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"I am a guest at The Regent," the earl said after a moment. "Perhaps we can have supper there..."

"Yes." A strange, rare sense of cluelessness had stolen her ability to think or feel, and it was as if she were speaking on automaton as well. "If you would be so kind to wait, I'll only need a moment to change..."

"Of course."

She remembered to curtsy to the earl even as her mind wavered between blankness and chaos.

Odd. So, so very odd.

She headed up to her rooms.

The marquis must have come to realize she was inadequate, Rhapsody thought. And that was fine...was it not? Had she not been prepared to break their arrangement herself for that same reason? Granted, at that time she had imagined a different sort of inadequacy, but that was far beside the point.

It's probably because I am Not Normal,Rhapsody thought. The marquis had assumed it was something he could live with but eventually realized otherwise.That was all there was to it,Rhapsody concluded, and when she entered her room and saw Emily of all persons waiting for her...

Her lips pursed.

Did this mean she was right about Emily, too?

Could the other girl be the reason why the marquis had wished to be done with her?

"Hello, Rhapsody."

It was Emily who finally broke the silence, and Rhapsody, after a moment's hesitation, decided to close the door before speaking. If there was laundry to be aired, then it must always be kept privately.

"You must be surprised to see me," Emily remarked as she perched herself on the writing desk and crossed her legs.

"I am not, actually."

Emily's eyes narrowed.

"I know who you are."

"Then I suppose there is nothing else to be said, is there?" When Emily's lips stretched into a smile, it was then Rhapsody saw the other girl's fangs.

Emily was a vampire?

Then...Emily was not her Master's other heartkeeper?

"My sincere apologies, Emily. It appears I was mistaken. I thought you were someone else."

"Very funny," Emily sneered. "Also, nothing you're going to say will make a difference." The other girl jumped to her feet, and as Emily moved towards her, Rhapsody moved to the other side until they started circling each other like dancers about to take the floor...or fencers about to duel to the death.

"I saw you with that enforcer this afternoon, do you know?"

"Is that why you wish to kill me?"

She came to a halt by the dresser, and Emily halted in her steps as well.

"That was another reason for me to kill you," Emily clarified, "but what signed your death sentence was being the Marquis of Sangre's pet. Sooner or later, he'd find my scent on you, start questioning where it's from...and that would've been it." Emily saw Rhapsody uncapping a bottle of perfume. "What are you doing?"

Rhapsody sprayed it at the other girl.

"What the—-" Emily stared at her incredulously. "Are you mad? Or do you think perfume kills—-what the fuck?"

Because this time, Rhapsody had tossed the contents out of an ink bottle at the other girl's face.

"You are mad,"the other girl screeched.