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Victoria couldn’t contain the little amused smile that escaped, and i she wanted to do was to offend hih to et that the rest of her life was too bloody dark He would have the ladies in the ton eating out of his hand in no time And then she realized what he’dDo you mean the ton?"

"Yes, ma’am, that’s it Where do we find the ton? And what do we do with it?"

Stifling another smile, Victoria explained that the haute ton was the nicknarave;me of London Society--and that he was now a " By the ti Their conversation ended with James, as he’d insisted she call hi to!"--extracting a pro in theroom

She would make a visit to Kritanu, ith Briyani’s body in the chapel, then have time to dress for dinner

Despite the time it would take away from other matters, Victoria had a suspicion that the meal would likely be the ht, it ell past eleven by the time Victoria excused herself from James Lacy and his newfound enjoynac Apparently he was used to sout, which sounded as horrible as he clailasses of sherry--onemore than a little loose-limbed

Yet, as she climbed the stairs, it all came back to her: less than twenty-four hours earlier, she and Sebastian had been slogging through an underground river of sewage And the rest of the day’s events had left her even

Inside her chamber, she pulled the cord to su for bed Or perhaps not

A la table, and Victoria refrained frohter Instead, she walked over to the tallthat gave her a view of the ardens below Behind her, the rooh the pane There was only a quarter rounds were painted mostly in heavy shades of black and dark blue A pale sweep of gray designated a pea gravel path, and a cluster of lilac bushes rose in dark relief next to a glohite bench that happened to catch the glare of thePerhaps she should be on the streets tonight, trying to find out what she could about a vaht

Or perhaps it would be best to get a solid night’s sleep and allow her mind to clear of sherry, as well as the reality of the problems she faced

Alone

Despite the fact that Sebastian was here in London with her, he came and went as he pleased, and Victoria felt utterly alone She ithout her Venator companions, far from the people who understood her and what her life was

Max was gone, so with the other Venators Victoria had come to know and like--Brim, and Michalas, and others

Aunt Eustacia was dead Kritanu, though here, was grieving his nephew, and still reeling from the loss of Aunt Eustacia

She also felt the loss of kind, gentle Zavier, a Venator who had made his desire to court Victoria quite clear He had died at the hands of Beauregard

She heard the faint snick of a door as Verbena ca room that sat between theto decide whether to have her ht rail or inout the

She realized a fraction of a second later that Verbena was never so quiet, no ht be Victoria’s heart gave a little bump and the hair on her arms lifted

Just as she started to whirl away from the , a shadow moved behind her--a blurred reflection in the pane, and then it shifted out of sight Strong hands closed over her shoulders, halting her inso as to reflect in the , she recognized hiered on his fingers, the way his body brushed against hers Her edgy nerves settled

"Where’s Verbena?" she de quite soundly, I believe," he said "A coirl, but repose is definitely not her most attractive state Her snores are like to rattle the s froentleht wish toerliewith herthough I’d venture to say that the poor beleaguered Oliver would seize the opportunity if offered"

"I rang for her She’ll be here any moment now"