A Dove's Tale

Chapter 158

I knew I shouldn't have told Theresa.

"No, I will not sleep with Chevalier tonight," I said emphatically, glaring at her reflection in my vanity mirror.

She rolled her eyes at me. "Oh, come on. It's his birthday, and you said yourself—"

"Maybe I was too worn out to panic. Or maybe it was just because he didn't try anything new. I don't know, and—why are you smiling like that?"

An impish smirk had spread across her lips, one that made me blush even more. Her fingers paused their work on my hair as she leaned forward and suggested, "Are you ready to experiment, then?"

I could have died. My already flushed face turned twenty shades of red that spread rapidly to my ears and the rest of my body. Theresa laughed and resumed styling my hair as if nothing was wrong while I sat there, mortified, scrambling for a rebuttal.

"You're awful," I finally muttered.

She laughed again. "I know, I know. You're waiting until you get married. I can't say I understand that, especially since you're as good as married already, but if that's what you want to do, that's your choice. It's just fun to mess with you sometimes."

"I've had enough of people 'messing with me' lately, thank you."

"True," she said, her smile falling. "You should have let me deck Clavis."

I sighed. The events of five days ago were still fresh enough in my mind to be a sore subject. "After getting chewed out by me, beaten up by Chevalier, threatened to within an inch of his life by Gilbert, and then whatever everybody else did to him when we got back, I think he had sufficient punishment."

"Hmph. Maybe," Theresa grumbled. "But why did you let Gilbert off the hook? He told you he was only there to take you back to Obsidian with him if something happened to Chevalier. How could you let him get away with that?"

"I didn't 'let him get away' with anything," I replied. "He wasn't expecting me to panic like that, and it really bothered him. And then he tried to calm me down by telling me Chevalier would be okay. Do you know how hard that must have been for him?"

"Yeah, still not feeling sympathy for someone who threatened to kidnap you and force you to marry him," Theresa said dryly.

I knew she wouldn't understand. It was something I had trouble putting into words, but I knew Gilbert better than she did, and I had a feeling the events of that night were punishment enough for him. And the way he had stepped aside as soon as Chevalier entered the room felt like he had finally conceded defeat, which was a huge relief for me.

"Can we please drop it?" I asked wearily.

She shrugged. "Sure. I'm done, anyway. Tell Chevalier if he pulls this hairpin, it'll all come down."

Her smirk was back, as was my blush.

"Just make sure dinner is ready on time," I said, standing and smoothing my skirts to avoid looking at her. I was wearing the green dress Chevalier designed for his coronation ceremony, which unfortunately meant I had to wear the matching long gloves to hide my scars. My engagement ring was snug on my finger. "And don't forget—"

"'To put his present under your chair,'" she finished for me. "You've told me at least a dozen times since breakfast, Ivetta, and you've been running around the palace all day triple-checking everything. Just go to your party and have fun already."

She gave me a playful shove toward the door, but I had trouble catching her enthusiasm. My stomach was a bundle of nerves. This was Chevalier's birthday and the first official party I'd ever planned, after all. It wasn't just about his enjoyment, although that was my primary goal. My efforts were on display to the nation. Everything had to be perfect.