Page 31 of Bride of the Midnight Prince

I slip out of the dining room, letting my feet carry me to the kitchen and the servants’ hall, where the servants who do not have tasks keeping them busy have sat down for supper. Just as I shut the door to the servants’ hall, I glimpse the prince striding down the hallway toward the dining room.

As though sensing me, he looks up. His black gaze pierces me, holding me in place until he strides out of my vision.

I release the breath I was holding.

There is an open length of bench at the table beside the young girl I saw in the kitchen earlier. Wordlessly, I take that seat and gratefully accept the bowl of stew and slice of buttered bread offered me.

The girl watches me while I eat.Don’t talk to me,I think desperately.Please don’t talk to me.

“Hello!” she chirps brightly. She’s missing one of her front teeth. “My name is Rebecca, but you can call me Becky. What is your name?”

I sigh, then turn and offer her a smile. “My name is Nat.”

“You are the attendant for the Master?” she asks. When I nod, she continues. “My mama is the one who cooks all the food. Say hi, Mama!”

The woman ladling stew into bowls smiles at me. “I’m Charity Finch. You can call me Charity. Except when Mrs. Banks is around. Then call me Mrs. Finch.” She winks.

“I’m too young to be a servant,” Becky says, ignoring her food in favor of talking. “But Mama has to work because Papa died several years ago, and I’ve got nowhere to be and it’s not safe for me on the streets. So I get to mend all day. It’s nice. I can go outside when the weather is beautiful, and I can stay inside when it’s raining, and Mama will fix me a cup of hot chocolate. Here! Let me show you what I was working on before we stopped for dinner!”

She hops off the bench. I keep eating as she fetches her work. I didn’t consider this dynamic of my disguise. This girl thinks I am a boy only a year or two older than herself.

She comes back a moment later with a flannel coat. My mind immediately leaps to Bartholomew, and I shove a bite of stew into my mouth, swallowing hard.

“There was a rip in the side seam. I’m almost finished mending it. Look!”

I look. I can barely tell where the original stitching ends and her mending begins. I’m genuinely impressed. “Those are very neat stitches.”

Becky blushes furiously. I pretend I don’t notice and return my focus on my food.

“Is the lad a connoisseur of stitching?” laughs Clifford, whose muddy boots have been left at the door.

“No, sir. My sister’s stitching is very nice though, so I can tell a little bit.”

The apples of Charity’s cheeks are round and rosy when she smiles. “You should go rest, Nat. You look like you’re going to fall asleep here at the table.”

She takes my finished bowl and I could kiss her for giving me an excuse to not stay and meet the rest of the staff. I get to my feet, bid her thanks, and leave after grabbing my little bundle of things and my spare uniform that I left here this morning.

The dining room door is shut when I pass it, but the shadows beneath it remind mejusthow occupied it is. I pick up my pace and do not relax until I’m safely locked inside my new room.

I don’t think I’ll be able to sleep knowing that the prince can enter his room at any moment. Then I’ll be trapped inside this small closet of a bedchamber. For that reason—and despite the way my ribs scream for me to remove my chest binding—I dare not undress.

I flop into the small bed as I am.

Then, remembering something, I sit upright and grab my bag. I rifle through it until I find what I’m looking for: the tailor’s scrawled notes. My eyes land on one unfamiliar place in the column of familiar fae Courts.

The Star City.

Somehow, despite my long days and my employer ending up being the terrifying Nothril prince, I need to get information from him that will help me learn which Path leads to the Star City.

I return the paper to my bag and lay back down. My last thought is spent wondering how long it’ll be until the prince comes to sleep. Then my exhaustion overtakes me.

Chapter 10

Rahk

Astretchoffarmland,empty at this dark hour, is what lies at the border of Caphryl Wood. I stalk along its edges, observing the sparks glowing along the ground.The Wood is already beginning to recede.I count the number of Paths that open from here and lead into the depths of Faerieland. There is the Path to Nothril, another to Valehaven, another to the recently sacked Ildreer Court, and more. I even come across a Path that leads to Caspar’s precious Star City.

So many Paths.

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