With a big hat on her head, Melrose followed Arianne closely and asked, "Are you sure I won't be recognized by people, Arianne?"
Arianne, who was dressed up the same, answered, "With how big that hat of yours, your face could hardly be seen. Just keep your head low and don't act too stiff or people might get curious."
"Are there even women who wear hats inside the club? And we are dressed so poorly that one will think we are lower than servants. Ladies in a gentlemen's club for sure, even those from the lower class, could have worn better clothes than this. I doubt this is your way of keeping low or getting us busted."
"Silly girl," Arianne held her arm as they approached the entrance of Spade House. She grinned at Melrose. "Mellie, trust me, okay? I will have this Mr. Harris tamed today that he will forget about the duel he is supposed to have with my foolish brother. And about our clothes, I made this on purpose so that not a single gentleman will bother taking interest in you. I don't want to be put on a scaffold for sending the King's future wife in a dungeon of men."
"What will you do about Mr. Harris? Don't tell me…" Melrose's voice turned lower than a whisper. "You are planning to seduce the man?"
"No. I will have you seduce him."
"Stop jesting, Arianne," came Melrose's immediate reply although she doubted if Arianne wouldn't dare make her do it. This friend of hers was full of wicked ideas who had brought several mishaps to herself before.
"I am not jesting, Mellie. You know between us you are more attractive. There's no doubt Mr. Harris or any man will fall for your trap."
Melrose stopped walking, voice was firm as she spoke. "No, I won't do that."
Arianne laughed. "I was just trying to humor you. Mr. Harris knows the famous Lady Lewis, so as your betrothal to the King. He is no fool to even think about it."
Melrose relaxed. She was feeling bad about their plan and had been feeling nervous since she left the house. She had never stepped foot in any gentlemen's club before. She was keen at keeping her reputation clean as she didn't want to cause troubles for her father.
"I will do it myself. Not the seduction, of course, as I don't intend on marrying him. Let's say, I will try to talk it out."
"And what am I even doing here?"
Arianne smiled. "To support me? You know I can't brave a war alone."
Melrose didn't talk back as they finally reached the guarded doors of Spade House. The two guards looked at the ladies from head to toe. Melrose made sure to lower her head so her face couldn't be seen by the men's eyes. On the other side, the guards looked at the two as if they were lost village girls.
"This is not an inn. I think you are lost, ladies," said one of the guards with a hint of mockery.
Melrose was somewhat irked by the tone used. But in fear of someone recognizing her, she didn't speak and let Arianne handle it.
"You are wrong, gentlemen. We came to the right place, for we are the newly hired servants."
Servants. Melrose felt her brows twitching under the hat she wore, which made her brows feel itchy. She rarely wore hats, and if she did, she made sure it was of top quality and this one she was wearing was too odd for her liking. Sure, Arianne did a great job in making them look weird.
"Mrs. Jennings indeed said that there will be new servants coming today," said the other guard. "She reminded me not to make fun of the newcomers and let them pass without a question."
With that, the guards didn't delay them further.
"Are you acquainted with this Mrs. Jennings?" Melrose asked Arianne after they got past the doors.
"As a lady of noble birth, of course I have some strings to pull." Arianne smiled wickedly.
Meanwhile, Melrose couldn't help but gulp softly when she saw what was inside the famous Spade House. Different bottles of alcohol, lots of it, dancing women in dresses which seemed too revealing, and many men that she was sure came from different classes. She even saw familiar faces of noblemen who were introduced to her before. She nervously lowered her head so that she could only see the floor.
"Don't fret, Mellie. I have been here once before, so I know the way. Besides, the mistress of Spade House, Mrs. Jennings, will surely help us out if things go dire."
"I hope so, Arianne," Melrose whispered.
They reached the hallway of the second floor and Melrose relaxed a little when she saw there were fewer people up there.
"Mrs. Jennings knows what room Mr. Harris usually occupies. I will get inside alone and you just remain at the door until I go out. Do you get me, Mellie?"
"I will just stand and do nothing?"
"For plan A, yes. But if that doesn't work, we will go with plan B, which needs your cooperation."
Melrose's brows furrowed. "What will you make me do?"
"If a peaceful talk won't work, then the only choice we have is to make him do it by force. I can't force him, but you can. After all, in a few months you will have equal power as the King. He will listen to you."
"You know I don't do such a thing, Arianne." Melrose shook her head.
"Even if I beg you on my bended knees?" Arianne grinned.
"Convince him, beg for it, do whatever you can to make Mr. Harris oblige. For sure his heart is not that hard."
Melrose had seen Mr. Harris and he wasn't someone arrogant, rude or difficult. In fact, he was polite and friendly, a man who could be dealt with by a woman. Thinking about that, she remembered a man who sure was hard to deal with. The devilish lord she couldn't decipher as he was a very complicated person.
"It's this room. Wait for me here. If someone asks what you are doing, say you are the servant attending to Mr. Harris," said Arianne.
"Fine. Be quick."
Arianne nodded with an assuring smile before she entered the room. Not a minute passed, two ladies went out. Melrose didn't want to guess what those ladies were doing with a single man in a private room. If Benedict and Mr. Harris were fighting over a girl, then that meant Mr. Harris had someone he liked, yet he was here seeking for entertainment. Now she felt disappointed with the man and thought about the plan B Arianne talked about. She believed that if a man liked a girl, he should prove that he was worthy of her, rather than filling his arms with other girls.
Ten minutes had passed and Arianne was yet to go out. Melrose didn't have an idea what they were discussing and all she could think of was leaving the place as soon as possible. She couldn't calm her mind with her growing anxiety.
Men and ladies kept on passing by her front and he remained standing, not daring to look at their eyes as she lowered her head in fear to see someone she knew.
She heard the buzzing of people and leered at the side to see the lower clothes of who were approaching. They were a group of ladies and men. The men's discussion was heard in the whole hallway, and it seemed that they were from the upper class. Melrose's anxious heart skipped a beat before it rammed her chest.
She stepped back, almost leaning on the closed door, trying her best not to be noticed. She was sure a man wouldn't take another glance at her with the way she dressed, but she still couldn't help but be anxious.
If they were from the upper class, it wasn't impossible that they would have seen her in the balls and soirees she had attended. And if they were to see her face, that would mean a lot of trouble and embarrassment. She couldn't imagine what the King would think of her once the news reached him. And to think the way people gossip about others, for sure it would appear more scandalous than the truth.
However, she should have foreseen what kind of misfortune was destined to befall her in the gentlemen's club. When it happened, it was too late for her to run.
One of the ladies accompanying the men stepped on her long dress and missed her footing. Melrose, who was looking at the ground, didn't see what was about to come. The girl accidentally bumped at her which made her easily lose her balance as she was busy curling up her toes in anxiety.
Her lips parted in shock, and before she knew it, the big hat covering her face was thrown somewhere by the impact and her wavy blonde hair bounced in her shoulders to her back. She knew it should be the least of her concern when she was about to crash on the marbled floor, but she couldn't help but worry, especially when she saw a familiar pair of strange eyes after she felt a strong arm caught her waist.
*****
"I should have invited you to the soiree my wife hosted in our manor, Lord Knight. I would like you to meet my eldest daughter," said Mr. Philips.
The old man was accompanied by his friends, and Reed was invited by him to join them for a drink. Reed didn't refuse as he had ulterior motives in meeting the man and his associates.
"You should have seen Miss Dainty, Lord Knight. She is one of the most beautiful among the girls her age," said another man.
"I should see her some other time then," Reed said in a low and cold voice. One of the ladies accompanying the group held his arm as if he would be pleased by it, like how the married men were enjoying the company of the ladies from the gentlemen's club they were in.
"My lord, I heard lots of things about you." The lady smiled sweetly. She was attractive, but for Reed, there was nothing special in her.
Reed's lips formed a grim line, not pleased with the lady's audacity to touch him. If there was one thing he hated the most, it was being touched without his permission.
One dark look and the lady's smile fell off her lips. She immediately kept her hand away from the lord and stayed behind as the group continued to walk. It was one of the attributes Reed liked about humans. Most of them could tell that they should not cross the lines when it came to him. They could sense danger and know when to step back.
While Mr. Philips was trying to entertain Reed with the discussion he opened, Reed caught a smell that held his senses. His gaze immediately fell at the woman steps away, who was standing in front of a door, with a big hat in her head covering her entire face. His eyebrow rose at the dark and unattractive clothes she was wearing.
He wanted to refuse to believe that it was the same woman with such a luscious scent, as the noble lady would never make a mistake getting lost in a gentlemen's club, but Reed was no fool. His senses were sharper than a blade. Every human's scent differed from one another, and there was only one potent enough for him to not forget.
Besides, the woman's frantic heartbeat sounded too familiar for a stranger. By the way she stood there, eyes on the ground, and curling her toes which was obvious with the little movements of her shoes, she seemed drowned in anxiety.
Why, of all places, did she come here when she couldn't even hold her ground? Reed couldn't help but ask himself.
Was she here to see someone and she disguised herself so she wouldn't be recognized?
The thought made him leer at her darkly even though she wasn't aware of it. Humans were slave by their desires and cheating wasn't new to them. So he wouldn't be surprised if the lady was indeed doing something behind the King.
But why was she standing there like a servant, or more like a guard?
Reed listened attentively to his surroundings, then he heard a familiar voice from the room where Lady Lewis stood. The same voice of the girl she was with when they gossiped about him at the King's birthday. Did she go here to accompany her friend? How bold she was.
Before Reed's thoughts could go further, the lady beside Mr. Philips, who was walking close to him, tripped and bumped into the human girl pretending like a statue.
Her big hat was thrown away along with the bouncing of her blonde waves that flowed down her chest and back. He caught how her heart skipped a beat, how her topaz eyes widened, and how her lips parted in the realization that her disguise was busted.
Reed caught her just before she would fall on the ground. Her crystalline eyes looked brighter under the chandelier as it widened even more when she met his brooding gaze.