Luciana’s heart lurched. “Ye—you told him that?” By the goddesses, had Leo believed it?
The captain sneered. “I knew you were an imposter the minute I tried to kiss you.” He gave Tatiana a wry smirk. “She kisses like a dead fish.”
Tatiana scoffed. “She’ll never know a love as glorious as ours.”
The captain’s smirk twisted. “It could have been glorious. We could have had everything, dammit. Why did you have to get yourself killed?”
Tatiana blinked in surprise. “Excuse me? You think I wanted to be poisoned?”
“If you had just gotten pregnant, I could have convinced your father to let us marry. Dammit to hell!” Captain Bougaire slammed a fist against the stone wall, but his hand passed through. “Shit! Now I’m dead, and I have nothing!”
“You have me!” Tatiana placed her hands on his chest. “We can be together now for all eternity.”
He shoved her hands away. “You think it was you that I wanted? I was so damned close to getting my hands on the duchy. But you ruined everything, you stupid bitch.”
Tatiana gasped. Luciana gasped, too, and watched with horror as her sister slowly realized the truth about her glorious love affair. As Tatiana’s eyes filled with tears and her body wavered, Luciana felt her blood surging hot with raw anger.
The captain barked out a laugh. “It was ridiculous how easy you were to fool, how easily you spread your legs—”
“Enough!” Luciana stepped between them so she was mere inches from his face. “Don’t ye dare talk to my sister like that. Ye were banished from Vindalyn, so ye’ll leave now and never come back.”
He snorted. “Can you make me?”
“Aye, I can,” Luciana growled. “I’ll find every living member of yer family in this duchy. Yer mother, yer brothers and sisters, yer cousins. I’ll strip them of their homes and every possession they own, and kick them out, penniless and starving. And I’ll let them know that all their suffering is because of you.”
His face grew pale. “Y-you wouldn’t dare—”
“Don’t try me,” she hissed. “If I ever hear of yer presence in my duchy again, I will unleash hell on yer—”
“I got it! I’m leaving.” He lifted his hands in surrender and shot Tatiana a disgusted look. “It’s not as if I have anything to lose here.” His form vanished.
With a muffled sob, Tatiana disappeared.
“My lady?” Jensen called from above. “Are you all right?”
“Yes.” Luciana took a deep breath and exhaled slowly. Stay calm. Don’t let your accent slip again. “I’ll be right there.” Her hands trembled as she gathered up her skirts to climb the rest of the stairs to the top floor.
Jensen eyed her warily. “Are you sure…?”
How much had he heard? “I-I was pretending to fuss at the assassin who tried to kill me. I thought it might release some of the stress.”
“Ah.” Jensen nodded slowly. “Well, it has been a difficult day for you. Perhaps you should get some rest.”
“I will.” She stepped into her room. “And thank you, Jensen, for saving my life.”
He blushed. “Yes, my lady.”
She shut the door and locked it, then discovered her sister was pacing back and forth, her feet gliding noiselessly on the wooden floor.
“I can’t believe it!” Tatiana wailed. “All this time, he was using me!”
“I’m so sorry,” Luciana murmured.
“I gave my virginity to that bastard!” Tatiana waved her arms wildly. “I hate him! I hate him!”
“I’m sure you do.”
Tatiana whirled and planted her hands on her hips. “I hate all men!”
“Well, I wouldn’t go that far—”
“Even that Beast is a bastard! How dare he kill my Alberto!”
Luciana winced. She didn’t want to think that Leo had broken his word. “I thought you hated Alberto.”
“I do! He’s lower than swine. He’s the scum coming out of a privy pipe! I hate him!” Tatiana screamed as she swiped her arm across the table and sent the brass candlestick holder flying across the room.
Luciana gasped. “Did you see that? By the goddesses, look at what you did!”
Tatiana glanced at the candlestick holder rolling on the floor, then at her arm. “How—how did I do that?”
Luciana picked up the candlestick holder. “I’ve never seen a spirit that could move objects before.”
“Neither have I.”
Luciana grinned. “You’re the most marvelous ghost ever!”
Tatiana giggled, then curled a strand of hair around her finger. “Well, yes, I suppose I am.”
“Can you do it again?” Luciana placed the candlestick holder back on the table.
Tatiana swiped at it, but her hand passed through. “Oh, no. What happened?”
“You were extremely angry before. Perhaps you should picture Captain Booger’s face on the candlestick.”
Tatiana’s eyes narrowed. “You bastard!” She knocked the candlestick holder across the room. “I did it!”
Luciana clapped her hands together. “You’re amazing.”
Tatiana gave her a sheepish smile. “No, you’re the amazing one. You were right up in his face. Don’t ye dare talk to my sister like that. By the light, you were fierce!”