Page 69 of Fragile Oath

As soon as Avani saw my predicament, she cleared her throat of the laugh I was certain was lodged there. I glared at her.

“Not all is lost, cousin,” she whispered, releasing my arm to join the Jamesons. “You wanted to know what she knows.”

That was true enough. Whether Fiona knew about the Viper, or hell,wasthe Viper, she had access to enough pillow talk to bring a kingdom to its knees. Either way, with just under three weeks left to find evidence, I didn’t have the luxury of ignoring her.

So, I seated Galina next to Laird Gray, taking the spot between her and the woman who had spent more than her share of nights in my bed.

She practically purred as I sat down next to her. When I reached for my wine glass, she subtly reached for something else. I swallowed hard, taking a sip before setting the glass back down on the table and removing her hand from my thigh.

Galina was at least distracted by conversation with the younger Laird Gray, who was seated next to his father.

Attractive and witty, she had called him once. Was she finding him so tonight?

“You know that I’m engaged,” I said quietly to Fiona, keeping my hand in my lap, lest she be bold enough to try again.

Fiona grinned, as if the rejection had never happened. She tasted her wine, the deep red matching the shade of her painted lips.

“Are you?” she whispered behind the rim, her kohl-lined eyes dancing between me and my fiancée in question. “That’s not how I heard it.”

“Your sources are wrong,” I said, continuing the conversation under my breath while the servants brought out the first course.

It was a small cup of potato soup that looked a lot like the crab bisque Galina pretended not to hate so much. My eyes sought her out, but she was barely looking at it, intent on her conversation with the Grays.

“My sources are never wrong,” Fiona’s coy tone pulled my focus back to her, and dread pooled in my stomach.

Of course they weren’t, though it wasn’t exactly privileged information at this point. The entire Assembly had insinuated that Galina and I had ended things, the contents of the letter having somehow become semi-public knowledge. So, she was likely fishing.

Surely.

My thoughts drifted back to every conversation my cousins and I had on the road, about motives and secrets and the identity of the Viper. I suddenly wondered what other information Fiona had access to.

Laird Rollings interrupted our conversation momentarily, asking some benign questions about the Lithlinglau stables and the horses we bred.

Fiona appeared wildly amused at the interruption, turning her attention to the MacBays while I placated Rollings. Gracie was standing in as the Lady of Gadleigh, as she often did when her mother was too ill to leave the estate. Camdyn seemed only moderately uncomfortable by whatever Fiona was saying, so she had probably made some vaguely inappropriate insinuation.

Unless it was something else entirely, like the fact that he was leading a murder investigation against me while eating dinner at my table.

Under the pretense of returning to my soup, I continued my conversation with Fiona, ignoring MacBay entirely.

“Then feel free to find out who actually killed my dear cousin,” I said lightly. “Unless, of course, you already know.”

“And rob you of all the fun you’re having?” Fiona asked, tucking a strand of midnight hair behind her ear. “I wouldn’t dream of it.”

Whatever the vixen read in my expression caused her to let out a small, seductive laugh. The sound drew the attention of a few of the nearby lairds. She had a way of doing that, capturing the attention of the room, whether or not it was her intention.

Unfortunately, it also drew their attention to me. A few narrowed gazes looked between us, some of them with obvious disdain, and some more inscrutable. And of stars-damned course, MacBay was one of those.

He watched us carefully, hiding his expression behind his glass of wine, and I bit back a curse. Did he think I was colluding with her? Or was it something more?

Was he judging whatever he thought he saw between us against everything Galina had said in the Assembly room?

Either way, I worked hard to distance myself from Fiona’s attention for the rest of the evening, focusing instead on the other conversations surrounding us. Everyone from the Assembly was accounted for, along with their families. The odds were high that the Viper was someone in this room.

And they only needed to slip up once.

ChapterThirty-One

GALINA

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