Seize the Day

Chapter Four

Chapter Four

Even though I had agreed to educate the duchess’ daughter, I’d still rather die than become a tutor. I felt like my hands were chained together, bound by service like a slave. By signing the contract Cicero, the duchess’ emissary, had given me, I signed my life away. My sanity. The peace I had worked so hard for when I bought this house a year ago.

I refilled my aquaplant’s pot absently, thinking of all the things I could be doing right now. I could be doing something productive. Like writing. Writing a column on how rude the prince was. Although he wasn’t rude to me when we met… No. Titus was a Royal, and all Royals were like Odelia. Prideful and arrogant. The Royals were the ones who fired my mother after eight years of her faithful service. They turned her away like she was trash.

Titus was a Royal. I would have nothing to do with his family.

I sighed. The first tutoring classes with Odelia’s daughter were supposed to start this morning in two hours. If Clarice Faretra was as horrible as her mother, I wouldn’t last one hour in the same room with her.

To prepare, I obeyed Odelia’s instructions in regards to dressing well. My best outfit included a blue blouse, comfortable dark trousers, and boots. The duchess could whine and pout all she wanted. I was not going to force myself to squeeze into a dress or suffocate my waist by wearing hosiery.

My messenger bag was packed with my mother’s reference books and other such needed things. Whenever my mother would come home after a day’s work in the palace, she would set her books on the table and tell me about her day. But she never told me about tutoring Titus. Not once did she speak his name to me.

I almost felt betrayed by my mother. How could she have kept something so important from me?

Knock, knock, knock.

I gripped the strap of my bag hard. Was that a royal messenger or something? I went to unlock the door.

“Hello, Ms. Bury!” I immediately regretted opening the door, but when I went to close it, the foot of an irritating delivery man blocked its progress. “I won’t leave until you open the door, Ms. Bury.”

I considered grabbing the knife from my messenger bag and stabbing his foot, but that would be too sadistic, I realized. I sighed as I opened the door. “What do you want, Delivery Man?”

A short and stout middle-aged man with a crooked grin stood before me. Percy Wentzel ran his hands through disheveled brown hair. “Boy! I’ve only seen you in pictures; you’re much prettier in real life, Ms. Bury. It’s nice to officially meet you. You can call me Percy Wentzel. Or P.W. for—”

“I will stab your foot if you don’t get to the point, Delivery Man.”

“Okay, okay.” He placed his hands in front of him in a cautionary manner. “I was asked to inform you to meet with an escort at the Aria water port near the cathedral in fifteen minutes. Exact words from the royal emissary.”

“Cicero Rauch?”

Percy nodded. “Did you take a job at the castle or something? Because people are whisperin’ all around town. It sounds like it’s mighty important—”

“Thank you for letting me know,” I interrupted. “I have to go now.” I glanced meaningfully at his foot.

“But don’t you have to go out the door?”

Dear God, please help me. “I forgot some things in the house. Move your foot.”

The delivery man pursed his lips, but obeyed. “It was nice to officially meet—”