Page 45 of Her Royal Houseguest

Ah. The duke didn’t believe in curses and yet he talked as if it was real. He clearly thought his daughter was deficient and that could cause as much damage as any curse. Unfortunately, the duke was done talking about Anna. His attention was on his boys as he spoke glowingly about their accomplishments.

As the carriage stopped at the duke’s home his host bid him a cheerful goodnight and waved him out. Fortunately, there was a maid still awake to open the door for him. More important, the woman was there to wash his feet before he entered the house.

The girl flashed coy eyes at him. Her hands were gentle as they cleaned him but he had no interest in her. Indeed, he cut the business short and sent her away. What did please him, however, were a pair of thick socks set beside the wash basin. They were for him, he realised, to wear inside the house.

That was Lady Anna’s doing, he was sure. She was the only one he’d told about his cold feet. Cursed or not, she was doing everything she could to make him comfortable. He would have to remember to thank her in the morning.

He went to bed only to have terrible dreams about curses and blighted women. When he woke, sweating in terror, he resolved to ease Lady Anna’s suffering however he could. After all, his country had ways to break curses. If the hex was real, a Siamese charm might ease her pain. If it wasn’t real, then pretending to break it might also help.

Unfortunately, he did not have a chance to see her that morning. He was occupied with the abbot who was suffering from an ailment of the bowels. It required several extra trips for water and Deva was sweaty and ill-tempered by the time the monk was settled in his bed for his afternoon rest.

Vaji helped, of course, but he was as ill-tempered as the abbot, though not from illness. Something had happened on his exploration of the city yesterday but Vaji would not explain. He did, however, educate Deva on what was required to break a curse. The man was a font of esoteric information and was fascinated by the idea of English curses.

Deva left before Vaji could give him a lecture on the different magics he’d discovered on their travels.

By the time that was done, the duchess’s salon was underway. From the noise, the downstairs parlour was stuffed with people, and he would have no privacy with Lady Anna to discuss her problem. He chose, therefore, to work instead on the upstairs parlour, which was still stuffed with her things.

It was rejuvenating, he realised, to fulfil his promise to her. He enjoyed putting items in order. What he enjoyed more was learning about her interests from her things. Lady Anna had a wide variety of pastimes but it seemed she had an interest in the esoteric.

He found several old books with pictures of fairies and gnomes. He did not know how to pronounce the words but he traced them with his finger. They were all handwritten, though not in the same hand. And the images demonstrated a variety of artistic skill.

Anna was a collector, then, of magical tales. She and his brother would get along famously. Her fascination with this topic made sense now. She was obviously looking for a way to break her curse. She would no doubt be delighted to have his assistance.

He lost track of time.

That often happened when he was absorbed in his work. But he’d never been startled back to the present by a woman stomping into the room and slamming the door.

He jumped upright with a curse, the book he was looking at tumbling to the floor in his surprise. She, in turn, spun around with a gasp, her own curse cut off with a glare.

‘What are you doing here?’ she demanded.

He thought that was obvious. ‘I told you that I would honour my promise.’ He gestured to the piles he had created of her things.

‘And I’m sure my father said that I can manage on my own!’

Deva frowned. ‘He cannot dismiss my promise.’ The idea was insulting. ‘And so I am here. Working.’

‘Fine,’ she ground out. ‘Thank you.’ Her gratitude spat out like bad meat.

‘Let me show you what I have done,’ he said.

She waved at him. ‘It’s fine, I’m sure. You can go now, Prince Deva.’

Clearly, she was upset. He should take the hint and leave, but he was loathe to leave her in such a state.

‘What has happened? Why are you so angry?’

‘What has happened? Why nothing, Prince Deva. Nothing at all!’

Anger radiated from her words as she stomped to the nearest chair and flung herself in it. She sat there sprawled, her brows drawn as she gazed at the floor.

‘Lady Anna,’ he began, but at that moment, the door flew open to reveal the duchess. Her gaze went right to her daughter.

‘What did he say? Was it the curse?’

‘No, Mama,’ Lady Anna said, ‘it was not the curse.’

The duchess took a step into the room. ‘Excuse me, Prince Deva. I need a word with my daughter.’