“Well.”
“I believe my friend Berim will be arriving this evening. His travel was delayed...recovering from an unfortunate incident.”
“My gods, I had no idea!” She pressed a hand to her heart emphatically.
He raised a brow as if to say, “Did you truly not know?” But he asked her, “Do you happen to know if Miss Saka has arrived?”
“I believe she will be turning up later.”
“Good.”
“Good.”
sixteen
Hevva considers the moon.
After dinner, Hevva tooktea with the ladies while the men enjoyed their port. The dowager had planned an array of evening activities, including an impromptu musicale in the theater, a variety of cards and other diversions in the games room, and charades in the grand parlor.
Having avoided the receiving line the night before, the countess made her way over to Dowager Queen Alva, who wore a deep purple, pale lace, and floral-patterned silk gown. She stood near an open swath of wall papered in forest green with cream, lace-like embellishments. Hevva would bet her annual income the dowager queen selected her outfit to complement the room. She’d picked her post and would let the guests come to her. Reaching the royal, the countess dipped into a contrite curtsy, in case the former monarch noticed her breach of propriety at the opening ball.
“Lady Hevva Tilevir.” The dowager’s eyes softened ever-so-slightly.
“Your Majesty.” Her thighs, burning from too much drink and too long in bed the night before, vibrated beneath her dress.
“You were a guest of my son’s at Hewran Hall last month, yes?”
“That is correct. We found the stay quite enlightening.”
“Mm. Your brother was with you?”
“Indeed, Lord Kas is the reason I attended the symposium, but Icannot say I regret it.” She could, actually. And she did, sort of. If only she’dnotmet Saka, and Saka hadn’t dragged Berim out from the shadows, the past few weeks would have been a different, far tamer creature to manage. “Rohilavol is a beautiful town, and I found myself quite inspired by my recent stay. I’ve several new projects to implement in Kabuvirib.”
“Were you able to visit the solarium while at the hall?”
Hevva tried to breathe through the heat rising in her cheeks, but she found no way to avoid the blush, so she leaned into it. “I was! Such a lovely space, Your Majesty. Did you have a hand in designing it? I must admit, it was quite warm in there. Even the memory is drawing a flush to my face!”
The dowager cocked a brow. Though graying, the arch of it was so like her son’s that Hevva felt her blush deepen. “I filled in a few plants while it was my home, but it was my paternal grandmother who made it what you see today. I’m glad you enjoyed your stay. I’ve heard my son, Ehmet, is a pleasant host.”
“That he is.”
Luckily, the Duchess of Rohapavol's sister approached the dowager queen, dropping into a curtsysolow, Hevva thought she’d toppled over for a moment. She nearly reached down to help the lady up, before realizing it was an ideal time to escape. Dipping her chin at the dowager, with a perfectly proper smile pasted upon her heated face, Hevva slipped away, beelining for the opposite corner of the room.
She made it through tea, and then Lady Hevva used the shifting of activities to slip away. Around the palace she wandered, exploring the lower level of the gargantuan library with its upper balcony, and its walls lined with books. A small hallway led from the library into a spacious but cozy salon, which she obviously poked around with great interest.
The clacking of billiards balls and muffled conversation drifted on a curl of cigar smoke through the space beneath a door.
Mmm, nope.
She ducked back into the tiny passageway and considered her options. A spiral staircase to her left surely led to that illustrious balcony, but the closed narrow door to her right beckoned her over with vigor.
Hevva tried the handle, and it opened. Slippinginto the dark room, she closed the door behind herself. Moonlight filtered in through a crack in the drapery on the other side of the small space. She crossed slowly and drew open the curtains, swathing the room in a silvery glow.
It was some unused salon, or office, devoid of anything aside from a large woven rug, an empty bookcase, and a mirror.
It wasn’t the sort of space where she could glean any new ideas to bring home to Stormhill or Kabuvirib. The library would be good for that, but dull. A solarium would be good for that, but unwise. So, she stayed put, determining that she didn’t needanynew ideas at all, at the moment.
Hevva stood in silence for several minutes, listening to the ticking of a tiny bubble caught in her throat. She swallowed time and again, but it would not go away and was promptly joined by the whispering voice of Saka, whining about Berim. So, she circled the small office, circled it again, and then gave up and lay down on the floor.
