Page 38 of King of Lies
“Lord Umbrey!” the queen waves over an older man with his belly hanging over his cummerbund, and a lot of hair sprouting from his nose. I do not miss the fact that Dahlia and Taylor both wince when Saoirse calls him over, nor the fact that he does not look at my eyes once because his gaze never raises higher than my chest. “Do be a dear and escort Miss Reyes tonight.”
“It would be my pleasure,” he says, leaning into my personal space and I can feel that he is not one with personal hygiene.
“Perhaps Lord Umbrey could escort Lady Thomley so that I may escort my fiancée,” Rhys says coolly, and for a second I feel bad for Suzanne. But only a second because then she opens her mouth and throws me right under the bus.
“Oh, now don’t be a pill, it’s already settled,” Suzanne says. “Sammy is happy, aren’t you?”
It takes me a moment to realize that she’s referring to me so I don’t have a chance to answer. Instead, I just stare at the room blankly wondering who Sammy is. I can already tell that tonight is not going to go well for me.
“See? All is well,” she says as the chime sounds again, and the footmen open the door to the dining room. “Is she a bit slow?” Suzanne asks loudly as the queen leads everyone into the dining room and Taylor barks out a laugh.
Dahlia looks over her shoulder at me and smiles a reassuring smile but it’s no use, because Lord Umbrey uses that moment to pinch me rather hard on the ass. I wonder what kind of sentence I would get for murdering a member of the elite in a castle full of people.
It doesn’t take me long to realize that I have not one hope for surviving this meal. The queen is seated at the head of the table with Rhys at the foot. The rest of us fill in along the sides with Lady Thomley being given the seat to Rhys’s right.
I’m seated between Taylor and Lord Umbrey, with Dahlia across from me next to Lady Thomley.
I’m stunned speechless when I look at what seems like thousands of utensils, cups, and dishes laid before me at my place setting. Taylor chuckles beside me and I roll my shoulders back, preparing for battle. I look down the length of the table and Rhys is watching me with an unhappy expression on his face, so I smile at him and shoot him a wink. His eyes heat like they do before he kisses me, promising good things for later, at least.
Then the first course is served, and I’m sent straight back to hell.
Not only do I have to watch Dahlia closely to see which utensil she picks up for every item placed in front of me, but I also have to watch for when the queen puts down hers, signaling the end of the course. And I have to watch for Lord Umbrey’s wandering hands.
“Don’t you remember that week on Saint Tropez,” Lady Thomley coos before turning to the rest of the table. “It was very romantic and quite scandalous.”
“I don’t think we need to share,” Rhys says in warning and I wonder what is coming next.
I shouldn’t have. It’s like a car wreck and everyone is watching it all smash apart on the interstate. Only it’s not cars, it’s my love life.
“Oh, yes we do,” Taylor encourages her from beside me and I wonder if it would be considered impolite if I stabbed him with my seafood fork. It’s such a tiny little thing, it couldn’t possibly do much damage unless I manage to hit an artery. The odds probably aren’t too good there.
“Rhys insisted I sunbathe topless all week and I had the most shocking tan lines,” she shares, and I feel my own cheeks heat. “That is, when we actually made it out of the bedroom.”
“That is quite shocking,” Dahlia says from our end of the table. “I figured you’d need a top to hold up those old sandbags. Tell me, did you have pale lines on your belly from where they hung down?”
“Don’t be rude, Dahlia,” the queen chides.
“No, I had tan lines from where Rhys’s body covered mine.”
“I think that’s quite enough,” he says with just enough menace to make the room go silent.
“Do not be rude at my table, Rhys,” the queen commands.
“Let us not mistake whose table this is,” he warns, and I feel the hairs on my arms stand on end.
“I see America has done you no favors,” she says. “Why you would run off to that savage land and cavort with the natives, I have no idea.”
“Maybe it’s because their women present a challenge that our own do not,” Taylor says quietly from beside me and I want to pump my fist in the air. Score one for the away team!
Dinner conversation quiets down after that. Suzanne is less vocal about their exploits as lovers, but quietly fawns over Rhys at their end of the table for the rest of the evening.
Lord Umbrey keeps grabbing my thigh.
Finally, I’ve had enough and use the manners I learned in America to press the tines to the back of his hand as he slides it up toward my crotch. “If you lay your hands on me one more time, I will hurt you,” I warn low so only he can hear me.
Unfortunately, or fortunately, Taylor seems to take notice because he leans across me and addresses Lord Umbrey. “I do believe you should take her seriously before she decides that she’s not satisfied with taking just a finger and goes for something you might feel a bit more attached to, eh, old chap?”
“Well, I have never been treated so inhospitably,” the vile old man snarls at me. “You would do well to learn your place here, girl.”
