It was her humming that woke me again the next morning, even though I hadn’t told her to come. She was quick to pick up on my preferences. I was more than a little relieved to know that she wasn’t alone in the library, and maybe I enjoyed listening to her a bit more than I cared to admit. I lay still until the humming stopped at nine o’clock when she called her cheerful greeting, and then she left for my breakfast.
I could get used to this.
She had set the desk with breakfast when I emerged from the bathroom, but unlike the past couple of days, she met my eyes and ventured a question.
“Do you have anything you need me to do after this, your highness?”
“Do you really enjoy being tormented so much?” I asked, studying her. “Or perhaps you’re hoping to get out of something Noisy has lined up for you?”
Her face said it all, but she still tried to hide it. “Just trying to be helpful, your highness.”
I allowed a hint of a smile to show. My office could use some tidying up, and she’d be relatively safe from Clavis’ schemes where I could keep an eye on her.
“In that case, there is something you can do for me - when you’re done with Noisy’s chore. I’ll be in my office.”
“Yes, your highness.”
She finished in the bathroom at the same time I finished breakfast, and I only needed a single glance to see that she had another question. I stopped, waiting, but she said nothing.
“Ask your question,” I prompted, mildly annoyed. This was probably regarding whatever Clavis had roped her into.
“Prince Chevalier, how do I get to Prince Nokto’s room?”
I was careful not to allow anything to show on my face, but her words brought a sense of foreboding. “What business do you have with that Clown?”
“He asked me to clean his room, your highness,” she said, collecting the dirty dishes.
She wasn’t looking at me, and I found my eyes wandering freely across her for a moment. Her long black lashes hooding her bright green eyes, the sun reflecting off of her glossy black hair, her slender, shapely limbs, her gentle curves - she would be nothing more to Nokto than another notch on his bedpost. Maybe she’d be able to resist his seduction. Maybe - but maybe wasn’t good enough. If she went in angry, she’d have a much better chance.
“Drinks with Number One and Noisy last night, a tryst with the Clown this morning. My, you are a busy little dove.”
She sighed, irritated. “Please stop making such comments, Prince Chevalier.”
I walked over to her and spun her to face me, catching her chin firmly so she couldn’t look away. “You didn’t manage Noisy too well, did you?” I asked, smirking down at her.
She pushed my hand away, the blush coming easily to her cheeks. “Prince Chevalier-”
I put my arm around her waist and pulled her up against me. A mistake. Her soft curves nearly erased all thought, but suddenly, it was even more important for her not to fall for Nokto.
“And you are foolish enough to think you can handle the Clown?”
Her green eyes flashed, and she pushed me away firmly. “Don’t do that!” Her angry cheeks flushed even deeper.
I laughed scornfully and turned back to the door. “Three doors down on the left. Make sure you behave.”
I didn’t have to look back at her to know she was fuming. It was dangerous for me to look at her any longer. I’d never held a woman before, never even wanted to, and the feel of her against me still had my thoughts in chaos. At least she was angry enough to defend against Nokto’s charms. At least she’d pushed me away when she did. Any longer, and I may not have been able to let her go.
This wasn’t like me. I was always in control, always prepared, always thinking ahead. What was she doing to me?
I circled back to my room a few minutes later, when I thought it would be safe. She should be en route to the kitchens with the dishes. The quiet and stillness echoed around me as I surveyed the empty room, envisioning her bending over the desk again. No. I had to stop this. I went to the bathroom and splashed my face with cold water.
If Nokto so much as laid a hand on her-
I splashed my face again, setting my jaw firmly. It was time to work, and that was all. There were pressing matters to attend to, matters of national importance. I couldn’t waste my time thinking about a silly little maid.
“Oh, hey, Chev,” Clavis greeted me as I entered my office. “Is this going to be the new routine for you? I guess it makes sense. She only works eight to five.”
“What does that matter?”
He shrugged. “Maybe nothing, to you. Wonder where Nokto could be? He left breakfast early this morning.”
So, Clavis had set this up. I’d already suspected as much.
“How’s Ivetta working out for you?”
“If you don’t get to work, I may finally dispose of you and replace you with her,” I said sharply.
“Okay, okay, I get it. Touchy.”
There was a stack of mail for me to go through, in addition to the never-ending paperwork. I shuffled through the mail, and there it was: the letter from the doctor, slipped neatly into the stack, still sealed. I put it safely in a pocket of my cloak when Clavis wasn’t looking and started opening the rest of the mail. It was impossible to concentrate, knowing she was alone with Nokto, feeling the letter burning a hole in my chest. I skimmed each document without really seeing it and then added it to the growing stack on my desk. This was taking too long. Nokto was due to give me his own report on some sensitive matters. Maybe I could go after him on the pretense that I was only after the report.
The door opened, and he walked in, his crimson eyes glittering as he smiled slyly. I glanced at the clock. About a half hour since I left her. A trip to the kitchens, maybe a stop for clean bedding, and then to his room - he’d been with her for at most fifteen minutes. Not enough time, even for him.
“Your report?” I asked testily.
“Clavis didn’t do her justice,” he said smoothly.
“Oh? Don’t tell me you were with Ivetta?” Clavis asked innocently, although he, too, wore a sly grin.
“Of course. She’s a bit of a firecracker, though. Chased me out of my own room, telling me I needed to get to work.” He tossed a sealed envelope on my desk. “She’s a virgin.”
I picked up the envelope and broke the seal, my amusement at the account of her handling of Nokto immediately replaced by irritation from his last statement.
“How can you tell?” Clavis asked.
“Call it intuition,” he said casually. “I have a lot of experience in these matters.”
“If you’re not going to get your head out of the bedroom and into your work, then you may as well leave,” I commented, skimming the report.
“But you know how much I enjoy mixing business with pleasure, King Highness. My primary informant for that report was a particularly voluptuous blonde. She was not a virgin. Not by a long shot. Interrogating her was quite enjoyable.” He sat on the edge of my desk, looking over the document. “It’s worse than we thought, King Highness,” he said quietly, suddenly serious.
“Indeed. Noisy.”
“Yeah, Chev?”
“How close are you in the investigation?”
“Aw, you’re not going to let me write a report on it?” he asked. I glanced over at him. Though his tone was light, his golden eyes were hard. “It’s confirmed, Chev, but they’re good at covering their tracks. I may have a lead, though.”
I sighed. “Go. The Clown and I will finish up with this.”
A couple of hours later, when Nokto was completely immersed in his work, I slipped the letter out of my pocket and broke the seal. This wasn’t good news, either. Her mother had some form of cancer, discovered too late to be treated, and it had spread throughout her entire body. She was dying, and it would likely be detrimental to her health to move her. The doctor estimated she had one or two more months left, at most. And the amount of money owed so far in doctor’s bills was already astronomical. There was no way Ivetta could ever pay it all off. She was paying as much as she could weekly, and that was barely putting a dent in the interest accrued.
She really was good at hiding things. There would be no way of guessing all of this just by looking at her.
Why did I care?
I had the information I wanted. There was nothing more I could do. She wouldn’t risk her mother’s health to move to the palace, and she certainly wouldn’t leave her behind. That was it. Jin could complain all he wanted, but nothing was going to change. She would continue to walk an hour to and from the palace, going straight through the red-light district, whether he liked it or not. Whether I liked it or not. And I didn’t like it. My strange reaction at the thought of her alone with Nokto was nothing compared to the gnawing at my stomach when I thought of her on those streets. Nokto would take no for an answer. Nobody would ask her opinion in the red-light district. Nobody would care. I’d allowed her to push me away, but it would have been easy to overpower her. She was too small, too vulnerable. Too attractive.
Too distracting.
I had work to do, an informant to find, illegal arms dealing to suppress, new weapons manufacturing in Obsidian to prevent. Matters of much greater importance than the safety of one insignificant maid.
She still wasn’t back from Nokto’s room. It must have been a mess.
I filtered through the documents on my desk, only half paying attention. It was all routine, anyway. Requisitions, reports, reviews, requests. My servants’ salaries were up for review. I scanned the lines, mentally calculating the current numbers versus my other expenditures. The typical maid’s salary caught my eye. It was a fair number, much greater than what would be expected outside of the palace for similar work. Ivetta’s mother’s doctor’s bill flitted through my mind again. Working here at the palace would have brought with it a significant raise in pay to what Ivetta made before, but it still wasn’t close to what she needed to cover that bill. But I could easily afford to pay for it.
I recognized her knock just before noon. Nokto was the closest to the door, and I didn’t look up or say a word as he opened it. I’d made up my mind, and I was reaching for a blank piece of parchment.
“Hello again,” he said slyly.
I glanced up at her. She was smiling at Nokto, but there was something in her eyes that made me think she’d rather slap him.
“I finished in your room, your highness. I hope everything is to your liking,” she said politely.
“I’m sure it is.” Nokto stepped aside so she could enter, not taking his lecherous eyes off of her. “King Highness, the maid you requested is here.”
I could see that. And I could see him undressing her with his eyes. His womanizing had always annoyed me, but annoyance alone could not explain the rising temperature of my blood.
“You are dismissed, Clown,” I said, keeping my voice cool.
“Thank you, King Highness,” he said with a bow. As he walked past her, his fingers grazed her arm, and he leaned in to whisper in her ear. I couldn’t catch what he said, but whatever it was made her blush. I felt a sudden urge to leap out of my seat and throw him out myself, but I held still. So did she, even after the door closed, waiting for me to speak.
She really was becoming problematic.
“That was remarkably clever of you, sending the Clown here,” I commented.
Her green eyes registered confusion at my compliment, and then realization. She knew why I’d made her so angry before I left. Clever, as always.
“Prince Nokto was interfering with my work, your highness,” she finally said.
“I’m sure.” I looked back down at the blank parchment in front of me. “After lunch, return here.”
“Yes, your highness.”
My quill was in motion before she even closed the door. I didn’t want her here while I wrote this, in case she glimpsed any words. She was discreet, though, and she probably wouldn’t look, but she wouldn’t approve. I was paying off her bill. If anybody had asked my reasoning at the time, I wouldn’t have had an answer. It just seemed like something I should do.
The letter was done and sealed in an envelope when she returned shortly after one o’clock. I didn’t acknowledge her, and she quietly got started cleaning, as I’d expected. We worked in silence for a few hours until I finally set my quill down and stood up.
“Come,” I said, heading for the door.
She followed without a word, staying behind and slightly beside me as we traversed the hallways. I knew now that she’d never worked as a maid before. How did she know so much about proper etiquette? She’d never gone to school, either, but she was better spoken and more intelligent than most. I glanced back as she split away from me, heading toward the kitchens. Maybe I would ask her when she brought my tea.
She was only a few minutes behind me with it. “Do you need anything else, your highness?” she asked, setting it down on the end table and taking a polite step back, awaiting my next command.
I looked up at her as I took a sip of tea. She had excellent posture, too. “You speak well, for a commoner. Did your mother teach you to talk this way?”
“Yes, your highness,” she said, trying to hide her surprise at my question. “Proper language and etiquette are very important to her.”
I took another sip. “And your father?”
“He passed away before I was born, your highness.”
“I see.” I set the teacup down and allowed myself to show a hint of a smile. The information I’d gathered had been very spotty about her father, and there were rumors that her mother came to the village fleeing prostitution. “And that is why you are so sensitive to certain implications, correct?”
“My mother was not a prostitute, your highness,” she said quietly, immediately understanding my underlying question.
“I didn’t say she was.”
She was silent for a moment, probably trying to figure out what I wanted. “I did hear a lot of talk as a child, if that’s what you’re asking. I really don’t want to discuss this any further, Prince Chevalier.”
I smirked, amused. “You forget your place again.”
She sighed in frustration. “I’m not ending the conversation, your highness, merely requesting we change the subject.” And she was wondering why I wanted to talk to her at all. She was so easy to read.
“You amuse me,” I said, answering her unspoken question.
She frowned at me. “It’s really unnerving when you do that, your highness.”
I chuckled. “Naturally. You’re dismissed.”
She was an interesting puzzle. I had found a few pieces, and I felt that I was starting to make sense of her, but the bits I knew made the gaps in my knowledge even more obvious. She was a distraction, to be sure, but maybe it wasn’t so bad to have somebody like her around with all the trouble that was brewing within and without Rhodolite’s borders. War was becoming less and less avoidable. She provided me with an escape, if only for a few minutes every day.31Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡgVn1MtfaF1
