I had been naked for a while, but suddenly, with Bridget here now, seeing us, I felt vulnerable and exposed in a way I had never been with just Nicholas alone. I held up the towel, blocking as much of myself – and Nicholas – as I could. “What the hell, Bridget?” Nicholas snapped. Where my first
Bridget’s words stuck with me more than I wanted them to. As I rested in bed that night, I stared at the ceiling replaying everything that happened – not just last night with Bridget, but every time I had been with Nicholas before. Where had Elva been? Had she noticed any of my behavior? I didn’t
Nicholas and I walked down to the first floor and sought out Selma. We found her in the kitchen, preparing the chefs for the day’s menu. We waited near the door, not wanting to disturb her work. When she was finished, the chefs returned to their duties and we approached her. She was an older woman
Nicholas must have felt the same. He nodded toward the door. I followed him from the kitchen to the sitting room near the front door. We didn’t sit, just stood there, but it was privacy enough to finally speak. “She’s hiding something,” Nicholas said. “She’s never been that cagey before, as long a
Nicholas, Julian, and I walked to the base of the stairs. There, we stood calmly, while peering around, waiting for all the servants in sight to go elsewhere to attend to their duties. Then, with Julian being the boldest and first of us, we sneaked through the servants’ door and into the servants’ q
Fortunately, Selma did not reach for the door once it was open. With it open, it concealed most of Nicholas and me, though if she looked back, and looked closely, she would certainly see our shoes or our sides. The space behind the door was cramped. Nicholas’s arms tightened around me, tugging me
We sneaked out of Charlotte’s room much in the same way we arrived it. Once we were back in the safety of the main building, Nicholas turns to Julian and I and said, “I’m going to contact the King immediately.” Julian snorted. “And say what?” Nicholas was already frowning, but he frowned even de
Julian frowned a little too, sitting down, but he quickly schooled his face and looked at me. He wanted to get down to business then. Trying to distract him by discussing the comfortability of the furniture was likely to fail. “Bridget walked in on Nicholas and me last night,” I said. Julian’s e