Strike at Midnight(67)

“How about the banquet?” he asked, and I had to suppress a smile at the enthusiasm on his face. He was really getting into this.

“I spoke with Lord Peacock and Lord Dumpty, who were associates of the duke,” I said, moving past him to sit on the edge of the fountain. It didn’t take him long to join me. “Lord Peacock claimed not to know anything about Helena, but Lord Dumpty said that she had tried to trap the duke by saying she was pregnant with his babe. He ended their relationship when he found out that she had been lying.”

“Are those the ones who made a bit of a ruckus by you last evening?”

“Lord Peacock knocked his wine over Lord Dumpty, and I can’t help but feel he did it on purpose to shut up Lord Dumpty from running his mouth.”

“What was he saying?”

“Something about them sharing whatever it was on the night the real duke disappeared, but then Lord Peacock clarified it was just his winnings he had shared, and declared that the duke was a generous man.”

“And that’s bothering you?” he asked, but he did so in a way that he was trying to help me clarify my thoughts. It made me chuckle.

“You really are into all of this, aren’t you?” I asked, and he grinned at me. His face lit up with it, and I was taken aback by how handsome he actually was. It wasn’t necessarily because his features made him so striking, but it was the fact that you knew everything that was going on with him just by casting a look upon his face. His smile, his eyes, his expressions. Everything spoke volumes to what was going on inside his head, and it was so refreshing to be around. Of course, it fucking terrified me that I responded so readily to it, but as long as I let him know where he stood with me, then we would be fine.

“I must admit,” he said eventually, “I can understand why you do what you do. The duke is lucky to have you looking for him.”

“I don’t normally do this kind of thing,” I admitted, and he gave me a confused look. “I mean, I hunt down people. But it tends to be a quick affair. People want someone found—usually a criminal—and I hunt them down for a reward. All of this questioning and piecing things together is more Rapunzel’s thing. She’s the private detective.”

“Why don’t the local authorities hunt them down?” he asked, and it pissed me off a little bit more that he didn’t know what the hell went down in his own kingdom.

“Because they’re mostly pompous assholes who prefer to have an easy ride,” I said, a little bit sharper than intended. “They like the badge, but not the hard duties that come with it. Why don’t you know any of this?”

It was a bit of a presumptuous question, but an honest one. I couldn’t be anything less with him, apparently.

“Like I said, my father tends to meet with the Royal Court, but from what he says, he just signs off on what they bring him if Royal Authority is needed. For the day-to-day things, it falls upon them to make most of the decisions.”

“And you think that’s ruling?” I asked, wanting to understand how they could be so ignorant to their own world.

His cheeks reddened slightly, and it made my stomach clench. The last thing I wanted to do was hurt the guy, and every time he reacted, I seemed to respond to it.

“It’s what we know, I suppose. But you’re right. Of course, you’re right.” The sad look fell from his face as if he had just realized something. “What would you suggest?”

“What do you mean?” I asked with suspicion. He was looking too damn pleased with himself for some reason.

“I mean if you ruled. What would you change?”

“I don’t know,” I said, feeling awkward about being put on the spot this way. But then I suppose he had a point. It was easy enough for me to sit and judge him, but what would I do if I had the chance to change something as he did? What did I want to make different?

“Three things,” he said. “Off the top of your head. What would you change?”

The enthusiasm in his voice was infectious, and I couldn’t help but want to please him, to play his game. “I suppose I would look at ways to tax the poor people less, and the rich people more. But only so it was fair. No one should be penalized for what they have, or for what they don’t. Just a fairer way of looking at things.”

“What else?” he asked, and I was starting to understand that my need for change was sounding as naive as him.

“For the banishment law to be lifted and for people not to be judged for who or what they are.”

“And the last one?”

“That those who are in dire straits be given help,” I said, not quite knowing what I meant by that. But I thought of the times I had wanted to appeal to someone to help me when my stepmother had treated me the way she did. Pride had me staying in my home for the most part, but there was also the fact that I’d had nowhere to go. Nowhere to turn to. It had been absolute desperation that had me running in the end, and if it hadn’t been for Jacque, it would have killed me.

“You needed help once upon a time,” he said, and he was too damn observant for his own good. He lifted his hand to stroke my cheek.

“No,” I said, clearing my throat and drawing my face away from his touch. “I’m just saying that there are many ways to help others with the coin you use on such frivolities as this ball. Life isn’t all about dances and arranged marriages. It’s about survival. Something you wouldn’t know anything about.”