Page 27 of Once a Villain
“What is it?” Concern and questions filled Aaron’s face. And that was wrong too—she could see it in Geoffrey’s deepening frown. Aaron needed to be colder toward her.
“You—You mentioned you were hungry, my lord,” Joan said, willing him to understand. “That you wanted something from the kitchens....”
“Shall I have the chef put together a light supper?” Geoffrey asked Aaron hesitantly. “I can have someone take it up to you....”
Aaron’s mouth opened as he realized his own error. Joan saw the wheels in his head turn as he tried to figure out where his roomactuallywas in this timeline. “Yes,” he said slowly. “Have some supper prepared. And—” A solution lit his face. “And you can take my bags up for me.”
Bags?Joan thought. Geoffrey asked the question aloud at the same moment: “What bags, my lord?”
Without blinking, Aaron drew a slender wallet from an inner pocket. He handed it to Geoffrey, who accepted it with slightly widened eyes. “Please.” Aaron gestured for him to lead the way.
Cradling the wallet carefully, Geoffrey took them up an imperial staircase, the treads padded with an elaborate embroideredcarpet with a recurring mermaid motif. He turned left and guided them through a corridor with arched windows that looked out onto dark gardens. Each arch was deeply recessed into a private alcove, with a bookshelf and cushioned seat. Joan was surprised to see not the usual leather-bound books of stately homes but well-worn paperbacks with creased spines. Someone had actually read these books—and more than once. She was tempted to look closer, to examine the titles, but Geoffrey was already opening the door at the end of the passage, into the west wing of the house.
Joan suppressed a gasp. They’d entered another foyer, draped in silk-embroidered hangings, elaborate scenes of mermaids thrusting tridents at other fanciful sea creatures: fish with human faces, skeletal serpents, krakens. Joan turned a slow circle. The images, followed around the walls, seemed to illustrate a war.
There were huge wooden doors to the north and south. Was this whole wing of the house considered Aaron’s private space?
Nick’s eyebrows had been rising higher and higher as they’d walked, and he seemed almost amused as Geoffrey led them farther in, through a beautiful library with a domed ceiling, then an office with a leather-covered desk, then a private dining room with sparkling crystal in glass cabinets. Joan guessed there had to be a hundred rooms or more across the four floors of this building. Aaron’s wing of the house alone was a palace.
Geoffrey opened yet another door, and Joan could only stare as she took in the bedchamber. It was enormous, a house in itself. Everything was oversize—from the windows to the lit hearth to the cloudlike bed, which stood in the middle of the room under a shimmering blue-and-gold canopy, drawn back with tasseled cords.
More doors led to a palatial en suite with a claw-footed bath and a dressing room with framed mirrors and wardrobes. Andthatmore than anything convinced Joan that this didbelong to a version of Aaron—a whole room just for his clothes.
Geoffrey presented Aaron’s wallet back to him with a small flourish. Aaron pocketed it again, and turned, somewhat absently, to the view. Huge arched windows showed gently rolling hills and clusters of trees. In the distance, moonlight glinted off the Thames. It was a serene outlook; so still that it could have been a painting.
“I left some bags on the bus,” Aaron said, his back to Geoffrey.
“I’ll have them fetched,” Geoffrey said.
Aaron’s gaze on the view was unfocused, as if he were looking out at something far into the distance that no one else could see. “Where is my father?” he said softly, almost to himself.
Whathadhappened to Edmund in this timeline? Joan had been wondering that too. Edmund wouldn’t have relinquished power voluntarily.
Geoffrey seemed puzzled—as he had when Aaron had turned the wrong way, toward the servants’ wing. “Your orders were clear, my lord. He hasn’t been allowed within a century of this time—not since you exiled him.”
Aaron’s expression didn’t change. “Of course.”
“Shall I have some supper sent to your rooms?”
“In half an hour. I’d like some privacy now.”
“Yes, my lord.” Geoffrey glanced from Joan to Nick. “Excuse me.” He stepped out of Aaron’s bedchamber, closing the door behind him.
Nine
“Only half an hour?” Nick said mildly.
Aaron turned from the windows. Joan was relieved to see some animation in his face—even if it was just irritation. He’d seemed lost in his own head as he’d looked out onto that view. He folded his arms now. “Something you want to say?”
“Yeah.” Nick leaned back against the door and pushed his hands into his pockets. His shirt was still damp from the rain, the white cotton clinging to his skin. “Why is your bedroom the size of a racing track?”
Aaron seemed taken aback for a moment. “Well, that’s—” He glanced around, apparently needing to double check. “That’s entirely hyperbolic.”
“The cost of heating this space—” Nick’s Yorkshire accent was coming out. “I mean, I wouldn’t know... being so low-class.”
“I’m sorry—did yousleepthrough class?” Maybe it was the contrast with Nick, but Aaron sounded posher than usual. “This isn’t actuallymyroom! I’ve never even been into this wing of the house. I—” He stopped abruptly.
Nick’s mouth had been open to say something more, but now he closed it. He tilted his head, a considering look blooming over his face. “Why wouldn’t you have been in here? You would have had the run of this house, no?”
