Bad Guy Theorad (2)

An oppressive silence settled over the drawing room.

To the servants watching from a distance, Lady Ashley and the elf appeared to be enjoying a pleasant, leisurely conversation.

In reality, both were struggling to keep their dislike of the other from showing.

“By the way, my lady…”

The elf was the one who finally broke the silence.

She blinked with an expression of complete innocence, concealing her hostility perfectly.

“Have you ever been intimate with Master?”

“…Pardon?”

Ashley's composure cracked.

The elf smiled almost imperceptibly.

“I only ask because I know the young lady and Master have known each other for a long time. You're engaged, too. Forgive me if it's rude to ask…”

Ashley took a careful breath and looked around the room.

Surely one of the servants would realize the question was inappropriate and interrupt.

Unfortunately, she had personally requested this time with the elf.

She was Count Pelgaroin's daughter, a young lady of a powerful family whose standing made the servants wary of intruding.

No servant present would dare intrude on a conversation she'd chosen to conduct, merely because the questions were uncomfortable.

I've trapped myself.

She had invited the elf to talk and could hardly ask someone else to rescue her from it now.

The elf had recognized the weakness and struck.

How should I answer?

Could she lie and claim she and Theorad had already slept together?

And what would that accomplish?

It might soothe her wounded pride for the moment. She could declare that Theorad was hers.

But it would be a lie.

The elf spent far more time beside him. She might discover the truth, and Ashley had no desire to be humiliated when her deception came to light.

Better to tell the truth.

Ashley lowered her teacup.

“No. We've never had that kind of relationship.”

“Really? But you've known each other for so long. Why haven't you…?”

The elf lifted her chin, her mouth twisting.

“Could it be that you aren't actually in love?”

She spoke softly enough that the servants standing by the wall wouldn't hear.

The words still struck Ashley with painful clarity.

Her fingers tightened around the cup until her knuckles whitened.

“What did you just say…?”

“Well, if two people are in love, it's natural that they'd want to share their bodies, isn't it? Or perhaps that's simply how humans are. Master has touched a naked slave like me, yet he hasn't even seen his own fiancée without clothes. I thought there must be some reason.”

“That can't be helped, because—”

Ashley shut her mouth.

She'd almost answered too much.

The elf's questions were drawing her toward an explanation she couldn't safely give.

“I see.”

The elf's smile grew openly superior.

“So you and Master haven't even seen each other naked, much less shared a bed. What a beautiful, innocent love. If it can be called love at all.”

What Ashley believed was love might simply be a comforting illusion.

Perhaps Theorad felt nothing of the kind.

The elf continued pressing at the doubt, trying to make her lose her composure.

Ashley would have been lying if she claimed the words didn't hurt.

But she trusted Theorad, and she remembered the trust he'd shown her.

“Does sleeping with someone prove that your love is real?”

Her breathing began to steady.

“Think about what you're saying. If love were completed merely by sharing a bed, how many men would a woman working in a brothel fall in love with?”

Her voice was calm now.

“Desire is desire. It isn't love. Love isn't something determined by instinct alone. It requires thought and understanding.”

“But—”

“Of course two people can mistake desire for love. They may feel passionately attached when they see each other unclothed, or when they touch and become excited. But feelings born in that moment don't necessarily last.”

The elf's expression cooled.

She looked down at the tea in her cup.

“A prostitute might tell several men she loves them in a single day,” Ashley continued. “At the moment of sexual climax, even a person's judgment may falter. So let me ask you something.”

She lifted her head.

Their eyes met, and neither looked away.

“Would you call that kind of professed love the same as genuine love?”

The question was indirect.

Its meaning wasn't.

The barb was unmistakable: Ashley was comparing the elf's claim to sexual attention with a prostitute's profession of love to her clients, not conceding that either proved real affection.

“Lady Ashley.”

The elf's annoyance was beginning to surpass her enjoyment of the contest.

How dare this fragile, short-lived human refuse to yield?

If she wished, the elf could end Ashley's life in an instant.

But she wouldn't.

Killing Theorad's fiancée would destroy the life she'd made for herself. She wasn't even certain Theorad would keep the promise he'd made if she went that far.

She would have to endure this, for now.

“You're remarkably eloquent, my lady.”

The elf smiled, concealing her anger beneath a pleasant expression.

Time is on my side, anyway.

She pictured a day when Theorad would belong to her in both body and mind.

How would Ashley look when he loved the elf of his own free will, without force or restraints?

The prospect intrigued her.

“You're very kind,” Ashley replied. “I think we could become good friends.”

Her smile was every bit as polished.

You think time favors you.

You're wrong.

Ashley wasn't going to remain ignorant forever.

If she could uncover the truth about the elf, she would do everything in her power to remove the woman from the mansion and bring Theorad safely back to her.

So…

So…

The two women looked at each other with restrained bitterness.

Don't imagine you'll always be able to look down on me.

And, impossibly, their tea continued as though they were the best of friends.

---

I jumped down from my horse the moment I reached the mansion.

Then I ran.

The servants I passed looked at me in bewilderment, but I couldn't afford to care.

Ashley's in danger!

If the elf had noticed an engagement ring on Ashley's hand, something dreadful might already have happened.

I raced through the halls until I reached the drawing room and threw open the door.

“Ashley!”

The sight inside was nothing like what I'd imagined.

The elf and Ashley sat quietly at a table, drinking tea and eating refreshments.

…Nothing happened?

I stood there panting, then brushed the sweat-damp hair from my forehead and stepped inside.

Neither woman paid me much attention.

That was strange.

I approached.

“Ashley. What brought you here today—”

At last she turned toward me.

Her blond hair was beautifully arranged, and she looked as lovely as ever.

For an instant, merely seeing her made me happy.

Then she spoke.

“Lord Theorad.”

Something in her expression made me stop.

She was radiating displeasure.

“I have something to say to you. Dismiss the servants.”

“What? All of a sudden?”

“I said I have something to say.”

Her tone was so fierce that I felt myself shrinking.

Still, I had no reason to refuse her.

I turned to the servants.

“You needn't stay. All of you may leave.”

They hesitated, puzzled.

Ashley gave them a sharp look.

They bowed and withdrew at once.

When the room was empty of servants, Ashley stood and faced me.

“I heard what happened from your elf. She says you sexually tortured her merely for breaking a plate. You're still behaving like a brute.”

Her accusation stung.

But I knew our outward hostility was necessary with the elf present.

I tried to match her tone.

“And?”

Ashley walked toward me and stopped close enough that her body hid the elf from my view.

“Lord Theorad! Aren't you ashamed of trying to violate a helpless slave? Why not just go rape some poor vagrant in the street while you're at it?”

What?

Why had this suddenly become so intense?

I stared at her, uncertain how to answer.

She moved her lips, barely making a sound.

Slap me.

On the cheek.

She wants me to slap her?

I hesitated.

I still couldn't understand her plan.

Ashley raised her voice again.

“How can anyone be so shameless? Answer me!”

Whatever she was doing, she was clearly acting for the elf's benefit.

I hated the thought of striking her.

But refusing might ruin whatever she'd arranged.

I steeled myself and swung my hand.

Smack!

Ashley cried out and fell to the floor.

Was that too hard?

I hadn't used much force, yet the sight of her falling made cold sweat break out across my back.

She looked up at me with tears in her eyes.

“Lord Theorad…! You're going to strike me just because I spoke up for a slave? I can't possibly overlook this!”

At once, two Pelgaroin knights who'd been waiting outside the door entered.

“Lord Theorad. We must take you before the tribunal to answer for your conduct!”

“What? Wait—”

The two knights moved to either side of me.

They didn't lay a hand on me. A noble house's head was not someone they could seize casually.

Still, there was no mistaking the pressure of their escort.

What in the world is happening?

Then the pieces began to fit together.

To keep the elf from becoming suspicious…?

The elf had seen Ashley and me quarrel before, both at the mansion and at the ball.

If she suddenly saw us behaving affectionately, she might suspect we'd understood each other.

So Ashley was making our supposed hostility unmistakable.

She had also dismissed the servants, perhaps to keep this staged scandal from spreading through the household.

And the two Pelgaroin knights seemed to have been waiting for a cue.

The tribunal…

That was the key.

Being escorted to court gave me a reason to leave the mansion without appearing to flee the elf.

Slaves weren't ordinarily allowed to accompany their masters into the tribunal.

Could Ashley have arranged this as a way for me to escape?

Perhaps that was also why she'd come without warning. If she'd sent word ahead, the elf might have made plans of her own.

Ashley…

I finally understood.

I looked down at her and forced a contemptuous smile.

With her back to the elf, Ashley raised a finger to her lips.

Shh.

Her left hand was bare.

There was no engagement ring for the elf to see.

My chest tightened with gratitude and remorse.

I kept playing my part, clumsy as it was.

“You really are a cunning bitch.”

Ashley looked up at me.

“It's the kind of world where you need to be cunning to survive.”

Her smile was a little sad.