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Chapter 2
“Whatever work you have on the compound can wait,” Chairwoman Randolph said, turning off the device without looking at the screen. “You’re surrounded by the most eligible senators in all of Saxony, Elizabeth. Do try to appear interested.”
Lila snatched back her palm and slipped it into her clutch. “I was just about to visit the ladies’ room.”
“No, you weren’t.” Her mother straightened her silvercoat as though the matter had been decided. The garment marked her as the matron of the Randolph family and the CEO of Wolf Industries. As such, its fabric was even finer than Lila’s tonight. Its hue matched her silver hair, which had been curled to perfection on the ends.
The chairwoman took Lila’s arm and dragged her further into the room. “You expect me to think highly of Commander Sutton, yet you seem to believe she cannot fill in as chief for a few hours without supervision. The woman spent ten years in the infantry. She’s not a toddler.”
A crash sounded in Lila’s earpiece, followed by a muffled curse. If Tristan had just been caught, then one prick from a DNA wand would ferret out his true identity, that of a long-escaped slave. It was only luck that he’d never been caught before. “Get out of the ballroom and keep an eye on the militia!” he shouted.
Lila took a quick look at the front of the auction house. “A lot can go on if a blackcoat isn’t paying attention, madam. It’s not like every blackcoat just paces around with their thumb up their—”
“Elizabeth!”
“Hood says the militia isn’t onto us yet,” Tristan told Fry. “Shirley, there’s not enough fuel left in the blowtorches! We won’t be able to collapse the tunnel.”
“I didn’t tell you to waste the fuel on some highborn snob, now did I? Get to the rendezvous point. I’ll meet you there. We’ll take off the regulators and make do.”
Lila tuned out Shirley while she gave the others more instructions. “Don’t start with me, Mother. I agreed to come to your little auction, didn’t I?” She grabbed a glass of champagne from a passing servant and took the lead, finding another perch that offered a decent view of the militia outside. She stopped, took a sip, and pretended interest in the senators.
“Yes, you barely argued at all. I’m still trying to figure out why.”
Lila ignored her. “The Rembrandt went for quite a bit.”
“As I knew it would. Ah, look, there’s Chairwoman Holguín.” Her mother smiled and inclined her head slightly. The woman in question nodded pleasantly from across the room.
“Why smile when you hate her? Why not walk over and tell her she’s a—”
“Elizabeth, don’t bait me this evening.”
“You started it. I put away my blackcoat for this. Don’t make me put away my humor.”
“What humor? Is it so hard to go out for one afternoon with your mother?”
“You didn’t want quality time. You wanted to show the other families that I’m not dead yet and prod me to find a bedmate for the season.”
“A what?” Tristan blurted over the sound of splashing.
“Focus,” Fry shouted.
The chairwoman took a sip of champagne. “Yes, I suppose I should—”
The militia stopped pacing out front.
Lila cursed under her breath. “Mother, look. The militia is running to the back of the auction house. Running very, very quickly.”
The chairwoman narrowed her eyes. “Really, Elizabeth? Commenting on the militia rather than your peers? Can’t you put away your occupation for one afternoon?”
“I suspect a robbery. I should go inspect the art.”
Lila took a step away from her mother.
The chairwoman grabbed her shoulder and snatched her back. “Think of the long game. All of highborn society is here this afternoon, and the LeBeau family insured my property for quite a sum. Their public failure is worth more than the loss of a few pieces of art. It will bankrupt the auction house, and I’ll still get a good return.”
“Couldn’t happen to nicer people.”
“Couldn’t happen to us. We should open a replacement. You’d be far more competent to run its security. Isn’t this the second robbery of LeBeau’s in the last two years?”
