Page 5 of Cursed

Chapter Two

Morning dawned bright and cheerful the next day, so Edeena and her sisters celebrated the balmy August sunshine with an impromptu breakfast on the back porch. They’d spent most of the previous evening catching Prudence up on fifteen years’ worth of Garronia gossip, and their cousin had told them all she could about the lovely little island they’d be calling home for as long as Edeena could manage. Already, Edeena felt like it was a second home. A small inlet was barely visible through the marsh grass if they looked in one direction, and rolling dunes rose toward the beach in the other direction. It was quite possibly the prettiest setting Edeena had ever seen—in a completely different way than the sand, surf and cliffs of her own kingdom.

“I think shopping is a must-do,” Marguerite announced, looking up from her dish of pineapple and oranges.

Caro nodded, her eyes bright. “Yes! Shopping. Not solely the trinket shops, though we have to hit those as well. But I want to see what sort of local stores there are for things like fruits and vegetables. Prudence said she tries to buy local whenever she can, but she does most of her bulk purchasing on the mainland. There must be another option.”

“That sounds perfect,” Edeena said, mustering up a smile. “I need to go over some paperwork with Prudence this morning, but you both should go.”

As expected, her sisters’ expressions dimmed.

“Oh, Edeena, really?” Marguerite said. “It’s your very first day here.”

“It’s never as much fun without you,” Caro put in, though Edeena knew this wasn’t at all the case. If anything, her overprotective streak tended to put a damper on her sisters’ wilder schemes. Part of her—a very small part—wanted to be more carefree, but the much larger part of her wanted them to be carefree. And to ensure that, she needed to focus.

“Well, I’m being quite selfish in fact,” she said, holding up a hand at their protest. “If I can get through all the paperwork and find out why in the world no one has put a bid in on this beautiful house despite Father listing it ages ago, I can spend the entire rest of the week doing nothing but buying seashell-encrusted mirrors and trying out local restaurants with you. Assuming you haven’t bankrupted the family by then.”

Her sisters laughed as she’d hoped they would, and talk moved on to the long weeks and even, perhaps, months ahead of them. Caroline had studied anthropology in college, so she was all about the things they would learn on the island—its history and its people—while Marguerite gushed over all the places they would go and the trips they would take during their stay in America. Edeena agreed with all of it, though her heart grew heavier with each new adventure Marguerite dreamed up, each holiday Caro described enjoying with a “low-country” flair. If she did all she needed to do, she’d be gone long before the first harvest festival.

“Ah! There you are.” Lugging a heavy tote bag, Cousin Prudence sailed in as Marguerite finished her pitch for a trip to New York City. “Your bodyguards have arrived, it appears. They’re young enough and dressed suitably enough to pass as college friends, though rather a bit bulky I should say.”

Marguerite groaned. “We don’t really need bodyguards, do we, Edeena?” she complained, rolling her eyes. “It’s not like we’re ten.”

Edeena smiled firmly. “Humor me okay? It won’t be for long. We’ll scale back soon, I promise.”

“For you, anything,” Caro said, instantly defusing Marguerite’s complaint as she stood. Caro’s worried eyes betrayed her, however, and Edeena stifled a grimace. If Caroline had any idea what Edeena was planning, she’d find some way to circumvent it. As the middle sister, Caroline seemed to have taken on the job of balancing Edeena’s worries with Marguerite’s impulsiveness, and all too often that meant she compromised her own simple joy. Caro had turned down all too many social engagements to keep Edeena company when their father went on a rampage, and she’d chaperoned Marguerite on countless adventures she would have rather skipped when Edeena’s presence would have stifled their youngest sister too obviously.

But at least now they could enjoy themselves equally. As Prudence herded her sisters on their way, Edeena turned her attention to the gorgeous views outside the screened back porch and finally, happily relaxed.

By the time she heard her cousin’s voice again, the sun had warmed the veranda to a balmy heat, the day promising to be steamy. Lulled by the heavy scent of magnolias and rose bushes, Edeena didn’t at first register the import of her cousin’s drawling chatter and soft, murmuring laughter.

Chatter meant conversation. Conversation meant another person, despite the fact that her sisters had clearly left.

Edeena turned in time to see her cousin enter the back porch with Vince Rallis on her arm. As it had the first time, seeing the man gave her a jolt. He was simply too big, too unnervingly good-looking, and his ready smile and golden-brown eyes unnerved her. She schooled her expression into one of polite civility, but her keen-eyed cousin outed her immediately.

“No scowling, dear,” Prudence said primly. “Vince is your head of security here, and he needs to keep informed of what we discuss today. If your father accosts us in the dead of night, you’ll thank me.”

“He’s not going to accost us in the dead of night.” Edeena sighed as Vince’s brows shot up. Did he have to be so attractive? Seriously? Or staring at her with such obvious concern that had nothing to do with her as a woman, and everything to do with her as a client?

Of course he did. Because she was cursed.

She waved them both to sit, then eyed her cousin, whom she’d commandeered weeks ago to assist in her research. “Okay, let’s get this over with, then. Where do we stand with the royal rolls? And before you even suggest it, Prince Henry is not an option. I know him far too well. But Luxembourg and Lichtenstein remain available, right? And Greece if we don’t put too fine a point on it. At least the list has some possibilities.” She picked up a file folder and flipped it open, then grimaced, setting it down again. “If only Prince Albert could forgive me for that gas tank prank. I was just a kid.”

Prudence cleared her throat delicately. “Well, ah, now that we’ve come to it, it’s . . . not that clear cut, I’m afraid,” she said, and an uncharacteristic stiffness strained her voice.

Edeena looked up from the second folder she’d selected. “What do you mean? Are those princes all out of the running already?”

“Not exactly,” Prudence said. She glanced from Edeena to Vince, then fluttered her hands. “This isn’t the first time I’ve heard of the Saleri curse, dear. Your mother knew about it, though I know she didn’t speak of it much to you. Still, she and I discussed the matter when you were young. It . . . I should say it doesn’t go exactly the way you’ve recounted it to me.”

Edeena stiffened. “What do you mean? I don’t have to marry a prince?”

“Well . . . yes, though ‘prince’ is a bit open to interpretation. You need to marry a man of nobility, whose bearing is princely, to be exact, but it goes beyond him being of suitable rank. He must have the ability to draw your house together. That’s the true root of the Saleri curse. That you all fell apart, and you can never be successful until you come back together.”

Edeena’s brow furrowed. “Come back together . . . like in a group hug?” She shrugged. “If the man has enough money and a royal pedigree, Silas will greet him with open arms.”

“No, dear,” Prudence said quietly. “I mean your entire family—the extended family, including those branches that don’t even recognize themselves as Saleris anymore—they must agree to come together, in peace and joy. In one place. That’s what your prince must accomplish.”

Edeena stared at her a long moment. “Oh,” she said. “So we’re doomed.”

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