Chapter 43

Chapter 43

At first glance, she appeared friendly enough, smiling peacefully. She curtsied to me and introduced herself.

Tm looking forward to serving you,” she said.

But I found it strange. Surely she had passed my other maid being taken away down the hall. What kind of person would be smiling so calmly after having witnessed such a thing?

icholas.

I

I

Today was the day for Nicholas’s solo date, and I was trying my very best not to think about it.

Ever since receiving Joseph’s threatening letter, I’d been hiding out in my room as much as I could to

avoid him and the mean–looking guards.

With the First Ball fast approaching, I used the extra time in my room to help my maids work on me and

Elva’s gowns.

The dress had to be perfect. The order of introductions for the girls at the ball was to be determined by

the princes‘ preferences of the dresses.

Once the gowns were finished, pictures were to be taken of them and given to the princes, who would

then select their favorites. Those favorites would be the first ones introduced at the ball, and therefore

given the most time with the princes.

And with the cameras.

A major component of the Luna Choosing Game, was earning the public’s favor. I had a small advantage

with the common people, being one myself. But people like Lena and Joseph existed in every class.

I had little reason to believe that even with my slight advantage, I would make it far in this competition.

That didn’t mean I wouldn’t try.

The two maids and I had split the design for my dress into three separate parts that we had worked on

individually. Now, we were ready to combine the three elements into a complete gown.

We’d already finished Elva’s matching dress first.

The quiet maid insisted on doing the final work, as she had the most experience with sewing.

The newest maid began arranging the mannequin for the dresses photo shoot. Elva’s dress was not to be included in the shot, since that would ruin the anonymity of the contest.

Elva herself was looking at something outside the window, likely the horses again, with the stables so close.

I

I felt restless, though I wasn’t sure why, I kept thinking about Nicholas’s solo date, but it shouldn’t be enough to bother me like this

Nicholas and I were over long ago.

Still, I paced the length of the room, nervousness and trepidation waging war within my chest. My heart

“Mommy!” Elva called to me. “Mommy, come see!”

Eager for the distraction, I joined her at the window.

“Look.” Elva pointed down toward the stables. “It’s Nick–lass.”

Nicholas and Lilliana stood near the entrance of the stables as horses were brought to them by stable

hands.

Nicholas’s horse was a regal black stallion that greedily accepted a sugar cube from Nicholas’s palm.

The horse chosen for Lilliana was a brown and white mare that seemed nervous around her. The horse.

kept trying to sidestep whenever Lilliana came too close.

Nicholas, noticing. left his own horse to approach Lilliana. He offered her a sugar cube and gestured

toward her horse. Lilliana shook her head, refusing to offer the treat.

From this distance, I couldn’t hear the exact words spoken beyond some mumbled voices, but with the way Lilliana held up her pure white gloves, I assumed she refused to treat the horse to spare her gloves.

ing d*rty.

getting d*rty.

I wondered how she would hold the reins.

I

Nicholas gave the sugar cube to the horse himself. In his presence, the mare seemed to settle.

Lilliana approached then, and with Nicholas’s help, lifted herself up into the saddle.

Nicholas’s hands lingered near her waist, keeping her steady.

I remembered the times we had gone horseback riding together. He had helped me then, much in the

same way.

Sometimes, if I let myself remember, I could still feel the phantom touch of his strong hands on my hips.

“I won’t let you fall,” he’d said then. “Tell me when you are okay, and I’ll let go.”

I had given him a playful smile. “What if I want to stay like this?”

I

His eyes had been fond, green sparkling brightly under the sun. “Then we should give up on horseback riding for today and return to one of our rooms instead. If you want me to hold you, I’d like to do it

properly

Now, I wondered if he was saying much the same thing to Lilliana, But, no. They didn’t seem to be

talking much at all. Nicholas moved his hands away from her waist quickly and without protest.

Even from a distance, these two did not seem to like each other ver

speaking. I couldn’t imagine why Nicholas had chosen her, out of all the candidates, for his first solo date.

Nicholas left her then and mounted his stallion. He waited for Lilliana to bring her mare alongside his horse, and then together they started to ride forwards at a slow pace – which brought them closer to us

at the window.

Elva gasped when she realized, “He’s coming over here.”

Then, before I could figure out what she was going to do, she shouted from the window, “Hi, Nick–lass!”

She waved both arms.

They both immediately looked up. Lilliana glowered, but Nicholas’s stern expression seemed to soften.

He lifted a hand and waved back.

Elva giggled.

I stood in the window behind her, frozen. It was too late to hide. Nicholas’s eyes quickly shifted from Elva, up to me. His hand was still raised. Was I supposed to return the gesture? Wouldn’t it be rude not to?

Unsure, I lifted my own hand and gave a tiny wave in return.

At once, he lowered his hand, making clear that he had not intended to wave at me.

My cheeks burned as I dropped my arm to my

side.

It was awkward and terrible, and I was mortified by the entire encounter.

At least he had been kind to Elva, but… what had I been thinking? Not only did I wave at him, but I had

been caught staring!

The moment I saw Elva was watching him and his date, I should have ushered her away to give him

privacy

My own morbid curiosity had taken hold of me. I had wanted to see, and wanted to remember. And now

I was caught in an ocean of embarrassment.

I should have known better.

“He said hi, Elva said, with new giggles. She hadn’t seemed to notice that Nicholas‘ wave to me had

been less significant than her own.

I was thankful to Nicholas, though, for paying that moment’s attention to her, especially with the way her face fit up so brightly.

“Excuse me,” snapped a female voice from the doorway behind us.

“Ma’am,” said the maids in unison.

I turned and found Lena there, a sour look on her face. She glared at me, then at Elva. I shifted so that I

blocked her view of Elva, and that angry gaze returned to me alone.

Years of customer service jobs had given me the training I needed to keep calm in my voice, even as my

own anger stirred. Who was she to look at Elva like that?

“Can I help you with something, Lena?”

She lifted her chin so that when she looked at me, it was down the sides of her nose.

1 am here to discipline your child, as you seem incapable of doing so.”

“I beg your pardon?” An edge cut into my voice.

“There are rules about intruding on another girls‘ solo date.”

Elva peeked out from around my skirt.

Lena noticed and glowered at her.

“And your child has broken those rules.”