Page 92 of House of Blood and Roses: Vol. 2

"Oh?"

I take a deep breath. "The Vermatchis for a start."

"I haven't heard much about them," Emilia admits. "Up until your choice of champion, I think most people ignored them. There are whispers that Lord Luca is having an affair with someone above his station, but I've never heard any whispers about who."

I nod. "Tell me if that changes. What about Lady Violetta?"

"You know about as much as I do," she points out. "We were all in the same etiquette classes together."

"No talk of marriage for her from Lord Vermatchi?"

"Nothing."

"Interesting."

"I can keep listening for more on both," she promises.

"Thank you."

Bella gives us a curious look.

I take a breath and refuse to meet her gaze. I hate having to ask the next part, but I know I need to. "What have you heard about Lord Vermouten?"

Emilia isn't as good as Lady Wentworth at hiding her surprise. She clears her throat. "Only that he's currently away from the castle. I've heard the occasional person wonder about how he convinced Lord Fallmartin to let him marry one of his nieces."

A sound that almost sounds like a strangled sob comes from Bella, but she manages to avoid responding more than that. I'm not sure that will be the case when I ask about the last person I want to know about.

And this one is the hardest for me. But I need Bella to hear it. I need her to know that I'm taking what she says seriously and not just trusting blindly.

"What have you heard about my brother?" I ask.

The expression on Emilia's face says it all, and Bella stares at me in shock.

"Please, Emilia, I need to know."

She nods in response. "A lot of people are talking about him. He's the new Rothorne heir and he's your brother. There are some people wondering how they can become his mistress or lover."

"Expected," Bella says. "I don't imagine anyone believes his marriage to Lady Ermentrude is a love match."

I just nod. "What else?"

"There are a couple of younger heirs who are annoyed that he's not paying back his gambling debts."

"Anyone important?" I ask.

"The most is Lord Camberon's son. The others are all lesser nobility. I suspect he's the only one who could cause a problem," Emilia says, seeming a little more confident than before.

"All right. Anything else?"

She pauses and looks away, a concerned expression on her face. "A few of the servants have been talking about his temper. One even said that he assaulted Prince Lincoln."

Somehow, I manage to keep a straight face, but I don't miss the expression Bella makes in my direction.

"Thank you, Emilia." I smile reassuringly at my friend, and she takes it as the dismissal that it is. It's still surreal to have power that works so efficiently, but I try not to think too much about that.

"Since when do you have a spy master, and how does she know so much?" Bella asks.

"Since I realised I'd need one. And because she listens but people don't notice that she does," I respond, thinking about how much of an advantage that is. "Ideally, I'd have someone else reporting to me too, but I haven't been able to put any of that in place."