Page 82 of The Assassin and the Libertine
Until now.Until Daphne.The one woman who would consent to celebrate an eternity of Christmases with me. Hopefully, they wouldn’t all involve parties of snobbish aristocrats and dangerous plots to capture jewel thieves.
Knowing Daphne, that’s more likely than not.
I finished buttoning my gold brocade waistcoat and pulled on my overcoat. I wasn’t looking forward to having to spend my night attending to Madame Catherine. I dreaded seeing the Marquise de Balay even more. If it wasn’t for Daphne, I probably would’ve told the Order to find the missing jewels themselves and leave us alone to spend Christmas Eve the way we really wanted to, unwrapping presents—and each other—all evening long.
Alas,I thought. It didn’t matter now. I was on my way to her château for what would certainly be a thrilling evening.
The snow that had started to fall earlier was coming down in earnest now—fat, white clumps that stuck to trees and streets and houses. If I’d been among the living, I probably would have shivered. Nevertheless, there was something quite special about snow on Christmas Eve.
I arrived at Daphne’s château in record time, despite the bad weather. Everything looked spectacular. She’d decorated the estate in festive holiday splendor, with large braziers and torches along the front drive flickering in the falling snow. Evergreens, mistletoe, and holly boughs tied with large, crimson ribbons covered the impressive manor’s façade. Two footmen escorted me from my carriage to the grand hallway, which was awash with the golden glow of hundreds of candles. Several other guests had arrived already. I saw them laughing and toasting champagne in the ballroom ahead. I shucked off my cape and handed it to Gaston, the butler.
“Has the duchesse come down yet?”
“Not yet. I believe she’s waiting for you in the library,” he said with a bow.
I thanked him and went upstairs to find her. I knocked at the closed library door and was bade enter by a voice that was not Daphne’s—it was Charlotte’s.
“Monsieur de Noailles!” she greeted with genuine enthusiasm. “I’m so glad you’ve arrived! Daphne is being dreadfully dull and will not cease working. You must entertain me while she finishes writing her letters.”
“Of course!Mon amie,you look absolutely divine this evening,” I said. “Pink is certainly your color.”
She wore a shining gown of pink silk adorned with crimson ribbons. Her hair was swept up in a mass of powdered curls atop her head and pinned with jewels and feathers. As lovely as she looked, what caught my attention was the wreath of enormous red rubies wrapped around her neck, paired with matching ruby earrings. I hadn’t seen jewels as fine on the queen herself.
She caught me eyeing the rubies and rolled her eyes. “They’re quite obscene, are they not? I mean, certainly the stones are lovely, but the setting is so unfashionable. I’ve been meaning to have them reset but haven’t gotten around to it. They were a wedding gift from my nefarious former husband—quite possibly the only thing he did right in our marriage.”
“They’re exquisite, but they pale in comparison to your beauty, dear Charlotte,” I bowed over her hand and kissed it.
“Such flattery! If only you were not spoken for by the best of all possible women, I might think to steal you away,” she joked. We had always had an easy flirtation, mostly because there was nothing behind it.
“You do realize I can hear you,” came a voice from the hallway. “You’re both so uncommonly loud in your philandering, you would make truly terrible adulterers.”
Daphne stepped into the room, and I felt my knees wobble slightly. She was the most beautiful thing I’d ever seen. She wore a gown of pale lavender with gold embroidery that glittered when she moved. Her bright violet eyes flashed with laughter, and her luscious rosebud lips kicked up in a saucy smirk. Athrum of desire pulsed through my body, beating a tattoo—mine…mine…mine.
“Let’s get this over with,” she said. “This damn diamond is heavy.”
Dieu!I hadn’t even noticed. Around her neck was the biggest canary yellow diamond I’d ever seen, surrounded by dozens of smaller white diamonds. I let out a low whistle.
“That’ll certainly attract the thief,” I said. “But it’ll be difficult to figure out who it is until they try to steal it tonight, since I’m sureeveryonewill be overly fascinated with it.”
“Naturally,” agreed Charlotte. “It doesn’t hurt that it sits right above your cleavage, Daphne. I don’t know if the lecherous Marquis de Balay will be more fascinated with the jewels or your breasts.”
I felt an immediate and irrational desire to break something. “If the marquis can’t keep his bloody eyes in his own head, I’ll pull them out,” I growled.
“That’s sweet,chéri,but wait until he tries to take the necklace,” Daphne said, patting my arm. “We must catch the thief in the act.D’accord, allons-y!”
We went down to the ballroom, Daphne on one side of me and Charlotte on the other. Most of the other guests had arrived in our absence, including Madame Catherine, the Cagnés, and the Marquise de Balay. I did not see her husband, though.
Charlotte and Daphne nodded at each other and peeled off to shadow their respective targets. I made for Madame Catherine, who was scowling over by a potted palm. I bowed before her.
“Madame! Such a pleasure to see you this evening. It’s been some time since we’ve conversed, no?” I tried in my most charming voice.
She regarded me suspiciously. “Monsieur de Noailles,” she said with a slight incline of her head.
“How do you fare this evening? Not too chilled by the snow, I hope?”
“No,” she said.
“Ah, good, good. And do you have plans for Christmas?”
