The two scratches on the senator’s face might give them away, as could her jaw and cheek, which had already begun to swell, but there was nothing she could do about it.
“What happens now?”
“I escort you out the same way you came in.” Given the hour, her family probably still lurked in their rooms, dressing for dinner. The staff likely busied themselves with last-minute dinner preparations. If she was lucky, she might pass through the entire house and not be seen by anyone.
Lila pulled the gun into her sleeve, hiding it from view. “If you make any movements toward anyone in this house, I will shoot you. If you try to run, I will shoot you. Do you understand?”
“Don’t worry. I won’t run. I haven’t done anything wrong, not when the prime minister and his lackeys have been up to the same things.”
Lila ignored his words, gesturing for him to open the door. She slid into the hallway a few steps behind him, keeping her steps light and her shoulders loose, as though they were doing nothing so interesting as going down to dinner.
Alex met them at the bottom of the staircase. “Are you attending dinner with the family after all?” she asked, brow furrowed in confusion at the twin scratches above La Roux’s eyes, and Lila’s swelling lip.
“No. We’re going on a stroll,” the senator answered bitterly. Since Lila knew her voice would give her away, she smiled benignly and inclined her head.
Alex took the hint and bustled away.
The pair met no one else on their way to the door but a young footman who was so bent on pleasing the highborn couple with his speed and the shine of his shoes that he did not notice the air that had turned tense.
Lila breathed easier when they passed through the front door of the great house, even though La Roux stiffened when it closed behind them. Sunset had arrived, and the horizon dimmed.
Lila shoved the muzzle of her gun into La Roux’s back, reminding him of her instructions.
La Roux did not budge. Contrary to his earlier promise, he cast about wildly, his legs bent slightly as though he might bolt.
A group clad in black caught his attention. Four sentries marched toward the couple from thirty meters away, their hands on their Colts.
It was only then that La Roux finally complied, once he recognized Chief Shaw and two of his officers, all three dressed in Randolph colors for the evening.
Shaw snapped a pair of handcuffs on the senator’s wrists, pinning his hands behind him. The two officers flanked the prisoner, ensuring he would not run away.
Shaw winced, spying Lila’s chin. “I’m sorry, madam. By the time I realized there was a struggle upstairs, you already had it well in hand.” Out of the four patrolmen, he was the only one with an earpiece, the only one who had clearance to hear what had been said upstairs.
“It’s fine.”
Shaw flinched at the hoarseness in her voice. “Sounds worse out here than it did over the mic. What did he do to you?” he asked, noting the scratches on the senator’s brow.
La Roux stared at the wet grass under his feet and did not answer.
Sutton reached out timidly and unwound the scarf around Lila’s neck. The bruises had already begun to form, and even in the dim light, the others could see the handprints plainly, redder than the roses lining the trail through the compound.
Sutton’s cheeks flushed. “I don’t know what any of this is about, but I’ve never wanted to hurt anyone so much in all my life.”
“Let the man’s brothers decide his fate, commander. Don’t let them decide yours,” Shaw cautioned.
“I wasn’t talking about Senator La Roux. Why on earth is she helping you arrest this man? You left him alone with her. She’s an heir, damn it!”
Lila felt bad for Sutton. She was the only one on the estate who even knew the government militia was on the premises, having driven them through the front gates herself, but she had no idea why Lila had allowed it. “She could have been—”
“I was my own fault. I should have kept my gun close. I just didn’t think.”
“He’ll get his punishment soon enough,” Shaw said. “I assure you. He’ll hang next to Celeste and Patrick Wilson.”
Lila saw the future pass over La Roux’s face, the understanding that an executioner would soon put a noose around his neck. He would not know who wore the hood, tied the knot, and pulled the lever to drop the trapdoor under his boots. All that he would know was that it would be a Masson who did the deed, someone sent by his matron to salvage the family’s honor.
His own brothers would be the ones to condemn him to his fate, the men of the Saxony Senate that he had wanted to join so intensely. After he saw Sutton’s reaction, after he saw Shaw’s gaze fall on Lila’s neck, he had no more illusions about how they would vote.
“A moment with the heir, please,” he said.