by Peak, Renna
“Once again, this has nothing to do with fear. I’m not afraid of snakes.”
“Sure, of course you aren’t,” I say with a shrug.
“You don’t believe me?”
“I never said that.” My tone is all innocence. “I’m just saying it’s suspicious, that’s all.”
“You don’t believe me.” He rubs his forehead. “Clara, I know what you’re doing. And I’m not playing this game.”
“What game?”
“The one when you try to goad me into doing something I don’t want to do.”
I give another innocent shrug. “I have no idea what you’re talking about.”
“You think you’re being clever. But I’m not falling for it this time.”
“I’m not thinking anything. Except how satisfying it would be to slip a snake or two into your cousins’ beds. Do you think Benedict will scream like a girl?”
He rubs his head again, sighing heavily. “You’re impossible.”
“It’s one of my greatest strengths.” I grin at him. “I’m still willing to do centipedes instead, if that’s what you prefer. Or maybe worms. Can you imagine getting into bed and putting your feet on a big pile of worms?”
“I thought you said you came from New York society. Are these the things they taught you?”
“Not at all. I didn’t get to play any good pranks when I was a kid. Which is why I’m excited to do it now. My childhood was full of private school and violin lessons.”
He sighs again, and then stands. “Well in that case, my lady, maybe I should go catch you a snake or two.”
Grinning, I leap to my feet. “Lead the way, Your Highness.”
Nick is already halfway to the door, marching like he means business. I stifle my laughter as I hurry after him. This is going even better than I expected.
When we get outside, I’m pleased to see that yesterday’s storm has left the world extra lush this morning. All the plants seem greener today, the sky even bluer than before. The only sign of all that rain are a couple of puddles on the gravel path.
Nick heads toward the stables, and I keep pace with him.
“I’m thinking two snakes per bed,” I say.
“Let’s start by catching one snake, then go from there.”
“I’m not afraid to think big, Nick.” Still smiling, I follow him into the stables.
To my surprise, he doesn’t ask for any horses to be readied. Instead, he goes into the tack room and grabs a few supplies, including a large burlap bag.
“We’re going to need a place to keep the snakes,” he says when he notices me looking at him questioningly. “Unless you’re planning to carry them back across your shoulders.”
“No, a bag sounds good,” I tell him.
He nods, then leads me back outside. At the edge of the woods he pauses again, looking down at me.
“You don’t have to do this, you know,” he says.
“Do what? Have fun? Unlike you, Nick, some people enjoy having fun.”
He shakes his head in exasperation, but I notice the sparkle in his eyes. “Fine. Let’s go catch some snakes.”
Nicholas
Clara is being ridiculous, as usual. How are a few snakes going to solve anything?
“Lead the way!” she calls over my shoulder, following closely behind me.
We walk a short distance past the gardens and into the more forested area on the west side of the manor grounds. I’m not an expert at catching snakes, but if I remember from my childhood, there are quite a number of them around at this time of the year.
I startle when Clara slips her hand into mine a few moments later. She looks up at me with a small smile. “Thanks for doing this.”
“I haven’t done anything yet.” I can’t help but frown at her. Even if I am able to find her the snakes she wants, this entire idea is preposterous, and will do nothing but inflame the tensions between my cousins and me.
“But you’re willing to.” Her smile widens. “And that means a lot.”
“It only means that you know how to get me to do what you want.”
“True. But the fact that you’re aware of that and doing it anyway is what means a lot.”
“You’re impossible,” I grumble.
“As you keep telling me.” She squeezes my hand. “We’re going to have fun. You’ll see.”
“Snakes aren’t fun, Clara.” I spot what I’m looking for—a large rock near a tree. At this time of the day, the snakes are still hiding under them.
I scan the ground for a stick large enough to turn the rock over and still be out of arm’s reach. It takes a moment, but I finally spot one a short distance away.
Clara seems to follow my line of sight and walks over to it, picking it up and bringing it to me. “Will you do the honors?”
I dare not roll my eyes at her, instead giving her a shake of my head. I walk slowly to the rock, readying the knapsack before I touch the stick to the bottom of the rock and quickly turn it over.
Clara lets out a small screech as the snake beneath the rock startles, almost jumping into my bag.
I quickly close it and buckle it, holding it out to Clara with a smile. Catching snakes may not be my forte, but there’s still a sense of accomplishment in having caught the thing on my first try.
She gives me a quick shake of her head. “Oh no. I’m not carrying that thing.”
I blink at her a few times. “I’ll remind you that this was your idea.”
She pushes against my arm before taking a step backward. “It might have been my idea, but I don’t really want to be part of this…you know, this part of it.”
The terror in her eyes is obvious, but there is no way I would be outside catching snakes, of all things, if it wasn’t for her. She’s not going to back out of it now.
“I’m sorry, my lady.” I tuck the knapsack over her shoulder. “But if you’re going to be a snake prankster, it would be wise for you to get used to being around them.”
She gives me a slow shake of her head. “Nick—”
“If you’d asked me for other ideas—”
“I did ask you for other ideas!” She pulls the bag from around her neck and tosses it back to me. “You didn’t have any.”
I catch the bag and hold it back out to her. “Oh, I have plenty of ideas, Clara. I’ll admit that playing practical jokes on my cousins isn’t one of them.”
“Well, you had your chance.” She looks down at the bag in my hands, her face ashen. “I…I don’t think I can carry these.”
“What do you hope to accomplish from this, Clara? You saw what happened when they put a hole in your boat—you nearly drowned. Pranks are funny until someone is injured. Then they aren’t so funny anymore.”
“I just…I just wanted us to do something together.” Her eyes haven’t left the sack in my hands, as though the snake might burrow through the fabric and jump out at her. “I wanted us to have an adventure.”
“I took you to the ruins yesterday, did I not? Was that not enough of an adventure for you?”
“You know what I mean. And that was fun. I mean, it was fun until…” Her voice trails off.
Of course, I know exactly what she means. Until I asked her to marry me. I don’t know what I could have been thinking, asking her that. I suppose I was just taken over by a moment of emotion—it was stupid, really. I should have known better. There are better men for her out there, anyway. Men who share this sense of adventure she seems to insist upon. Men who might be able to be more spontaneous, to be able to better meet her needs.
“I apologize, Clara.”
“For what?” Her brows draw together. “You have nothing to apologize for.”
“For the momentary lapse in judgment.” I frown down at the knapsack, as though the snake might better understand what it is that’s going on.
“A lapse in judgment? Is that what you think it was?”
I look up at her, unable to read the expression on her face. “Clearly, I misread the entire s
ituation. I have a tendency to do that.”
“No you…” She lets out a huff. “Nick, you didn’t misread…” She shakes her head. “You just…your timing is all wrong.”
“Yes, obviously.” I stare down again at the bag. “And for that, I apologize.”
“Stop apologizing!” Her mood seems to change in an instant, and she puts her hands on her hips, her head cocked as though she’s ready to argue her point. “I only said no because… Well, you know why. I don’t need to remind you.”
“Yes, because you think I’m still—how did you put it? ‘Hung up’ on my ex, wasn’t it?”
“You are still hung up on her. Everyone says so.”
I lift a brow. “Everyone? And who might ‘everyone’ be?”
“You know what I mean.” She frowns at me. “And why does it even matter? You know what I’m talking about or we wouldn’t be having this argument.”
I shake my head, bending down to open the buckle on the knapsack. I turn it over, releasing the snake back onto the ground and watching as it slithers away.
I turn back to Clara. “You’re right. It doesn’t matter. And I don’t want to argue about any of this anymore.”
Clara
I don’t want to argue, either. I want us to trust each other. To be open with each other. Even to just have fun with each other again.
The snake is slithering away through the grass, and without really thinking, I lunge after it.
I don’t know what’s come over me. I manage to grab it just behind the head, and it’s only then that I realize what I’m doing. I straighten, holding the snake as far away from me as I can.
“What do I do?” I ask Nick, my voice high and squeaky. “What do I do?!?”
The snake is only about a foot and a half long, and not very big around. It writhes in my grip, and I squeal and squeeze a little tighter, praying it doesn’t do some weird snake yoga and twist around and bite me.
“Nick!” I exclaim. “Help me!”
His eyes are wide—he’s probably wondering when exactly I became crazy enough to start grabbing snakes with my bare hands—and he shoves the bag in my direction. “Here.”
I drop the snake inside, shuddering as I watch its slithery body tumble down into the canvas. Nick stares after it, frowning.
“You don’t have to do this, Clara,” he says.
“Yes, I do. We do.” My voice is still much higher than normal, but at least I’m not squeaking anymore. “Now, where can we find some more? I want at least one for each of your cousins’ rooms.”
“You can’t be serious, Clara.”
“We came out here to find snakes, and we’re going to find some snakes.” I continue down the path through the trees. “Are you coming or not?” I’m pretty sure Nick still doesn’t get why I want to do this, but maybe he will by the end. Maybe he’ll learn to trust me and my crazy ideas.
At the very least, it’s better than standing around listening to him insist that he has no lingering emotional ties to Baroness What’s-Her-Face.
It takes us the better part of an hour, but we finally have three snakes in our bag. I make Nick catch the second and third ones, but he only complies after I agree to hold the bag. I keep it at arm’s length, as far away from me as possible, just in case one of our snakes knows how to bite through thick burlap.
Once we have our snakes, we head back toward the manor. It’s nearly noon, judging by how high the sun is in the sky, and I hope that means everyone is busy at lunch.
“You know where their rooms are, right?” I ask Nick as we creep down ones of the long corridors. Every time a servant comes into view, I jump, but none of them gives us a second glance.
“I think I remember,” Nick replies. “You know, we could still stop all this nonsense right now and go back outside to set these poor creatures free.”
“I’d rather set them free in your cousins’ bedrooms,” I reply. “Come on, Nick. You promised.”
“I did no such thing.”
“Well, you agreed to help. Which is basically the same thing.”
He looks like he might argue some more when we turn a corner and suddenly find ourselves face-to-face with Benedict.
“Ah, there you are, Cousin,” he says with a charming smile. “And the lovely Clara.”
He reaches out, waiting for my hand, and I give him my fingers to kiss. With my other hand, I hold the bag of snakes carefully behind my back.
When Benedict straightens, he’s still smiling. If he notices the strange bag I’m holding, he doesn’t show it.
“My brothers and I were thinking of heading into town today,” he says. “Since our plans yesterday were foiled by the weather. Would the two of you like to come? I think you’d love Wintervale Town, Clara. It’s quite charming.”
“When were you planning to leave?” I ask.
“In about an hour, our mother permitting.” Benedict shakes his head. “She’s cornered Caspar to get him to help with the preparations for the ball, but he thinks he can slip away soon. What do you say?”
Nick stiffens at the mention of the ball—he’s still upset that I’m going to be Caspar’s date, not his—but his voice is as calm as ever when he speaks.
“A walk into town might be nice,” he says. “Clara and I will discuss it and join you out front in an hour’s time.”
“Good,” Benedict says, smiling widely at me. “I look forward to showing you around, Clara.”
He ambles down the corridor again, easy as can be, and when he disappears around a corner, I let out a sigh of relief.
“That was a close one,” I say. “I don’t think he suspects a thing.”
“No, Benedict is never particularly bright when there’s a pretty woman around. He allows himself to get distracted too easily.” He glances down at me. “There’s still time to—”
“We’re doing this. You’re not backing out now.” I grab his hand and drag him down the corridor. “Now, point me toward those bedrooms.”
For the next half hour, we sneak from one of his cousin’s suites to the next, carefully tucking a snake deep beneath the sheets.
It’s not until we’re on the last room—Xavier’s—that something occurs to me.
“They won’t be back in here for hours,” I say. “What if the snakes slither out of the bed?”
“It’s certainly a possibility,” Nick admits. “But in my experience, when you tuck a snake into a dark, warm, quiet place, they often settle in and make themselves comfortable.”
I grin. “I knew you’d done this before.”
“I’ve done no such thing. I—”
“You’ve done it!” I poke him in the chest, laughing. “Don’t deny it, troublemaker.”
There’s a sparkle in his eye as he shakes his head. “Sometimes I think you bring out the worst in me, Clara.”
“You and I have different definitions of ‘worst.’ I think this is actually your better side. Admit it, you’re having fun.”
He shakes his head again, but he can’t hold back his smile.
“Admit it,” I tease, my fingers moving toward his armpits. I want to hear him laugh.
Before I get a good tickle in, though, I hear footsteps out in the hall. Both Nick and I freeze.
We only have a second of warning. The door handle twists, and Nick grabs me and pulls me inside a huge wooden armoire against the wall. He just barely manages to pull the door shut behind us before someone walks into the suite.
Heavy footsteps move across the floor. There’s a crack of light coming in where the armoire doors don’t quite close all the way, and through that sliver I see Xavier stroll across his bedroom, whistling low, deep notes.
I bite back a laugh. I feel like a child, making mischief and hiding, terrified of being caught. I’m almost tempted to reach over and tickle Nick, to see how long he can hold back his laughter, but I resist the urge.
I shoot a quick glance toward the bed. There’s a tiny lump at the foot, hardly noticeable unless you’re looking fo
r it, but it moves slightly as Xavier walks by. I hold my breath, praying he doesn’t notice.
Xavier walks over to a chair near the window and grabs the coat draped across the back. After shrugging his arms into the sleeves, he turns and strides toward what I assume is the bathroom. As soon as the door closes behind him, I grab Nick by the sleeve.
“Come on,” I whisper. “Now’s our chance.”
We spring—quietly—out of the armoire, and Nick hastily closes the doors again before I tug him across the room. We sprint through the suite and out into the hallway, and then we run down the corridor.
We don’t stop until we’re in a completely different wing of the palace. I, for one, am gasping for breath, in part because of the unexpected exercise and in part because I can barely hold back my laughter.
“That was amazing,” I say, giggling.
To my surprise, Nick is grinning, too.
“Admit it,” I say. “That was fun.”
He turns that smile onto me, and my heart flutters.
“Fine,” he says. “I’ll admit it was diverting.”
“That’s a very boring way of saying fun, but I’ll take it.” I grab his shirt and pull him toward me for a kiss. “I can’t wait until your cousins crawl into bed later.”
That actually earns me a chuckle, just before his lips meet mine. And as I throw my arms around his neck and deepen the kiss, I find myself thinking that there just might be hope for Nick after all.
Nicholas
It’s silly, but my heart is still pounding after our prank, and it pounds even louder when her lips meet mine.
She raises her hands, taking me by the collar as she pulls away slightly. “Tell me the most outrageous thing you’ve ever done.”
“What?” I’m still a bit breathless from our run to the other side of the manor.
She grins as she looks up at me. “The most outrageous, wildest thing you’ve ever done. What was it?”
“I…” I frown down at her. “I fail to see how that is relevant to anything.”
“Was this it?” Her smile widens. “Because for me—”