Page 28 of Prince of Shadow and Ash

Part of her felt foolish and guilty. Nolan was handsome, with his silky chestnut hair, merry blue eyes, and square jaw. He came from a wealthy, powerful, and respected family. A small part of her relished the flattering attention, the knowledge that many young noblewomen would swoon for Nolan. However, he had done nothing so far to impress her, to set him apart from any other young nobleman with too much time and money. Besides, she had always fancied taller men, like Regulus Hargreaves. The ease of the thought surprised her, and she choked on a sip of wine.

“Are you all right?” Nolan asked.

“Oh, yes.” She dabbed her mouth with a cloth napkin. Her tongue seemed to get ahead of her brain. “I notice Lord Hargreaves is not in attendance.”

“The mercenary?” Nolan rolled his eyes. “Of course not.”

Adelaide looked at him, her brow furrowed. “I understand he used to be a mercenary, but he is a nobleman now, isn’t he?”

“He’s a petty lord of little account. And the only reason he’s a noble at all is because his philandering father was so taken with his peasant mother he added their mongrel son to his will. Arrano even buried her under a statue of an angel. Disgraceful.” He plopped a grape in his mouth.

“You’re saying Lord Hargreaves wasn’t invited?” Her heart twisted.Oh, no. My letter...She felt horrible she’d assumed and hoped Regulus hadn’t taken it as an insult.

Nolan cocked an eyebrow. “Why should the Baron and Baroness Carrick invite the son of a washing wench into their home?”

She stared at him as she clenched her fork in a white-knuckled fist. “That’s unfair and uncalled for.”

He shifted and glanced about. “I’m sorry. Some people are best avoided, and Hargreaves is the worst of them. He may hold the title of lord, but it’s not who he is. He could have been knighted, but he took off and became a mercenary. Mercenaries are not men of honor. Hargreaves only left the life because he inherited Arrano’s land and title. He likely killed Lady Arrano and her daughter-in-law. Then he had the audacity to knight his mercenaries. Three of them aren’t even Monparthian.”

“Have something against non-Monparthians?” A hard edge crept into her voice.

Nolan reddened. “No, of course not.” He cleared his throat. “Hargreaves keeps mostly to himself and often disappears alone for unknown reasons. But I have a theory: once a mercenary, always a mercenary. I suspect he misses the life and runs off to satiate his blood-lust.” He rested his hand on her arm and looked into her eyes. “Hargreaves is not to be trusted. I advise you keep your distance, for your own safety.”

“I can take care of myself.” She looked away. “Can you prove all this?”

“Unfortunately, no. But a knight’s intuition is never wrong.”

Adelaide stifled a snicker. It hardly seemed chivalrous to be hasty in judgment. But perhaps she was doing the same with Nolan.No. He has proven himself to be prejudiced, condescending, and a flirt.

“But enough of such talk.” Nolan grabbed his goblet. “It’s a party, after all.”

Adelaide stared past the acrobats, wishing Minerva would turn around. This party couldn’t end soon enough.

Chapter 10

ADELAIDE DID HER BESTto try at least a bite of each course, but her appetite had vanished. She couldn’t decide which bothered her more: the idea of Regulus Hargreaves being a blood-thirsty, self-serving villain, or Nolan Carrick’s crass haughtiness. She had difficulty reconciling the kind laughter, easy conversation, and apparent humility she had seen in Regulus with the murderer Nolan described. And yet... What did a person truly know about another after one brief conversation?

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