“Are you ready to talk?” the Lord asks, whispering into her ear. She shivers, his hot breath reminding her of all the things Lillian did to her body. It had been a dream, but it was a shared dream and there had been shared pleasure.

“Yes,” she said. “I’m ready.” Cedric removes her blindfold, exposing her to the harsh light of the single lightbulb dangling overhead. Aaron stands to the side, watching them.

"What's your name? I know it isn't Sadie Smith. The Smiths in Britain and the colonies don't have a Sadie in their household," said Cedric. Her brows crinkle, surprised at how quickly he was able to gather information.

"Nicole Walker," she said, the words falling out of her mouth. Her lips tingle, fizzing like there was soda in it. She remembers Lillian's tongue wrapped around hers and realizes that the goddess did indeed give her the words for this interrogation. She relaxes a little in her seat, a movement Cedric notices.

"Feels good, to tell the truth, doesn't it?" he asked, smirking. "Don't worry. We have plenty of questions to ask you."

Oh, she feels good alright. But not for the reason Cedric assumes. The goddess's scent fills her nose. She almost sighs in ecstasy at the memory of her night with Lillian.

“You know, I’m familiar with the Walker family,” the Lord said. “They’re well-to-do, a decent noble family. A big clan that’s got its roots from all over Europe. I’ve met the Walker women but I don’t recall there being a Nicole.”

“No one ever hears about a woman until they’ve debuted,” she scoffs, Lillian fully taking over the conversation. “It’s like our only worth is who we can be married off to.”

Cedric’s eyebrows shoot up. “You haven’t had a debutante ball yet? Ruth said you were eighteen already!”

“I’m a late bloomer,” she said, pretending not to take offense to his statement. “I did so poorly in school I got sent off to America. It’s a shame that you’re still so old-fashioned that you call my second home ‘the colonies.’" She adds a “hmph” at the end of her sentence for good measure.

"You're from a good family," Cedric said, going along with her story. "So why are you here?"

"I couldn't stand sitting through another Latin lesson," she said. "My life was boring and stuffy. I wanted to get away."

"Is that why you tried to kill me? Because you were bored? Or does the Walker clan have a vendetta against me? Lord Walker and I were getting along just fine the other day," he said. His silver eye seems to glow with emotion.

"I heard there was a bad man around these parts," she said. "Someone that was killing women." She takes a quick peek at Aaron, who stares back impassively.

Cedric looks at her thoughtfully. "What made you think that bad man was me?"

"You've got a lot of girls around here, the kind that won't be missed if they just disappeared," she said. Lillian is way too good at coming up with these stories. Then again, she was the one who created the very fabric of this dimension.

"I keep the girls out of the kindness of my heart," he said. "I can assure you that I'm not a bad man."

The cold gleam in his eyes said otherwise. She recalls his words in the dining room.

I already sin enough on behalf of the Queen, he had said. But it didn’t matter. He wasn’t the demon she was after.

“What I don’t understand,” Cedric said, “is why you had to lie about being a waif. If you had come here as the daughter of Lord Walker, we would’ve been glad to have you. Instead, you made up a sob story and signed up to be a maid. Care to explain?”

“I didn’t want to dishonor my father’s name,” she said. “I’d prefer that he didn’t know what I was doing.”

“And what exactly are you doing?” he asks.

“Bringing justice,” she said. “Nothing is being done to stop the murders.” Damn, I sound like such a badass lady.

“You have my word as a gentleman. I won’t mention any of this to your father,” he said. “But you will cease playing around with the law like this. There’s no point in being a vigilante. It’s unfit for a lady of your stature.”

“Men like you are the reason why I tried to run away from this life,” she said. “It’s not up to you to decide what’s fit for me.” Oooh, buuurn. Thank god Lillian was taking over this. She would have definitely stumbled over her words by now.

“Would you prefer I throw you out on the streets? I think not,” he said. “You may fight this life, but there’s nothing better for you out there.”

She frowns at the assumption. “What would you know?” she asks. “You haven’t been out there.”

“I’ve seen more than you think,” he said, darkness falling over his eyes. She wonders what the Lord had to witness to cast such a dark shroud over him. Was it related to that Queen he sinned for? Or was he referring to that foggy morning where he accidentally landed in her world?

“In any case,” he said, “I have to bring you back to your family. They must be worried sick about your disappearance.”

She begins to panic. She couldn’t leave the manor, not when her target was standing so close to her. If only Cedric could free her from her bonds, then she could complete her quest.

“My Lord,” she said. “My father’s not going to be happy to know that you’ve kept me in your home like this.”

“We’ll have you cleaned up and in proper lady’s clothes when he comes to pick you up. Breathe a word about me restraining you and I’ll tell your father all about your vigilante activities,” he said.

“He won’t want to get me,” she shot back. “I’m not supposed to see him until I’m ready to come out at the debutante ball.”

Cedric sits down at the table across from her. “What if we made you a proper lady? Would he want to see you then?”

“Yes,” she said. “But I don’t see what that has to do with me staying here.”

He gestures for Aaron to take a seat next to him. “My butler is immensely talented and skilled. There’s nothing he doesn’t know. He can train you to be a proper lady before we debut you and return you to your father.”

She looks at the demon across from her. He didn’t seem too happy with the arrangements, but he didn't utter a complaint against the Lord. According to Cedric, he would be forced to give her lessons every day. They would spend hours and hours together until she became a proper lady, suitable for courtship. And now that Nicole thinks about it, it was also the perfect chance for her to kill him.

Cedric frees her from her shackles. “Now that you’ve finally told us who you are, you’ll be staying in the guest room. No more scurrying around the walls and being the manor’s rat.”

She gets up, dusting herself off, unamused by his joke. What kind of ‘gentleman’ calls a lady a rat? By then, the tingling sensation had disappeared from her mouth, Lillian’s lies vanishing from her tongue.

The two men accompany her to the guest room, forcing her to keep in pace with their long legs once again. Aaron removes a key from his breast pocket, unlocking the wooden door.

Now that she was finally aboveground, Nicole could see that it was nighttime. Had she slept for an entire day? The time between Aaron tying her up and Cedric’s interrogation seemed short, no more than a few hours.

“I hope you enjoy your room,” the Lord said. “You were knocked out for a few days down there. Don’t sleep for too long. Your lessons begin first thing in the morning.” With that, he pushes her into the guest room, closing the door behind her.

She takes in the blue walls and silk drapes of the room, dazzled by the flower-shaped lights and the beautiful landscape paintings on the walls. She flops on the bed, feelings the soft sheets against her skin. This was the perfect place for her to sleep. Too bad she wasn’t tired.

She reaches into her pocket and pulls out the dagger. It was just as Lillian had told her. The dagger would remain by her side no matter who took it.

She stares at the ceiling, trying to brainstorm ways to kill the butler. He was much taller than her, so wrestling him to the ground and plunging the dagger into his chest was out of the question. The easiest way to take him down was to shoot him, plain and simple. Maybe it would happen in the middle of one of those Latin lessons she supposedly hated. His back would be turned to her as he wrote Latin gibberish on the chalkboard, giving her the perfect chance to fire a gun. But would her aim be good enough to kill him in one shot? And didn’t demons have a sixth sense for their own impending doom?

Her head starts to hurt from all the things she didn’t know about Aaron. Didn’t some famous battle strategist in history say ‘know thy enemy’? How could she fight an enemy she didn’t know?

She closes her eyes and tries to get herself to sleep. Maybe she’d see Lillian again and get all the answers to her questions. Secretly, she hopes for more than a conversation with the goddess.

Fallen goddess, she reminds herself. She gave up godhood, remember? That, of course, didn’t change the otherworldly aura Lillian gave off. Even though she had fallen, she still had magic and that alone impressed her. And immortal or not, she had grown attached to her.

Although Nicole tries as hard as she could to sleep on the soft bed, her mind refuses to let her drift off, keeping her anchored in reality.

Scritch. Scratch. She sits up from the bed. Where was that noise coming from? She keeps her ears pricked for the sound, waiting to hear it again.

A bell sounds off in the distance. She could hear horse hooves clacking on cobblestone and crickets chirping in the night.

She gets out of bed and stands in the middle of the room, hoping to better make out that mysterious noise.

Scritch scratch. She leaps towards the window, finally pinpointing the source of the noise. Outside, Mr. Whiskers paws at the panes of glass, begging to be let in. He lets out a plaintive meow and her heart melts.

“Baby!” she exclaims, unlatching the window. “How did you get out there?”

“Meow,” the black cat said, leaping into her arms. She gently sets the animal on her bed and smiles, watching it swat the air.

“I’m so glad that you’re here. You have no idea how exhausting it is to be living a lie,” she said, stroking the cat’s fur. “One minute I’m a maid and the next I’m a lady. Well, lady-to-be. You think I could be a lady, right Mr. Whiskers?”

“Meow,” the cat responds, purring. She smiles, taking his response as a yes. Once again, Nicole was faced with the absurdity of talking to a cat. But this cat was special. He understood her and saved her from potential doom on multiple occasions.

“Mr. Whiskers,” she said, “how is it that you always rescue me when I’m in trouble?” Granted, he couldn’t save her from the interrogation room, but what had she expected him to do? Knock down the doors with his tiny furry body?

“I don’t belong here,” she continues. “I wasn’t made to live here. But thanks to you, it’s a little easier being here alone. You know, you remind me of my cat at home. His name is Jessie. I think you guys would get along alright.”

Mr. Whiskers gives her a blank stare. Then, his eyes narrow. His tiny face seemed to say less talking, more petting.

“Alright I’ll shut up,” she said, giving the cat some belly rubs. “You’re just a greedy cat who wants pats. I’ll respect that.”

Thud. The loud noise startles her, interrupting her petting. It had come from outside the door, somewhere further in the manor. She grabs the dagger and approaches the door, Mr. Whiskers jumping off the bed.

She turns the doorknob and blinks in surprise.