Strike at Midnight(66)

Melody and I had managed to have a brief catch-up when we had walked up to our rooms—seeing as Mia had stayed up with Sir Raymond and his cronies—and neither of us had really learned anything of interest.

Now the morning had hit us and we were having a late breakfast with the ladies as part of the ladies’ picnic. I was getting close to poking my eye out with a fork, but instead, I focused on the crepes and strawberries to distract me from the incessant crap we were having to listen to while trying to fit in with the group.

When Rapunzel had returned just after dawn, I had told her about the residence the duke had not far from The Tamed Wolf, and she said she would investigate further with the staff when we returned home. She planned to get the address and find a way in so she could poke around, and I told her to let me know if I needed to torture it out of Helena or Lord Peacock. It was an offer she had politely declined.

Lady Camembert had neglected to attend the ladies’ picnic, so I would need to hunt her down at the ball later. Now we were left trying to find more information about the duke.

It was Melody who finally brought up the mention of the duke in that wily way of hers. She had cleverly waited until they had supped on enough wine and orange juice to talk about his prowess and stamina through looser lips.

“Wasn’t he seeing that Helena woman at some point?” I asked as pompously as I could manage. A woman who had introduced herself as Lady Grosnez addressed my question. She was one of the older ladies of the group.

“I know of Helena,” she scoffed. “She became a widow about six months ago and her husband left her penniless. She’s been trying to ensnare the duke ever since.”

“But then he called it off,” another woman said. I couldn’t remember her name. “Or so some stories claimed, but she dismissed them all, alluding to the fact that she and the duke were as close as ever.”

“She has the title, but not the funds,” Lady Groznez said, “and she thinks she can be the one to turn the duke’s head towards marriage. But it’s futile.”

“Why’s that?” Rapunzel asked, and I caught a glimmer of true interest on her face before she could hide it.

“He has a few good years in him yet before he needs to settle down,” she replied, “and he’s having way too much fun in other pursuits to get chained to one woman.”

“Not that he would need to be chained permanently if he were wed,” another woman said with a smirk on her face, and a few others giggled with her. “I know I’m not.”

Lady Groznez waved her hand at the woman as if to wave off her silliness. “The duke wouldn’t do that. Not if what they say about him is true.”

“What’s that?” I asked.

“That he seeks only the true love his mother and father shared. There are rumors that say he won’t settle for anything less, and he’s happy for any woman to keep his bed warm while he waits for the one.”

“That’s a bit callous,” Rapunzel said, and Lady Groznez tutted.

“Not at all. He’s always been upfront with his lovers, that’s well known.” She sighed. “It doesn’t stop some of them, though. Like Helena, they think they are perfect enough to change his heart. It’s pathetic, really.”

“My lady,” a footman said as he approached, and it took me a moment to realize that he was talking to me. “For you.”

He handed me a piece of folded parchment and I leaned away from Rapunzel to read it discreetly.





Please, may I have a moment of your time by the large fountain in the castle gardens? I have some information. A.





My heart started beating rapidly in my chest as I recognized the prince’s hand. He wanted to meet with me. Alone. This was such a bad idea.

“Please excuse me,” I said, accepting the footman’s assistance in helping me up from the piece of wicker that someone had thought to call a chair. “I shall be but a moment.”

Rapunzel and Melody raised their heads to give me a look, but the appeal in my eyes made them reluctantly go back to the conversation that had flared back up around them.

The footman gave me directions to the fountain in question, and I refused him when he asked if I needed an escort to find my way.

My reaction to the prince in the dungeon was still bothering me, and I knew how foolish this was going to be in meeting him alone—especially after trying to avoid him the night before. But he had mentioned in the note that he had some information, and it would also be the perfect opportunity to squash any ideas he had about us.

“You came,” I heard a voice say with relief as I turned a large hedge to see the prince standing by a fountain. The thing was huge.

Melody would have loved it, as I saw a trio of mermaids had been carved into the stone. They were joined together to hold a pearl in the middle that had been made out of marble, and water flowed out the top of it.

“I got your note,” I said, and nerves attacked me out of nowhere as soon as I laid eyes upon him again. I suppressed the urge to run in the other direction.

“I wanted to talk to you alone,” he said with a sheepish smile on his face. “I hope you don’t mind.”

“We were just at the ladies’ picnic,” I said as the words spilled out of my mouth. “We weren’t getting anywhere fast with the investigation.”