Page 44 of Bride of the Midnight Prince

Nowthatquestion is one I must be careful with. “Mary taught me to read. I’ve read the books she brought me.”

There. Now I can be educated at any level.

“I’ve heard you humans have schools and universities. Have you ever thought of attending? You’re a bright lad. You would be successful. Perhaps you could even find an occupation for yourself beyond being a manservant.”

He thinks I’m smart?

He thinks Nat is smart. Nat, who is twelve. If he knew you were twenty, he would hardly find your mind impressive.

He’s looking at me in a strange way. His mouth is slightly slanted, his eyes bright in a way that reminds me of last night. It’s like he’s testing me again. Why, or how, I cannot make sense of.

“I—I don’t know,” I say. “It would be a lot of pressure on Mary.”

He nods in reply. “Of course. Off you go. I shall summon you if I need you again.”

I let out an enormous sigh once I’m safely free of the prince’s presence. I slip into the empty dining room for one moment of peace and silence. I survived this long and arduous morning.

My break is over. I straighten and slip back out of the dining room. With all the time I’ve lost, I’ve got to work extra hard to complete the rest of my tasks.

But if I thought Prince Rahk was finished with me for the day, I am soon proven dead wrong.

Edvear and I are busy sorting through a partial delivery of the prince’s new wardrobe after the noon meal when he summons me once more to his study.

“Sit there,” the prince orders, pointing to a new chair beside his desk that has materialized since I was last here. “And play this.”

I’ve barely sat before he thrusts something into my lap. I look down at the object in bewilderment. It’s a lute, with a rounded body and a long neck where its strings are fastened.

“I don’t understand,” I say bluntly.

The prince sits down at his desk, which now feels far too close. “I require atmosphere while I work. Play me a pleasant tune.”

His tone offers no room for protest. So, with a silent huff, I position the instrument in my lap and begin plucking at the same string over and over again.

“Something pleasant, I said,” he orders.

I grit my teeth. I pluck at a different string this time, bouncing in a discordant pattern entirely lacking in beauty, rhythm, and any consideration for those within hearing distance. I stop the moment he swivels his head toward me. “I don’t know how to play the lute! Or any musical instrument, for that matter! Where did this lute even come from?”

He wipes a hand over his mouth—to hide his smirk.

“My lord,” I begin carefully, “is there a way I might become less delightful to torment?”

His lips quirk. He shoos me out of the chair with one hand. “Go back to whatever you were working on.”

The moment I’ve shut his study door, I clench my hands into fists. This job is hard enough without himpurposefullytrying to make my life as difficult as possible.

Is he trying to make me quit? Why not just dismiss me outright?

I tighten my jaw. If he is trying to get me to quit, he is going to be sorely disappointed when I refuse to let his goading get to me.

Three blissful hours go by with no summons from the prince. Edvear and I select his clothes for the ball two nights from now. I head down to the creek with Charity and Becky to do the prince’s laundry. As I finish pinning the laundry to the line to dry, fighting off a chicken that wants to roost in my basket of freshly cleaned clothes, Edvear pops his curly head out of the kitchen door.

“Master Rahk summons you. He is in his bedroom.”

I let a very unladylike curse escape my lips. Then I remember my resolve to be unflappable. “Coming!”

I leave the gloriously sunny outside and tromp to the prince’s bedroom. I knock on the door, praying desperately that this will be a short instance of torment like the lute, instead of the half-day project of reorganizing his bookshelves.

“Come in.”

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