Page 71 of Hollow Court
I forced myself to banter along. “Yes, I wonder what it will say. Dearest Brother and Sister-in-Law, No one is safe, and we’ll be holding mass executions in a week’s time. P.S. My son’s betrothal is a farce and has likely only exacerbated said aforementioned issues with the rebels. All the love from Lithlinglau.”
Gwyn cracked a small smile, though it was tinged with bitterness.
“You forgot the part where their niece was apparently sleeping with the enemy.”
I winced. “We’ve all been there, Gwynnie.”
“I haven’t,” Gallagher said with a shrug.
She shoved him, but her smile turned more genuine. They split off to go into their respective rooms at the top of the hall and I continued in the opposite direction to mine, nodding to Hamish when he came into view.
He returned the gesture, though it was punctuated by an expression I was too tired to decipher.
I didn’t have to ponder it for long. As soon as I shut the main door, I smelled the perfume. Faint, floral, familiar.
Sure enough, when I pushed open the door between the sitting room and my bedroom it was to find Lady Fiona sprawled artfully atop my bed.
Naked.
I would have questioned whether she was concerned about anyone coming back here with me, but Fiona never had minded an audience.
If I hadn’t been so tired, I might have even expected her after her display earlier. She wasn’t the type to take no for an answer.
“Fiona,” I sighed. “I already turned you down once tonight.”
Normally, I would have felt badly about being so blunt, but she could be stars-blasted persistent when she wanted to. Her feelings, if she had any, never came into play.
She trailed a hand along her skin, and I looked pointedly elsewhere. Not that the sight was offensive, in and of itself. Fiona knew she was gorgeous, from her sleek black locks to her well-proportioned figure, slim and curved in all the right places.
“I thought you were just being coy,” she teased. “I know you were favoring Gracie for a while, but surely you’ve grown bored of her by now.”
“I could have sworn I announced my engagement tonight. Pity you seem to have missed it,” I said, looking around for her clothes.
She tilted her head, studying me. “Don’t tell me this is about that—”
“Do not finish that sentence.” I snapped my gaze back to her, then regretted it when I saw that she had moved to put her…assets on better display.
“Socairan, I was going to say.” Her voice dripped with false innocence as she tilted her knees to the side and gently grazed her bottom lip with her teeth.
“I’m sure you were,” I muttered, surveying the room again.
“Galina, then,” she intoned in a singsong voice, drawing out the syllables.
I finally spotted Fiona’s dress draped over the arm of the wingback chair next to my fireplace. I crossed the room to grab it but spun around halfway there at the sound of her footsteps. She was standing a mere foot from me, her expression oddly speculative.
“You know…” She tapped her finger against her bottom lip. “I thought that name sounded familiar, but it took me a while to place it.”
I gritted my teeth against the memory that assaulted me. Copious amounts of whiskey. Fiona’s lithe form reminding me of another perfect body I had held in my arms. Galina’s name slipping from my lips with precarious timing.
“I’ve already apologized for that,” I said sincerely.
Even Fiona didn’t deserve to be called by another woman’s name. She shrugged, the motion pulling at parts of her I tried not to notice.
“Oh, don’t worry about that, Dav,” she said, her deep-blue gaze drifting from my eyes down to my lips. “You know I always enjoyed a little roleplay.”
She closed the distance between us, trailing her fingers along my arms.
“I know you’ve had a long night,” she murmured.