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Seeing that Mary was once again gazing at Saffi and Staffan, Yanna said lightly, “You know, next year, it could be our turn.” When Mary gazed at her questioningly, she added, “Becoming expectant I mean.”

“Oh.” The younger girl’s smile dimmed. “I d-don’t think that’s possible for me.”

“Why not?” Yanna asked bluntly.

“Because...” Mary bit her lip. “We don’t h-have that kind of relationship.”

Yanna paused for a moment. Constantijin had always accused her of blurting out her thoughts and that was one thing she didn’t want to do now. Mary seemed so young and gentle, she just didn’t want to risk hurting the other girl unintentionally with what she was about to say.

“I know it’s less than perfect between you guys now, but you have to believe me when I tell you...” Yanna impulsively squeezed Saffi’s hand. “I have never seen Rathe happier than when he’s with you.”

Mary’s eyes widened.

“It’s true,” Yanna insisted. “Normally, he’s like...he’s like a robot with an English accent.”

Mary choked.

“Youknowhow dreadfully polite he can sound.” Yanna began to mimic Rathe’s ducal tones. “Is that so? Just a tad, mayhaps? How quaint. Quite frankly, my dear, you’re fucking ugly.”

Mary gasped. “He couldn’t have said the last!”

Yanna grinned. “You’re right, he didn’t, but if he did...”

They both burst into laughter.

“He’d totally sound like that, right?”

Mary nodded, still doubled over. When her laughter died, she saw that Yanna was still smiling at her, but the smile didn’t reach her eyes. Her own smile faded. “W-what is it?”

“I really don’t know how to tell you this, so I’m just going to tell you it straight.” Yanna took a deep breath. “Since I work in marketing, I tend to be one of the first to hear...stuff. And the thing is, and this is really unverified –for now –but...”

When Yanna paused again, Mary said uneasily, “You’re m-making me more worried.”

“It’s still unverified, okay?” An unhappy expression appeared on the older woman’s face. “But...I think...there’s someone really close to Rathe doing his or her best to turn everyone against you.” A disapproving note entered Yanna’s voice. “I don’t know who it is yet, but I’m doing my best to find out. All I know for now is that whoever it is, this person has access to the most private stuff about Rathe’s life and it’s making all the stupid rumors about you sound sotrue.”

“D-does Rathe know?”

“I’m almost positive no one’s ever told him about the rumors, but they will eventually find their way to him. You know how it is. The people concerned are always the last to know.”

Mary nodded.

“I just wanted to warn you so you’d be on your guard.” Yanna took Mary’s hand again. “If you need to talk to anyone, Saffi and I are just a call away.”

****

“Are you sure you don’twant to go to the ball with me?” Rathe asked one last time as he started knotting his tie in front of the full-length mirror in their bedroom.

It was already the day after, and yet Yanna’s words still lingered in Mary’s mind, making her feel like she had to be extra vigilant with everything she did. Since she had no doubt Yanna’s warning was true, it meant that there was a viper in their midst, waiting to pounce on her mistake the first opportunity it had.

Meeting Rathe’s gaze through the mirror, Mary said half-pleadingly, “I t-think it’s better if I stayed here.” She knew Rathe was disappointed with her decision, but he had to understand she was doing this for both of them. She just wasn’t his equal right now, but she would do everything possible to make herself worthy of him in the future.

Thank God for people like Yanna and Camilla, Mary thought. Those women had known that it was better to give it to her straight than let her walk into a den of wolves unprepared.

While Yanna had warned her of an unknown enemy, Camilla on the other hand gave her better insight into Rathe’s thoughts. The first time she and Camilla had met, the older woman had told Mary right off the bat about rumors of Camilla and Rathe being a pair.

“But just ignore them. If we had something going on, it should have happened long before. We’ve known each other forever.”

The honest words had made Mary warm up to Camilla immediately, which was why she appreciated her friend’s heads-up about tonight’s ball.

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