Scholar of Decay (12 page)

Yves snorted, snatched the tarnished goblet from his cousin’s hand, and downed the contents. “We’re not to hurt the little Nuikin,” he said, wiping his mouth on the back of his hand. “She wants him.”

Georges looked out to where Dmitri was circling the dance floor with Yves’s sister. “But I thought she wanted the other one.”

“She wants them both.” Yves rubbed his arm, wondering how long the memory of her touch would linger. “And we’re not to think. She says we’ll live longer.”

Aubert and Henri wore identical concerned expressions. Considering the source, it was not a threat to be taken lightly.

“What about Herself?” Annette wondered, dark brows drawn into a deep V over her nose.

“Jacqueline’s not here, and Louise is,” Yves reminded them. “And unless Herself gives us a direct order …” He didn’t have to finish the sentence. Even together, they weren’t strong enough to stand up to Louise Renier. Leaning back against the wall, he told them the rest of what Louise had said.

When he finished, Chantel’s lips had lifted off her teeth. “I hate being told what to do.”

Georges shrugged philosophically. “It sounds as if she’s told us to do pretty much what we were going to do anyway.”

“It’s the principle of the thing,” Chantel snarled. “She told us what to do.”

Yves laughed humorlessly. “So you tell her we won’t.”

Chantel half-turned, and for one heart-stopping moment her cousins thought she was actually going to confront Louise. Then she sighed and shook her head. “Only Herself can argue with her sister.” All at once, she smiled and repeated, “Only Herself.”

Yves quickly drank another glass of wine and grumpily contemplated how much Chantel’s smile was beginning to look like Louise’s.

“She wants to meet me?”

“That’s what she said.” Yves dug Dmitri in the ribs with his elbow, just a little too hard. “She thinks you’re pretty
capiteuse
.”

“
Capiteuse
?” Dmitri frowned. “What does that mean?”

“Attractive.”

“Me?”

“You.”

Dmitri’s hands went to where the edge of his vest should be, found only a tattered fringe of fabric, and tugged at that instead. “Actually, your sister introduced me to her last night.”

“Well, you obviously made quite the impression.” A hand in the small of the back steered Dmitri around a gossiping cluster of fat and prosperous townsmen. “She couldn’t take her eyes off you.”

“Really?”

“Would I lie to you?”

Dmitri paused. Something in the tone of Yves’s voice answered his own question—and the answer was “Any chance I get.” He’s your friend, Dmitri reminded himself, and he hasn’t lied to you yet. You’re doing him an injustice.

“The thing to remember about Cousin Louise,” Yves continued as they crossed the last bit of open floor before they reached the outer edge of the circle of fawning admirers surrounding her, “is that she can have any man she wants, and she told me, she wants you.”

“Me?”

“You.” He shoved Dmitri forward, hard enough to make him stumble. Wouldn’t that be funny? he mused. The little Nuikin throwing himself at her feet.

Dmitri took an extra step to keep from falling and suddenly found himself face-to-face with Louise Renier. She’s so beautiful. He took another step, Yves forgotten. And she wants me?

Reading his thoughts from his face—as hard as it was to believe, he really seemed to be almost completely without guile—Louise drifted toward him, hands outstretched. “You came,” she said softly. “I’m so pleased.”

Cheeks flushed, Dmitri took both her hands in his and pressed his lips first against one and then the other. He couldn’t remember ever feeling quite so adept. “You have only to command,” he murmured, mesmerized by her smile.

Some time later, Chantel and Yves leaned on a worm-eaten banister and stared down into the entryway as Dmitri laid Louise’s gauzy shawl across her shoulders, tucked her hand up in his arm, and led her out of the house.

“That seems to be working out,” Yves muttered irritably, picking off pieces of the flaking paint and letting them fall to the tile floor below.

“She knows the strings to pull,” Chantel agreed, her expression half admiring, half annoyed. “I just hope she remembers that we had him first.”

“Oh, definitely,” Yves sneered. “I mean, Louise cares so much about what we think. Let him go, Chantel. The best we can hope for now is that she leaves a few leftovers lying around for us.”

Chantel straightened. “I don’t want Louise Renier’s leftovers!”

Rolling his eyes, Yves wondered why the women in the family were all so dangerously extreme.

A candle had been left burning on the hall table. Dmitri threw the trio of bolts that secured the door and gratefully picked it up. He hadn’t been looking forward to making his way up steep and
not entirely secure stairs in the dark. Limping slightly, he crossed the hall and actually had one foot in the air when Aurek’s voice said softly, “Do you know what time it is?”

He turned, careful not to let the candlelight fall too fully in his eyes, and peered through the shadows. Aurek was standing in the doorway to the sitting room, arms folded on his chest, pale hair loose over his shoulders.

“After midnight?” he answered brightly.

“Long after. It’s nearly dawn.” Aurek stepped away from the wall, expression stern. “Where have you been?”

Dmitri smiled. “I have been to paradise.”

“Paradise?”

“That’s right.” Louise Renier had made him feel as though he were the most important man in the world. He wasn’t going to let his brother steal that feeling away. “I was with a beautiful woman.” His voice rose and picked up a sardonic tone. “And I was doing things you’ve only dreamed of.”

“Does this woman have a name?” Aurek asked grimly.

Dmitri tossed his head. “A gentleman doesn’t kiss and tell.”

“A gentleman doesn’t brag either,” Aurek reminded him.

“I wasn’t bragging.” But he had to let Aurek know. Had to throw it in his face. “What you think,” he said, “doesn’t matter, because Louise Renier had no complaints.”

Louise Renier. Aurek felt as though he were going to be sick. The thought of his younger brother and that … that thing was worse than he possibly could have imagined. “Stay away from her.” He had to force the warning through the bile in his throat.

There was something in Aurek’s voice—something very like revulsion—that Dmitri refused to acknowledge. “Why?” he asked. “Because she’s older than I am? If she doesn’t consider it, why should you?”

“It’s not because she’s older.” The Lord of Richemulot had said Dmitri was not to be told. And he’d agreed. But that was before … “She’s dangerous.”

“So?” Dmitri tossed his head. “I can handle her.”

Aurek gave a sudden, humorless bark of laughter. If Dmitri were told, he would lose Pont-a-Museau. Lose the hope it offered. “You have no idea …”

“I think I do.”

He would have to be told. This couldn’t continue. Natalia, forgive me. But he snapped his mouth closed when Dmitri continued talking.

“You may be happy worshiping at a shrine to your dead wife,” he scoffed, “but some of us prefer women of flesh and blood.”

The silence that followed was so complete, Dmitri could hear the candle flame hiss as it devoured the twisted nub of wick, could hear the blood pounding through the throbbing vein in Aurek’s temple. He knew he’d gone too far, knew he’d rubbed salt in a wound still open and raw. He didn’t know why he’d said it; the anger at this sudden interference after so many years of indifference had risen up and taken over his mouth. He wanted to take it back, but he had no idea how.

And then it didn’t matter.

His face twisted in pain, Aurek pushed past him, took the stairs two at a time, and disappeared into the darkness above. A moment later, Dmitri heard the door to his study open and close.

“Fine,” he snarled, wishing he could go outside and come in again and do it all over. “Don’t let me apologize. See if I care.”

“Has he found anything?” Louise asked, running her ankle along Dmitri’s calf under the cover of the table. “I mean, he’s out
rummaging through abandoned buildings, all day, every day. He must’ve found something.”

Distracted by the heated contact, it took Dmitri a moment to find his voice. “I don’t think he’s found anything,” he said hoarsely. “He wouldn’t tell me anyway.”

“Why not? Is he afraid you’ll steal his secrets?”

“Secrets?” Dmitri shook his head. “He doesn’t have any secrets.”

Louise moistened her lips. “All men have secrets.”

Tugging at the black cravat spilling out from under the points of his collar, Dmitri had to look away. He swept his gaze over the other patrons of the tiny café and noticed—without really understanding—that they were all carefully directing their attention away from the shadowy corner where he sat with Louise. Her hand closed almost uncomfortably tightly around his wrist as she repeated her belief that all men had secrets.

“Not Aurek.”

“What, no hidden necromancy in the dark of the moon?”

Dmitri laughed, careful to make sure his companion knew he wasn’t laughing at her. For such a beautiful woman, she was very insecure—and quick to anger because of it. Yves had told him that he’d been lucky to have lost only a small bit of skin where it wouldn’t show. “All Aurek’s interested in is cramming more useless bits of information into his head. He’s a scholar. He’s always got ink on his fingers from copying and annotating, and he never actually does anything but make notes.”

“Are you sure?”

“Positive.” But under the glittering compulsion of her eyes, he told her everything he knew about Aurek’s life. He discovered he didn’t know much. In Borca, Aurek had lived in the country, while Dmitri had spent most of his time at the family’s townhouse.
Now, Dmitri spent most of his days asleep and his nights partying with either his friends or Louise. He often saw a light beneath the study door, but he seldom saw his brother.

“I wonder …” Louise flicked her nails against the empty oyster shells piled on a tray between them. “… how his wife died.”

Dmitri shrugged. “A thief got into Aurek’s study, maybe a wizard, I don’t know. No one ever tells me anything,” he added, his tone sulky, remembering how he’d paced up and down the garden paths for what seemed like hours, waiting for Natalia to return with his brother. Finally, he’d gotten fed up, certain Aurek was refusing to leave his precious studies, and had ridden back to town. He found out what had happened the next day, when Edik sent a message to his sisters. “Natalia walked in on the fight, and her body was destroyed. Aurek won’t talk about it.”