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
Julian’s words rendered me speechless, and for a long moment, I didn’t say anything. He seemed content himself to let the words linger, and they did, hanging heavy in the air. It meant the world to me, for Julian to feel that way. I only wished Nicholas felt the same. As it was, while the words we
“Selma!” Julian called. “Can you come here a minute? There’s something I want to talk to you about.” “Of course, Prince Julian,” Selma said and she came near. I couldn’t see her with Julian in the way, but I could hear her well enough when she said, “How can I help you?” “Selma, listen, I’ve bee