Page 103 of Bride of the Midnight Prince

“Mrs. Finch will be infuriated that I’m late to get your tray of food. She’ll complain that it was all perfectly hot and now it’ll be cold.”

“Your attempts to avoid this won’t work. Now, remember: you go backwards.”

This time, I go backwards, but with the wrong foot. Rahk only resets us, pulling me close to him, and counts us in again. I can think of only so many ways I can mess this up, so on the third try, I do as I’m supposed to. I allow myself seven perfect steps before I take another misstep.

My attempts to frustrate Rahk prove in vain. He only smiles at my mistakes, pulls me closer, and begins anew. By our sixth try, he holds me noticeably closer than at the beginning, and his head is tilted down toward mine, enough that I can feel every one of his exhalations in my hair. This strikes me as very strange. I frown. If he tries to dance with courtly ladies at this proximity, they’ll all call scandal.

“I don’t think you’re supposed to be this close,” I say, wrinkling my brow. I dare a single glance up at him, at his handsome face, and immediately regret it. “Mary said I was always to keep the ladies at a further distance or else they’ll think I have ill intentions.”

“Mary to the rescue yet again,” Rahk replies, and adjusts our stance.

I can breathe again with more distance between us. We do several perfect turns around the room before I forget I’m supposed to be making mistakes. “You’ve picked this dance up very quickly,” I say to cover my blunder. “I’ve not seen you make a single misstep.”

“High praise indeed, coming from the servant boy.”

I take my arm that is resting on his elbow and, without thinking, smack his shoulder. He smirks.

“I mean no insult to you, Nat, as you well know.”

“You enjoy insulting me for sport.”

“I’m afraid you might be correct in that assessment. There is an easy solution, however.”

“Oh?”

His smirk widens, his voice dropping to a low, conspiratorial tone. “Don’t be so fun to tease.”

I scowl, which only makes him laugh harder.

“How is your ankle faring?”

His reminder of my injury brings the pain roaring back. He was so distracting I’d almost completely forgotten about it. “It is fine.”

He releases me, stepping back. “There, you are sufficiently punished. If either Mrs. Banks or Mrs. Finch give you trouble for being late, tell me at once.”

I’m dismissed, then.Finally. I turn toward the door, ready to flee the premises, when I nearly stumble back for the shock of Edvear standing there. He wears a strange expression, his ears turned back like Bartholomew’s when she is upset. He regards me silently. I bow, not sure what else to do to hide my hot cheeks.

He steps aside and lets me scurry past. Once I’m halfway down the hallway, the door to Rahk’s study shuts with a firm click.

Rahk

“Natisawoman,”Edvear says flatly.

I look up from the book I’ve been studying on human dances. I shut it firmly and set it down on my desk. Then I make my way to my chair and sit. I arrange my hands behind my head and lean back. So the dancing was what tipped my steward off. “Yes.”

“Great Kings,” Edvear curses. “How long have you known?”

“From the beginning.”

“And you never told anyone?”

“I intended to find out the reason behind the deception before I so flippantly revealed her. You are displeased with me?”

Edvear opens his mouth and shuts it again. “I am worried.”

“About?”

“How do we know she has not been sent to orchestrate our downfall?”

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