Chapter 9

Chapter 9

Luna felt her cheeks pale in shock and surprise. A bargain? She would not make a bargain with this madman, and she didn’t care to hear what he’d thought up so she wouldn’t tell everyone what insanity he had in his basement.

She would leave here and go straight to everyone she knew of means. They would spread the word that the Earl of Dead Man’s Crossing was a murderer and that someone should lock him up in Bedlam.

But reason very quickly followed those thoughts. She couldn’t do that. No one would believe her. And once she started speaking ill of a member of nobility, then they would start looking at Luna. Why would a young woman with no means lie about an earl? Ah, right. Because she’d tried to steal from him and he could have her thrown into prison for daring to do so.

The logical response from anyone who heard her story would be to believe him. Not her.

Not to mention he might never let her leave this room if she didn’t agree to his bargain. And even if he did let her leave, she was unlikely to live much longer on the streets, considering she didn’t get the Diamond of Crestfall and Crowley would be the very first person waiting for her.

Luna didn’t even think she’d be safe in Martin’s castle with her sisters. Crowley would find a way and then he would murder them all in their sleep. Or worse, he would out Martin as a vampire and all hell would rain down upon their heads.

Suddenly, her situation shattered around her ears with the horrible crash of breaking glass. There was no way out of this. She had to face down either Crowley, the authorities, or this man in front of her.

She knew she couldn’t fight Crowley. She’d been trying to elude that man for years now, and every time she tried, she realized how little power she had in the city. It wasn’t just him. That was the problem. He had a hundred soldiers who carried weapons and followed orders without ever questioning them.

And the authorities had enough on her that she wouldn’t just go to prison where one of her sisters could break her out. They’d want to hang her and then the Church would find out where their precious little witch’s daughter went, and they would burn her.

So really, this murderous beast in front of her was her best shot at staying alive longer than a few more weeks. Sure, he’d tried to put her in his basement. But that wasn’t anything she couldn’t survive. And if she was being honest, that wasn’t even the worst thing anyone had done to her.

When she finished her thoughts, Luna came back to the room and realized he was still staring at her. This ridiculously handsome man with the tight curls atop his head had no issue watching her with zero attempt to even hide what he was doing. He had his chin propped on his fist, tea forgotten on the table, while openly watching every single thought that played across her face.

“Did you figure it out yet?” he asked, his voice quiet and low. “Whatever it was you had to think about?”

“You hunt women down and put them in your basement to do god knows what,” she replied. “I don’t think I can trust you for any bargain you might propose.”

“Ah well, you see, I think you’ve gotten this all wrong. The basement isn’t for unsuspecting women who fall through my ceiling. It’s for me.” He blinked and then furrowed his brows. “But I’m not going to explain why or what I use it for.”

Right, because that was so reassuring. “I have no interest in spending the rest of my life in prison. And I was obviously here for my own reasons, which are unsavory considering those reasons brought me to this place with the sole intent to rob you. So I think you can understand that I’m not in a position to say no to you, regardless of your murderous status.”

He grinned, and the expression lit up his entire face. Damn, he was handsome. He shouldn’t be able to look like that when she was so certain he killed people in his spare time.

The Earl picked up his tea and saluted her. “I’m not a murderer.”

“You could have fooled me. I know dried blood when I see it, and there was plenty of it down those stairs.” Luna faked a shiver as though the sight had terrified her, when in reality, she’d seen it enough to know that blood was simply blood. “You should hide all that better, you know. If you don’t hide it, someone might find out your secret.”

“I can admit I have a secret, although I will not share what that is with a woman I just met.” He finally sipped his tea, then made a disgusted face. “This is cold.”

“Yes, that happens when you add barely room temperature water to a cold cup.”

Luna made a point to sip the tea and then drink the entire thing down. She’d had her fair share of lukewarm tea in her life, but at least the sugar made it slide down her throat with relative ease. If he thought cold tea would be the worst she’d experienced, then he didn’t know what kind of life a thief led.

He watched her, his throat working on a swallow as though... attracted?

No, she had to get her head off that line of thought. He wasn’t attracted to her because no man was attracted to a hulking monolith of a woman who was more suited to an ancient, Celtic battle than a life in London.

Clearing her throat, she put the tea cup down with a sharp crack. “What’s your bargain then, Earl?”

“Luther,” he replied. “My name is Luther and the correct way to address me is My Lord.”

She blinked. “Good for you. I reserve that term for a godly figure if it pleases you. I’ll admit, He and I might not be on the best of terms, but I’ll not be calling anyone my lord other than what the Church taught me.”

He flinched at her words, almost as though he’d thought them himself before he cleared his throat. “Then I suppose you’ll have to call me Luther.”

“You said that was too informal.”

“Well.” He leaned forward and looked up at her through those curly locks, and her breath caught in her throat. “Luna. I think we’ll both have to get used to a little informality if we’re going to make this bargain work.”

Oh, that made her nervous. This entire bargain needed to stop if he kept doing that, because she’d do something foolish. Like leap across the table and beg him to take her even though that would put both of them at risk.

“What’s your bargain?” she asked again. If her voice shook a little with the question, it was only in fear and not anticipation.

Their heated eye contact broke, and he leaned back in his chair with a heavy sigh. Luther ran his fingers through his hair until the curls stuck up in all directions like a fuzzy halo around his head. “I’ll admit, I haven’t been the best earl in my lifetime. My father wanted me to marry a long time ago, and my mother wanted me to marry right up until she died. I thought, in losing the two of them, that the pressure to do so would end. However, my aunt appears to have taken up that mantle and I need to shake her so I can live.”

Luna blinked. “You want to marry me?”

“No!” The shout echoed through the study and he turned bright red. Lowering his voice, he breathed, “I didn’t mean that to be quite so loud.”

“Trust me, I’m well aware that most men in your station would have no interest in marrying a thief. But it does sound like that was your plan.”

“I want you to pretend to be engaged to me.” He cleared his throat and straightened his tie, all nervous ticks. “My aunt will be satisfied if I show some movement in the correct direction and that will be enough to give me at least a year of... of...”

Luna could only take pity on the poor man. He was falling apart at the seams and all because he wanted to live a normal life for a little while. Honestly, she couldn’t stand to see him stammering like this when she’d thought him a murderer.

No, he still was. He still had a hidden room in his basement where he tied up people like her and if she forgot that so quickly, then she was in a lot of trouble.

“You want to go back to living a bachelor’s life without your aunt knowing that you’re doing it,” she filled in for him.

“Yes.” He snapped his fingers and pointed at her, then his expression fell. “No. I don’t want to live the bachelor’s life. I just want to be left alone. And I hadn’t thought of this last night before, you know, all that happened. But this morning when I saw you walk out of the basement I thought perhaps you would be able to endure this.”

“Endure?” She laughed. “Does your aunt also like to lock women in basements for the evening?”

“No.” At least he laughed at her joke with her. “At least, I don’t think so. She’s a dragon of a woman though, and for that, I feel as though I need to apologize ahead of all this.”

Luna didn’t know why she was even considering this mad plan. So many things could go wrong at so many moments, and yet, she didn’t intend to say no. It was the only option, and he was the lesser of many evils.

“Just how long do I have to pretend to be engaged to you?” she asked.

“Only for a month or so? My aunt is arriving within the week for a party, and that’s when I’ll introduce you.”

“I think your aunt will be sorely disappointed in the young woman you’ve chosen as a bride.” She stuck her tongue out and shook her head. “Most mothers would be. A week isn’t enough time to turn me into a lady, and I hope you realize that. Your plan could fall apart around your ears if you insist on having me at your table.”

“That’s precisely why I wish to do it. I cannot deny you are an unusual choice for someone like me, and an unusual woman. But I am not a man who fits society’s standards, and I believe my aunt has always expected me to find a woman like you.”

Well, that... actually that made a lot of sense and she supposed that was a good enough answer for her. Although she didn’t want to be his scapegoat. At least this way, she still had a chance to fix everything.

She could satisfy the Earl and make this deal work the way he wanted it to work. Then she could still try to steal the diamond that Crowley wanted, therefore getting herself out of trouble. And while she was here, she could take some other things from this house so Martin and Maeve could fix up the castle.

She had a chance for her life to go back in the right direction. All she had to do was keep her head on straight. And not let this earl know that she still intended to steal literally everything she could.

So she crossed her legs and leaned back in her chair, fingers laced over her belly as though she were the one running this meeting. “So what you’re saying is that if I do this, you will leave me alone and you won’t send me to any authorities for trying to steal from you?”

“If it makes it more likely for you to assist me, then I will even pay you on your way out.” His eyes widened, clearly in some attempt to look like a puppy who was pleading for his life. “I ask for very little, Miss Luna. And your assistance in this matter would greatly make my life easier.”

“And getting paid for it, I suppose, would make my life easier in the long run as well.” Still, it was a shit deal.

But she realized it was the best one she was going to get in the situation and if she continued insisting on looking a gift horse in the mouth, then she would come to regret it. Most likely while she rotted in prison waiting for the day when they would come down to hang her. So really, what did she have to lose right now?

Shrugging, she leaned forward and stretched out her hand for him to shake. “All right, then. I’ll take your deal. But if you double cross me, I will cut your hands off before I sneak out of here.”

He leaned forward and shook her hand, his palm too warm against her own. “And if you try to double cross me, I will hunt you to the very ends of the world. You can’t escape me, even if you are an accomplished thief.”

She snorted. “You think you’re scary, don’t you?”

“Says the woman who was convinced I was a murderer only moments ago.”

Luna couldn’t admit she wasn’t all that frightened of him now, because he still could be a murderer. But after this... Well. She supposed she had her doubts.