He stepped a little closer. “Halverton didn’t tell us he housed such beauty in this barren corner of the empire.”
She managed a polite smile and said nothing. Tonight was important; she knew that. She knew Halverton needed these men to leave impressed.
Severcombe seemed to take her silence as an invitation. He moved a step closer. “No need for modesty,” he murmured. “You’re quite a jewel. Halverton’s been hiding you.”
His hand moved to her waist.
Aoife’s heart thudded, her breath coming fast and shallow. Her mind went blank as the man’s thumb stroked gently over the silk of her dress.
“You must know every inch of this house. All the places one could go if one didn’t want to be found.”
Her thoughts snapped into place. She didn’t want to embarrass Halverton, but she would not stand here and take this.
She replied louder than necessary in her best crisp and elegant Eldrossi, pretending she hadn’t understood his intentions.
“I’m sure Lord Halverton would give you a tour if you asked.”
Halverton looked towards her at his name.
From the look he gave her, she had nailed the accent.
His eyes dipped to Lord Severcombe’s hand at her waist. He was moving towards them in a flash.
Severcombe smiled. “That’s not exactly—”
Halverton crossed the room in three long, controlled strides.
“Remove your hand,” he said, his voice a blade sheathed in silk.
Severcombe raised his hands in mock surrender. “No offence meant.”
Halverton’s jaw clenched, tension rolling off him.
Before it went further, Montbrass intervened with an easy laugh, throwing an arm around Severcombe’s shoulders.
“Come now, we’re guests,” Montbrass boomed. “Let’s talk of topics less likely to start bloodshed before dinner.”
He steered the conversation toward the countryside instead, and the tension eased by degrees.
“It’s greener than I expected,” Lady Montbrass said. “Everyone warns you about the rain, but no one told me about the wind. Nearly blew my hat off at the cliffs.”
Lady Severcombe nodded vigorously. “Oh, we must go to the cliffs. And the beaches too—don’t give me that look, darling, I didn’t come all this way to see barren fields.”
Lord Severcombe smiled indulgently. “The fields aren’t barren everywhere.”
“Quite barren where we were last week,” Lady Severcombe said, swirling her drink. “Farmsteads empty. Villages half-abandoned.”
Aoife’s breath caught. She glanced at Halverton. He was listening.
Hope flickered in her chest. They knew what was happening. The empire knew. Things would change now.
Montbrass sighed heavily. “Terrible, truly. We passed three villages with barely a child in sight. The blighted roots rotting in the fields.”
Aoife stood straighter, pulse quickening.
Halverton nodded gravely, slipping seamlessly into the conversation. “It is the same here. The crop failures have made quotas difficult.”
Montbrass chuckled, shaking his head. “Well, you’re doing better than most, old boy. You must be quite the administrator.”
