Page 51 of Viktor at Sea

“Of course, we want you to stay on as our caterer, Gustav,” Astrid assured him with a sweet smile. “This was a simple mistake. It could have happened to anyone. Please don’t be too hard on yourself.”

Gustav thanked Astrid before beginning to pack up. As our dessert had come to an abrupt end, there wasn’t any food left to taste.

“How did Crosby know that the cake had nuts in it?” Astrid frowned, her nose scrunching adorably at the bridge as she stared into the distance where Crosby could still be seen walking away from us. “How did he know about the nuts when Gustav doesn’t remember adding them?”

“I don’t know,” I murmured. “I trust Gustav with my life, but not Crosby in the slightest.”

“Me, too. I guess we’ll have to keep an eye on Crosby,” Astrid agreed.

Despite Crosby’s insistence that he was only here to stop Astrid from consuming a cake filled with nuts, neither of us believed him. There was definitely some foul play here, but I wished for Crosby’s sake this was nothing more than an innocent mistake.

CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR

“How does that feel?” Churchill asked, his lips barely moving between the several pins he held between them.

“Good,” I murmured, staring at myself in the mirror.

With such little time on our hands, Churchill and I decided to keep things simple with my clothes for the wedding. Simple, yet it was still the grandest piece of clothing that had ever touched my naked body. And that included the thick wolf’s fur blanket I slept with every night, having been rewarded it as payment from a mission a couple of years ago.

“I’ve never worn such expensive clothes in my life. I have to admit, I feel like a million gold coins,” I chuckled as I watched Churchill pin the bottom of my trousers, half an inch too long. As the ceremony was being held on the beach and there would be a lot of dancing, they needed to be shortened, or the bottom of my trousers would be a sandy mess by the end of the night. “I guess getting married has a way of bringing that out in you, right?”

“If only I had a gold coin for every time a groom-to-be has said that to me during a fitting,” Churchill chuckled, and I braced myself for the need to jump off the stool and save him from choking. I had already expressed my concern about him walking around with sharp pins in his mouth, but there was noarguing with the man. He was the master of his trade and the finest tailor in all of Jorvik. Only his wife rivalled him as the finest dressmaker in all of Jorvik. A match made in the Heavens, if you asked me.

A loud curse forced itself from my lips, and I jumped off the stool.

“Sorry, did I prick you?” Churchill laughed as he beckoned me to get back on the stool.

“It didn’t hurt. Just caught me off by surprise, is all,” I laughed along with him as I returned to the makeshift podium so he could pin the final adjustments to my wedding outfit. “I’ve had more painful pricks from Kis, and that’s when she’s in a good mood. This is nothing in comparison.”

“You know, you’re not just marrying Astrid. You’re marrying her cat as well,” Churchill chuckled. For a man who worked with pins constantly in his mouth, he sure did laugh a lot. Far too much for my liking. “But enough about that wretched cat of your future bride,” he snorted. “I’ll get the final alternations done to your trousers within the next few days and call you in for one last fitting. But for now, you may go behind the partition and get changed.”

“Thank you once again, Churchill,” I said and disappeared behind the partition. It took me a few moments to get changed into my regular attire. I went to return my wedding attire to Churchill, but I didn’t find him at his worktable.

Instead, there stood the last woman I wanted to see right now.

Chara was dressed in a deep red gown, scandalously low-cut at the chest and a big, full skirt. It was one of my favourite colours, and I loved it when Astrid wore the fiery colour as it truly made her look like a siren–mysiren–but I wasn’t interested in seeing Chara in the colour. Her lips and cheeks were painted a vibrant red, poorly blended into her face that,for some reason, was a shade or two lighter than the rest of her body, making her look like a clown.

It was a struggle to hold back my laughter, but I didn’t want to risk encouraging her in any way.

I contemplated hiding behind the partition again to escape her violating stare, but she had already seen me. Instead, I cleared my throat and asked, “What are you doing here, Chara?”

“Oh, don’t take that tone with me, Captain Viktor,” Chara replied, her lips turning up at the corners in what I could assume she believed to be a seductive smirk.

“What did you do to chase Churchill away?”

“As if anyone can chase Churchill away from his materials,” she scoffed. “Anyone but his wife, that is. I was walking by when he was leaving, and he said that my dress was ready. He told me to try it on, and let him know if I require any alterations.”

I quirked a disbelieving brow at her. “And he conveniently forgot to tell you I was in here?”

“It must have slipped his mind. He’s a very busy man.” Chara shrugged innocently, though I wasn’t falling for her act for a second. “Fine. I do have a reason for being here.”

“And what reason might that be?” I groaned, approaching Churchill’s workstation to lay my garments.

“Are these your wedding clothes?” She asked, her eyes lighting up as she reached out to touch the grand fabric. I was tempted to stop her, to demand that she get her disgusting hands off my wedding clothes, but I didn’t want to prolong the conversation.

“Yes, they are.”

“Won’t you get into your wedding garments to show me? I’d love to see what you look like in them.” Chara stared at me with hopeful eyes, brimming with excitement, but that look wouldn’t work on me.

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