Chapter 48
We talked for hours. I told him everything that had happened in the time we’d been apart, from Mother’s remarriage to Algernon’s death, and about Cynthia and Mother and Comfort’s finishing school.
For his part, Curtis told me all about happenings at the castle, which had stayed mostly the same, though he assured me that he would love nothing more than to have me back as a linguist, as his new interpreter was dreadfully boring.
Once the stars were all out, Curtis and I wandered back toward the rose gardens, our hands intertwined.
Music still drifted out of the open doors, though the crowd had thinned greatly; guests were streaming toward their carriages, laughter trailing away into the night.
Midnight couldn’t be far off. Mother and Comfort would surely be wondering where I was.
We had just reached the edge of the roses when we overheard a voice, flat and monotonous.
“I am smitten with you. From the moment I first beheld your beauty, my heart belonged to you alone. Will you marry me and become my queen?”
Curtis and I both froze. Our jaws dropped. That voice was unmistakable.
Unable to stop myself, I peeked around a rosebush. There was Hubert, kneeling stiffly on one knee. And in front of him, her hands clapped over her mouth, was Cynthia.
“Yes!” she squealed, flinging herself into his arms. Hubert stood, gave her an awkward pat on the back, and declared, “Very well. We must inform my father at once.” Without another word, he strode toward the castle, Cynthia scurrying beside him.
Curtis and I just stared, stunned.
Curtis blinked hard, as if shaking himself awake. “Just…wow. Father did tell him to choose soon, but I didn’t think he meant this soon. The Council will be beside themselves with joy. But…” He frowned. “I don’t even know who that girl is.”
I gasped. Of course he didn’t know. “That’s my stepsister, Cynthia, the one I told you about.”
“It’s her? The one who called you…”
“That’s the one.”
Curtis let out a low whistle. “Well. Tonight is certainly filled with romance. Who knows? Maybe she and Hubert will be a good match.”
I folded my arms. “You know, as much as she dislikes me, I’m not sure I’d wish that future on her.”
“Why is it that she dislikes you?”
I shrugged. “Our first meeting was…”
“I remember you telling me about that. But anyone who knows you for longer than five minutes likes you. And she’s been living with you for more than a year now.”
“After her father’s death, Cynthia sort of unraveled.
She was so bitter and angry and didn’t have anywhere else to go.
So when Mother and Comfort started the finishing school, and I took on translation work, all the housework fell to her.
She cooks, cleans—she does everything, really.
She probably feels like a servant, even though that isn’t how we see it.
We were just all so busy working all the time that we didn’t have time, and Cynthia didn’t have any marketable skills, so we just figured it made sense to…
you know, have her do the stuff that she could. ”
Curtis’s brows lifted. “So that’s why she resents you.”
“Yes. I suppose she’ll be relieved to leave us behind now that she’s marrying into royalty.”
Curtis absorbed this, then slowly, mischief lit his eyes. A grin stretched across his face and before I could open my mouth to ask what was so funny, he burst out laughing.
“Hubert’s marrying a maid?” Curtis doubled over, laughing so hard tears ran down his cheeks.
“Curtis, no!” I groaned, tugging at his jacket. “You mustn’t tease him. Cynthia would be mortified!”
“I—can’t—help—it!” Curtis wheezed. “I wonder who’ll be the maid of honor at their wedding?” And then he cracked up again, breaking into fresh peals of laughter, practically rolling across the grass.
I rolled my eyes skyward. Maybe he hadn’t matured nearly as much as I thought.
“It’s late. I should go,” I said, gathering my shoes in my hands.
Curtis sobered instantly. “Aw, Truly, don’t leave. Don’t be mad. I promise I won’t tease Hubert…much.”
“Curtis!”
“Fine, fine. Not a word.” He plucked my shoes from my hands. “Will you stay?”
“I will need to find Mother and Comfort soon,” I said, trying to look stern but failing. “But I can stay a few more minutes as long as you behave.”
He tilted his head, his grin returning. “Behave? I’m not sure I can do that with you around.” Leaning down, he brushed a quick kiss against my lips. “Was that behaving?”
I giggled. “I suppose.”
He kissed me again, longer this time. “Am I still behaving?”
“Less so than before,” I teased.
Curtis sighed dramatically. “Alas, milady, what can I say? Around you, I simply cannot behave.”
Warmth spread through me. It felt so good to laugh, to flirt, to be wanted again. “Fine,” I relented. “Just behave when other people are around.”
He glanced around at the enclosing rosebushes, his eyes glinting. “I don’t see anyone else. May I misbehave now?”
I looped my arms around his neck, pulling him closer. “Just a little.”
The world melted away. His arms tightened around my waist, his kiss deepened, and for a moment, it was like the years apart had never existed. He lifted me easily, spinning me in a dizzy twirl, before dipping me low with his lips sealed against mine.
“Pardon the intrusion—” a voice cut through the night.
We sprang apart. My heart plummeted.
Curtis snapped straight. I swiveled around and nearly choked. There stood an entire entourage of people: Mother and Comfort beaming, Hubert as expressionless as ever, Cynthia seething, the king and queen amused, and several courtiers besides.