“It didn’t really look that way to me, given how all the gentlemen seemed to respond to you.” Evangeline regretted the petty words as soon as they were out.
But Petra only widened her pretty smile. “It seems you’re not as naive as they say, after all. Although, perhaps you should pay a little more attention to the gentleman you came here with.” Petra’s eyes slowly swept around all the lords and ladies at the table until she eventually paused at the far end where—
Jacks was gone. His seat was vacant; all that remained was an apple core left on his otherwise empty plate. The seat beside his was empty as well—the one where the tall Darling girl had been.
Evangeline felt her stomach drop. She hoped that Jacks hadn’t snuck off with this girl to do what Evangeline suddenly feared he might do.
But he wouldn’t do that. He couldn’t do that. He’d promised not to kill anyone.
Evangeline cast a nervous look about the hall.
Maybe he’d just taken the Darling girl to look at the trebuchet. Or—
“You might want to look toward the portrait door.” Petra slowly pointed a gloved finger toward a gilded frame that was slightly cracked away from the wall, revealing an entry behind it.
Evangeline quickly shoved up from the table.
“Wait—” The girl grabbed Evangeline’s wrist. For a second, she looked surprisingly concerned. “Just let them go, Princess. All you’re going to do is embarrass yourself.”
Other people were, indeed, looking her way, judging her over the rims of their goblets. Her pride warred with her to sit back down. There was a chance she was wrong about what Jacks had gone off to do. But she doubted that. If Jacks had covertly left with another girl, she didn’t imagine he was simply playing checkers. He was going to kiss her and kill her.
Evangeline left the table. Her stomach churned as she made her way to the edge of the boisterous dining hall and reached the gilded frame that had been pulled away from the wall.
The portrait inside the frame was of Glendora Slaughterwood, wearing an embroidered red gown covered in broken hearts and a smile that looked sad as she watched Evangeline slip through the secret door.
The corridor on the other side was spiderwebbed and dim, and it smelled of secret trysts, musky and more than a little smoky from the torches jutting out of the walls. Between the flames, she caught glimpses of words carved over and over into the stone. Glory in Death. Glory in Death. Glory in Death.
Evangeline hugged her arms to her chest. She wasn’t sure what this place was, but she didn’t like that even the walls seemed to be encouraging Jacks.
Jacks, she cried silently.
There was no response.
Jacks, she tried again. If you can hear me, I’m asking you to stop whatever you’re doing.
Nothing. Just the brush of her slippers against the aged stones.
And then—her ears caught the thrum of Jacks’s seductive voice, saying soft things in the dark. Her chest felt tight. She couldn’t determine what he said. But Evangeline knew the low cadence of his voice.
She sped around the corner, nearly ripping the slit of her skirt in her haste.
The torches gleamed brighter, and the smoke grew thicker, swirling around Jacks’s golden hair as he dipped his head toward the Darling girl. Her neck was arched and her eyes were closed.
Evangeline’s blood rushed to her ears as she watched Jacks trace the girl’s lower lip before—
“Stop!” she shouted.
The girl opened her eyes with a gasp.
Jacks was slower to move. He left his fingers on the girl’s open mouth as he took his time dragging his hooded eyes to Evangeline. “Your timing is terrible, Little Fox.”
I can’t believe you were going to kiss her! Evangeline seethed silently.
Jacks lifted a cavalier shoulder and said in a silent voice only Evangeline could hear, The dinner was getting boring.
“You really do have terrible luck with boys, don’t you?” The Darling girl gave Evangeline an unconvincing frown—the kind that somehow looked like a smile, as if she loved the idea of Evangeline having horrid luck with boys.
For a second, it was tempting to turn away and leave this girl with Jacks to let her see who actually had wretched luck with boys, since she clearly had no idea who the boy she was about to kiss really was.
Evangeline instantly felt ashamed for even having the thought. Yet it still wasn’t easy to look the girl in the eye and say, “You need to go right now.”
“I think I’m comfortable where I am. You’re the one who doesn’t belong, Princess.” She snickered as her hand moved to Jacks’s chest and boldly undid one of his buttons.