A Dove's Tale

Chapter 31

The warmth of the blanket was the first thing I noticed when I woke up. It was a decorative throw blanket, one of several scattered around the library, and the plush pillows beneath my head were decorative, too. But they were all soft, as was the sofa beneath me, and it was tempting to keep my eyes closed and listen to the storm raging against the windows a while longer. Prince Clavis said he would wake me up in time for me to go home, after all, so if I just stayed here...

Prince Clavis. The library. I was supposed to be working, not sleeping.

I sat up quickly, anxiously looking at the other end of the sofa, half expecting Prince Clavis to be sitting there grinning at me. He wasn't, thank goodness. He must have taken the tea tray from the coffee table, because that wasn't there, and Prince Chevalier was sitting in a lounge chair across from me-

Oh, no.

His icy blue eyes flicked from the book in his hand to me, just for a second, long enough for my heart to plummet to my feet. Or the floor. Probably the floor, since my feet were still up on the sofa.

"Sorry, Prince Chevalier," I said, jumping to my feet and straightening the pillows and blanket. He didn't reply, so I continued hurriedly, "Prince Clavis drugged my tea and gave me the choice to keep listening to him or drink the tea, and I didn't like what he had to say, so I drank the tea."

It sounded so stupid. There were many things I could have done in that situation, like throw the tea in Prince Clavis' face, refuse to drink it and get back to work, tell Prince Chevalier. The last option probably would have been the best one. He'd sent Prince Clavis packing before, and he wouldn't hesitate to do it again. But I chose to drink the tea, knowing it would do something to me, but not knowing what, and that resulted in my sleeping for - what time was it?

"Four thirty."

I turned around to look at Prince Chevalier. He was sitting the same way he did when he read in his library, legs crossed, book in hand, somehow managing to appear both relaxed and imperious at the same time. It was easy to imagine the lounge chair as his throne. His face was impassive, and his eyes were on his book, but he must have been looking at me if he read my mind like that. Although how he did it without me even facing him, I didn't know.

Why had he moved out here?

Not that it mattered.

"I'd better get back to work, your highness."

I turned away, scanning the room for my long-discarded cleaning supplies. Four thirty. Prince Clavis had wasted too much of my time this afternoon. I headed across the library to resume polishing the various metal fixtures scattered across the room. If it weren't for Prince Clavis, I would have finished by five o'clock. Now, I'd have to leave the job incomplete and pick it up again tomorrow morning. The floors would need cleaning, too, thanks to the storm.

The storm. I hoped my roof at home was holding up from my last patch job. The floor would be an impossible mess for the next few days, but at least I wouldn't have to go to the well for water. Laundry wasn't happening tomorrow morning unless the rain let up. And I'd have to make sure Mother was warm enough - make her wear extra layers, or use the dirty laundry as extra bedding, maybe. Hot soup for dinner would be easy on her stomach and help to dispel any chill she got during the day.

Or the chill I got walking home.

"Take a carriage," Prince Chevalier said.

I turned back to look at him again. He hadn't moved from the lounge chair, and he still looked like he was reading the book, but I knew he was reading me instead. It suddenly hit me that he'd been watching me while I slept, and I felt intensely uncomfortable. Did he figure out how to read my mind without looking at me? Was he that good?