Chapter 68

Nicholas’s mouth was so close. As I looked at it, he licked his lips. I licked mine in reply. We leaned closer, closer, dangerously close…

Then the oven timer dinged.

We immediately straightened, snapping away from each other. Nicholas turned, coughing into his hand.

I reached for the oven mitts and pulled the finished stuffed mushrooms from the oven.

With the tray safely on the counter, I couldn’t find the courage to look at him again.

He cleared his throat. “Nostalgia does tricky things to the mind.”

“It does,” I agreed, thankful for the safe retreat his words offered.

“I should go now.” He took a step, then paused. “Goodnight, Piper.”

“Goodnight.”

I didn’t move again until his footsteps disappeared from the kitchen. Even after he was gone, I needed a moment to get my heartbeat under control.

Finally, I returned to putting the finishing touches on my stuffed mushrooms and preparing them for storage.

I very carefully did not think about what just happened, or what it might mean.

The next morning, Charlotte and I were adding the finishing touches to the garden party dresses for me and Elva. She was sewing on the ruffled trim with the sewing machine, while I hand-stitched some sparkly gems onto Elva’s skirt.

“I have news,” Charlotte said, “about your other maid from the early days.”

The friendly one, I remembered. Though Charlotte had certainly opened up to me now, in the early days, she had seemed to only barely tolerate me. The overly-friendly one had helped me feel more at ease right away.

“I tracked her down,” Charlotte said. “They let her go from the palace staff, but she was able to find another position in a noble household.”

I exhaled in relief. I had worried that she was trapped in a dungeon somewhere.

“She’s enjoying it. It’s less stressful.” Charlotte picked at a stray thread.

“Thank God,” I said. “I’m glad to hear she is safe and well. I’ve been thinking of her.”

“She’s both of those things. When I spoke to her, she seemed worried about you, though. It seems like the whole of the palace might be against you.”

“Not everyone is,” I said, giving her a smile. “And that’s what matters. With the support I do have, I can outlast any of these hardships.”

Minor humiliation and ruined appetizers were nothing compared to the hardships I had endured in the past.

Here, I had a roof over my head, food for both Elva and me, and proper medical treatment for Elva. Any adversity I had to endure was secondary to those basic needs, which in the past had either been denied to us or was incredibly difficult to come by.

Although, despite the lack of physical turmoil of these minor hardships, they still made my staying here more difficult. I had to be careful to make certain I succeeded in every challenge. I wanted to stay here as long as I could.

I held up the fabric, frowning at it. “I worry about this shade. I don’t know what I’ll do if it’s incorrect.” Having lost my notes, I couldn’t be sure that I had guessed the color correctly. Even one or two shades different would be noticeable under the afternoon sun.

“It’s correct,” Charlotte said, all confidence.

I lowered Elva’s dress back down to my lap. “How can you be sure?”

“I double-checked before I ordered the color.”

That still didn’t explain it. “Double checked how?”

Charlotte offered a hint of a smile. “The servants, we talk to each other. I won’t touch on the specifics, but let me just say that Linda is not kind to her own maids. They dislike her greatly, and were eager to help you when I told them what happened.”

“I’m grateful,” I said, amazed by Charlotte and the other maids. They truly did work behind the scenes to either make or break the contestants. It was a bit intimidating too. I hoped I always stayed on their good side.

Though, as someone who worked in the service industry, I knew that often all it took to earn favor was to treat the wait staff as the people they were, and not as commodities that existed only to serve.

“Thank you,” I said. “Please thank them for me, as well. I wouldn’t want to get them in trouble by approaching them directly.”

“I’ll pass on your gratitude,” Charlotte said.

We continued to work throughout the day. When we finally finished, it was time for me to attend a banquet.

Elva, who had been patient all day, complained loudly that she wouldn’t get to attend.

“You’d hate it,” I told her, hoisting her up into my arms. “A bunch of stuffy people insulting each other while pretending to be nice.”

“Why would they do that?” she asked.

“I don’t know, honey.” But I did know. With only 9 candidates left, everyone was on the edge. We were coming down to the wire soon, and all the girls, except Susie and I, wanted the crown. “People sometimes have to cut each other down to make themselves feel more important.”

“That doesn’t sound very nice.”

“It’s not,” I agreed.

As I prepared for the banquet, I was startled by an unfamiliar maid sticking her head through the door. Charlotte immediately intercepted her and then sent her away.

“Who was that? What did she want?” I asked when she had gone.

Charlotte seemed unsettled, her brow pulled together. “I’m not sure. She didn’t even ask anything. She said she had the wrong room but that seems impossible.”

“Did you recognize her?”

Charlotte nodded. “She’s tending to Lilliana.” She helped me lace up my silver dress in the back. “Be careful tonight.”

“I will,” I promised. Why would Lilliana’s maid peak her head into my room? What had she hoped to see? None of it made sense.

I finished dressing, then hugged Elva. After a quick goodbye to Charlotte and the maid, and Mark outside the door, I headed down to the dining room for the evening’s banquet.

I felt beautiful in my stunning silver gown with a low-cut bodice and a slit up the side. The fabric sparkled under certain lights. With it, I wore my hair down, my soft curls cascading over my bare shoulders.

It was a dress fit for a Luna. I maybe should have felt like an imitator wearing it. Instead, I felt something like a princess of moonlight.

As I descended the stairs, Julian stood at the bottom to greet me.

“May I escort you to the dining room tonight, Piper?”

I lifted a brow. “Why?”

He laughed. “So mistrustful. Maybe I just want to be the one on your arm.”

I narrowed my eyes.

“Fine. Maybe it would look best if we walked in together. You are supposed to be my favorite after all.”

That still didn’t feel like the right reason, or maybe, not the only one. For now, however, I supposed I could accept it.

“Very well.” I accepted Julian’s offered arm.

“Beautiful dress,” Julian said.

“It is.”

“Looks great on you.”

I side-eyed him.

He winked at me. “It looks better on you than it does on her. That’s for sure.”

Her? “Who?”

“Lilliana,” Julian said.

We quickly arrived at the dining room. Julian released my arm to allow me to enter the room first.

Inside, wearing the exact same dress as me, stood Lilliana.

The girls looked between us. Then the whispers started.

Julian tapped his chin. “What came first? The chicken or the egg?”

“You better not be calling me either a chicken or an egg,” I grumbled at him.

So this was why Lilliana’s maid had intruded into my room – to see which dress I was wearing. But why? Didn’t it make us both look bad to arrive at an event wearing the same thing?

Lilliana only gave me a passing glance, seemingly not bothered. But I was blushing fiercely with embarrassment.

Unfortunately, it was far too late to change.

“Perhaps you should change position at the table so you don’t get so much camera time,” said one of the girls to me.

Julian laughed. “She’s not going anywhere.”

I glared at him, but he just smiled wider.

“Trust me.”