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My grandparents died when Sutherland was twelve, forcing him to inherit Divale Manor. By the grace of a handful of loyal servants, the estate didn’t crumble. But when Sutherland was twenty-five, and his sister—my mother—left, Sutherland lost it.
The story goes that Mom ran away because she was in love. Sutherland says she ran to avoid an arranged marriage. Whatever the reason, my uncle was alone, refusing to marry or bring anyone new into the manor. Until the day I woke on his doorstep, a cloak covering what was left of my charred clothes and no memory as to how I found him, the only people he allowed into the manor are the employees he grew up with and their families.
“You’re here.” Sutherland smiles and opens the door wider.
Yesterday’s skirt kisses his ankles as I pass. I hadn’t intended to be seen in the village today. I planned to sleep until close to sunset and then ride back to Divale comfortably—in pants—not the full corseted ensemble I rode in on. A lady is expected to look a certain way in Arcane. No innkeeper, no matter how desperate, will lend a room to a vagrant in a blouse and slacks. They also wouldn’t lend a room to an unmarried couple, and—as sexist as it may be—it generally costs more for a man to rent a room than a woman. Hence, why I rode into town fully dressed and rented the room myself.
Today, my tired skirt, lacking a particular spring in how it hangs from my hips, has come in handy again. As has last night’s corset and yesterday’s blouse. If I strolled into Sutherland’s room wearing the pants and blouse I usually don at Divale, he would refuse to be seen with me.
Compared to the room I’d secured yesterday, Sutherland’s lodging is a mansion. My room has a single bed, something I planned to navigate after killing Graves.
That’s all.
Thankfully, the bathroom is in the common area that is segregated into men’s and women’s sections. Food can be found in the great room if I’m hungry, but only at designated hours and for a fee. Ezra and I had already decided to fill our canteens with water and eat the fruit and dried meat we carried in our packs. We could indulge in eggs and ham once we’d returned to Divale.
We were on a mission. Not a vacation.
I take a few paces and scan my uncle’s room. Warmth from a fireplace emanates through the room, pushing winter’s icy fingers away. A book lies open, the pages facing down on a small couch, from when I interrupted his leisurely stay. The green couch cushions match the light accents in the room’s wallpaper, and the brass-colored wood compliments the chandelier that is the room’s focal point. From my vantage point, I can see the posters of a bed through an open door and assume there is a private bath in his quarters, too. The luxury in this room sours my stomach.
Money management is not a strong suit of my uncle’s, and one night alone in this place is likely as much, if not more, than a week’s pay to our staff. Something Sutherland is painfully behind on. Yet he can throw Silver around when it suits him.
“I thought you said you’d never consider entering the Culling.” Sutherland closes the door and stands before it as if he fears I’ll change my mind and run.
I sit on the couch and fold my hands over my skirt. The heavy layer of fabric doesn’t fall as nicely over my petticoat as it should. Holes and tears in the crinoline will do that.
My uncle‘s gaze focuses on where my knee pokes through a hole in the mesh, and I’m tempted to follow through with his fears. I’d rather gouge my eyes out than marry into the royal family, not that I’d ever be accepted.
Even if I could somehow make the prince fall widely in love with me, his father would never let a Cerise onto the throne. The fear of what Imightbe is enough to cause an uproar, but the implication of the princegoing against the Crown and undoing nearly two decades of unbiased eradication would bring the monarchy to its knees.
I’ll be lucky to make it through the first round of eliminations tonight and am counting on Sage’s advice of men wanting what they can’t have to be enough of an allure to garnish me an invite into the castle. I don’t care to make it to the next elimination. My goal is not to woo the prince. It’s to find Ezra, brew up a counter spell strong enough to bring him to his senses, and then leave this damned province. I’ll fix Ezra once we’re safe, back at Divale, and not under watchful eyes.
“It was a last-minute decision,” I admit, “and I didn’t bring anything to wear tonight.”
“I…I don’t have a dress for you,” he stutters. “If I had known, or even thought, you would be here, I would have been prepared, but you insisted you’d never enter.” Sutherland chews on his lip, the singular mannerism we share with my mother.
Weeks of declining his requests, followed by hours of avoiding my uncle while he was in Divale, drove my intentions home. Nothing could convince me to subject myself to the cattle show our king calls the Culling—a pageant ofpick-merequests, starting with the most basic and stupid qualification of all… attraction.
“I’ll find one, but it won’t be cheap, and I need money.”
“How much?” he asks roughly.
“As much as it takes.”
Sutherland exhales heavily and walks to the room adjacent to the one we’re in—his bedroom. He strides to the trunk at the foot of the bed and moves items aside until he finds what he’s looking for. A small leather pouch filled with coins that should be used to pay the debt we owe the staff.
He holds the bag out for me, a mixture of disappointment and fear flickering into his expression. “This is all I have, and I still have to pay for the room.”
“Take out what you need for tonight, but the rest is mine. If there’s anything left at the end of the day, I'll hand it back.”
Maybe. Or I’ll keep it and pay the staff a fraction of what they’re owed. I fight a smirk, liking that idea better.
Sutherland pulls out four silvers, and I encourage him to take onemore. I’d feel guilty knowing I’d left him with nothing, not even a coin to buy food. He exhales a small sigh of relief and says, “Thank you, Khiara. You have no idea how much this means to me. Your dowry will?—”
“Do nothing.” I cut him off, not wanting to hear another version of the plea he’s sung since our invitation arrived last month. “For you. It will pay our staff what you owe them, and anything left will be mine.”
Sutherland’s gray eyes widen. “You can’t. I have to pay my debt if I don’t…”
He trails off, not wanting to say what we both know. The Datorie, a gang he’s gotten in bed with, will kill him, but it’s his own damn fault. He knew better than to borrow anything from them. He should have learned when they broke his hand the first time as a friendly reminder that he owed them twenty Silvers. My uncle paid, but it cost me all of my savings and Ezra three weeks’ pay.
