"What took you so long in the lavatory, Dominixe?"
That was Papa's question as soon as I was in the carriage and felt it move. Arthur, Britanny, and Lambert were already expecting that I would be scolded for letting Papa wait.
"Pardon my tardiness, Papa."
He eyed me up and down before squinting his eyes at me after sniffing the air. His face contorted after that. "You fooled around," he concluded, not asked. "With who?"
I almost stiffened. Why did I feel that I had hickeys on my neck or shoulders? I stared intently at Papa.
"I had an interesting encounter with my target, Papa," I said, not feeling threatened under his gaze.
I already anticipated that he would know that I had fooled around. I deliberately did not take my bangle to hide my scent since this was what I wanted. Though the part of seeing Valerian and fooling around with him was not part of my plan, this was enough that I would make a convincing answer to him.
