She bit her lip. “Who would have killed him then?”
Leo swallowed hard. He’d told only the general and the duke what the captain had said. The general had laughed it off, but the duke had looked alarmed. Alarmed enough to kill? Dammit, no.
She tilted her head, watching Leo. “You know who did it?”
“I … suspect someone. I’ll check into it for you.” Although he doubted he could ever tell her that her father had done it. If he was her father. Leo shook his head. What the hell was going on here? He was losing patience with all these damned secrets. “Why do you want me to call you Ana?”
She shrugged and fiddled with the grapes. “It’s short for my name.”
What name would that be? “Tell me, Ana, how do you know the captain is dead?”
A touch of panic glimmered in her eyes before she shuttered her expression. “I told you. I have spies.”
“So do I. But I have yet to hear about the captain’s death.”
She plucked a grape off the tray. “I guess my spies are better than yours.”
“Apparently so.” Now it was his turn to watch her carefully. “Are your spies, by any chance, dead?”
She flinched, and the grape popped out of her hand. “Oh!” She reached for the grape as it fell, catching it just as it landed on his lap.
He hissed in a breath as his groin reacted.
“Oh!” With a gasp, she jerked her hand away, and the grape went flying. “I’m sorry!”
He grabbed her forearm, his gloved hand encircling her sleeve. “You gasped. Were you in pain?”
“No, I…”
“It didn’t hurt you?” When she shook her head no, he slapped her hand against his cock once more and held it there. “That doesn’t hurt you?”
She gasped again, her eyes wide. “What are you doing?”
“Do you feel a shock?”
“Of course!” Her cheeks flamed with heat as her gaze shifted downward with a look of horror. “There’s something hard in your breeches, and I think it’s moving!”
“Not that! Are you feeling a shock from lightning?”
She shook her head. “Am I supposed to?”
Only one layer of insulation, and she was all right.
A knock sounded, then the door cracked open. Leo released her, and they jumped apart so fast their chairs fell over.
“My lord?” Jensen’s eyes widened, and he quickly looked away as Leo righted his chair. “The funeral has begun, and His Grace has requested your presence.”
“Of course.” Leo bowed his head to Luciana. “I will see you later at the funeral feast.”
She nodded, her gaze riveted to the floor.
He softened his voice. “Will you be all right?” When she nodded again without looking at him, he groaned inwardly. He may not have shocked her physically, but he’d certainly given her an emotional shock. “Lock and bolt the door behind me.” He strode from the room.
After shutting the door, he waited to hear the click of the lock and slide of the bolt. “Jensen.” He motioned the guard to join him by the stairwell. “I’ve posted nine more guards below. If the assassin believes all of our attention is focused on the funeral and the duke, he might decide to strike here instead.”
“I understand, my lord.”
Leo gave him an encouraging look. “I’m counting on you.”
Ten guards had to be enough, Leo thought as he hurried down the stairs. Four of his own personal guard were one floor down, and the remaining five from Vindalyn were on the ground floor. Three of the guards had horns they would blow at the first sign of trouble. With his lightning speed, Leo could return before the assassin managed to get through ten soldiers and a heavy, bolted door.
His Tatiana would be safe. Or was she simply Ana? He hated to think he was being fooled, but he had to admit she might not be Tatiana. The way she’d reacted to his cock made her seem far too innocent to have been involved with Captain Bougaire. And it looked like the captain had been killed to keep him from telling the truth.
At the bottom of the stairs, the five guards bowed as he passed by.
He hesitated at the tower entrance. “How long have you been here at Vindemar?”
The answers were all different, varying from eight years to thirty-five.
“Then you have all known Lady Tatiana for a long time.” When they agreed, Leo continued, “Has she changed at all recently?”
“Ah, you must have heard the rumors.” The oldest guard waved a dismissive hand. “Pay them no heed, my lord.”
“What rumors?” Leo asked.
The men exchanged glances, then the oldest explained, “She has been acting a bit kinder of late. Not that she was ever unkind,” he added quickly.
“But she looks exactly the same?” Leo asked.
“Of course, my lord,” the oldest guard replied.
“I think she’s a bit thinner,” the youngest one mumbled.
“She almost died.” The oldest one gave him an annoyed look. “Would you expect her to be fatter?”
“I’m counting on you all to keep her safe,” Leo reminded them, then strode from the tower.
On the way to the drawbridge, he thought over the problem. If Ana was an imposter, then there were two options. The first: The whole castle was in on the hoax. This he seriously doubted. The second option: Only Ana and the duke knew. But in order to fool everyone in the castle, Ana had to look, talk, and act just like the real Tatiana.