A Dove's Tale

Chapter 146

My headache grew as the morning went on, but I didn't have to hide it from Sariel for long. Shockingly, lessons ended at noon. And judging by my new schedule for the rest of the week, this would be a frequent occurrence. The targeted lessons to give me an edge in social engagements and earn popularity among the nobility were coming to an end. Now, he was broadening his scope to fill in the gaps in my knowledge, covering all the general information I would have learned had I been raised as royalty. And with eight months to learn it, I didn't have to cram from sunup to sundown.

Which meant I had free time.

"Three mirrors?" I complained after lunch. "What do I need with three more mirrors? I already have a full-length mirror in here and another mirror in the bathroom."

"You're not vain enough," Theresa teased, but she picked up the first of the three mirrors and moved it over to the reject pile of gifts in my bedroom. "Noblewomen are supposed to be vain."

"And are they supposed to use all these oils and lotions every time they bathe, too?" I asked, surveying the bottles and jars of products that were next on the list.

"Yep," she said, grabbing the second mirror.

I snorted. "You know I used to bathe in a river with lye soap?"

She shot me a glare. "Don't remind me. That's offensive even if you're not a noblewoman. Nobody should have hair that looks that good from bathing in a river with lye soap."

I rolled my eyes at her. "It's not like I can help it."

"I know," she grumbled, leaning the third mirror against the first two and turning toward the pile of beauty products.

"But really, what am I supposed to do with all this? I'd risk offending people by giving it all away, but I don't even have room for it all here, and wherever I put it, it's just going to collect dust."

"Well, that's a shame," Theresa said, handing me a small vial. "The other maids have already claimed most of it. You're keeping this."

"Why? What is it?"

She smirked. "Something Chevalier will like."

I felt my cheeks warming, but I maintained eye contact and what I hoped was a stern expression. "If this is another aphrodisiac—"

"It's not," she interrupted me, rolling her eyes. "Well, maybe it is for him. I don't know. It's lilac perfume. He likes that scent on you, right?"

My cheeks flushed hotter. "Yes," I said shortly, taking the vial and unscrewing the cap. The light, sweet floral scent made my head throb. "How about this?" I said, recapping it again quickly. "Distribute everything among the guest rooms, and whatever the maids want, they can have."

Theresa's green eyes widened as she turned back to the reject pile. "Everything?" she repeated.

"Surely there's a guest room that could use an extra mirror and an extra piece of decor," I said, setting the perfume on my vanity and rubbing my forehead. "And we normally provide amenities in the bathrooms, anyway, so what's another jar of bath oil going to hurt?"

Her eyes narrowed again as she frowned at me. "Speaking of hurt, how's your head?"

There was no hiding it from her. Of course, there was a good chance Sariel had noticed, too, but just hadn't let on he knew.

"Not great," I admitted.

"Still getting worse?"

I nodded.

"Maybe you should lie down for a while," she suggested. "You cried a lot yesterday, and then you didn't get a lot of sleep. The rest might do you good."