Page 52
As he examined the lurid scene, the walls around him fell away, and he was back in that lavish, gilded room he’d called the netherplace as a child.
Other paintings had hung there too, but this one, in particular, always caught his eye, positioned across from the copper bathtub. He could see it through the steamy haze as he sat motionless in the bath, staring blankly ahead while someone pulled at his hair, washing it with pungent lavender soap.
He hated that smell.
It used to bring him peace eons ago. Not anymore.
And still, the painting flickered before his eyes.
He could recall overhearing a hoarse, low voice from behind the half-open door. “I want that painting.”
He could recall spying two dark figures arguing outside the half-open door.
“We’ve already given you eleven paintings,” the second voice had said.
“This one will make an even dozen,” the first man answered. “Besides, the list of Shadows operatives is surely worth the price.”
“You came to us begging for money!”
The first man bowed, as if in solemnity, although there was a sneer in his voice. “And yet the information I am offering is worth far more than what you’ve given.”
The sounds of sloshing water drowned out the rest, cascading over his head and body. He squeezed his eyes shut, wishing to be anywhere else but there.
William turned away in disgust, forcing the memories away.
“You shouldn’t be here.” A calm, female voice pulled William out of his dark thoughts. William had never been so grateful for the interruption.
He took a deep breath, collecting his wits, and turned toward Caroline, the Duchess of Kensington, with a smile. She stood on the threshold, draped in shadows.
In the dim light, Caroline’s posture and mannerisms somewhat resembled those of her late uncle, pulling William back into the unwanted memory. As the room shifted and morphed, Caroline’s facial features blended with those of her late uncle’s.
“What will you do with the people on the list?” the first man, Caroline’s late uncle, had said, handing it over.
“That is none of your concern.”
Caroline stepped forward into the glittering light of a glowing candle, and the unpleasant memory faded away once more.
William cleared his throat. “Yes, I am aware.”
Caroline walked farther into the room and looked around. “Searching for something else to steal?”
William let out a scoff. “I never stole from you, and I don’t intend to start now.”
Caroline pursed her lips. “You have a very narrow understanding of the word ‘steal’ if that’s what you truly think.”
William directed his charming smile her way. “I saved your husband.”
“You killed my uncle.”
William shoved his hands into his pockets. “Perhaps. But what about what he stole?”
Caroline frowned. “What did he steal?”
William shrugged. “A lot of things. From a lot of people. Besides, his death wasn’t entirely my fault. It was a result of his own actions, his own demons.”
Caroline continued her advance into the room, slowly perusing the paintings on the wall. “What about tricking Victoria into marrying you? Staging her abduction?”
Another shrug. “That was my fault. I admit to that.”
