The Masked City

Lord Guantes nodded. ‘I am wary of your capabilities, Miss Winters. I hope that you will excuse the conduct of my servants, but frankly, after you managed to reach this world and avoid my men for hours, I would rather not take any risks.’

Irene jerked a nod, and felt a momentary pang of sympathy for Sterrington on being described as just ‘a servant’ and being blamed for not taking her prisoner sooner. She could feel Lady Guantes’ gun pressing reassuringly against her leg through her skirts, though she knew that she didn’t have the motor control to use it yet. Careless of Sterrington - I’d have searched me, if I’d been the one taking prisoners.

‘My wife sends her compliments, by the way,’ Lord Guantes said. He was looking at Irene instead of the action on the stage. ‘She was impressed by your determination. She had been assuming you were the junior partner in your relationship with the dragon.’

Which means he probably knows I’ve got her gun. ‘And I was impressed by her ability to track me,’ Irene said politely. Her speech was less slurred now, which was a relief: she could manage the Language, if she had to. ‘Is there any particular reason why she isn’t with us tonight?’

‘She is keeping Lord Silver under house arrest,’ Lord Guantes said. ‘And waiting to see if you’d come looking for him. Now please, Miss Winters, do describe your relationship with Silver.’ There was that undertone of command to his voice again, resonating unnaturally in her body - like a physical shove, prompting her to speak.

‘I intended to blackmail him,’ Irene said boldly. It was a bluff and she knew it, and he knew it, but the surge of his personality demanded some sort of answer. If Silver’s powers lay in seduction and glamour, then Lord Guantes’ clearly lay in control and forced obedience.

‘Blackmail? Lord Silver?’ Lord Guantes blinked. ‘You astonish me.’

The singing onstage cut off as someone made a dramatic entrance, but all Irene’s attention was on the Fae in front of her. ‘It astonishes you that I could be an expert blackmailer?’

‘Not at all. It astonishes me that Lord Silver could have done anything for which he might be blackmailed. I don’t suppose you’d care to share it with me?’

‘Absolutely not. It’s far too useful.’

‘Hmm.’ Lord Guantes turned his attention away from Irene, looking back at the stage. ‘I would say “a likely story”, but clearly you are going to stick to it. Very well. Would you like to ask me any questions?’

‘Well, yes,’ Irene admitted. ‘But I’m surprised that you’d be willing to answer them.’ If all he wanted was to dispose of her, then why sit and chat, and why allow her to regain her voice? It was hardly a sensible way to treat a dangerous enemy.

He smiled. ‘Miss Winters, I could say that I am in such a position of overwhelming superiority that giving you answers is nothing to me. But I feel like starting our association with honesty.’ He glanced at her for a moment, and Irene felt her inferiority washing over her like a wave, taking in her shabby dress, her borrowed tokens, her weakness. She knew it was his power bearing down on her, and that helped her to push it away, but even so it left her feeling small and grubby. ‘I intend to recruit you - a tame Librarian would be quite a coup - and you will be far more useful as an informed operative.’

She was painfully conscious of the minutes until midnight ticking away, but she’d take any opportunity to gather information. ‘As I understood it from Lady Guantes, you intend to start a war.’

Lord Guantes waved a hand casually. ‘Either we start a war, in which case we benefit. Or the dragon’s family sacrifices him, and then I am owed a favour by whoever purchases him, in which case we benefit again. I have nothing to lose.’

‘I’m surprised you’re so certain of victory,’ Irene said.

‘Of course.’ Lord Guantes’ tone practically patted her on the head. The word patronizing could have been invented to describe its nuances. ‘However, Miss Winters, I have access to substantially more information than you do.’

‘More than the Library?’ Irene tried.

‘More than a very junior member of the Library.’

She had to admit that he might have a point there. ‘So why did you target Kai in particular?’

‘Because my information showed he was of sufficient rank to serve as a cause for war, and he was in a vulnerable location. I wouldn’t have tried to kidnap him from his own father’s sphere. Dear me, no. Should he survive this, and one day be returned to his father’s care, I don’t think he will be allowed to wander so freely again.’ He reached over to a small table and picked up a glass of brandy, taking a sip from it in a way that closed the question.

On the stage Scarpia was confronting Tosca. But it was only the first act - onstage and in the box. And she had to make Lord Guantes think she was weakening. ‘Why do you dislike Lord Silver?’ she asked.

He raised an eyebrow. ‘I hadn’t thought you liked him.’

‘I don’t. I’m quite happy to blackmail him. But I was wondering what your reasons were.’

He chuckled, deep in his throat. Again there was that note of patronization to it, as though she’d said something charming in its innocence. ‘My dear Miss Winters, I was born to rank, myself.’ Again that airy gesture of his gloved hand. ‘And, as befits my status, I have a purpose, Miss Winters. A duty. An obligation …’