A Villainous Affair

Chapter 9

Scarlet gratefully accepted the cup of hot, fragrant tea from Herb. Their fingers brushed as he passed it to her. That'd been happening a lot lately, whether he was handing her a cup of tea or a new weapon. Each time, the experience grew more and more pleasurable.

He sat on the chair opposite her. She observed him over the cup's rim as she sipped. He looked really foxy in his new outfit. An outfit she wanted to rip off so she could kiss him all over his naked body. There were so many things she wanted to do with Herb. And for Herb. He loved to invent, and she was glad inventing for her made him happy, but she felt an unfamiliar urgency to do more. Only problem was, she wasn't quite sure if she should take the risk. Yet Herb had proved himself worthy time and time again. So what was stopping her?

Herb set down a plate of biscuits on the coffee table. A grown villain man who loved biscuits. Scarlet hadn't even known that was a thing, or that she'd find it so adorable. Or maybe she just liked the fact that Herb had a thing for biscuits. What he didn't realize was she'd bought fifty cases' worth in a variety of flavors so she could offer him biscuits every time he visited. She'd hidden them all over her flat.

He swiped three from the plate and munched them in between sips of tea. "Can I ask you something?"

Scarlet's hand froze with her cup halfway to her mouth. She may have allowed Herb into her life and home, but there were still some places she'd never allow anyone to go. The void was too vast, too dangerous. "Depends on the question."

Herb turned his cup around in his hands. "What do you really want out of life? Is there something you desire more than anything else?"

Scarlet took a deep breath. His question sounded safe enough. "I want St Edward's Crown."

Herb's eyes went wide, and then a devious expression stole over his face. "Just the crown, or England, too?"

How did he know her so well? She must have let her guard down one too many times. But maybe that wasn't such a bad thing, at least where Herb was concerned. She set down her cup. "All of it."

"May I ask why?"

Scarlet looked at him in surprise. "Why do you want to know?"

"Because it sounds very important to you," he said softly, "and I'm here if you want to talk about it."

Scarlet stood, feeling restless. "Wow, you really know how to go for the jugular." She started pacing. Herb remained quiet, probably on purpose so she'd feel compelled to fill the silence. Such an underhanded tactic!

But it was working.

"There are two things I've never had in my life." She held up a finger. "The first is respect." Held up another finger. "The second is power."

She poured herself and Herb another cup of tea, if for no other reason than to keep the void at bay a short while longer. Then she resumed her seat. "But I'm sure you want specifics. Let me tell you the whole story from the beginning."

Herb sat forward, listening attentively.

"Once upon a time, there was a little girl who had a stuffed bear. It was the cutest little bear you could ever imagine. So fuzzy and soft." Scarlet took a sip of tea. "Well, this little girl lived with her stuffed bear in a very nice house with a wonderful mommy and daddy. They were so beautiful, so loving. Every day was full of rainbows and laughter."

Her expression soured. "Until one day the little girl did something very stupid. She was playing with her ball in the house, which her parents had expressly forbidden her to do. But she forgot because the ball was gloriously fun. And then she threw the ball so hard her stuffed bear wasn't able to catch it. The girl accidentally broke her mommy's favorite vase, the expensive one that was a wedding gift from the little girl's daddy."

Scarlet took another sip of tea. Herb's cup sat on the table, untouched.

"The mommy became so angry she tore apart the little girl's stuffed bear. The girl cried and cried, but try as she might, she couldn't put the bear back together again. The next thing the little girl knew, she was on the doorstep of the orphanage with a note pinned to her shirt." Scarlet pierced Herb with a sharp gaze. "Do you want to know what it said?"

Herb held a hand to his temple. He looked horrified. "I do if you want to tell me."

Scarlet set down her teacup and folded her hands in her lap. "The note said, 'Please take this child because we simply can't handle her anymore. She's the most horrible human being who ever lived.' And that's the story of how I was abandoned. Is it any surprise I turned to a life of crime?"

Herb stared at her with a heartbreakingly tender expression of sympathy. "How awful that must have been for you. I'm so sorry."

Scarlet shrugged. "Not really, because it never actually happened."

Herb narrowed his eyes. "How do you mean?"

She raised a hand in supplication. "The truth is I don't know what became of my parents or why they abandoned me. All I know is they placed me in one of the worst orphanages imaginable. They obviously wanted to punish me for something, but I don't know for what. So over the years I came up with dozens, no, hundreds of stories in my head about what might have happened."

"I...see."

"I shouldn't have deceived you, but..." Scarlet paused to take a deep breath because even though this was Herb-sweet, understanding Herb-she was not going to cry. "It's just that I can't bear to know what I did that was so horrible my parents didn't want me anymore." Her voice dropped to a whisper. "The truth...the truth is probably worse than anything I could ever imagine." Her eyes grew wide. "Do you think I killed them? Because sometimes I wonder if I killed them and just can't remember!" She gripped the chair's arm rests in an effort to contain her roiling emotions.

Herb shook his head. "Even if you had, which I don't believe for a second, someone should have helped you, not put you in a damn orphanage." He steepled his hands. "What about the stuffed bear? Did you make that up, too?"

"That part is true. I had a stuffed bear, but one of the kids at the orphanage destroyed it out of spite."

"Damn, that must have been painful."

"Nothing I can't handle. A lot of respect and power should be more than enough to make up for it, right?"

Herb looked doubtful. "I suppose. It's difficult to know if a bond like that can ever truly be replaced."

Scarlet gaped at him. The man was so insightful! If she weren't careful, she'd become lost in his wise, comforting words. She cleared her throat. "Well, seizing the crown and taking over England is my plan for now. Stealing is all I know, Herb." She pressed a hand to her chest. "It's all I have."

"That's not...." Herb looked askance, brows furrowed.

Oh, no. What had she done? "What were you going to say? Is something wrong?"

He shot to his feet. "Can you...would you please excuse me? I have to go take care of something."

"Now?" After she'd just poured her heart out to him? Scarlet stood as well, feeling unusually vulnerable. She glanced at his empty hands, hoping against hope he'd fill them with hers.

"Uh, yeah, I remembered there's something I have to take care of. It's important. I might be gone a while."

Herb practically ran to the door. He paused there briefly. "See ya."

And then he was gone.

Scarlet stared at the empty space where he'd just stood. Terror washed over her at the prospect of losing him. Had she revealed too much? Scared him off? It wouldn't be the first time. There was a reason she had trouble keeping friends. And now she'd just lost the best one she'd ever had.

Scarlet sank back down into her seat and buried her face in her hands. Darkness encroached. The void reared its fangs, coming to devour her.

Why did you have to be so stupid?