Kate poked him in the ribs, fighting back her own smile. “Stop being so adorable. It’s distracting.” She turned to Ned. “Most nobles don’t notice individual dancers unless it’s someone they know or are specifically trying to outdo. The only reason the big entrance works is that they’re genetically pre-disposed to pay attention to spotlights and dramatic music.”
Ned lifted an eyebrow. “That’s not going to work with you and Jon. He’s the prince—everyone’s paying attention to him.”
Kate heard Jon murmur, “Only recently,” before he raised his voice for Ned. “If anyone asks, I’ll tell them my mother bought the contract, then expected me to work with the Fairy Godmother to handle all the details.” He smiled slightly at Ned, Rellie, and Kate’s disbelieving expressions. “Believe me, no one who knows my mother at all will doubt it for a moment.”
“Whether or not she could focus long enough to set up all the finer details of the contract, of course, is another matter entirely.” Everyone turned as Lawton emerged from the crowd, holding yet another glass of pink champagne aloft as if protecting it from the surrounding ruffians. “Still, since the king and I are likely the only people intelligent enough to bring up that question, I doubt it will be an issue.”
Rellie leaned forward, fascinated by the glass in Lawton’s hand. “Ooooh, that matches my dress perfectly.”
Lawton’s brow furrowed as he considered Rellie for a moment, then he very deliberately moved the glass even further out of her reach before turning his attention to Kate and Jon. “I was amusing myself watching your guests eat the hors d’oeuvres when I remembered we hadn’t yet finalized a time for the girl’s grand entrance. Since it’s a mere quarter to midnight, we should likely force ourselves to commit.”
Rellie turned to Kate. “Wait, didn’t you say that my dress turns back into rags at . . .”
At this, Kate immediately ushered everyone back through the doorway. “I never thought I’d be saying this, but how fast can you two dance?”
SEVENTEEN
Making It Work
The sparkles started first, lit by the glow of a spotlight that was unsurprisingly tinged pink. Out beyond the edge of the lights the orchestra started again, playing fast enough to suggest they were being encouraged from the sidelines.
Jon hoped Lawton had picked a really short number.
Shaking a bit of confetti off his nose—it wasn’t dignified to scratch in public—Jon squinted past the edge of the spotlight in the futile hope of catching some sight of Kate. But all he could see were crowds of people who were suddenly focusing on him, which likely meant the scene was far more impressive from the outside than the inside.
Not that he was going to mention that to Kate.
Rellie made her appearance along with the rose petals, and the crowd gave a collective sigh of dramatic appreciation—never mind that several of them had been dancing next to her for over an hour. Despite his and Kate’s admonitions, he’d expected Rellie to be running, either thrilled by the all the pink or wanting to get it over with as soon as possible, and his eyes narrowed slightly as he realized she was actually slowing down the further she got into the spotlight. He took a few steps forward, and was ready to pull her closer toward him if he had to, when he caught sight of the suppressed terror in her eyes.
He shot her a sympathetic smile and moved forward to take her hand and lead her into the center of the spotlight. When she grabbed his other hand, holding on tight enough to possibly cut off circulation, he leaned forward to murmur encouragement in her ear. “Just focus on the sparkles and pretend we’re practicing in a larger room than usual. Kate and Ned are the only other people here.”
“But I need you to remind me what I’m supposed to do with my feet!” Rellie whispered back, panicked. “With Ned I was mostly just swirling around, but now everyone’s looking at me and I don’t remember what to do with my feet!”
“Those aren’t glass slippers, are they?”
“No, they’re some kind of squishy stuff.”
“Then just step up on my feet and I’ll take it from there.” When she did, relieved, he smiled slightly. “After all, we both have someone we want to get back to.”
When she smiled back, he started them into their first turn.
They finished with four minutes to spare, but they forgot to account for the fact that Rellie had suddenly become interesting to the partygoers. Several people tried to stop Rellie and Jon on their way out the door, all trying to get the pertinent details that would make them invaluable in gossiping circles.
“Darling, your dress is fantastic! You must let me speak to your tailor!”
“You look so much like the Duchess of Flantower. Are the two of you related?”
Jon made a variety of hurried excuses as the clock ticked down, seriously considering whether or not to simply start shoving people out of the way. With two minutes to go, Rellie finally gave in and kicked one man in the shins. After that, people thankfully got the hint and started backing out of their way.
They met Kate and Lawton just outside the ballroom with barely a minute left. Then they sprinted to the nearest empty room.
“We made it,” Kate said with relief, a little out of breath as she closed the door to one of the king’s old studies behind them. “Remind me to never cut it that close—” She stopped, expression closing down as memory cut through the enthusiasm. “Never mind.” She turned away from the door, suddenly sounding tired. Next to her, a swirl of magic transformed Rellie’s dress into rags just as the palace clock chimed midnight. “After tonight it’s not going to be an issue.”
Jon reached out, grabbing Kate’s hand and pulling her toward him. “You know, one advantage to switching careers for a man is he tends to want to shower you with presents during the transition,” he murmured, pressing a kiss to the back of her hand. The twinge of worry in his chest eased as her expression did, and he smiled as amusement lit her eyes. “Feel free to start asking for yours at any time.”
The corners of Kate’s mouth curved up. “Are we talking roses here, or a box of diamonds big enough to comfortably secure my early retirement?”
Jon pulled her all the way against his chest. “Since you’re going to be retiring with me, I don’t think the diamonds are going to be a problem. But since you asked, I was thinking more along the lines of starting our own competing Fairy Godmother company, just to keep you entertained in whatever spare moments you’re not busy being a princess.”
Kate started to chuckle, then froze at something she saw in his expression. “You can’t be serious. There’s no way everyone would be okay with us starting up a company like that.”
Jon raised an eyebrow. “When I was young my mother had an entire aerie full of miniature dragons built on the back lawn because she decided she wanted one to match each of her ten thousand dresses. My grandfather hired teams of painters to follow him around everywhere and spray everything with gold paint, and my great-great-uncle bought every frog in five thousand miles in case one of them was an enchanted princess.”
Kate blinked at that. “Okay, he could have probably used a Fairy Godmother in the family.”
“See?” He leaned forward to brush his lips against hers. “No one will even think twice about it.”
“Ooh, that sounds like fun,” Rellie piped in, safe in a double protective layering of Ned’s arms and a curtain from one of the first floor windows. It was a little more dignified than the rags, and they’d been worried her dress would change back in the corridor. Even in the palace, clouds of magic dust tended to attract too much attention. “Because if you guys started a company, that would mean I could join in and be a Fairy Godmother, too. I mean, all that stuff about your boss sounds creepy, but I really like the wings and the wand, and if you were my boss . . .”
Kate pulled away from Jon enough to make an extremely firm cease-and-desist gesture at the girl. “Let’s talk about that later, okay? Right now, we have to worry about what we’re going to do with you until we ha
ve the rest of this worked out.” She stepped even further away, but her hand still held on to Jon’s as her brow furrowed in thought. “Traditionally, we’re supposed to send you back home until the prince or nobleman comes to get you, but the thought of Bubbles somehow tracking you there scares me.”
Ned turned to Rellie, clutching her a little tighter. “Kate’s right,” he said. “You don’t ever want to meet Bubbles.”
“Plus, we don’t want Bubbles meeting her stepfamily.” Still, Kate hesitated as she went through every contingency. “What I don’t like, though, is the fact that it would also leave the two of you in the same building in case Bubbles decides to try something.”
Jon leaned back against the wall, deciding he really did enjoy watching her organize everything. “I also have several dozen guards who would be thrilled to do more with their work days than just stand there.”
Kate poked Jon in the shoulder. “I’m serious. If she sends in another Fairy Godmother with True Love, whoever it is can teleport in right past the guards.”
“I’ll issue the ‘No Fairy Godmother’ edict before I go to bed tonight.” He covered her other hand with his, holding both of them against his chest. “Anyone with a pair of wings or a sparkly skirt caught on palace grounds will be arrested before they can even think about making one of your teleportation doors.”
Kate, they had already decided, would come to the front gate and ask for Jon specifically. He touched his ring she had slid over her thumb, the seal on which was enough to get any guard in the palace to send for him.
Kate set her jaw. “Promise me.”
Jon nodded, softened by the worry he could see in her eyes. “I promise.”
“Um, excuse me?” Over Kate’s shoulder, Jon saw Rellie raise a hand. “As sorry as I am to interrupt a moment, you guys still haven’t decided what you’re going to do with me.”
“Is there any way we can hide her out here, at least overnight?” asked Kate. “I’d rather she not meet your family, but maybe we could stash her in one of the dozens of spare bedrooms you seem to have around here.”
“I hate to say it, but if I try too hard to hide her then palace gossip will instantly go crazy. Better that we just say she’s here waiting for Rupert—” He saw Ned’s mouth open, but Kate turned around to shush him. “—and I’m just playing host until he makes it back.”
Kate weighed this for a moment, then nodded. “You know how to handle your family better than I—” She stopped when Rellie’s impromptu cover shifted, giving everyone a better view of the rags beneath. “Though I do suggest finding her a spare dress as soon as possible.”
Jon winced, not sure yet which maid he could trust with the task; he was less than thrilled about hunting for a dress on his own. “Come with me?”
Kate shook her head. “Unfortunately, Ned and I probably should have left already.” She took a couple of steps back, as if the only way she could make herself go was if she wasn’t in arm’s reach of him. Jon felt cold without her, but the reluctance on her face was almost enough to make up for it.
“I need to get into work early this morning so I can get as much of a jump on all this as I can,” she said.
Tempted to reach out and touch her again, Jon shoved his hands into his pockets. “A few hours of sleep would probably be a good thing, too, and as much as I hate to say it I can’t promise you that here.”
“I know.” Kate then turned to Ned and Rellie. “You guys have thirty seconds for some last-minute kissing and clutching.” The two immediately started making use of their time, and a smile blossomed on Kate’s face as she let her eyes meet Jon’s. “We, however, better not start,” she told him, sounding almost playful. For Jon, it was a brief, hopeful flash of the future he could see in his mind. “I won’t be able to enforce the deadline.”
Jon grinned, even as he felt his chest ache. She wasn’t even gone yet and he already missed her. “We’ll have to give you plenty of opportunities to practice.”
She laughed, expression tender. “I’ll come back, Jon,” she said quietly, crossing the distance between them to give him a quick but intense kiss, “no matter what else happens.” Before he could touch her, she backed away again.
“Promise me,” he said.
For just a moment, her heart shone out of her eyes. “I promise.”
It wasn’t quite thirty seconds, but it was still far too soon before Kate and Ned disappeared through the teleportation door. Once they were gone, Jon took Rellie into his mother’s spare closet, walking her down nearly five hundred feet before he started hunting through the racks. “She was about forty pounds lighter when she wore these,” he told Rellie, shaking his head at a silver dress that was living proof ruffles could breed and multiply. “At least one of them should fit.”
Rellie looked doubtful as Jon pulled a green dress off the rack and pushed it at her. “I don’t like green,” she said, holding the dress up to her. The sleeves drooped so low people walking next to her would probably trip on them. “It makes me look like one of those tree people.”
“Fine.” He threw an overdress made of small gold coins over his shoulder, mentally earmarking it for the treasury before he found another gown made of white swan feathers and tossed it to Rellie. “There. You can be a bird.” She grabbed the dress with delight, but before she could say anything Jon was already moving past her toward the door. “I’ll be over by the closet door while you get dressed. Just keep walking back the way you came and you won’t get lost.”
Before he could make it all the way back, Rellie stopped him with a hand on his arm. “You really think this will work?” she asked softly.
Jon took a deep breath, ignoring the ache in his chest. “We’ll make sure it does,” he said, willing to believe enough for all four of them if he had to.
She smiled. “You’re pretty nice, for a prince.”
He smiled back. “Don’t spread it around.” He caught one of the swan feathers that had come loose and handed it back to Rellie with a flourish. “Now get dressed, and we’ll see about finding you a room.”
Jon eventually managed to grab some sleep, nearly a full hour of it before he was summoned down to the main dining room for a breakfast meeting with his mother. Having expected it, he snagged a roll off of one of the serving trays before sitting down several chairs away from the woman in question. “You called?”
She huffed a dramatic breath, setting her fork down with a clatter. “Don’t use that tone with me, Jonathan. You know how your brother upset me last night.” She sniffed, blinking rapidly and fanning her face on the off chance he was too far away to see her tears. “The thought of my baby going out into the big, harsh world without his crown.”
“He was mistaken, Mother,” Jon said calmly, taking a bite of roll to cover his urge to yawn. “He and I talked about him doing a little questing before the wedding, and in his eagerness to get started I’m afraid he’d confused some of the details.” He lifted an eyebrow at his mother’s perplexed expression. “It wasn’t his fault. All that writing, you know.”
She waved a silencing hand at him. “I’m much too fragile for sarcasm right now, Jonathan.” The hand dropped to the table, fingernails clicking rhythmically against the polished surface. “It’s just—” She stopped. “I could have sworn I heard you say ‘wedding.’”
“I did. Rupert’s getting married.” He settled against the back of the chair, then leaned forward again as he felt his eyes drifting closed. “His bride-to-be arrived last night.”
The queen choked. “His . . . bride?”
“To be,” Jon corrected, relieved to see his mother hadn’t turned purple yet. As tired and annoyed as he was right now, the guilt he’d feel at giving her a heart attack wouldn’t help his day any. “I presumed you were the one who had arranged the entire thing.”
“No! I just—” The queen fluttered her hands again, initial shock melting into the lost and helpless look she did so well. “I don’t know if he’s even ready yet for something as big as
marriage. I mean, this is the first time he’s even gone questing.”
Jon’s eyebrows lifted, surprised his mother was actually making things easier for once. “I wouldn’t worry about it just yet. When he returns from his first big quest, he may find that he’s changed his—”
“Jon!”
Both Jon and his mother started at the sound of Rellie’s not-anywhere-near-a-whisper coming from the dining room entryway, but by the time they’d turned around she’d squeaked and vanished back behind the corner. After a couple of seconds, a small, pale hand emerged and waved dramatically up and down. “Jon!”
Jon sighed, then smiled slightly and pushed himself to his feet. “Excuse me, Mother,” he said genially. “I must go attend to the girl who may or may not be your future daughter-in-law.”
“Jonathan—”
Before she could say anything more, he left the room, rounding the corner to find Rellie in the dress she had gone to sleep in the night before, now sopping wet. She held her equally dripping hands in front of her, as if trying to keep the dress from getting any wetter than it already was.
Jon winced, imagining the other wreckage that had no doubt resulted from whatever had attacked her dress. “Rellie.”
Before he could say anything else, Rellie’s eyebrows shot up as she threw an angry finger back down the hallway. “This is not my fault! You said I could get something to eat from the kitchens, but there was this busboy kind of guy with a big pot of water and he threw it all over me!”
Jon sighed, gesturing with his head for her to follow him toward dry clothes and someplace at least a little further away from his mother. “I doubt he actually threw it on you,” he said, making sure to keep her in sight at all times. “It’s more likely he just tripped because what he was carrying was too heavy for him.”
He stopped when he heard her distant sniffle, realizing he’d lost her at some point during the last few steps. He turned around to find her standing in the middle of the hallway, looking utterly dejected as she made a wet spot on the carpet. “The skirt didn’t look this big on the rack,” Rellie said sadly, staring down at the straggly feathers. She sniffed again, face wrinkling in teary frustration as she looked back up at him. “I thought I’d be okay like I was with my big pink dress at the ball, but I think Kate must have magicked it because it never caused this much trouble.”
Fairy Godmothers, Inc. Page 17