Nicholas surprised her by standing and walking over to her, crouching just an arm’s length away. “If you don’t tell me what just made you squirm, I will go back to the royal records right now, and I will search for everything about you and your family until I find out what it was.” He quirked an eyebrow. “Now, would you like to tell me, or should I find out myself?”
Elaina stood as well, ignoring how much her feet protested. “Why do you care? Why are you so insistent on being involved in every part of my life?”
“I don’t know!” His shout echoed through the orchard as they stared one another down. “I only know,” he said in a quieter voice, “that there’s something different about you, Elaina. And something in my gut tells me that I can’t let you die.”
Elaina could only stare at him. He was the most utterly confusing man she had ever met.
When she remained silent, he shook his head and muttered to himself as he stood and began to walk back toward the road.
“You won’t find what you’re looking for in the records.”
Nicholas stopped. Slowly, he turned. “What do you mean?”
“My mother was gifted.”
He frowned. “I should have seen that in my research.”
“You won’t find it in the official records because we never told anyone.” Elaina slowly went to join him. “Only my father, me, my aunt, and my cousin knew. My grandparents were already dead. My own gift had blossomed shortly before my mother’s death, and my father was worried that whoever had killed her would come after me.” She shrugged. “It was simply easier to let the family think he’d lost his senses with grief than to explain why he was actually taking his little girl to live on a warship.”
“Who knows now?”
They stopped at the fork in the road. The road to the left led to Elaina’s manor, and the road to the right wound up the hill to the palace.
“My aunt and my cousin. And most of my father’s crew, though they would guard it with their lives . . .” Her voice faltered as she remembered the one exception that had landed her in this mess in the first place.
“What is it?”
He knew everything else. He might as well know this, too. “We were the ship that hosted King Everard when he made his report on the rebellion. After we were finished, we made a quick stop in Solwhind to gather some supplies. While we were there, a disgruntled sailor my father had kicked off the ship got drunk, and he announced in a small tavern, mostly full of my father’s men, that I could talk to the stars.”
His gaze softened a little. “That’s why you’re here now, isn’t it?”
Elaina nodded and looked at the ground.
Fingers gently touched her cheek then moved under her chin to lift her face up to look into his. “Thank you for telling me this. I . . .” He frowned then let out a huff. “I don’t think you understand just how important you might be. From now on, when you’re not with me, you’re to stay with your guards at all times. At least two. I’ll make sure to send another.”
“I really don’t think—”
“So far as we know, your mother’s murderer, if it is the same culprit, has never attacked anyone in public. The victims have always been out alone.”
“You know,” she said, attempting a smile, “I have managed to survive somehow for the last seventeen years. Almost eighteen.”
Instead of looking amused, though, he just looked . . . tired. “Just promise me.”
She sighed. “Very well.”
17
A Bet Lost
“I cannot comprehend how intervention might have been necessary beyond the border. They were out of our territory.”
“So a ship full of kidnapped women is no longer our concern when they cross over another border?” Elaina stared defiantly up at Dustin.
“I never said they weren’t a concern. I merely believe we should have hailed the Ombrins instead and allowed them to continue giving chase. It would have saved us a greater headache later on when they filed a grievance against us because your father trespassed in their waters.” The old man closed his eyes and rubbed his temples. “Really, Lady Elaina, you give me such a headache sometimes.”
“Well, I hope the women my father saved and returned to their families were worth your headache.” Elaina smiled triumphantly. “And the grievance was dropped, if you remember, when an investigation was made as to the trespass.”
“Really, sire,” Dustin growled, “I don’t know why you make a point to keep both of us. You can’t possibly learn a thing with all of this . . .” He waved his hand at Elaina. “Interference.”
“Oh on the contrary, I am learning much,” Nicholas said, a wide grin on his face as he reclined at his desk, boots propped comfortably up on his desk.
“I wish you wouldn’t do that.” Elaina walked over and stared pointedly at his feet.
“See what I mean?” Dustin threw his hands up and retreated to a chair in the corner of the room, where he would most likely remain for the rest of the lesson.
“Why not?” Nicholas asked, not moving a muscle.
“Because someone has to wax every scratch your filthy boots make on this glorious piece of furniture.” Elaina pointed to the little indents in the wood as proof.
Nicholas sat up and leaned forward to look more closely. “Well, it appears you’re correct. Fine, no more boots on the desk then.” He made a mock bow from his seat. “Is there anything else then, my lady? Or can we get back to talking about ships?”
Elaina rolled her eyes but couldn’t help smiling a bit. Though she had originally been loathe to admit it, as the first dreary winter month passed, she was finding more and more enjoyment in her daily meetings with the two men. Of course, she loved Charlotte and Lydia’s companionship as well. Lydia, though still wary about the prince, had somewhat forgiven her since the carnival, probably because Lydia’s old friend was still in Solwhind, and Elaina was the most convenient peer left to talk to.
But neither Charlotte nor Lydia shared Elaina’s fervor for the sea. After several attempts at speaking about her former life and adventures with them, Elaina had gathered that her time aboard the Adroit was somewhat scandalous, and rather a moot point with them and their fine company. So she had reserved her passionate discussions about warfare and strategy for her daily visits with the prince and his tutor instead.
Really, Nicholas was proving to be an even sharper learner than she had expected. He had a strategic mind, and was quick to offer points of view Elaina had never considered. She would never admit such to him, though. It would make his ego even bigger than it already was.
There was also the relief that most likely came from the fact that Nicholas knew her secret. And with that relief came the even greater revelation that she trusted him. Not with her heart, of course. She knew better than that. Despite their time together in the apple orchard, he continued to flirt with her and every other woman within hearing distance whenever he got the chance, never fully returning to the serious young man she had followed through the city. Still, it was nice to have someone else who knew. Keeping her secret to herself, she realized, had been very lonely.
Snoring erupted from the far corner of the room. As soon as it did, Nicholas slid out of his chair. “Before we go on, I have two things to ask.”
Elaina gave him a wary look, but he just shook his head.
“I think you’ll like the first. My father has a contact who has been in and out of Solwhind in secret for a number of years now.”
“A spy?”
“Precisely. And for the first time, he’s meeting with my father’s military advisers and a few of the magistrates to discuss his findings.”
Elaina frowned. “Is the rebellion growing that bad?”
“I’m afraid so.” For a moment, Nicholas’s face melted into the grave expression she had seen in the orchard. “Anyway, I would appreciate it if you would come with me to the meeting. You’ve been to Solwhind more than many of us have recently, and I think you might provid
e some insight based on what he says.”
“I would be lying if I said I wasn’t honored to have such an invitation, but . . . why me?”
“You know things many of my father’s advisers don’t, and you’ve met people and visited places that should add some diversity to the group my father is planning.” He searched her face. “It’s in two week’s time. Will you come?”
Elaina tried to swallow her excitement, but the answer was already on her lips. “Yes. I’ll go.” She paused. “What else did you want to ask me?”
A triumphant grin spread across his face, and Elaina immediately wished she hadn’t asked.
“I’ve been trying to decide on how to make you pay up for your lost bet at the carnival.”
“Really? I thought we’d—”
He held up a hand. “No. You are still in my debt. And I have decided that I wish you to accompany me to my sister’s wedding and ensuing celebration in a month and a half.”
“You cannot be serious.”
“And why not?”
Elaina searched for a good reason to deny the prince his request, reaching for the first answer she came to. “I can’t dance.”
“You can learn. That’s not a real reason to turn me down. Come, what’s the real reason?”
Elaina could only shake her head in disbelief, so he took a step closer.
“Am I really so undesirable to spend a few evenings with?” This time, his voice was softer, and there was something, just a glint of earnestness behind the laughter in his eyes.
“Do you want a candid answer?”
He stood straighter and clasped his hands behind his back. “That would be nice.”
Elaina hesitated, but when she saw he was telling the truth, she gave in. “When a woman is on your arm, she ceases to be a woman. She becomes your ornament and exists only to be admired and to bring you praise.”
Nicholas’s hands slid to his sides, and he looked as though she’d struck him.
Elaina looked down at the floor. “I am no one’s ornament.”
For once, he seemed to have nothing to say. He stared at her for a long moment, a dozen emotions flickering in his eyes. Elaina wasn’t sure what it was in her words that had so visibly shaken him, but she felt a sudden pity in her heart.
“But,” she forced a smile, “as I am a woman of my word, I will honor our bet.” She gathered her reticule and walked to the door. “But remember, this is a bet lost. Nothing more.”
18
Always a Choice
Nicholas had planned to go for a run after his lesson, but instead he found himself walking to the opposite side of the palace after Elaina had gone.
Her words gnawed at him like a dog on a bone. Why was that? It wasn’t as though he’d never heard of himself referred to as a ladies’ man before. On the contrary, he had done his best to ensure his familiarity with all of the women his parents might choose for him, making sure never to get too close to any one in particular. Then his disappointment wouldn’t be so great when his favorite wasn’t chosen. For years it had seemed like a foolproof plan. Until now.
But there was something about the way Elaina had phrased his habits that made him more than slightly uncomfortable. And before he knew it, he was standing in front of his mother’s door.
“Come in,” she called in answer to his knock. A smile lit her face when she looked up from her writing desk. “Why, Nicholas! How nice of you to drop in. What brings you to visit at this time of day?”
“It’s not so odd for me to visit you,” Nicholas said uncomfortably, walking over to her window to gaze down upon the wharf in the distance.
“Enough with the nonsense.” She put down her quill and turned to face him. “Something is bothering you. Now what brought you all the way up here to see me?”
“I heard something today that I can’t get out of my head.” Nicholas tried to think of a way to say what he wished without seeming insecure. He couldn’t.
“Oh?”
“Someone said . . . I was told today that apparently I treat women as ornaments.”
“Ah.” His mother looked back down at her desk but didn’t pick up the quill. “And who, if I may ask, told you such a thing?”
Nicholas stared hard at his boots. “Elaina. I mean Lady Elaina.”
His mother nodded slowly, an expression he couldn’t decipher on her face. It wasn’t sympathy exactly. Understanding, perhaps?
“And you want to know if it’s true?” she asked in a quiet voice.
Nicholas went back to staring down at the wharf. What he wouldn’t give to have something highly urgent to do today.
His mother stood up and walked over to him, where she began to straighten his collar. “You are a very handsome young man.” Her hands paused for a moment before starting again. “Much like your father was.”
Nicholas wanted to yell, to shout at the top of his lungs. Of all the things he had striven to be in his nineteen years, like his father was at the bottom of his list.
Cool hands took his clenched fists and softly lifted them up. She kissed his hands the way she had done when he was a child. Unfortunately, her kisses didn’t chase away the discomfort the way they’d once chased away the pain of a cut or scrape. “You have a good heart,” she said.
Nicholas opened his mouth, but she held her hand up.
“I’m not done. Do you think I’ve missed seeing you escape the palace all those evenings with bread tucked under your arm?”
“How do you know I’m not just sneaking out to eat it?”
She rolled her eyes. “Your appetite is good, Nicholas, but I know that even you can’t eat four loaves of bread in two-hour increments. Besides,” she raised her eyebrows, “I’m your mother. I know everything.”
“So you know then for sure I won’t turn out just like Father?”
“Just because you’re not walking the path you wish to be on now doesn’t mean the Maker can’t change you. The Maker changes all of us to be who we need to be.” She moved over to her vanity and began to adjust some of her dark curls in the mirror.
“Do you love Father, even though he’s not who he’s supposed to be?”
Her hands paused, and her shoulders drooped just a little. Immediately, Nicholas felt guilty. But not guilty enough to miss hearing her answer.
She was silent, however, until she sat down at her writing desk again and began to sharpen another quill, forgetting, it seemed, the one she’d been writing with earlier.
“I always knew my hand wouldn’t be mine to give, unlike your father who grew up under the impression that he would be allowed to choose his bride. So perhaps the marriage wasn’t as much of a shock to me as it was to him.”
“That’s not really reason to love someone.”
“No. But marrying your father did give me a beautiful home and an exceptionally luxurious life. It allowed me the chance to improve the lives of those who depend on my position. Most importantly, however, it gave me you three.” She grinned up at him and gestured for him to come close. When he did, she took his hands again. “You and your sisters are the most precious gifts I could ever have asked for. And your father not only gave me the gift of children, but he has also done everything in his power to make sure you all are loved and cared for. And for that, I am grateful.”
“But do you love him?” Nicholas pressed.
She twisted a lock of hair in her fingers, her eyes thoughtful. “Not in the way I had once dreamed of loving a husband. But in my own way, yes, I do love your father.”
Nicholas knew he would regret the words as soon as he’d spoken them, but he had to know. “Even if he doesn’t love you?”
Her face whitened a bit, but she took a deep breath and gave him a forced smile. “We all have a choice, Nicholas. No matter where we are in life, loving others is always a choice.”
19
Deeper Secrets
“Lydia, that red brings out the apples in your cheeks,” Elaina said as she helped fluff her cousin’s skirts. “Or,
” she gave her a sideways look, “could it be because Lord Devon will be there that you’re blushing?”
“I don’t know what you’re talking about.” Lydia tried to slap Elaina with the end of her ribbon.
Elaina laughed.
“Well, I don’t think you need rouge today either,” Lydia said as she turned to fasten the pearl necklace around Elaina’s neck. “You’re fairly glowing.”
“Am I?” Elaina sorted through her jewelry until she found her pearl earrings. She felt a pang as she held them out for her cousin to help her with. They had been a thirteenth birthday gift from Lewis.
“This wouldn’t have anything to do with the prince, would it?” Lydia gave Elaina a sly smile, but Elaina sensed the trap. She turned and studied her mint green gown in the mirror, hoping to appear nonchalant. It was the first time she’d had the courage to wear the gown to a public event. Lydia had ordered it with sleeves made of gauze instead of silk, showing far more skin than Elaina had ever dared. Lydia had also seemed to forget that one might need proper dresses for the winter. Elaina would need to go back to the seamstress and remedy that soon.
“Of course not.” She tried to sound careless. “I’m excited to speak with Queen Ann again. I have some questions about my mother I’m hoping she’ll have time to answer.”
“Or could it be that meeting with Nicholas you’re planning to attend tomorrow?”
Elaina froze. “Where did you hear about that?”
“News gets around.”
When Elaina turned, her cousin was no longer smiling.
“Particularly when the news is unusual.”
“What’s that about Elaina at a meeting?” Charlotte stepped in, still fastening her own earrings.
“Word has it that Elaina is attending a secret meeting of sorts with the prince,” Lydia said, not moving her gaze from Elaina.
Elaina wanted to roll her eyes. It wouldn’t be secret if tongues continued to wag like this.
Cinders, Stars, and Glass Slippers: A Retelling of Cinderella (The Classical Kingdoms Collection Book 6) Page 13