by Wren Weston
Her mother rarely danced at balls. She would do that at the great house later, either with the prime minister or an eligible senator she picked up on her way out the door.
She had done it with only with a twitch of a finger once.
Senator Dubois plopped himself down in the chair beside Lila, a grin overwhelming his flushed face. Usually Dubois took every opportunity to dance with Jewel during balls, leaving his beloved too exhausted for an encore after they returned to the great house, but he seemed happy to sit next to Lila and preside over her match. Though he did seem surprised by Lila’s scrutiny of her cousin, he did not mention La Roux’s tandem interest.
He mentioned everything else about his cousin, though. According to Dubois, Senator La Roux was a proud man who had been backed into a corner this legislative session. Her mother had been correct. La Roux had fumbled his place in the senate. He’d mentioned to Dubois weeks ago that he would not neglect either of the two paths to security this season.
“Either by deed or by seed,” Dubois explained. “It’s a saying at Bullstow. It means that you can declare yourself worthy as a senator by tackling some tricky piece of legislation that will endear you to Bullstow, or you can—”
“I understand its meaning, Senator Dubois. It is as subtle as the Saxon winter is cold.”
“Of course.” He blushed.
“Do you have any idea what deed the senator has chosen?”
“I don’t know exactly. I don’t think he’s told anyone because we’re all asking ourselves the same question. I’d wager he’s holding some secret. Dorian has many hobbies, chief among them gathering information.” Dubois smiled, and his dimples made their first appearance for the evening. “It’s no wonder he’s piqued your interest. You have found a kindred soul, madam.”
Lila hid her thoughts with an indulgent smile. It appeared that La Roux was much more slippery than anyone gave him credit for. Not only had he pilfered secrets and placed traps in BullNet, but he’d actively sought out gossip among the highborn crowd.
La Roux might hold more secrets than anyone in Saxony.
Lila was one of those secrets.
She wondered again what Dubois really knew about his cousin.
Perhaps La Roux was not the Baron after all. The nickname could have been a coincidence. The senator might have pressed his cousin only because he wanted to spend the season with her in the hopes of seeding an heir. If La Roux truly was the Baron, then he’d be feeling her out and working the angles, but an ambitious senator would do the same. Lila wished that she had a night or two to dig up more information on him before making first contact, for she didn’t like going into an investigation or an interrogation blind. But out of all the boring, lacking men in the room, La Roux had just become the most complicated and intriguing choice.
“He’s a great father, too. You’ve picked well. My cousin would do anything for his children and their mothers.”
“Introduce us, then.”
Dubois flashed his dimples at the chance to play matchmaker. Lila almost felt sorry for him. He would be so disappointed by the outcome.
“I must warn you. Dorian can be quite direct in conversation. I feel he might be even more direct if you approach him abruptly.”
“I am not interested in prolonging things. Directness is not always a bad thing. It can be refreshing, especially when we highborn are often too busy to dance.”
“There’s always time for dancing.”
He escorted Lila toward La Roux, who was engaged in conversation with Ms. Charlotte Weberly, Johanna’s younger sister and the fourth heir to Web Corp.
The young woman briefly flashed an annoyed look when Lila approached. Perhaps it was Ms. Weberly’s fear that Lila would steal away her senator’s attention.
Perhaps Ms. Weberly was in love.
The senator’s smile did not reach his eyes while he chatted with Ms. Weberly, and his laughter seemed a forced obligation of his office. No senator would bed a woman if he felt nothing for her. It would be immoral, no matter how desperate his political career might be. And Charlotte Weberly, as the fourth heir, would not help his career as much as others in the room. Not as much as Lila.
She almost felt sorry for her.
“Ms. Weberly, Senator Dorian Masson-La Roux,” Dubois said, “may I present Chief Elizabeth Victoria Lemaire-Randolph.” He acknowledged Ms. Weberly with a slight bow.
Senator La Roux’s eyes widened at the sight of Lila. She knew that it was not every day that an heir to one of the richest families in all of Saxony sought him out and addressed him. He bowed low in deference, and his hair fell into his face. When he straightened, he pushed it back with a quick shake of his head.
Lila tried not to stare. His eyes were the most beautiful shade of light green, almost glowing like the lights Tristan had used during her Liberté hack.
He grinned at his cousin, more of a thank you than a hello.
Interesting. He had asked for the introduction; he just didn’t think he would get it.
Perhaps Dubois knew nothing after all.
“Senator La Roux, your cousin told me that you need to discuss a matter of great urgency. I do apologize for taking you away from such pretty company in order to attend to the drudgery of business, but I suppose that it cannot be helped.”
“I’m sure that it can,” Ms. Weberly said with narrowed eyes. “After all, it is a ball.”
“Chief Randolph,” La Roux said, nodding slowly and playing along, “Louis has kept you well informed. I must talk to you about an important matter. It concerns your family’s oil interests in Beaulac. If you’ll excuse me, Ms. Weberly, business must come before pleasure.” He bowed and kissed her hand, causing the young woman to blush scarlet.
“Well, how long can a bit of business really take? Find me later, senator, for I have a bit of business to discuss, too. Don’t make any plans for the winter without me.”
Ms. Weberly paused to give Lila another scathing look, then turned on her heel and left.
La Roux eyed Lila’s coat. “Louis, I find myself at a loss for remembering any conversations where I begged you to speak with Chief Randolph on my behalf.”
“Something tells me that you do not beg Senator Dubois for anything, or anyone else for that matter,” Lila interjected, her flirting skills a bit rusty.
It didn’t seem to bother La Roux. He stood up a little higher at the compliment. “Begging has nasty connotations. Highborn do not beg. We ally. Are you seeking an alliance this winter, Chief Randolph?”
A trace of a smirk lined the edges of Senator Dubois’s lips, and his gaze passed to Lila. “You certainly do not waste time with pretty language,” she replied.
“I have no idea what you mean. Dallying about with pleasantries is tiring, is it not?”
“Do you just strike to the heart of the matter in all things? Sometimes, dallying about with pleasantries is the mark of a skilled, experienced man, so long as he’s knowledgeable about dallying and pleasantries.”
“I’d say I’m knowledgeable about both, but I always believe there’s more to learn. What some women find pleasant in dallying, others find—”
Senator Dubois held up his black-gloved hands. “I think that’s the cue for me to find Jewel for some dallying of my own.” He bowed and left their presence, raising a questioning eyebrow to Lila, who merely shrugged.
“Your cousin is hilarious,” Lila said when they were alone.
“Quite. Keeps me in stitches whenever I return to Bullstow.” La Roux’s voice lacked a certain roll in the vowels that she’d begun to treasure, but it was deep and warm, far warmer than she would have liked.
“Do you return to Bullstow every season?”
“Yes, madam.” He did a graceful quarter turn and took her arm. “Let us go for a stroll. I require air.”
Lila assented to his suggestion, for she
did not want Ms. Weberly to interrupt their conversation. The senator seemed to have the same idea, for he led her around the dancing couples in the ballroom and up the main staircase. The men glared at the senator for taking Lila away, while the women in the room stood on their tiptoes, eyeing Senator Dubois curiously.
The couple soon crossed through a set of double doors, ending up on an empty balcony that overlooked a park.
Lila sighed. She’d forgotten about the paintings in this part of the ballroom.
Penises, penises everywhere.
“So, you have taken off your blackcoat for an evening. You’ve finally decided to seek an heir, perhaps to become one.”
“Perhaps I just wanted to dance.”
“If you just wanted to dance, you wouldn’t have visited the women’s clinic two days ago. You’re taking up the whitecoat soon. You just want to find a partner for the season before it’s announced.”
“What makes you say that?”
“I can put two and two together. My cousin told me this morning that your sister has chosen love over business.”
“It’s quite romantic, isn’t it?”
“Liar.” La Roux leaned into her side and pressed her back against the high stone balustrade. His breath tickled against her ear as he boxed her in. An unwelcome thrill went up her spine at his presumption, at his nearness, at his aggressiveness. It was odd to be touched by another so soon after Tristan, but she knew she’d have to get used to it. “I think you find it all very irritating and inconvenient, especially now that your mother has pressed you to bear a child. Pardon me for saying, Chief Randolph, but you don’t seem the type.”
Lila did not answer him. She did not worm herself free of his closeness, either. His palm bulged in his coat pocket only a few centimeters from her hand.
If he really was the Baron, then there’d be plenty on it to incriminate him. She just wasn’t sure how to manage a peek.
“I find it exceedingly odd that two sisters, both heirs to one of the highest-grossing families in all of Saxony, would turn away from their birthright. You were the first to forsake it when you began working in for the Randolph militia. Now your little sister has stepped aside.”
Lila considered the fact that Chief Shaw would soon toss La Roux into a holding cell. The man wouldn’t have time to chat with his brethren about her new occupation.
“She’s always copied me, the brat. You’re quite knowledgeable about my affairs. Has anyone ever told you that women find that creepy?”
“I’m not any more or less knowledgeable than any other ambitious senator in this room, and you’re avoiding the question. I understand why your sister would forsake her place and marry. My cousin is a good man and will be an excellent father, but why did you turn down the prime role for the militia all those years ago?”
“I liked the game of it, and I wanted the responsibility.”
His eyebrows quirked. “If you wanted responsibility, why not remain as prime? As for games, you’d be hard-pressed to find better among the highborn. The president of Wolf Industries could snap her fingers and influence half the New Bristol senate. Your mother could do the same with the state senate, perhaps even Unity if she wished.”
“You’re examining my words in terms of power and influence. I should expect nothing more from a politician.”
“How should I examine them?”
Lila drained the last sip of her champagne. “I enjoy the militia because I’ve always seen my mother’s little queendom as something altogether different than she sees it—different than any other chairwoman too, I imagine.”
“Different how?”
“I’ve always seen the people inside our gates as people to protect, rather than tools to be used. People, family especially, should be more than chess pieces.”
“Now who is thinking like a politician?”
“What a horrible insult,” Lila said, untangling herself from La Roux at last. She ventured back to the balcony overlooking the dance floor and lifted a fresh glass of champagne from a roving servant.
The pair peered over the wooden railing to spy on the dancers below. Chairwoman Weberly and Chairwoman Holguín listened intently to Senator Serrano on the side of the ballroom.
“What do you think of the Holguíns?” she asked. “I enjoy your candor.”
“I think the family couldn’t get any dirtier if they rolled around in mud all day. I’m amazed their matron has not been hanged. I bet that little cabal is twisting Serrano’s ear right now, urging him to do something he won’t understand the implications of.”
“You don’t think highly of the senator, do you?”
He leaned into her again, pressing his cheek against her ear, and gripped her hip. “Serrano is too dim for the Saxony Senate. If he makes it to Unity, he’ll do so on nothing more than the twist of his pretty little cock.”
“So you’ve seen it, then?”
“Seen what?”
“His pretty little cock?”
“Mine’s nicer.” Their cheeks brushed as he pulled back, his nose grazing hers. “Would you like to become familiar with it this winter?”
“You’re very blunt and eager, aren’t you?”
“There are plenty of places where I take my time. Research is one such place. As chief, you have often been described as bold, with a rather shocking sense of humor. You are not one to waste time in your work.”
“Is this work?”
“I suspect it is for a woman like you, but I’m trying to make it fun for you.” He chuckled and sipped his champagne. “You give as good as you get. I like it. I don’t think you would have asked Louis to introduce us if you had not already culled me from the senate’s herd. I’m happy to have made the cut.”
“Do you believe yourself to be the only one culled?”
“Of course not, but you are here with me when there are a thousand other men in the ballroom you could be flirting with. Since I am enjoying myself very much, I intend to put forth my best effort. Is it working?”
The senator’s grin reached his eyes this time. Lila was a good enough judge of character to note his happiness, though she didn’t know if it was due to her position, her personality, or because he believed her trapped.
Although she wanted a peek at his palm, Lila grew distracted by a different sort of want altogether. Her body had been responding to him during their conversation, regardless of her feelings for Tristan.
Why did the Baron have to be so amusing?
“You’re welcome, by the way,” Lila said, ignoring his question.
“For what?”
“For rescuing you from Ms. Charlotte Weberly. I suspect she wanted to wrangle you into a season. Imagine that.”
“Yes, imagine that. Is there any reason why I should not accept a season with her?”
“I suspect you might be wrangled elsewhere,” Lila replied carefully, giving him absolutely no confirmation of her intentions.
The intentions were there, of course. She knew very well how she could take a peek at his palm. If La Roux was the Baron, she’d find out very soon.
The insinuation of a season seemed to be enough for La Roux. Less than an hour later, Lila engaged a limo to ferry them back to the great house.
As they climbed inside, she sent a quick message to her mother.
Ride back with Jewel.
Chapter 20
La Roux paced around Lila’s bedroom and stopped before the miniature Randolph coat of arms hung above her couch, tracing the twin silver wolves that howled and lunged in opposite directions. “I’ve never been inside a finer home,” he said, mouth quirking as he folded his hands behind his back. “I’d like to see more of it.”
“Right now?” Lila asked. The only way she’d managed to sneak La Roux up the stairs was due to Ms. O’Malley, who had the good sense to keep her brood downstairs upon Lil
a’s return. The old woman had manned the front door herself, had taken their coats, had offered to bring up wine and anything else they desired, promising that she would answer all pages herself for the evening. She had nodded specifically to her mistress, a vow of discretion etched in every line on her wrinkled face.
Lila had returned it, glad that she hadn’t discovered Alex or Isabel peeking at her from behind a door. It was hard enough enduring such knowing glances and smirks the morning after a guest stayed the night; it would be even harder to endure them after she sent La Roux away within the hour, for the man would not be staying.
She only wanted evidence. She only wanted a look at his palm. After she managed that, she would put in a call to her father and Chief Shaw. Bullstow would make an arrest, and then she’d have to deal with an entirely different set of questions, for she still needed to go through the Liberté data and all the information she’d gathered from BullNet. The Baron had a very long reach.
“I don’t believe I need a tour tonight,” La Roux said, pouring them both a glass of Sangre. He’d seen her eyeing the off-limits wine during their conversations. Before they left, he had excused himself, whispered into the ear of a bartender, slipped a wad of cash into the man’s pocket, and returned with the bottle tucked beneath his arm, with no one the wiser.
La Roux handed a glass to her, put an arm around her back, and kissed the top of her head. Her senses filled with the smell and taste of wine.
“It occurs to me that I never got a chance to dance with you tonight.”
“I didn’t know you liked to dance.”
“I don’t like it. I don’t dislike it. But more to the point, I’ve heard that you enjoy it very much. Perhaps even as much as my cousin, which I didn’t know was possible.” He moved to her desk, put down his wine, and slipped his palm out of his pocket.
“Here. Use mine. My speakers are fussy.” She withdrew her palm from her clutch and scrolled through a dozen screens, searching for a public music site. Then she handed over her palm. She couldn’t very well steal his and search its contents if it was otherwise engaged, especially if it was busy making an awful lot of noise.
