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I returned to Prince Silvio’s room with the hangover recipe, still smiling from my interaction with Prince Nokto. Prince Silvio was still on the sofa with his arm over his face, but he lifted it to peek up at me and frowned.
“Why are you so happy?” he complained.
“I bumped into a friend, your highness. Here. I hope this helps.”
He took the teacup I offered him and brought it to his lips. “Doesn’t taste like medicine,” he grumbled.
“It’s not supposed to, your highness. If you’ll excuse me, I’ll only be a few more minutes.”
All I really had left was to tidy up the bathroom, and then Prince Keith’s room, and then I could hide in the library until noon. I glanced at the clock as I entered the bathroom. Nine o’clock. Prince Chevalier was keeping Prince Gilbert and whoever else showed up for breakfast busy until ten o’clock. I should be able to finish and get to the library well before then.
Prince Chevalier hated socializing and small talk, I realized with a pang. And he hated waking up early, and he was doing it all for me.
I needed to stop thinking about it. And him.
“So, what’s your deal?” Prince Silvio asked when I exited the bathroom. He was still sprawled out on the sofa, but he didn’t look as miserable as before.
“Your highness?”
“What was that whole thing with the Rhodolite princes last night?” he asked, his sharp sea-blue eyes penetrating straight through me. “You don’t really expect me to buy the whole ‘I’m just a maid’ thing, do you?”
“Whether you ‘buy it’ doesn’t matter, your highness, because it’s the truth,” I said firmly. “Do you need anything else from me?”
“Where do you think you’re going?”
I sighed. “Nowhere, if you aren’t dismissing me, your highness.”
He smirked. “That’s more like it. Come over here and sit down.”
He pulled his legs back to make some room on the sofa. I bit my lip nervously, but I didn’t get the sense he was about to try something, so I sat down.
“Are you feeling any better, your highness?”
“Why do you care?”
I frowned at him. “I don’t like to see anybody in pain, your highness. Why are you in such a bad mood?”
“Maybe because I’ve got such a sassy maid annoying me,” he retorted, smirking as he sipped his tea.
“I must not be bothering you too much, your highness. You won’t let me leave.”
He shrugged. “I’ve never seen a mouthy maid before. You need to learn some manners.”
I couldn’t help but laugh at that comment. “Sorry, your highness, but I don’t think you’re one to talk.”
“Chevalier’s been too lenient with you,” he said, his blue eyes sparkling with amusement.
“Clearly, you don’t know him very well, your highness. He’s having breakfast with Prince Gilbert and some of the other princes right now, if you’re feeling up to joining them.”
“Why would I want to do that?” He took another sip of tea. “Unless you’re trying to get rid of me.”
“I’m supposed to be working, your highness. I still have to clean Prince Keith’s room, and then the library.”
“Not until I say you can leave, woman.”
I might have enjoyed this back-and-forth, except for his haughty smile. It gave me the feeling that, as far as he was concerned, he owned me.
“And when will that be, your highness? I really don’t like to sit still for too long.”
“I don’t care what you like. You’re here to serve me, remember? To make sure I have a pleasant stay?” he added, a glint in his eyes as he threw my words back at me.
“Not just you, Prince Silvio. I’m also assigned to Prince Gilbert and Prince Keith,” I said testily. “And I’m still Prince Chevalier’s maid, too.”
“So, how much are you being paid? I’ll double it. They can get another maid.”
He reached behind him to the end table and a bulging coin purse, pulling a single coin from it and tossing it to me. It was solid gold and of the highest denomination in Rhodolite. I’d never owned such a coin before, and the look on his face said he was confident I would accept his generous offer. I stood up, walked past him to the end table, and set it down with a firm clack.
“I’m not for sale, your highness. If you want to talk to me, I’ll be in the library after ten o’clock.”
I turned and headed for the door. Quick footsteps behind me told me he was following me, and his hand slammed the door shut as I opened it.
“I didn’t say you could go,” he snapped, grabbing my shoulder and spinning me around to face him.
I glared up at him, my heart pounding, but he still didn’t seem threatening. Just spoiled.
“Prince Silvio, I have humored you, I have cleaned your room, I have brought you tea to help you feel better. But I am not yours, and you can’t treat me like a commodity to be bought and sold,” I said firmly.
He grabbed my chin and smirked. “Everybody has their price.”
I shoved his hand away. “You can’t afford mine, your highness. Are you going to open the door?”
“What if I don’t?” he asked, seemingly more amused by my irritation than by my cooperation. I planted my hands on his chest and shoved him backwards as hard as I could. His sea-blue eyes widened in surprise, and a faint blush colored his cheeks as he took a couple of steps back. The blush struck me as odd, but I didn’t stop to question it. I just slipped out the door and headed down the hall to Prince Keith’s room. Prince Silvio didn’t follow me, and Prince Keith wasn’t there. I breathed a sigh of relief and got to work.
Prince Silvio’s offer was tempting, but not because of the money. If he liked me that much, maybe he would offer me a job at the palace in Benitoite, too. That would get me out of Rhodolite and away from Prince Chevalier. Then again, there was always the chance I’d see Prince Chevalier in Benitoite when he was visiting, or Prince Silvio would bring me back to Rhodolite as his attendant when he came to visit…
Better to avoid palaces and princes altogether.
By ten o’clock, I had retreated to Prince Chevalier’s library, and I didn’t see or hear a soul the rest of the morning. I left the library at noon, walking briskly to avoid contact with anybody, princes or servants, and I nearly groaned aloud when I heard somebody calling my name.
“Ivetta!”
It wasn’t a prince, though. The voice was feminine, and I turned around to see Belle coming down the hall.
“Hello,” I replied, waiting until she caught up to me. “Are you supposed to be out and about? With the foreign princes here…”
She shrugged. “My name is actually Belle. Besides, I’ve heard that they’re all focused on you.”
I sighed and started walking again. “Yes, unfortunately, they are.”
“You look tired,” she noted, her brown eyes worried.
“I am,” I reluctantly admitted. The coffee had given me a much-needed boost, but the exhaustion was crashing back now, and I almost wished I’d never drank the coffee at all. Maybe I could get another cup of it when I got back, just to get through the afternoon.
“You could come up to my room and take a nap,” Belle suggested.
I shook my head. “No thanks. I have to go home right now, and I need to be back by one o’clock, so I can’t really talk.”
“Go home? There’s no way you’ll be back by one o’clock.”
“I take a carriage for this.”
“And just where do you think you’re going?” a stern voice interrupted as Belle and I walked through the kitchens on our way to the servants’ entrance. I sighed and turned to face Marge.
“Home. I’ve been going home on my lunch break for over a week now,” I replied wearily.
“I never approved that,” she snapped, her hands on her hips.
“It’s my lunch break and my time,” I said coolly. “I didn’t need your approval.”
The normal hubbub of a busy kitchen tapered off. Marge’s hazel eyes flashed.
“Well, now that we’re all busy with the annual goodwill gala, there will be none of that. You’ll take your lunch right here, with the rest of the servants, and then you’ll resume the assignment I gave you,” she said, emphasizing the last three words.
“I’m going home,” I repeated, calmly and evenly. “If you have a problem with that, then you can find somebody else to attend to the foreign princes, because I quit.”
“Ivetta-” Belle whispered, tugging on my sleeve. I could feel the other servants’ stares like a heavy weight pressing on my shoulders, but I was too tired to care.
“I’m sure you won’t have a problem finding somebody to take my place,” I continued. “Waiting hand and foot on Prince Gilbert is easy enough once you get over the fear of death with any wrong move.”
Marge’s eyes were wide with shock. The kitchen was still and silent, except for something sizzling on the stove. And burning from lack of attention.
“I’ll be back at one o’clock,” I said flatly, and then I walked out. Belle didn’t follow me. I climbed into the waiting carriage and leaned forward to pull the window open.
“Sorry I’m late. Could you hurry, please?”
“Of course, Miss Ivetta.”
I closed the window and leaned back against the seat. I wouldn’t miss Marge, but I would miss the coachman. Maybe I should get him a present before I left. Or at least ask him his name. It seemed like I was always in a hurry when I saw him, and I just hadn’t asked yet. That was unlike me.
I hopped out of the carriage when it stopped in front of my house, and the coachman climbed down from the coach box to rub down the horses, something he usually did while he was waiting for me.
“Excuse me,” I started. He turned to face me, one bushy black eyebrow raised in a question. “I just realized I’ve never asked your name.”
“Charlie,” he said, flashing me a wide grin that lit up his brown eyes.
I nodded. “Charlie. Thank you for everything, Charlie.”
“Just doing my job, miss. Better get moving.”
I nodded again and turned into my house. My first task was always the bucket, and I had finished scrubbing it down by the river when a high-pitched voice came to me on the breeze.
“Ivy!”
I stood up and turned around, smiling to see Rachel rushing toward me. Jason was following at a slower pace, looking bored, as usual. Rachel threw her arms around my legs in a hug. I laughed and patted her head with my free hand.
“It’s good to see you too, Rachel, but I’m still working.”
“I know,” she said, releasing my legs and skipping up the hill beside me. “That’s what I told the man who came looking for you yesterday. That you’re always working.”
A chill wrapped around my heart despite the bright noonday sun.
“What man?”
“He was really nice,” she said happily. “He showed me a magic trick, and he gave me some candy.”
“Jason, do you know anything about this?” I asked, trying to keep the worry out of my voice.
“She won’t stop talking about him,” Jason replied, his brow furrowing in a frown. “I guess he stopped by our place at lunchtime yesterday, when Mom was at your house and I was out with the boys.”
“Rachel, you were home alone?” I asked. “You shouldn’t talk to strangers when you’re home alone.”
“Or invite them inside,” Jason added.
“But he was really nice!” she insisted. “He had a really nice smile, and Mommy was just next door.”
“What did he look like?” I asked, dreading the answer.
“He looked kinda funny. He wore all black, and he had black hair, and a black eyepatch. It was over…” She screwed up her face in thought and pointed at her left eye. “This eye. And his other eye was red.”
Prince Gilbert. He was right here yesterday at lunchtime, probably waiting for me to get back from work, and he asked Rachel about me. What if he poisoned the candy? But it had been twenty-four hours. Surely she would have died by now if he had poisoned her, right?
He could have killed her.
“Ivetta? Are you okay?” Jason asked.
I shook my head. “I’m fine, sorry. But Rachel, I don’t want you talking to that man again. If you see him, you need to run away and find an adult. Okay?”
She stared up at me with wide, dark chocolate eyes. “Is he a bad person?” she whispered.
I nodded. “Yes, Rachel, he’s a bad person.”
“Ivetta,” Jason started, but he stopped, his lips pursed as he looked at me.
“Just…keep an eye on Rachel, okay? And do not confront that man if you see him. I have to finish here and get back to the palace. Thank your mother for me.”
I shut the door in his face and hurried to finish up with Mother. My heart was clamoring in my chest, but Mother was too sick to notice. She barely woke up for her medicine. For a second, I worried Prince Gilbert might have poisoned her, and then cool logic chased that idea away. He was gone before Mrs. Stotts got back home. And even if he did poison Mother, how would I know? She was sick enough that I wouldn’t be able to tell, and there wasn’t any point in doing something like that, either.
The icy hand of fear clutching my heart was melting in the growing flames of anger in my chest. I hopped back in the carriage and asked Charlie to hurry again. My fingers tapped impatiently in my lap as the scenery flew past the windows, and the carriage had barely stopped at the front gate when I leaped out and raced into the servants’ entrance. I asked the first servant I saw where Prince Gilbert was. The butler stared at me, wide-eyed, and stammered something about lunch with the other princes. I clenched my fists at my sides and headed to the library.
This wasn’t important enough for me to interrupt the princes’ lunch. Besides, I didn’t need to give the Rhodolitian princes another reason to hate Prince Gilbert. He would find me, I was sure of it, and when he did, I’d deal with him myself.
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