Vic was exhausted in every possible way. Physically, she’d been on the go ever since her conversation with her father. She’d put out a hundred fires since then, but his voice still echoed in her brain nearly twelve hours later, which of course contributed to her mental exhaustion. And as for her emotional state, she couldn’t even remember when that had been thrown off kilter. Certainly, matters of her heart had gone off the rails in the last couple days, but she suspected she’d been doomed from the moment Sophia commanded her to unhand the sword.

She smiled at the memory in spite of her current state of mind. The smile only widened as she pushed open the door to her private quarters and found Sophia sitting on her settee.

“I’ve never been more chuffed to see anyone in my life.”

Sophia’s own smile was more tired and weary. “Chuffed? That’s a good emotion, right?”

“Very,” Vic confirmed, leaning down to kiss her quickly.

Sophia slipped an arm around her waist and tried to pull her down next to her.

It took every functioning muscle in Vic’s aching body to resist. “If I sit, I won’t get back up, and I need a drink for whatever recap of the day is bound to happen next.”

She shed her suitcoat on her way to the drink cart and unbuttoned the cuffs on her dress shirt. “Shall I pour us each a double?”

“No.”

The flat tone in which Sophia delivered the word made the hair on the back of Vic’s neck stand on end. “No to the double? Haven’t you eaten yet? I had half a salad at the office. I could order something up for you from the kitchen, or maybe we could draw a bath and then—”

“Vic.”

The way Sophia said her name told her everything she needed to know about where this was going and how much she would enjoy the conversation.

“Very well. None for you, a double for me.” She took a deep breath and tried to steady herself, but her fingers trembled as she poured the gin. Then, forcing her expression to remain neutral, she joined Sophia on the settee. “I get the sense you have something on your mind. Please allow me to ease it. Whom shall I guillotine?”

Sophia shook her head. “I’m afraid it’s not something you can fix, at least not with a mere beheading.”

“Why don’t you at least let me try?”

Sophia stared at their fingers for a moment before lifting her eyes and saying, “It’s over.”

“What?” she croaked.

“We have to end this. Tonight.”

“Hmm.” Vic bit her lip to keep from yelping at the pain those words shot through her. “I am forced to disagree with you. I know this morning brought some unique complications, but—”

“It’s more than this morning.”

“A complex couple of days then.”