3. Chapter Three
Chapter Three
Valda
I ’ve never had any trouble getting a read on a man before. Even if I couldn’t smell the essences of the spirit, the male mind isn’t the most complicated puzzle in the world. But Konrad is truly something else.
No man has ever rejected my kiss before. And it simply won’t do to start now.
After all, even among my own kind, I do not know any others with the ability to make men practically thralls for a short time with just a kiss. Granted, it is stronger when they are the ones who initiate the kiss. But after as much as Konrad and I embraced, he should have been ready to sit as still as a statue in my closet all night long until I was ready to deal with him on the morrow.
I’m supposed to be the one driving him mad, not vice versa!
This is no longer about doing as my father asked; it is now a matter of pride. How dare Konrad have the audacity to not worship me?
Standing in front of my mirror, I sweep most of my hair into the appropriate pleated braid around my head. But I let far more tendrils flow free than is considered demure .
But I don’t have a demure bone in my body. If a man falls for my ploy, that is entirely on him. If the free-flowing hair doesn’t give me away, then the coral red gown should have.
I dab on far more perfume than most women have to put up with, a cloud of bleeding heart surrounding me. Then I slide the glass vial down the front of my bodice because I can’t dare to be parted from it when I’m in the company of a man who could smell death on me if I miss an application.
Next, I slide my demure black dagger into my garter sheath, because it’s always good to be prepared. Then I paste a smile onto my rouged lips— my true weapon— and step into the hallway.
Konrad isn’t waiting for me just outside, which does not bode well. He was clearly not unaffected by my attentions last night, but there is a strong sense of control about him.
It will be a delight to make him lose that control.
Lifting my skirts so my boots won’t snag on them, I stride down the stairs.
A familiar silence falls when I enter the tavern as people pause their conversations and meals to turn to me. I pretend to notice none of it and glide across the room to the bar.
A man with dirty-blonde hair pulled back by a leather band that a valet obviously didn’t assist him with is sitting with his broad-shouldered back to me. A wisp of a girl-child sits beside him, attempting to mimic his pose.
That must be his companion. Not competition at all, then— just a complication I didn’t see coming.
The tavern is filled with smells of ale and unwashed men, but using my more-than-mortal senses, I can still lock onto the scents of Konrad’s spirit. Just like last night, a heavy cloud of grief surround him, along with a sharp spike of guilt. The heady desire I summoned isn’t as strong, but I can still sense a tinge.
He’ll be quite pleased to see me, even if he’ll hate it .
Smiling, I stride across the tavern and sit on the stool on his other side. “Good morn.”
To his credit, Konrad doesn’t startle. Instead, he casually turns to me, a small smile on his face. His gaze falls on my favorite hair ribbon, and I wonder if he recognizes it from last night, even though I’ve put on a fresh new gown. “Good morn, Lady Valda.”
“Please . . .” I place a gloved hand on his. “Titles hardly have a place between us after last night.”
Konrad clears his throat awkwardly and then leans back to reveal the young girl sitting on his other side. “Valda, this is Eloise, my . . . daughter.”
I have been trained by the best tutors to keep my expressions in check. However, their training betrays me, and my eyebrows climb to my temples. I was not expecting that.
Eloise leans forward without getting her hair or sleeves into her porridge. “He adopted me and has no missus for you to contend with.”
Konrad bows his head for a moment, and I see a trace of a flush spreading across his face to stain the tips of his ears.
I do my best to keep my smile from taking a predatory bend as I pat his hand twice before withdrawing. “That is certainly a relief. I most certainly would not desire a duel this morning when I was looking forward to a much more pleasant outing.”
Konrad chuckles in surprise until Eloise quirks an eyebrow at him. He immediately sobers and gestures for the barmaid to approach. “The morning special for my friend here.”
The woman turns to me, her face well past the first flush of youth with her low-cut gown doing its best to distract from that. She smiles. “Of course, my dear. Coming right up—”
As sweet as it is for Konrad to offer to pay when he knows my title and the moneybags attached to it, I shake my head. “No need. I dined in my room. ”
Shrugging, the barmaid gives Konrad an additional mug of ale anyway and then bounces off without forcing food into my mouth. Konrad offers the extra drink to me even as the stench of his guilt strengthens.
Since there is no good excuse I can give, I take it. Then I raise my mug to Konrad and Eloise, the latter of which has only water in her cup. “To a pleasant morn.”
Then I bring the drink to my lips and do my best to ignore the taste of ashes. At least with ale, there’s a trace of bitterness intermixed with the ash.
It’s an acquired taste.
Thankfully, my companions for the day break their fast quickly, and then we all stride outside together. The salty fresh air blows against my skin, playing coquettishly with my hair. I wish I could stand forever beneath this awning and enjoy the sea’s caress. But I have a busy day ahead, so I pull the blue velvet hood of my cloak over my head and step into the road.
Eloise gives me a curious look, her forest green eyes too perceptive for my liking.
Thankfully, Konrad doesn’t seem to notice anything amiss as he offers me his arm. “The most important thing to see in Trotzdem is the beach, so we’ll stop there.”
I grin up at him, using my free hand to pat his arm. My hood is enchanted to stay in its place against any trial of the wind, or else I’d have to attend to it rather than engaging in subtle flirtations. As long as no one actively tugs it away, I’m safe.
Thank the three Heavens for my father’s elvish alchemist.
Konrad guides us toward the sea, stopping when he sees a flower girl that looks the same age as little Eloise.
The child’s dress is far rattier than Konrad’s daughter’s, and she tries to hide that fact behind her giant basket of wildflowers. “A pfennig for your pick. ”
I expect Konrad to brush past the girl like my father would. Instead, he grins widely at her.
“A pfennig for cuckoo? My lady friends will think I’m cheap!” He digs into the leather pouch secured on his belt next to his sword and digs out a silver denarius.
The flower girl’s eyes widen as he places it in her hand. For a moment, she is utterly speechless as he takes two stems scattered with white-pink blooms half the length of them.
He hands those blooms to Eloise— her brows, which furrowed in worry when he offered that coin, smooth into glee.
“Your favorite, Milady.” Konrad tells her before turning back to the flower girl.
The child thrusts the basket at him. “You can have all these blooms, Sire!”
“I only need one more for the other pretty lady in my company.” Konrad winks conspiratorially at her before helping himself to the bleeding heart in the basket.
My jaw drops slightly as he presents me the stem bearing dark pink blooms shaped like hearts. It is far from the standard bloom to offer a girl one is courting— I’ve certainly received more than my fair share of roses, tulips, and cornflowers. This, though, is a bloom my vater ’s alchemist uses in my tonic perfume. Has Konrad detected that scent on me and deduced I favored it?
“How kind of you,” I breathe as the flower girl rushes away before Konrad can change his mind.
“It is but a fraction of the beauty you offer with your presence,” Konrad says in a tone that almost doesn’t sound rehearsed.
Eloise rolls her eyes behind him before becoming distracted smelling her cuckoos .
Konrad reaches to slide the bleeding heart behind my ear before realizing that only works with stems bearing a single bloom.
I take mercy on his fluster and take hold of his wrist. Then I direct it so he’s holding the stem downward. This makes it far easier to slide down the front of my corset, so that the flowers catch on the top of the bodice, their blooms a draping embellishment.
Smiling, I meet Konrad’s gaze.
His ears are red, and he quickly turns away. “Right. We were going to the beach. But first, we must pass the wharf.”
I don’t look away from his rosy ears as his golden ponytail whips back and forth in the wind. “I hear that can be a troublesome place for a lady.”
“I certainly wouldn’t recommend it without a gentleman to escort you.”
His attitude is devil-may-care as he pats my arm, which is still entwined with his. But I don’t miss the way it falls away to dab Eloise’s shoulder and remain there.
“What brings you to Trotzdem?” Konrad asks conversationally.
“Because I wanted to see the world.” I think of how suffocating my father’s castle was becoming. I didn’t want to remain within its walls for an eternity, no matter how safe they made me.
“So, you started with Trotzdem?”
“I want to see the whole world. No exceptions.” To prove my point, I glance around as we descend to the bustle of men loading and unloading ships into the large warehouses set up along the dock like a city all their own.
The wind is friskier down here, but my hood still doesn’t move. It gives me a chance to inspect the rigs as we pass by. There are two fishing vessels being unloaded by a pirate hunting ship being staffed. Next is the largest ship in the bay, which is being relieved of the goods it traded with the Venican Isles.
Cowering in its shadows is a schooner that is trying to hide its less illicit goods by the shiftiness of those unloading it.
I’m so distracted by the antics of the schooner that I almost walk into a blade.
Whirling around, I find a dagger pressed nearly to my throat.
Holding it is a short, angry man with no hair and few teeth as he leers at me. “You’re coming with me, little missy.”