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He grimaced, and for a moment, she glimpsed what might have been regret in his features. “I don’t want to doubt you, Leila. But I have trusted you too easily in the past. I know I can’t trust myself with you. So I would rather distrust everything tenfold than fall into another one of your traps.”

“There were no traps!” Leila closed her eyes in exasperation, forcing herself to calm down. Her voice dropped to barely above a whisper. “I can’t keep arguing the same thing over and over again. I was tasked with killing you, but I couldn’t. I tried three times and failed—not because you were so good at evading me, but because of my feelings for you.”

There, I’ve said it. Not that it needed to be said; she thought it was rather obvious.

Gideon stared at her, an internal struggle playing out in his expression. Finally, his cool, calm demeanor prevailed.

“You spent over a decade with the man. Perhaps you have misplaced loyalty to him?”

“Loyalty? The only reason I did his bidding was to survive. Yes, I chose to stay with him at times, but what other choice did I truly have?” Her voice trembled with emotion. “I am different now. Stronger. I can keep Emir safe. Even if you doubt every word I say, you can believe that.”

Gideon ran a hand through his silver hair and then scrubbed his face. He winced as his fingers brushed against his bruise and let out a deep sigh. It was evident he wanted this to be over, just as much as she did. They were both on the same side. Finally, Gideon’s shoulders sagged slightly. “Very well. If we can’t identify the Cardinal, perhaps we can find him in other ways.” His tone softened, becoming more businesslike than accusatory. “Where do you think he keeps your brother? Is there a particular place he would hold him?”

Leila struggled to recall every detail of her captivity. “The apartments they rented—or I assume they rented, perhaps they belonged to the Cardinal—were lavish and well-guarded.” She paused, deep in thought, trying to remember any details that could be helpful but came up short. “I’m sorry I can’t be more specific. I haven’t been to the place where they keep him in London. We were separated upon arrival and taken to our respective locations in separate carriages. I assume the place would be similar to where I was kept.”

Gideon began pacing again, his movements more controlled now—thoughtful rather than agitated. “The place where you were kept had no identifying marks. It was definitely a rented residence. I checked the ownership, and there were no names associated with it, just a shipping business—perhaps one of the Brotherhood’s. There were no portraits on the walls—”

“Portraits!” Leila exclaimed, her heart racing with sudden excitement.

Gideon spun around, eyebrows raised at her outburst. “Have you seen portraits in one of the other residences?”

“No, but perhaps you have some or know where to find them.”

Gideon’s brow furrowed in confusion. “I’m afraid I don’t understand.”

“The Cardinal—his speech is very refined, he is wealthy, and he carries himself with poise and dignity. He must be a lord. Is there a gallery where I can see the portraits of all the lords? Perhaps there are miniatures?”

Gideon shook his head. “Not unless you want to break into every peer’s house and look through their personal galleries.”

Leila’s excitement dimmed, but then another thought struck her. “Oh! Elma!”

“What does that mean?” Gideon asked, clearly bewildered by her sudden animation.

“This woman at a ball said her husband was an artist. He created so many portraits that she wanted to auction them off; perhaps he has painted the Cardinal before.” The words tumbled out in a rush.

Gideon shook his head slowly. “I don’t know a woman by that name.”

Leila waved a dismissive hand. “No, I gave her that name because I have trouble remembering all the English names, and hers was particularly difficult to recall.” She gestured with her hands, trying to conjure the woman’s image. “She is very beautiful, with dark hair, dark eyes, and a full-figured silhouette. She is a friend of Caroline’s.”

Understanding dawned on Gideon’s face. “Lady Birch,” he exclaimed, snapping his fingers. “I mean, Lady Roth now, but she used to be Birch. At one point, I was about to marry her.”

Something cold and sharp twisted in Leila’s chest. “You were?” The sharpness in her voice surprised even her.

A slow smile spread across Gideon’s face—the first genuine smile she’d seen from him all morning. “Are you feeling jealous?”

Heat flooded Leila’s cheeks. “No, I am not jealous.” Liar. The truth burned within her. Lady Birch—Roth—whatever her name was, was an incredibly beautiful woman, with the kind of full figure that Renaissance painters often depicted, unlike Leila, who was petite and had far fewer curves. “But if you wanted to marry her, surely you desired her in some way.”

“In what way?” There was definite teasing in his voice now, and she caught the ghost of a smile playing at the corners of his mouth.

In a physical way. The words stuck in her throat. She couldn’t say them aloud, so she tried a roundabout approach. “She has very delicate features.” Certainly not like my own. “And full…” Breasts. She absolutely would not say that out loud, but she couldn’t help the stab of envy at the other woman’s curves. Lady Roth was very—what was the word?—feminine. Although Leila had tried many times to conceal her femininity to avoid unwanted attention from men, for this particular man, she wanted to be the most appealing. “Lips,” she finished lamely.

Gideon cocked his head curiously. “I wasn’t looking at her… lips the same way you have, perhaps. I don’t remember their shape.” He paused, and his voice grew more serious. “To be completely fair, she did remind me a little of Sarah. But no, there was no desire involved. It was an arranged affair. Her guardian owed me a lot of money and was willing to sell her to me…”

Leila’s eyes widened at his last words. Then shame flooded her face. She had been irrationally jealous, yet it seemed that kind, beautiful woman faced a fate similar to her own.

“At the time, I still had some vague notions of my duty to the title, to beget heirs, and I was willing to take a wife who had a despicable guardian willing to sell her to the highest bidder,” Gideon continued. “I thought she’d be safer with me. But that was before revenge consumed me whole.” He shook his head. “Lucky for me, and especially for her, she fell in love with another man and married him.”

“Oh.” Both jealousy and pity quickly vanished from Leila’s mind.