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For the past year they’d been working on getting Bristol Park, the Duke of Sundridge’s home in London, ready for Alfie’s return. Since Cora’s humiliating scandal, they’d stayed away from the city, but now at almost twenty-five, Alfie wished to assume his place in the House of Lords. Announcing the completion of the South American Railway was supposed to be Cora’s final coup before their return.
It would do her well to remember that all of those plans could be undone if she didn’t go along with Manuela Caceres Galvan’s ludicrous proposition.
Nothing had gone as planned in that meeting. She shouldn’t have kissed her. It would’ve been hard enough to keep her distance, but now that she’d properly savored that mouth, now that she knew there was a lot more to Manuela Galvan than flirtatious banter, it would be a test of endurance to keep from ruining everything. She should be in her office devising some other way to get that land away from her; instead, here she was fingering the glove she’d left behind and sulking.
“Has another foe been bested?” Cassandra asked, her pretty face split in a mischievous grin as she breezed into the room.
“She just arrived and, as of yet, has only groaned and guzzled whisky, which tells me perhaps things didn’t go as planned,” Alfie announced with irritating gusto, which of course delighted Cassie. Frederica, who had come in behind her beloved, sent Cora a commiserating look.
Cassie was as sunny and gregarious as Frederica was broody and serious. Upon meeting them, one would never think that two people who were so different could be so suited for each other, but they were a perfect match. Cassandra’s emotional and vivacious nature was tempered by Frede’s more analytical, sedate personality. Cora had introduced them years ago when she began her patronage of Cassandra. Frede, who came from a wealthy Peruvian-Austrian family, at that time had been embroiled in a legal battle with her medical school in Germany, demanding they allow her to attend her classes in trousers. Cora had invited the two of them to her country house in Champagne, and from the moment they’d set eyes on each other they’d been bonded. Cassie had gone back to Vienna with Frede a couple of months later and stayed there with her until she’d finished her medical studies. They’d been in Paris for a few years now, stronger than ever.
“Corazón Aymara, I am waiting,” Cassie demanded, using her full name to emphasize her dwindling patience.
Cora had to be careful with what she said here. Cassie was an unrepentant romantic and for years now had been on a mission to couple Cora off. If she even sensed Cora was now up to her neck in extremely confusing and thoroughly lewd feelings toward Miss Caceres Galvan, she would get ideas. She opted for going on the offensive.
“That’s why you came here today, to hear the gossip?” The chastisement had absolutely no effect on Cassie, who shot her a shameless grin as she sat on Frede’s lap.
“Absolutely. You know I live to hear about your business exploits.” Frede gave Cassie a baleful look even as she tightened an arm around her lover’s waist and planted a kiss on her cheek. Cassie immediately melted into the caress, and soon they were canoodling, all interest in Cora’s troubles forgotten.
“Did I miss anything?” asked Tia Osiris when she sauntered into the room, followed by Martirio, her black cat.
“So far we’ve only gotten a few sighs in between gulps of whisky,” Alfie reported, to which Tia Osiris responded with a raised eyebrow.
“Is there anyone else in this household that would like to come and hear about my lunch? Perhaps Cook or Maggie? The porter?” Cora rebuked.
“No seas malcriada, Corazón,” Tia Osiris chided as she took a seat next to Alfie. “I assume things didn’t go well. You are not one to hold back when there is something to gloat about.”
She wasn’t humble, that was true. But why would she be? She worked hard for all her victories, and no one ever criticized men for boasting abouttheirwins.
“Things didn’t go exactly as planned, no,” she finally said, as her captive audience looked on. “Last night I found a woman in my rooms at Le Bureau. Specifically, I found a woman in my rooms at Le Bureau atop the sideboard, trying to get a better look at your fresco, Cassie.”
Cassandra’s eyes widened comically while the other three looked between them, puzzled expression on their faces. “She climbed on your furniture? Are you certain...that’s the only climbing she did?”
“Yes,” Cora bit out, mystified all over again by such an unfortunate coincidence.
“What does this have to do with the luncheon?” Frede asked with interest, probably guessing where things were headed.
“It seems that Miss Caceres Galvan, who owns the land I need, and the—” she almost saidnymph, but Cassandra absolutely did not need any more encouragement when it came to her fantasies regarding Cora’s romantic life “—woman who availed herself of my rooms are one and the same.”
As she expected, her so-called loved ones exploded in laughter. “This is why I avoid Le Bureau and Montmartre when I am closing in on an important deal. Too many potential disasters.”
Cassandra rolled her eyes.
“I don’t understand why you’re finding this so distressing, Cora. If the girl has certain interests in common with you, I would say it’s absolutely serendipitous,” Tia Osiris exclaimed.
“It is a nuisance and a complication.” She did not like when her personal life interfered with her business.
“But you were intrigued by her,” Cassandra prodded, jolting Cora out of her thoughts.
“Liebe, she might not want to be doing business with someone she’s interested in in other ways,” Frede told Cassie, who deflated.
“Might I remind all of us we still don’t know what occurred at this luncheon,” Alfie said, attempting to bring everyone back to the conversation. “Mother, other than the awkwardness of the situation, something else clearly went awry with the heiress. Won’t you tell us?” She needed to share this withsomeone.
“The sum of it is that she will agree to selling me the land if, in addition to quadrupling the sum we offered, I personally show her Paris for women like us, as she put it, until she returns to South America.”
The silence following that could only be calledcharged. Tia Osiris, who had been petting her cat, had her hand suspended in midair. Alfie seemed to be struggling mightily to keep from spraying a mouthful of whisky all over himself. Even Frede, who was typically better at maintaining an air of stoic composure, had developed an intense twitch around her mouth. Cassandra, the traitor, was laughing so hard she’d slid off Frede’s lap and was now doubled over on the rug. “Your plan to steamroll the silly little heiress with your title and some champagne backfired mightily, sobrina,” Tia Osiris grossly understated.
“Astronomically.” The most distressing part of all this was that instead of wanting to hatch up a scheme to get out of the situation, Cora’s mind kept serving up possibilities of places to take Manuela. An image of the two of them dancing at her friend Claudine’s brasserie had taken residence in her head, and now it was all she could think of.
