Page 92 of Dark Gambit: The Play

Marcel took a deep breath. "One day, I came to her house and found her crying."

This was the worst part, and he dreaded to see Sofia's reaction to his confession.

"'What happened?' I asked.

"'My husband is coming home,'she said.

"I thought that she meant that they were bringing his casket home, so I took her hand, looked into her eyes, and asked if she wanted me to be there when the coffin arrived, and if she needed my help with the funeral arrangements. She looked at me with her doe eyes.

"'He's not dead. But I will be when he finds out about you. He threatened to kill me before.'

"Tears were streaming down her eyes as she told me about the years of abuse she'd suffered. She pulled up her sleeve and showed me an old scar that I had seen before.

"'He did this to me. The bruises have faded, the broken bones healed, but this cut is a reminder of what a monster I'm married to.'

"I was stunned. I asked her how come she'd never mentioned him before, and why none of the servants had spoken his name. She told me with teary eyes that the servants did that out of love for her.

"'They know how terribly he has been treating me, and they don't want to upset me by speaking his name. They all cower before him, his anger is explosive, and he's not averse to using his fists or even the crop. One of these days, he will finish what he started and end me. We cannot see each other anymore. If he finds out about us, he will kill us both.'"

Marcel's hands were sweaty as he lifted them to rake his fingers through his hair. "I was enraged. I couldn't understand how any man could raise his hand in anger at a woman, and especially not a delicate, gentle flower like Cordelia."

"What did you do?" Sofia asked, but the horrified look in her eyes told him that she'd already guessed.

"I promised to liberate her, and I did."

"You killed him?"

He nodded. "I waited at the docks for his ship to arrive, followed him home, and watched the reunion through the window. If he aggressed on her, I was ready to barge in and end him. He didn't act as badly as I expected, though, which should have given me pause, and Cordelia greeted him with smiles and hugs. The servants were cordial as well. I thought that it was an act meant to appease the monster. I waited until Cordelia retired to their bedchamber. She was all smiles for him, but I still thought that it was all an act, and my rage only grew because she had to pretend to love him so he wouldn't strike her, that she had to put up with him to appease him. When the husband was left alone in the salon, enjoying a drink and a pipe, I got in through one of the back patio doors. I was trained to walk soundlessly, so he didn't hear me as I walked up behind him, paralyzed him by seizing his mind, and sank my fangs in his neck. I pumped him full of venom until his heart stopped, and then I left the same way I came. He was found the next day by the maid, and the cause of death was determined as heart failure. No one suspected a thing, including Cordelia."

Sofia's hand flew to her neck. "Your fangs don't leave any marks."

"They don't. My saliva contains healing properties, and so does the venom. There was no sign of foul play."

Sofia's big eyes turned even larger. "Did you tell her that you did it?"

He shook his head. "She would have wondered how I managed to kill him without leaving any evidence. I just showed up the next day and acted as if I was shocked and relieved by the news."

"What did she do?"

"She donned mourning garb and sat in the living room crying and dabbing at her eyes. I knew it was an act, and I guess I started suspecting her then. Only the servants and I were in the house, so she had no reason to put on an act for anyone. I sat next to her and told her that she was free now, that she didn't need to live in fear anymore. She gave me a cold, accusing look.

"'To think that I invested that much work in you only to have nature take care of the problem for me. What a waste of time.'

"Her voice was as cold as ice, and so were her eyes.There was none of the warmth she used to shower me with. I knew then that I had been played."

74

SOFIA

"Ican't believe you did that." Sofia rubbed her eyes as if by doing so she could erase the images that Marcel had painted in her mind. "I expected you to beat him up, to warn him never to lay a finger on her again, but you just went ahead and killed him." She took in a deep breath. "And her response. I can't wrap my mind around it. Maybe she was filled with remorse for having an affair with you?"

He laughed mirthlessly. "The woman didn't know the meaning of remorse."

"Perhaps by killing him, you saved her life?"

"I didn't."

"You can't know that. Do you know that the number one cause of death for young women is murder by their boyfriends or husbands?" She lifted a finger. "Number one. And I bet it was even worse in the days when women didn't have any rights."