Page 24 of The Pureblood Princess
It was just a dream, she tells herself, trying to slow the tears streaming down her face.It wasn’t real. Just a dream.
The nightmare rattled Nadia tothe core, and she’s still not quite recovered when she enters the dining room for breakfast.
Theodore is seated between Luca and Francesca, and they laugh at something he says as Nadia walks up behind them.
“Nadia!” Francesca says, her green eyes bright as she twists around in her chair to look over the back. “Can I sit with you today?” She blinks innocently, and Theodore glances back, his lips pulled into a small smile.
“Of course.” Nadia takes a seat across from Theodore, and Francesca scurries around the large mahogany table to sit beside her.
“Theo said I can help you get ready for the wedding,” Francesca says, leaning forward to swipe a strawberry from the bowl.
“Did you forget your manners, young lady?” Lord Rosetti asks from the head of the table, his eyes just showing over the rim of his teacup as he takes a sip.
“Sorry, Papa.” Francesca smiles slyly behind the strawberry as she takes a bite.
“I’d love for you to help me. And perhaps Giulia and Contessa can join us as well.”
Contessa sips coffee at the other end of the table, her hair tousled and eyes sleepy, and she lifts the cup as if to agree. Charlie sits beside her, completely absorbed in a novel, his food untouched before him.
“Yes!” Francesca squeals before diving into an elaborate tale of how she helped Contessa for her wedding.
“Don’t tell lies, Francesca,” says Giulia. She and Renzo sit together, seemingly attached at the hip. Nadia is not so sure she’s ever seen one without the other.
“I’m not lying!” Francesca’s green eyes start to water. “I did help!”
“You were scarcely four years old,” Renzo says, his voice sleepy. “How much help could you be?”
“Enough of that.” Theodore levels a sharp look at his younger siblings, and they shrink beneath his stare. “Francesca, you will be of much help to Nadia, I’m sure. And she’ll be a beautiful bride, won’t she?”
Beside Nadia, Francesca nods and blushes, her older siblings’ nettling forgotten.
Sitting across the table from Theodore, Nadia studies his sharp cheekbones and smooth chin, tries to remind herself thatthisis the real Theodore; the man in her nightmare was not him—that man was a figment of her imagination, her fears brought to life.
As she sips a cup of tea, she reminds herself of his words in the garden the night the hunter attacked.
“Have you ever... gone to bed with her?”
“Absolutely not.”
Recalling the vehemence in his voice helps put her at ease, though the nightmare still lingers there in the back of her mind, even as he sits across the table from her.
“Miss Magdalena,” Lady Rosetti says, calling her attention. “Theodore tells me you selected a home, and I must say, your selection is one of my favorites.”
Swallowing her tea, Nadia nods once. “They were all so beautiful, truly, but something about Veilstead House just felt... right.”
“It will make a lovely home for your family.”
Lady Rosetti’s words send a thought drifting through Nadia’s mind, and she can’t believe she hasn’t thought of it before.
“Speaking of homes . . .”
Her hesitation makes Lord Rosetti look up, and Theodore directs his attention to her as well.
“Do you know what became of my ancestral home? The home where my parents lived?”
“Thornwood,” Lord Rosetti says, nodding thoughtfully as he sets his teacup upon a saucer. “I’ll admit, I’ve not thought of your parents’ manor in many years.”
“Oh, but it was such a beautiful estate,” Lady Rosetti says. “Your mother took such good care of it. Vera took much pride in her home—yourhome.”
