I picked up the wine bottle with surprisingly steady hands. Something had shifted in the atmosphere, and I wasn’t sure what it was. But I no longer felt in control of the situation. I no longer felt like I was the one playing the tune for him to dance to.
“I don’t know what you mean,” I said, giving him a curious look over my shoulder. “Maybe we’ve had too much wine.” I started to put the bottle back.
“No, let’s finish our meal. I’ll have a final glass.”
I expertly uncorked the bottle and smelled it, inhaling a sweet scent that was sure to be bitter on my tongue.
“Did you really think that I don’t have my finger on every pulse in this city?” he asked. “That I’m not aware of every whisper and hushed plan to try and take back this city?” His voice had gone hard and cold, and I’d never heard him speak to me like that before.
It made me realize that our drive by the corpses on the Quai des Belges was for a purpose. He’d been aware of who I was, maybe all along, and I’d become just another pawn in his repertoire of sick games.
“Friedrich,” I said. “Are you all right? Maybe dinner isn’t settling well. You’re not making any sense.” I poured the first glass of wine, watching the honey-colored liquid fill the glass.
“Aren’t I?” he asked. “This city is mine. There is no one you can trust who is not loyal to me. But you’re very good. Better than others who have tried before you.”
I rested my hand on the sideboard so he couldn’t see it shaking, and I propped a hand on my hip as I squared off with him. Graham’s words rattled around in my mind about never showing weakness, so I plastered a cocky grin on my face and figured all I could do at this point was try to brazen my way through.
“Honey,” I said. “I don’t know what you had for dinner, but I think it might have been different than mine. You’re not making any sense. Come on, now. Stop playing with me. You’re starting to hurt my feelings, and I was getting so warm and fuzzy inside.”
I turned back to the sideboard and touched the clasp of the locket at my throat, opening the tiny mechanism so a small white pill fell into my hand. I crushed it between my fingers and dropped it into the already poured glass of wine. And then I quickly poured wine into the remaining glass.
My hands were steady as I picked them both up and made my way back to the table. “Here,” I told him, handing him the glass. “Let’s have dessert and then I’d very much like to try on my present. You have an eye for beautiful things.”
“It’s always been my biggest weakness,” he said, staring at me out of cold blue eyes.
I moved back to the other side of the table and took my seat as if I hadn’t a care in the world, all the while praying for a miracle. “Now eat your dessert and tell me a story of another of your adventures,” I said.
“I have enjoyed your company,” he said, as if I hadn’t spoken. “It’s a shame, really. You’re so young and beautiful, and really quite skilled. But you’re new to this world, and it shows. I have eyes and ears everywhere. And I know everything about you, from what you have for breakfast to who shares your bed.”
I felt the blood drain from my face, and I thought of every person who’d had a presence in the Smithers’ household, from the servants to Esther and George. Someone had betrayed the Alliance.
“Your weakness is that you crave family and friends,” he said. “But you haven’t learned the most important life lesson of all—the only person you can trust in this world is yourself.”
He picked up the wine glass and held it up to the flickering candle, so the light played tricks in the liquid gold.
“It’s a shame, really,” he said. “I would have liked to have taken you to bed before I killed you, but I find I just don’t have the stomach for some things.”
He scraped his chair back from the table and got to his feet, and my eyes widened as I considered my options. My handbag was too far away to be of any use, and he was too big and strong for me to fight head-on, even though I’d learned some very effective techniques in my training.
I pushed my own chair back, deciding I had no choice but to fight for my life, and then my miracle happened. He downed the glass of wine in one gulp and then slammed the crystal down on the table, shattering the stem.
He took a step toward me, and then another, and then his eyes widened and white spittle gathered at the corners of his mouth. He tried to take another step but fell to his knees. And then his eyes met mine and glazed as he gasped his last breath and fell face-first onto the floor.
I wasn’t sure how long I sat there, stunned by what had just happened. But I knew it definitely wasn’t part of the plan, and the others’ lives were in danger. If Wagner knew of my involvement, then he’d surely trusted his officers with the same information. I had to get word to Graham, though I feared it was too late.
It was almost midnight, and if they weren’t already inside the house, they were attempting to breach its doors. Only to walk right into a trap.
My mission was my failure, but the Cordiers were counting on Graham and his team to be a success. I had to help them however I could.
Chapter 8
I snapped myself out of shock and looked around the room. Had anyone heard his body fall? There were no footsteps on the stairs that I could hear, and no
