Chapter 332

Nicholas and I walked down to the first floor and sought out Selma. We found her in the kitchen, preparing the chefs for the day’s menu. We waited near the door, not wanting to disturb her work. When she was finished, the chefs returned to their duties and we approached her.

She was an older woman, who had been in service at this residence for many years. She should have seen it all by now. Nothing she face should have shaken her. Yet when Nicholas and I came to stand before her, she seemed nervous.

“Do you need something, Prince Nicholas? Miss Piper?” Selma asked.

“Are you feeling okay?” I asked. Maybe Charlotte really was sick and Selma had caught it too. That would explain how pale she looked.

“I’m fine,” she said. “Was that all you needed?” She started to move like she was going to walk away from us. Nicholas sidestepped into her path.

“We’re looking for Piper’s maid, Charlotte. You’ll remember that she was brought in specifically to serve Piper.” Nicholas kept his tone friendly enough, though his face was hard and stern. “She has been missing for the past day.”

Selma swallowed. She straightened a little, though she was much shorter than Nicholas, slightly shorter than myself.

“Yes, of course. Charlotte has been feeling unwell. We requested that she stay in her room for a few days, so as to not spread the disease around. This is such a small island. When one person catches something, it can so quickly travel around.”

It was a logical explanation. I still wanted more answers. “I want to see her.”

“Absolutely not,” Selma said quickly.

Nicholas lifted a brow.

Selma, upon seeing it, amended, “You will likely catch her cold as well. It’s only for your health and safety that I ask you to leave her be. The airplane has already been called for. She will be headed home later today.”

“You are sending her away?” I asked, surprised.

Selma nodded. “It’s protocol for illness. We don’t have the means to care for sick people here.”

Just how sick was Charlotte? If it was merely a cold, she’d just need some aspirin and rest. She had to have caught something more serious… if any of this was true.

“I’d still like to see her,” I said. “I can bring her something to eat. Chicken soup, maybe.” Seeing Selma was about to argue, I added, “I’ll maintain safe distance, and I’ll only stay for a moment. I just want to make sure she’s okay. We’re friends.”

“Friends?” Selma asked. “I thought she was your servant.”

“She is,” I said. “She’s both.”

Selma seemed taken aback by the words. She looked at me for a long moment, as if I was a puzzle she was trying to piece together.

“Selma?” Nicholas prompted. “It doesn’t seem unreasonable to allow a woman to visit her friend.”

Selma dropped her gaze down to the ground. “You know the rules, Prince Nicholas. Many apologies, but those with illness are to be quarantined.”

“And an exception cannot be made, for my sake?” Nicholas asked.

Selma closed her eyes for a long moment. “I’m afraid not. Please forgive me.”

Nicholas watched her. He knew her better than I. I wondered what he could see in her that I could not. He revealed nothing now, though I hoped he would when we were alone again.

“Of course,” Nicholas said dryly. “Rules are rules.”

Selma nodded. “May I go now? I have many other duties to attend to.”

“Forgive our disruption of your day,” Nicholas said. He lightly touched my arm, signaling I should move. Together, Nicholas and I stepped back, giving Selma room. She quickly retreated from the kitchen.

I had so many questions for Nicholas, none of which I wanted to ask around the chefs. Though I didn’t totally trust Selma, I could tell she was a hard worker, and I didn’t want to undermine her in front of the staff under her command.

Nicholas must have felt the same. He nodded toward the door. I followed him from the kitchen to the sitting room near the front door. We didn’t sit, just stood there, but it was privacy enough to finally speak.

“She’s hiding something,” Nicholas said. “She’s never been that cagey before, as long as I’ve known her.”

“Do you think Charlotte’s really sick?” I asked.

“Illness is taken seriously here. Everything she said was true in that regard, but to not allow leniency when I asked for it… She is exceedingly loyal to the crown. In the past, she would always allow me and my brothers special treatment. The only time she wouldn’t was when…”

Suddenly, he frowned.

“…when?” I asked.

He looked me in my eye, and his were swarming with a tirade of emotion: anger, regret, annoyance. None of them good.

“When my father specifically commanded otherwise,” Nicholas said.

By order of the King? To keep everyone away from Charlotte?

That seemed so outlandish, I almost couldn’t believe it.

We needed to talk to Charlotte, find out if she was sick and what she knew, then we could make our conclusions. Until then, we were just guessing, and I really didn’t want to guess about the royal family. Nicholas would only get a light scolding, but I could lose my head if we were wrong.

“Hey, what’s up with Selma?” Julian asked.

I jumped, not having heard him approach. God, I really was strung tight. Nicholas’s words had put fear into my heart.

“Whoa, it’s okay.” Julian came nearer to me. He placed a hand on my shoulder. “I’m not a ghost or anything.”

“I’m sorry,” I said. “We were just talking and… I was surprised.”

Julian looked between the two of us, likely garnering the wrong kind of assumptions.

“We were talking about Selma,” I said quickly, to bring his mind back on track, instead of following those incorrect leads he was no doubt surmising. “Nicholas was saying she seemed off when we talked to her.”

“She’s still off,” Julian said. “She walked right by me and didn’t even say hello. That has never happened before, not even when we were children.” Julian glanced from me to Nicholas. “What did you say to rattle her?”

“Charlotte is missing,” Nicholas said. “Selma claims she is sick.”

“You don’t believe that,” Julian said. It wasn’t a question.

“Someone was in my room yesterday. They stole my swimsuits and turned off my alarms. Charlotte still should have been in to wake me and see me off,” I said. “That she wasn’t…”

“It’s connected,” Julian said. Again, not a question. His quick mind seemed to piece everything together at once. “So where is Charlotte?”

“Selma says she is in her room,” Nicholas said.

“She’s going to be sent home today by plane,” I added, hinting at the urgency.

“Well, there’s only one thing to do then,” Julian said with a shrug. “It’s so simple, I don’t know why you didn’t think of it. Although, you are both so goody-two-shoes, you’d likely not do anything without permission.”

“We should go see her for ourselves,” I said.

Julian flashed me a mischievous smile, a touch of pride in his eyes. “Visitors typically don’t go into the servants’ quarters but it’s not totally off-limits. It’s just through a door under the stairs. We won’t want to be seen, of course. Last thing we want is for Selma to know we’re suspicious of her. But with discretion…”

“Let’s do it,” I said. Julian nodded.

We both looked at Nicholas, expecting him to be the one who might be against this plan.

But with a sigh, he said, “We need the truth.”

And it was decided.