Chapter 35

 

Kiki managed to put a few paces between us as we walked through the castle, and my heart began to beat faster. I had noticed a pattern. Nick would glance at her and she would increase her pace while he slowed down.

He had tried it twice already, but both times I managed to slip away from him and rejoin Kiki. This time, however, he kept a grip on my arm and pulled me into a discreet alcove adorned by a painting Kiki had pointed out as a distant relative.

“What?” I asked, crossing my arms over my chest.

I did not like standing in the little alcove with him. Not only because I was not sure of his intentions, or my feelings, but I did not like how my body reacted to his presence. My hands trembled and I gripped my arms tighter, trying to hide it, as I backed into the wall.

“We need to speak,” Nick said.

I tried to squeeze past him, but he did not move.

“Please, Tressey, I need you to understand something.”

“I understand well enough. You are a hero twice over. You rescued a damsel from her tower and she winds up being the same maiden you have been searching for your entire life. You won not only the maid, but the title and the lands.”

He bowed his head. “There is one thing you omitted.”

“And what is that?”

“That my heart won the greatest prize.”

“And what is that?”

“You.”

“You have not won me,” I said, pushing him away in a bid to get past him.

This time he let me slip by, though he called after me in a subdued voice. “Tressey, if you wish to cancel the betrothal, you have my permission.”

I balked. “Your permission? Am I a child who must seek permission to live my own life? I may not be the perfect little lady trained in propriety but I am not a child. I am not a prize to be given or taken, and I am not a fool.”

“I do not believe you are,” Nick replied.

“I left my tower to be free,” I said, stomping my foot. “And that is what I am. I will make my own decisions. I will.”

Nick nodded his head, his shoulders slumping. “As you should.”

As I headed down the hallway, moving toward Kiki, other voices started echoing through the corridor. Kiki stood near the entrance, watching a parade of sweaty, boisterous men come through the door.

“What is this?” I asked, staring at the large group of men.

“Practice,” Kiki answered, a smile on her face.

The men walked past us toward the dining hall and Kiki smiled at them. I did the same, following her lead, and felt several men’s gazes roam over me, making me blush and look away.

“Do you always watch them?” I asked, stepping closer to Kiki as the men grinned and waved at her.

“Of course,” she replied. “I do not get to practice with them while there are guests in the castle, so instead I have to live vicariously…” She scanned the crowd. “Why David, did you grace this lot with your presence today?” she called to one of the men.

The man spun, smiling at her. “Just showing these noblemen how things get done.” He winked, and she laughed.

Two men peeled away from the group, coming straight for me and Kiki. Nick joined us, standing by my side, though he did not utter a word. I should have been fine with his silence. Grateful, even. Instead, I felt a strange pain in my gut and found myself wishing he would say something. Anything.

When he did not, I amused myself by mimicking Kiki’s posturing, smiling at the two men who did approach us. Both were jovial, though sweaty and covered in black and brown muck. The smell of them wafted toward me and I stepped back, not wanting to get whatever they were covered in on my new gown. They looked us up and down, one with a grin on his face, the other with a raised eyebrow.

“Hello there, Kiki, and what trouble are you getting into today?” the one with chocolate brown hair asked, holding out his hand. Kiki placed her hand in his, and he leaned down and kissed it.

“Evidently not as much as you. What did you do, wallow in the manure?”

They both let out deep, rumbly laughter and closed in on us. I took another step back, afraid something would shake off.

“This whelp tripped me,” the first said, smacking his companion.

“Only because you flung me into a tree.”

This made the men laugh, Nick joining in.

Kiki glanced at me with an exaggerated sigh. “Ahh, men.”

I wrinkled my nose. “If all men smell so, I am rather glad I spent so little time around them.”

This seemed to amuse them even more, for all three burst into laughter again. I turned to Kiki wondering what I had said, but she was laughing as well.

“Perhaps there are benefits to being locked in a tower,” Nick said.

“Yes,” I replied, smiling my brightest smile. “At least there I can do as I please.”

Nick’s eyes narrowed, but he said nothing, instead glancing at the two men.

“So, is this lug going to make introductions?” the one with the brown hair asked.

For a moment, I wondered if Nick would, but his manners returned. “My lady, may I present Earl Penn von Eisenburg and Count Bryan von Thalunburg. The other two Charming Nobles. They claim to be my best friends.”

“No one else would put up with you,” the earl–Penn–said, making the men laugh.

Both men bowed to me and I paused, unsure how to proceed. I had not expected men–even such grubby men–to bow to me.

“Pleased to see you up and around, my lady,” Penn said.

“Pleasure,” the count–Bryan–said, his face stiff.

“And this,” Nick said, gesturing to me, “is Lady Katherina von Stroebel.”

I leaned down to curtsey, but Nick stopped me. “You are higher in rank than they. You do not curtsey to them.”

“I am sorry.” I bowed my head, the words coming out automatically.

Kiki patted my arm. “Do not be concerned. If they paid attention to the rules of decorum, we would never have any fun around here.”

The men found this quite amusing, apparently, because Penn burst out in more peels of laughter, while the others smirked. I could not keep myself from immediately warming to the two men. I studied them for a moment, trying to remember them from the tower, but the memory was elusive–I could only recall a vague sensation of floating.

“I have spent a good portion of my life attempting to understand why Nick here has a higher rank than I do, because he is certainly not nearly as handsome as I am,” Penn said, winking at me. He was quite attractive and had a lovely smile, and I realized I was blushing.

“Appearance has nothing to do with rank,” I replied, trying to sound the lady of rank I knew I was. Ironic, considering my life only a few days ago. I had been merely a peasant. Now I suddenly was catapulted into a world where I had very little concept of the rules. Even when I tried to act like I did, I managed to make mistakes.

I wondered if I would ever learn to live outside my tower.

Unaware of how deeply the words hit me, Penn continued. “No, it does not,” he said. “If so, I would be king, and these two peasants.” He waggled his eyebrows at me, and his smile was so charming I could not help returning it.

Bryan rolled his eyes at Penn.

“It seems to me in your current state, you are more apt to be a stablehand than a king,” I said and, though I had not intended it as a joke, everyone roared with laughter.

Kiki wiped tears from her eyes. “I think you have been put down, Penn.”

“Oh, so wounded,” Penn said, hand over his heart.

“Enough,” Nick said, grinning at Penn. “You waste your time.”

Penn ran his gaze over me. “Yes, Nick, I think you have done very well. She is a fine prize indeed. I would not let her part from you for any reason.”

Bristling, I crossed my arms over my chest. “He has no say in the matter.” I turned and walked away, and with each step, my frustration grew.

Kiki came to my side. “Are you all right?” she asked, as we moved out of earshot of the men.

We stopped in the middle of the corridor and I let out a shuddering breath. “They act as if Nick owns me. As if I am his chattel.”

Kiki nodded. “I hate to tell you this, but there are many men in the world who assume that loving someone is the same as owning them. A particular habit I do not condone in the slightest.” She glanced at the cluster of men.

“I will not be owned again.”

“I agree wholeheartedly…” Her voice trailed off, and I wondered if the men had decided to follow us, so I turned to see. 

Not all the men, but just Bryan, his hair matted and sticking up in odd directions, making him look like a prickly bush.

He reached Kiki’s side, blushed and looked down. “I wanted to apologize.”

I blinked. “For what?”

“Penn can be…bold. He meant no harm, my lady.” Bryan kept his head down, as if he could not bear to look at me. He leaned over, whispered something in Kiki’s ear then nodded at me and walked away.

I stared at Kiki. “What did he say?”

Kiki shrugged. “He feels bad and wants you to know not all nobles are asses like Penn.”

I gasped at her language.

She let out a sigh. “I forgot to govern myself again, did I?”

“Yes,” I replied.

“I never have done well with governance.”