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“Rochefort’s men haven’t done anything to the maids, have they?” I inquired outside a door where I heard three hearts fluttering away on the other side.

My nephew pressed his lips together. “I think it’s best if you question the ladies yourself, Your Grace.”

Pushing the door open, I wondered what I was going to find waiting on the other side. A crying maid, or a girl with a blackened eye. But instead… I found a woman stepping out of a bathing tub, water trailing over the generous curves of her body. Another woman was lying on a couch in a dark blue silk dressing gown that had been left open. And a third stood beside a table, pouring wine into four glasses.

The woman with the wine smiled. “There you are, Your Grace.”

I immediately closed the door and leveled a glare at Severin. “Explain yourself,” I said, speaking in Sanguisi, a language the guards couldn’t understand.

His expression remained infuriatingly calm. “By dawn, three separate households will know that Madame Sabine and her associates spent the evening in your private salon.”

“I can’t believe you summoned consorts in my name!”

“I arranged for the court to see something other than what Rochefort wants it to see. A Duke making use of the proper channels to take care of his needs.”

I stepped closer to him. “Three consorts is a spectacle.”

Severin released a slow breath. “Rochefort’s courtiers already believe a certain someone is your mistress. Our servants are beginning to reach the same conclusion.”

“That is absurd. She is⁠—”

“An unmarried Dark Witch installed in your household, who has more rumors circling her than crows around a carcass.”

I looked toward the guards, then argued, “She’s helping me with the investigation. The Devouring tried to recruit her.”

“A fact that makes all of this even more suspicious!” he said, losing his temper before reverting to his usual stiffness. “Rochefort wants to hold this over your head, Uncle. He wants you to have a paramour to make his argument more legitimate. I mean, what if he contrived this whole arrangement? Placing her right where she needed to be to catch your attention.”

“That is a far-fetched theory,” I argued. “Besides, Rochefort wasn’t in Valemer on Maris’s Day.”

“A fortnight ago, the thought of The Devouring’s return was far-fetched, and now we’re searching Old Town for its leader.” Severin glanced at the salon door. “Spending the night with a palace consort would at least redirect the gossip and explain your recent change in behavior. Consider this a favor to Miss Ravenwood if you must.”

“You said a consort. There are three in there.”

"Choose whichever one suits you. And if you’d like a recommendation because your conscience is intervening, I would suggest Madame Sabine. She is a respected senior consort.”After a moment of charged silence, Severin added, “I am not trying to humiliate you. I am attempting to contain a political threat before Rochefort has the upper hand.”

I paced back and forth. Arms crossed. “What if Adrien found out about this? He wouldn’t understand. He would just see his father making an unconscionable decision.”

Severin shook his head.

“These women know why they are here. There is no confusion between employment and desire. If you want a consort, choose one. If you do not, send them away. But you cannot continue staring at Miss Ravenwood the way you do. That is what is unconscionable. Not this.”

Heat climbed the back of my neck. “I do not stare at her.”

My nephew stepped back a pace. “Yes. You do.” He glanced down the hallway. “I will keep Adrien for the evening. No one will disturb you.”

He turned and strode down the corridor. I remained outside the salon, listening to his footsteps fade. Through the door, one of the consorts giggled.

Cora’s voice rang in my ears. “Pick a pretty girl to fuck and move on. You have a castle full of courtiers and consorts, for Damien’s sake.”

I ran a hand through my hair. Severin’s argument was ruthless. However, as much as I liked to pretend I didn’t have a reputation to maintain, I did. But beneath the political problem waited a more private question. One I had been avoiding since running my hand down Cora’s neck in the stillroom.

Perhaps my lust was nothing more than deprivation.

If that was all my feelings for Cora were, I needed to know before I endangered us both.

I opened the door and entered, and this time, I made myself look at the women. If I had come to determine whether my desire was indiscriminate, refusing to see them would solve nothing.

“Madame Sabine?” I asked.