A Twist of Fortune (The Hands of Fate Book 2) by Elizabeth Blake

Author:Elizabeth Blake [Blake, Elizabeth]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Oliver Heber Books
Published: 2023-08-14T16:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER 9

Over the Broomstick

She had agreed. Luca’s heart was heavy with guilt, but he knew that he had done the right thing. The night she had escaped, as the rain pattered down atop the dining tent and the storm blew the canvas about hither and thither, Nicolai had said that he would have her killed.

“We can use the chloroform again, first,” he had murmured with a small shrug, as though it was nothing. “She will merely fall asleep.” The firelight from the cooking stove glimmered on the side of his bronze skin, and his expression was mild, as though he was suggesting the snuffing out of a candle. “If she will not agree to help us, that may be the easiest solution.”

“Have you lost your mind?” Luca had spat, and he slammed his fist down on the nearest table. “What will you do? Choke her to death with your bare hands? She is a woman, Nicolai. A person.”

“What is she to you?” Nicolai muttered. He lifted a glass of whisky to his lips. “I am beginning to form the impression that she is more than a mere means to an end. Would you like her to be more?”

Luca let out a growl of frustration. “You cannot murder the girl in cold blood.”

“What would you have me do with her, Luca?” Nicolai stood up and turned his back to the stove, warming it. “I made a mistake. She is useless to us, and if we set her free, she will set the bobbies on us before we have had time to blink.”

Luca’s vision narrowed to a point as a cloud of desperation crept in. “What if she was loyal to us?” he murmured, grasping at straws. “What if…” but he stopped speaking as Nicolai’s insolent smile spread further across his face. Luca had never wanted to strike the man so much in all his life.

“Lavinia was right about you,” he said. “You have fallen for the chit.”

Luca leapt to his feet. “Just because I do not want to watch you take her life? Nic,” Luca let out a mirthless laugh and threw his arms wide in a gesture of bewilderment. “I truly do not know who you are anymore.”

“You think you can make her loyal to the Cirque?” Nicolai asked, his voice low. “What will you do?”

“I will marry the chit if it will keep you from killing her!” Luca spat.

Surprisingly, Nicolai’s head immediately cocked to the side in thought. “Now, there is an interesting idea,” he said slowly. “She does have a bit of potential… she can navigate the ballrooms, the gatherings, the parties. She is every bit of class and well-bred lady, not like any of our girls. She could gain us entry to a whole world of possibilities.” He stood up straight and nodded at Luca. “Very well. Do it. Seduce her, do what you like with her. Marry her if you must… but make sure her loyalty is never a question. We cannot have her running for help the moment she sets foot back amongst the gentry.

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