and Constance’s face turns positively beetroot.
She gives him only a scathing look, reining in a retort. “Dinner is at six. No doubt, you’ll want to refresh beforehand. Seth, I’ve put you in the east wing since I know you like the view there. Pearl can take the marlin guest room, first floor toward the back. Emerald won’t be here until tomorrow so Pearl can stay there until she arrives.” She gives me one last disapproving look, then she disappears into the bowels of the house, staff at her heels.
Seth looks at me, blue eyes perfectly blank. “I need to speak to Odette. I’ll see you at dinner. Go freshen up and try to relax.” And then he’s gone, leaving me to figure out where my damn room is.
It takes a passing maid twenty minutes to walk me around the entire house before she finds my room. By then, I’m sweating profusely due to the fact there’s no damn air con here.
Unlike the Darlington family home, the Montford Chateau is a grand affair of polished tile floors, French linen, and dark, antique furniture. My own room looks like something out of a fairytale with a canopy bed, blue and white sheets, and dried lavender in posies on every surface. Since I’ve no idea how long I’m going to be here, I decide to unpack first. It’s late afternoon but I have a couple of hours before dinner.
Unfortunately, my bags stacked the corner look like they’ve been dragged through a pond and then thrown into my room. And I’m right, when I open them, they’re soaking wet and dirt has seeped through the material part of the case and onto everything. Swearing enough to make Grams blush, I peel each item out of the case and hang it somewhere to dry. But everything is fucked.
And I mean everything.
So when the evening rolls around, dressing for dinner is one of the hardest things I’ve ever done. I don't know how formal it will be, so I settle on a navy blue midi dress with frilly capped sleeves, made of a floaty light material that dries quickly and doesn’t show the water marks as badly as everything else. I dry it with a hairdryer as best I can and pair it with the kitten heels I arrived in.
Shoving my hair into a French braid so no one can see how fucking awful it is since I didn’t have time to shower, I check myself in the mirror one last time. I look decent, but the dress still smells of pond. At literally five minutes until dinner starts, it’s the best I can do.
I hurry along the hallways and down the grand staircase until I get outside the drawing room door. The door is closed, but I can hear a murmur of voices inside.
Taking in a deep breath, I push open the door.
Seth is drinking a glass of wine and wearing a smart dark blue, almost black, jacket over a pair of chinos. His blue eyes sweep over me appreciatively as I enter the room and walk toward him. I can always count on Seth to check me out.
“Is the wine safe?” I say as I take a glass.
I don’t miss the tug at the corner of his lips as he nods. “Safe enough.” He tips his glass back and inclines his head to someone entering behind me. “Ah, there she is. Pearl, this is my cousin, Odette. She was at the yacht party. I don’t know if you met her there or not.”
I plaster a smile on my lips as a girl with pale blonde hair an oxblood wrap-dress walks in. Seth has so many cousins I can't comprehend, and I wasn’t exactly socializing at the yacht party at all. But…
This one I have seen before.
The blood drains from my face as I recognize her. Inside my chest, my heart has started to beat rapidly. I’m under the water again, scraping at the underside of the dock, struggling to breathe.
I’m not breathing.
Breathe, Pearl.
I suck a lungful of air into my lungs just as my hands clench and curl around the wine glass I’m holding.
“Yes, I have,” I say, giving her one of my bitchier looks. “We met on the docks, but we didn’t get to talk much.”
Odette regards me coolly.
“Odette is Emerald’s younger sister,” Seth says. “She’s interning at Montford International as part of her gap year.”
I can see the resemblance, but Odette looks like she wants to take me outside and slaughter me. She’s already tried to kill you, Pearl, what’s new? Her blue eyes give me a once over until she wrinkles her nose and wafts her hand in front of her face.
“Oh, can we open a window? There’s a funny smell in here.”
Fucking bitch.
One of the house staff runs to her aid and opens all the windows, letting in an icy cold breeze. I’m saved from freezing to death when Constance comes in a few minutes later, as morose and taciturn as ever, and announces dinner.
Since Marcel is away and no one else has arrived, it’s just the four of us around a long, elegant dining table. Constance is at the head while the rest of us scatter along the length.
My eyes keep darting to Seth who is now acting like I don’t even exist as he sits on the same side as me, closer to Constance. Odette directly opposite him simpers to get his attention the whole way through the first course by asking him the most inane questions. How do you like the food, Seth? Is the wine to your taste, Seth? What the fuck is wrong with her? Did she make it herself or something?
The wine actually goes down easily, making me feel less anxious about being
here. No one has spoken to me yet so I’m able to eat in silence and wonder how the hell we’re going to do this. Now that we’re here it all feels quite daunting.
No one goes against Marcel Montford, no one. Levi of all people refused to start a war. Even Uncle Benji was bloody useless. This time, I’m not on my own. With Seth on my side at last, I should be feeling better about things, but I actually feel worse. I just hope we both can go through with it. It’s what I need to do to keep my family safe. And Seth, he owes me. If he backs down…
I glance at Seth next to me who is chatting to Constance like he didn’t just act like he hated her guts earlier, and a churning in my stomach suddenly starts. What if this is all a game to get me here and Seth is just biding his time before he sides with Marcel?
Fuck.
Now I’m no longer hungry.
As I place my cutlery down, a boy my age who has the same cornflower blue eyes as Odette as well as bright fucking blue hair, barges in.
The newcomer’s eyes are wild and unsettled, practically glowing as the skim over the room and come to rest on me. “So it’s true, Seth? You bought the Darlington lamb home to be carved up?”
Constance sighs. “Romain, if you’re joining us for evening meal tonight take a seat.”
Romain flashes me a grin and parks himself on the seat opposite from where I’m sitting, right beside Odette. The staff bustle in bringing him a hot plate and an empty glass to fill with the same wine we’re all drinking. “So, you’re the one who’s been causing all the trouble?” His manic eyes bore into me sending shivers, not the nice kind, spidering all over my bare arms. “Honestly, I don’t know what all the fuss is about.”
“And you’re the one who… oh, I’m sorry. I’ve no idea who you are,” I snap back.
He leans back in his seat. “Isn’t someone going to fucking introduce me?”
“Pearl, meet my cousin Romain, Odette’s brother.” Seth’s tone when he says Romain tells me all need to know. He doesn’t like him.
Romain snorts. “Bloody boring introduction, cuz.” He looks at me, cocking his head. “What Seth didn’t elaborate on is that I’m next in line now that he’s the black sheep of the family. Thanks to you I get to inherit everything, Pearl.”
The gleam in Romain’s eyes is real. I dare not look at Seth. I knew he lost his right to inherit but I never really thought what that meant. Seth must hate me that this fucktard gets everything.
No wonder he’s suing me.
“Pearrrrl.” Romain rolls the r at the end of my name, the sound of it goes right through me. “Isn’t that a fucking delightful name?”
I give him a sour look. “Compared to yours it is. What were your parents thinking when the named you after a fucking lettuce leaf?”
Romain grins. “Obviously, my parents had a vision. My name means Roman. And we all know what the Romans did for this country.”
“Didn’t the Romans crash and burn in the end?” Seth cuts in, his eyes dark and unreadable as they catch mine.
I half smirk and pick at my plate in attempt to find something appetizing. I settle on half a cherry tomato. The sour sweet taste is in my mouth as I glance up and back into the gaze of a complete psycho. Romain leans with elbows on the table, hands clasped over his food, and just stares. “Tell me, Pearl, is there a real reason you’re here or are you just letting my cousin fuck you in more ways than one again?”
“Romain! This is a dinner table. I will not have that kind of talk in my house,” Constance snaps, practically spitting at the table.
Romain sniggers and flicks a look at his ice queen of a sister. She rolls her eyes and they mutter in low voices behind their hands for a few minutes. Then, all you can hear is the scraping of metal on plates as the clinking of glasses as no one says anything else. This is probably the most awkward family meal I’ve ever had, and I’ve had my fair share.
After dinner we all move into the drawing room and Seth corners me before I can escape upstairs. Odette and Constance appear to be arguing and to the right of Seth’s head I can see Romain, eyes dancing with whatever psychotic thoughts are creeping through his mind as he continues to stare at me, grinning like a lunatic.
Seth catches me on my upper arm and pulls me to one side, through the open doorway and into the hall. “Try not to be alone with him for one second. I can’t guarantee your safety if you let him corner you.”
“Where is Marcel? He asks me to come here and then he doesn’t fucking show.”
“That’s just what Marcel does,” he says in a low voice, blue eyes making me feel very cold and very alone. “Just relax and enjoy yourself until he gets here. We’re on track. Don’t fuck up. Are you going to stay away from him?”
Enjoy myself? This isn’t a bloody holiday. I glare up at him. “Who? Marcel or lettuce boy?”
Seth, gripping my arm, repeats one word. “Romain.” He’s gripping my arm hard and it hurts. It irritates me how men think it’s okay to manhandle women like we’re dolls made of fucking plastic. Like we feel absolutely nothing.
I narrow my eyes and suck in a breath. “Well, lucky for you I will be tonight. I’m tired and all I want to do is go to bed, so can you let me go? You’re hurting me.”
Seth inhales through gritted teeth, releasing me. “You’re not listening. This is dangerous, Pearl. I need you with me on this.”
I give him a look that could make angels cry. “And I need you with me.”
“What’s that supposed to mean?”
Tell him about Odette pushing you off the dock. Tell him about Romain with his stupid blue hair sneaking around your house.
Tell him.
But I say nothing and stalk off.
Anything I say right now doesn’t matter. We’re here to take Marcel down, not his sick grandchildren. I have no proof it was Romain at my house. Just Grams telling me a menacing boy with shocking hair was sneaking around, climbing down drainpipes. I have no proof that it was Odette who pushed me, other than I saw her with my own eyes.
Seth doesn’t stop me. I was kind of hoping he would so I could throw a tantrum because that’s what I feel like doing right now.
That or burning this place to the fucking ground.
Chapter 16
Seth
I’m not used to Pearl being here where the wolves are.
I watch her retreat upstairs with all kinds of fucked up thoughts flying about my head. When I re-enter the drawing room through the open doorway Romain, the sick bastard, is eyeing her too. I let him see the threat in my eyes before indicating to Odette that I want to talk to her. She tosses her mane of hair and struts out of the room and into the hallway.
“Constance is furious with you,” she says, eyes sullen, swollen from crying. They must have been arguing again. Constance is a bitch, but Odette can be a brat when she wants to be.
“Fuck Constance,” I say, keeping my voice low so Romain can’t hear us. “I’ve got a job for you. Don’t let Pearl out of your sight tomorrow. I don’t trust that brother of yours.”
“I’m a bloody intern not a babysitter.”
“Do what the fuck I say or no more intern position. It’s your choice.”
Odette pouts. “Then, I’ll just ask Romain for one.”
“Do that, see how long you last under that sick fuck you call a brother. I hear his all-night work sessions are to die for.”
Romain has only managed to kill one employee through all the bullying and tormenting he likes to dish out. He’s right about my grandfather not giving me the keys to the castle, but he’s wrong about him being in line for succession.
Marcel would sooner top himself than let Romain get his hands on the prize. Maybe that wouldn’t be a bad thing.
I’ve got to remember that I’m only here to find what I need to bring my fucking family to its knees. That’s it. I don’t give a fuck what happens to Montford International.
Odette flicks her eyes heavenward. “I can handle Romain, unlike you.”
“You’ve clearly never
worked with him,” I say, tilting my head and folding my arms across my chest. “Look, you don’t have to do much. You don’t even have to talk to her. Just make sure she stays here. Don’t let her leave this house until I get back, especially not with your fucking brother.”
“And how do you expect me to do that?”
I run my hands through my hair. “I don’t know. I’m sure you’ll think of something.”
She scowls. “I can’t believe you’re leaving tomorrow. Where the fuck are you going?”
“I’ll have to tell you later.”
Her brow furrows. “Why do you care so much what happens to the bitch anyway?”
“Don’t call her that,” I snap, and Odette visibly flinches. I exhale and soften my gaze. I can’t piss Odette off. She’s the only one here I can half trust. “So is that a yes or do I have to fucking fire you?” I let my lips curl up so she can tell I’m joking.
Odette’s eyes roll back in her head. “You’re a shit liar, Seth Montford. I just hope you know what you’re doing. The last time you thought you did, she did a number on you. I’d hate to see your heart break twice.”
I’ve no idea what to say to that, so I don’t say anything.
When I return to the drawing room Romain is on the phone, his eyes rolling over me as I walk past. Constance is nowhere to be seen. I decide to take a walk outside by way of the patio window that spans the entire right side of the reception and drawing room. In the summer, all the doors open up and all of the dividers are folded away, making the entire ground floor open plan that backs onto the terrace. But on days like this, when the weather is frigid, the whole place is closed-up and cloistered.
Perfect for all the fucked-up things that have happened here behind closed doors.
Sighing, I dig in my trouser pocket until my hand closes on my pack of smokes. I turn up the collar on my jacket and I light one, inhaling until my lungs are tight and there’s a burning where the scar is. Sometimes, the only reason I think I smoke to is to feel like I’m fucking still alive.
