Perhaps he’d kill Magda—his current amore. Not the whore, whores weren’t worth the killing. But Magda, the heiress with the hint of royal blood. Magda, the beautiful and serene.
He could stage a murder/mutilation, add touches of the occult and sexual perversion. Such a scandal!
It might perk him right up.
He scowled at the knock on his bedroom door, turned when it opened.
“I’m sorry, Mr. Malmon.”
“You’ll be sorrier.” His voice, cold and British, carried a whip of temper. “I expressly told you not to disturb me.”
“Yes, sir. There’s a woman here to see you.”
He stepped forward. “What does ‘not to disturb’ mean to you, Nigel?”
“She’s waiting in the drawing room.”
Nigel, stoic and discreet, offered a card. Incensed, Malmon started to strike it away, but the look in his butler’s eyes stopped him.
Blank. Next to dead. He merely stood, staring, the card held out.
Malmon snatched the card, the glossy black rectangle with the bold red lettering of a single name.
Nerezza
“What does she want?”
“To speak with you, sir.”
“She got past the gate, past Lucien, past you?”
“Yes, sir. Shall I serve refreshments?”
“No, you bloody well won’t serve refreshments. Go hang yourself, Nigel.”
And pushing past the butler, Malmon started down to the parlor.
He felt annoyed, certainly. But he was also curious. He hadn’t been curious for days.
He checked the derringer up his right sleeve. He never went anywhere, not even inside his own homes, unarmed. And since Lucien appeared to be as useless as Nigel, walked into the parlor.
She turned. She smiled.
She was a vision. He couldn’t have said her beautiful, but beauty blinded him. Dark hair swept in coils over her shoulders, made all the more striking by a streak of white bolting through the black.
And black were her eyes, black and wide and mesmerizing against pale white skin. Lips red as blood curved knowingly.
She wore black as well, a dress that molded her tall, stately form.
“Monsieur Malmon.” She walked toward him, glided without a sound—and her voice, faintly exotic, caused his heart to trip. “Je m’appelle Nerezza.”
“Mademoiselle.” He took the offered hand, touched his lips to her knuckles, and felt a thrill like no other.
“Do we speak English? We are in England, after all.”
“As you wish. Please, sit, mademoiselle.”
“Nerezza, please.” With a slither of skirts, she sat. “We will be good friends, you and I.”