A Dove's Tale

Chapter 38

The library was empty when I returned from dropping the dishes off at the kitchens. I swept the crumbs off the sofa, an area that didn't get my attention while Prince Nokto was sitting on it, and set about sweeping the rug. Four thirty, the clock said. I'd spent nearly the entire day with at least one prince, and at one point, all of them. It wasn't as stressful today as it had been before, probably because I was getting to know them better.

I had no business getting to know a prince at all.

That was the annoying bit. I was a maid, and it was frustrating how they all knew that, acknowledged it, and then proceeded to flirt and talk with me, anyway. They were used to getting their way. I understood that, and it explained the flirting. If they felt like bedding a maid, they did. I was lucky they took no for an answer. But that didn't explain the way they talked to me. A conquest didn't need to know anything about their backgrounds or their tangled, complicated relationships with each other. I didn't need to know that.

Really, this was all Mother's fault.

I looked just like her. She taught me everything I knew, including how to stand up for myself. It was her illness that drove me to look for a job with consistent hours and pay, and it was her illness that forced me to stay when I'd rather drop everything and run. She had to be the reason they were all opening up to me, too.

Well, most of them.

I sighed and moved on from the rug to sweeping the hardwood floor. There wasn't enough time left for me to start anything else. I kept glancing at the book on the window seat across the room. Was I taking it home, or wasn't I?

Yes, I was. It would make Mother happy, and if that meant I had to endure more teasing from her, so be it. Maybe I could get away with reading to her tonight instead of talking about my day. I didn't know what I should and shouldn't tell her. She was too optimistic, too hopeful, and I couldn't risk following her train of thought. Better to stay firmly rooted in reality than get my hopes up.

The only escape I allowed myself was the escape into a good book, a place where there were no rules and anything could happen, which was why I asked Prince Chevalier if I could read one of his books. The main library was full of books, but most of them were dull, official tomes. Politics, geography, economics, facts, figures; all books that were important, especially to those in positions of authority. I wasn't in a position of authority, and I wanted to read something fun. Prince Chevalier's private collection was fun. Mostly fiction spanning all genres, with a smattering of nonfiction and poetry. Foreign books featured heavily, with enough in my language so that I didn't feel limited for choice. Not that I would be here long enough to worry about running out of books to read. It took me so long to read Midnight Cinderella, thanks to limited time and plentiful interruptions.

I sighed and glanced at the clock again. Five minutes to five o'clock. I propped the broom and dustpan up next to the main door and headed back to Prince Chevalier's library, unsure of what to expect from him. The last time I saw him, he wore a teasing smirk that meant trouble. But that was a couple of hours ago, and he might be irritable after listening to his brothers all afternoon. And then, of course, I had to consider that he'd been missing all day, and before that, he'd expressed concern about me and my mother. There was no knowing what I was getting into, but whatever it was, I just wanted to get it over with and get home.

He didn't answer my knock, of course, and I didn't wait for a response before I let myself in. I walked to the end table next to him to collect his dishes. He didn't even look up from his book to acknowledge my presence.

"Is there anything else you need from me before I go, Prince Chevalier?" I asked, picking up his empty teacup and...

His plate was not empty. One bite of chocolate cake remained.