Chapter 45
“Are you quite certain?” the cook asked, looking Will over once more from his perfectly styled hair to the gleaming tips of his shoes.
“Yes. I would be very grateful.”
The storm had eased in the morning, and Will had woken with a plan. While the butler occupied Elodie with wedding arrangements and the future management of the household, he sought out the kitchen.
He gave the gaunt cook his most charming smile, though he had forgotten what an unsettling sight he could be to many people: a little too tall, dressed in his fine clothes, his long hair woven today into traditional braids.
Still, he had already won his first victory.
The cook had not thrown him out of the kitchen, despite her protests of, “My lord, you will cover yourself in soot! The servants will assist you.” Winning her over for the rest of his plan would therefore be child’s play.
He had already secured the allegiance of her apprentice, and the girl handed him a tin of cookies.
He leaned between her worktable and the stove, his legs crossed, feeling wonderfully at home.
The scents reminded him of winter days with his mother: the clatter of dishes, the spiced sweetness of the cookies.
“I know the duke follows a very strict diet, but he is not here,” Will insisted. “And these cookies are delicious. Please. Only for us—I will not tell a soul.”
The cook planted her hands on her hips and released a weary sigh, while her apprentice nodded vigorously. “Very well. Though I consider it entirely inappropriate that the duchess should be served commoner’s food. Duke Wilkinson says a good mage should not distract his mind with such things.”
“Thank you!” Will beamed at her. “We will not be performing any more magic that night, so sugar will not prevent us from accomplishing great wonders.”
The cook muttered something unintelligible and chased him away with her wooden spoon. Her apprentice slipped him several more cookies with a wink, and just as he turned the corner, he caught a small smile upon the older woman’s face.
“Perhaps the young lady will change things,” the assistant whispered hopefully.
As Will spent the afternoon searching the castle for clues, he gathered candles and lanterns and arranged them throughout the library.
He had discovered the room on his way to breakfast and promptly decided that if he and Elodie were to barricade themselves somewhere for the night, it would be here.
And because he could not silence the searching part of his mind, and because it pained his heart to see the solstice pass without a single decoration, he began building a nest between the shelves. Especially since his hunt for evidence of sinister dealings had proved entirely fruitless.
He shook the snow from several fir branches, wrapped them in colorful ribbons the butler had provided, and wove in clusters of berries that ripened only after the first frost. With the help of a servant, he carried in two rugs and a sofa that had clearly always belonged before the fireplace.
For a moment, he forgot that he was trapped inside Elodie’s fiancé’s dark castle on the night of demons and looked upon his work with satisfaction.
The library was a winding, not particularly spacious corner room, with a large window facing the sea and bookshelves rising over two floors.
But because its owner had run out of space, more shelves crossed the room between them, turning it into a labyrinth, and leaving only a few square meters free before the fireplace.
“What in damnation are you doing?” Elodie stepped beside him and stared at the mountains of pillows and blankets and the little tables covered with cookies and plates.
Later, the cook would bring sliced roast, sandwiches, cabbage, tea, and wine as well.
It was far too much food for two people, but that was the point of the feast. For one night, his parents had always allowed him to forget that money was scarce and winter was long.
“You said we had to barricade ourselves in a room for the night. I am making it comfortable.”
Elodie raised an eyebrow. “Were you not supposed to be searching the house for clues?”
“I can do two things at the same time. But whatever your fiancé is doing, he hides it well. His study is full of ships’ logs and books about the Capitol and the mountains.”
“I saw them, and they made no more sense to me. But this is…” Her voice faltered.
“Cookies, wine, a room for only the two of us, and the servants at the other end of the castle.” He reached into a shelf and pulled out a book.
“I even found a collection of fairy tales, in case you would like me to read to you. Or would you prefer something more exciting?” He held up a book bearing the title The Amorous Adventures of Lady Silverstone in gold lettering.
Elodie drew her lower lip between her teeth, and her eyes grew round. Will watched every shift in her expression, all these new lines and softness he had never seen before. But he knew better than to remark upon how suddenly the stormy sea of her eyes had gone smooth.
Instead, Will wrapped a hand around her waist and pushed her gently against a bookshelf.
The smell of dust and leather stirred around them.
He braced one hand several shelves above her head beside books about angels and heavenly hosts—which he found entirely fitting—and with the other, stroked the taut fabric of her bodice.
“Only the two of us,” he murmured.
“Will you stay awake with me all night?” she asked.
With one leg between her skirts, he bent toward her throat. Gently, he kissed the delicate skin where her pulse hammered. “One night is not enough to explore everything I have imagined. You forget that this is new for me too.”
“But why all of this?” Elodie caught one of his braids and let it slide through her fingers. So many thoughts moved across her face. He wanted to ask what hurt her, why she looked full of hope and sorrow at once, and whether she blushed so sweetly only for him.
“Because you deserve the best. You deserve someone who makes things beautiful for you and reads you a fairy tale at the solstice.” His thumb stroked her cheek and tilted her face toward him when she tried to hide her unease.
“Why now?”
“When I saw you catching snowflakes on your tongue, I knew there was still a girl inside you capable of wonder. That behind this beautiful wall of the powerful duchess, someone vulnerable is hiding.”
Elodie frowned. “Do not tell me you want to save me like Eric does. That—”
“No. But tonight, you are alone with me. Let me be a good friend to you for one night.” He brushed a strand of hair from her face, and after a moment’s hesitation, she leaned into his touch.
“Are we friends?”
“I think so.”
“Oh, Will. Were I a better person, I would warn you away from me. If you continue like this, I may lose my heart to you, and it would cost you your life.”
“Don’t say that,” he whispered and pressed a kiss to her brow. “In two weeks, I will be gone, and you will have to fight for yourself again.”
She placed a hand on his chest, melancholy glittering in her eyes. “If only it were that simple.”
Footsteps in the corridor interrupted them, and Will restored a respectable distance between them. It took Elodie several seconds to banish the final traces of emotion from her face and lock her perfect facade back into place.
“Your Grace, a visitor has arrived,” the butler said, tense.
Will glanced toward the window, beyond which it was nearly dark. The storm gathered new strength and rattled the panes. No sensible person would be traveling in such weather.
Elodie raised an eyebrow and followed the butler at a brisk pace through the undecorated corridors. Wind whistled through the gaps around the windows, and the candles inside the lanterns flickered.
Just as Will hurried into the entrance hall behind Elodie, the gate swung open beneath a gust of ice and revealed the looming silhouette of their visitor. He did not need the two black dogs shaking snow from their coats to recognize the dark stranger.
Eric stepped into the torchlight and handed his fur hat to the butler.
“You made it!” Elodie took two more steps toward him before remembering that they hated each other.
Jealousy turned Will’s smile bitter, but he forced it down. He would give it no room, not when his goal was to bring these two together.
“Of course.” Eric bent over Elodie’s hand and breathed a kiss to it. Snow sifted from the broad shoulders of his military coat. It fit perfectly around his narrow waist and fell snow-crusted to his ankles.
“How did you get here?” Will blurted.
Eric’s gaze shifted toward him, a trace of frost still lingering within it. “My aunt lives nearby. I rode.”
The butler cast a worried glance at his pocket watch. “Esteemed guests, the sun has just set. The servants and I will bring food and wine. Duke Wilkinson has set aside a rare bottle for you.”
“One bottle will not be enough,” Eric said. “I will make myself presentable, and then I will join you for the blessing.”