Page 26 of Pawns of Fate
Rose didn’t want to be teased. She ignored Lyla’s comment.
“I apologize for my distractedness, Betty. I am simply tired from last night’s banquet.”
“You were such a perfect lady! And in that heavy dress, too. No wonder you’re tired,” Betty replied cautiously.
Neither she nor Betty had done anything wrong, so Rose hated to see Betty acting nervous. It reminded Rose too much of how her uncle’s servants behaved when he was around.
Lyla’s voice lazily interrupted her thoughts. “Are you sure the banquet made you tired, Lady Rose? Not your walk in the garden with Lord Nicholas?”
Rose choked on the water she was sipping.
“Lyla! That’s none of our business!” Betty chided the shadow mage fearlessly, bonking her on the head with a hairbrush.
It was a bit like watching a kitten try to fight a tiger. Rose wondered if Betty was unaware of Lyla’s actual occupation or simply brave. She also realized that Betty couldn’t have told Lyla about her walk in the garden, since she’d been waiting in Rose’s room after the banquet. The shadow mage had probably tailed her.
Rose wasn’t sure how she felt about that. She was used to having a lot of privacy, but it seemed like those days were gone.
“Please forgive her, Lady Rose. She’s new to the staff.”
“There’s nothing to forgive,” Rose replied.
“If she teases you too much, you can always ask abouthermidnight walks withSyzman.” Betty’s brows wiggled suggestively. “Those two are always sneaking off together. Even more than Lady Ava and Lord York!”
“Hey! That’s not true!” Lyla snapped.
“Then why do you disappear at the same time as him every day!?”
“Well, it certainly isn’t for what you think. Syzman and I are just colleagues.” Lyla scoffed, but Rose swore she saw a slight pinkness on the mage’s cheeks.
Betty opened her mouth to retort when they were interrupted by a letter sliding under the door.
“What is it this time?” Lyla grumbled as she retrieved the letter and handed it to Rose.
“It seems that my fiancé needs to meet with me in his office at my earliest convenience,” she said as she glanced over the letter. “How quickly can you prepare me for the day, Betty?”
“Just let me finish your hair. You’ll be all ready to go!”
Rose knocked onthe door to Nicholas’s office and was surprised when a man with rust-colored eyes and black leather armor opened the door. She’d met him at the banquet last nightand found his demeanor to be as intimidating then as it was now. This was Syzman, the other shadow mage in the Sharp’s employ.
Despite the flare of fear that rushed through her as the mage walked past her, Rose found a smile playing at her lips. She couldn’t help but picture him chasing Lyla around after hearing Betty’s take on the situation.
Nicholas’s office was dark, except for the windows, and it smelled of dusty paper. The bookshelves were stuffed with fat, ornate books that looked like they belonged in a university or a lawyer’s office. The furniture was even thicker and more elaborate than the books, crafted with dark wood and upholstered with burgundy and jade fabrics. The desk could double as a boulder.
Nicholas looked out of place with his silver hair, pale skin, and green tunic. Even his pleasant expression seemed at odds with the overbearing atmosphere of the room.
“Rose, sit down,” he said cheerfully. “I suppose this is your first time seeing my office. It was my grandfather’s. I haven’t had the heart or time to change the decor.”
“The windows let in a nice light,” Rose said diplomatically.
“I have a good view of the mountains. That’s what I like about it.” Nicholas smiled and shrugged noncommittally.
“The furniture is comfortable, too,” Rose said, sitting on an overstuffed chair. It was true. The chair was ugly, but that didn’t detract from how good it felt to sit in it.
“I called you here because I have a very large favor to ask of you,” Nicholas said. His cheerful tone had taken on a pensive, concerned edge.
“Whatever it is, I’ll try my best to help you, Nicholas.” She tried to hide the disappointment in her voice. A small part of her had hoped that, perhaps, he would continue where things had left off last night, but Nicholas was all business right now. Somehow, the thought added more fuel to Rose’s flame of desire.
“How much do you know about the Dahtey clan?” Nicholas asked.
