Page 84 of The Grand Mistletoe Assembly
Sophia took the quill and added the numbers on every page.
The door opened, and Wolfgang entered. “You are not dressed yet? Has the gown not arrived?”
“Why didn’t you tell me you took the ledgers for the orphanage?”
“What a lovely thank you. Aren’t you a sunshine today?” He grinned as he came to wrap his hands around her waist. “I expected you’d be in a more mellow mood after last night—”
“You lied!”
He stepped back. “Which time?”
“To me! You lied to me! You said we’d take them down together, and yet you took the ledgers. What are you going to do with them?”
He shrugged, dropping his hands from her waist. “Use their evidence against them, of course.” He sat at his desk and laid the ledgers out on the marked pages.
“I looked them over, and they all add up. Every page!”
“Yes, they do. That irritated me at first. But tell me, what else do you see?”
Sophia bent over him, and her breasts rubbed against his back.
His hand weaved behind him, and he clasped her thigh. “You feel so good. I don’t know if I can wait till after the ball again.”
She wanted to move away but pressed herself into his hand instead. Something about him made her crave his closeness.
And then she noticed it! “Do you think that’s enough to overthrow Eve Pearler?”
“It depends on her defense, doesn’t it?”
Sophia smiled at the chess term. “We’re just as powerful attackers as the queen, only her mobility is different. She’s rich and well-connected. Everyone at the ball will know her.”
“Yes, she’s the most mobile and most valuable piece besides the king. That’s why she’s worth the most if we attack her … ahem … if you attack her, as my queen.”
“An early queen attack only works if she’s not protected.” Sophia dismissed his plans but tingled with excitement that he’d called her his queen.
“Exactly! And why would they defend her in her own home? At a charity ball that supports such a good cause?” Wolfgang gestured with grandeur and smiled mischievously.
“Let’s go and get their queen!” Sophia clapped her hands together.
* * *
A quarter to eight.Time to go. Wolfgang took his hat and glanced at his reflection. It wasn’t obvious that he felt sicker every day. Tall, broad-shouldered, ramrod straight was the image of the man who stared back at him. And a new spark of élan in his eyes, probably because of his beautiful fake baroness.
The bedroom door upstairs opened and closed, and when he looked up, a demure ballerina in a silky white gown descended slowly toward him. His heart skipped a few beats.
She gave a shy smile over her shoulder, and the butler came to hold her coat out for her.
“You look stunning, my queen,” Wolfgang whispered, and she blushed, which he found immensely pleasing.
When he entered the Pearlers’ house with Sophia on his arm, he was struck dumb with pride. The glitz of the ball only added to the glow of her beauty. Chandeliers, crystals filled with fizzing wines, and London’s aristocracy gave this night a magical feeling.
The Pearlers had formed a receiving line with their king and queen, Gustav and Eve, at the head.
Gustav Pearler placed a tender kiss on Sophia’s knuckles. “What a pleasure to meet you, Baroness.”
Wolfgang didn’t like it, a Jew touching his woman. His baroness. But she wasn’t truly his, was she? It was a ruse to take down their hosts.
Eve Pearler had donned a blinding diamondcollier.
