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Gideon smiled and patted Nooriya’s cheek. “Well, no worries, child. It seems we found each other in the end. Let’s take our notes and be on our way. His lordship’s gathering tomorrow is quite involved and I don’t want to miss out on getting the best finishing touches.”
It was only when she and Gideon were in the carriage toward town did Nooriya realize she left Lord Aurleon’s presence without so much as a curtsy.
Good lord, she would be lucky to keep her job for two weeks if she kept this up. She pushed that encounter from her mind and resolutely helped Gideon carry parcels and sundries from store to store in town.
“Please do not tellme you are marrying a maid?”
Kurzon placidly swirled his whiskey in his glass as he eyed his father bursting into his study. Ludo Sarthak, Earl of Valentano and the current head of House Sarthak, was in a gloriously foul mood indeed. Excellent. Ludo must have received his notice.
“Then I won’t tell you,” Kurzon said, raising his glass to his father in mock toast. “Whiskey?”
Ludo’s maroon eyes narrowed on him. “You cannot pluck women from the street and make them your wife. And yes, make it a double.”
Kurzon poured out a whiskey double and handed it to his father as he paced."Says who?"
“Says me! You know, your father!”
Kurzon snorted. “Please. First, I did not pluck her from the streets, though I wanted to. I scented her, tracked her down, and seeing that she was a maid, urged an acquaintance of mine to encourage her to interview here at Valentano Keep.”
“We are not even hiring,” Ludo exclaimed before downing his whiskey. He waggled the now empty glass to Kurzon, who splashed some more of the amber liquid into it. “We don’t even need maids.”
At his father’s exasperated look, Kurzon laughed. “Exactly. You didn’t need a maid, so you didn’t really hire her into your staff. However, I needed a reason for her to stay, as she had every intention of buying a passage to the Americas. Thank the Great Serpent, my friend and his wife intervened at the port and sent her my way.”
That Nooriya’s scent called to him in the middle of a bustling port packed to the brim with monsters and men alike was a miracle. He had never played into his father’s notions of soul mates before, and would rather pluck out his scales before listening to tales of romantic escapades between his parents. Once he had scented Nooriya, though, he had known that he needed to find her.
As if his heart would burst from his chest if he didn’t.
Ludo sighed and settled onto the divan by the fireplace, his golden coils piled beneath him. “I hear the beginning of a scheme, and so will let you speak.” He gestured for Kurzon to sit in the chaise lounge opposite.
“It’s a simple plan, really. Valentano Keep will host a bridal hunt. Nooriya runs in it. I claim her, and declare her my mate. Then, we shall go to Aurleon Hall, and be the dutiful Viscount and Viscountess, and by this time next year, you might have a grandchild to hold in your arms.”
At the hint of family, Ludo’s eyes widened. At the possibility of a legacy as a grandchild, Kurzon knew he had won.
Ludo straightened in his seat, casually tapping his glass in thought. “Yes. That would work. No one at Aurleon would know or care about the girl’s pedigree. All they would know is that she is your mate. Yes, this could work indeed.” He brought the glass to his lips, realized it was empty, and slithered over to the bar to fill it once more.
Kurzon knew his father would be an easy sell once family talk came around. If his blessed mother had been alive, he knew for a damn fact she would have had no objections to the mating. She had more naga sensibilities, and valued a person’s heart over one’s title or pedigree.
“When will you wish to host this hunt?”
This would be the hard sell. “Tomorrow night.”
“Tomorrow night?! Boy, are you mad? Can you imagine the preparations? The food alone—”
“And that is why I’d been preparing for it these last two weeks. The bridal hunt at Casselon seemed to be a rousing success last month, and I wish to emulate my cousin’s fortune.”
“You were out of the country last month. How could you have possibly known that?”
“The servants talk, father. Besides, the anonymous Lady Grey of the High Tea Society spoke of a contingent of nagas crossing the country to help a certain viscount hunt his lady wife. It didn’t take a master code breaker to decipher those clues.”
Ludo harrumphed as he resumed his prior perch on the divan. “You best be sure that the girl even wants to be hunted, let alone wants you to claim her.”
With a triumphant smile, Kurzon nodded at his father. Only he would know that his darling intended had been so bothered by his attentions that she had to relieve herself immediately after being in his presence. Her fertile scent had been so potent that he needed to do the same.
Oh, what a mess he made of his sheets. Endless jets of cum shot out of his cocks. He couldn’t wait to saturate every bit of Nooriya’s body with it. “That is the only thing I am sure about in this world.”
The townspeopleof Valentano had been treated to a holiday of sorts, courtesy of the Lord Aurleon. Many hailed him and greeted him home from many tours abroad.
Nooriya felt a twinge of pride that her new employer was so honorable, yet she also realized that the gulf between them was an ever-widening chasm.
