“Callum.” His name rolls off my tongue, something about it sticking just slightly in the back of my throat.
Dom looks between me and Harold and Lady M. She turns to the latter. “Might I have a moment alone with Lady Caterine?”
Lady M begins to protest, but Harold places a bracing hand on her forearm. “Of course, Your Highness. Whatever you need.”
Harold helps Lady M to rise, but she is slow to exit. “We’ll be right outside,” she throws over her shoulder, “should you need us for anything.”
The door clicks shut behind them, and I turn to the princess. “Don’t worry, they can’t hear anything that we say—or do—in here. All the rooms at La Puissance are soundproofed, for obvious reasons.”
Dom flashes me another one of those slightly wicked grins. “Unfortunately, I don’t think we’ll be partaking in any loud activities today, but it does help to know we won’t be overheard.”
I scoot an inch closer to her, still unsure as to what she could ask of me. Especially if we won’t be partaking in any “loud activities.” “Now. Let me have it. What could I possibly do to help the prince and princess of Scota?”
Dom clears her throat and sits back in her seat. She is dressed in leather breeches and a billowing tunic and the movement pulls her pants tighter, showing off the lean muscles of her thighs. No crown rests on her golden red waves, but she does wear a green-and-navy brooch, the Reid crest displayed on the collar of her shirt. “As I mentioned, I am here on behalf of my brother. He needs your assistance, but the matter is somewhat delicate.”
“I am a vault. Anything you tell me—and anything that happens between me and your brother—will be handled with the utmost discretion.”
“I appreciate that.” Dom taps her fingers on the arm of the divan. “My brother needs sex lessons, Lady Caterine.”
I blink several times, as if the movement can clear the confusion from my brain. “Your brother needs sex lessons?”
A teasing glint flashes in her eyes, but it’s gone before I can fully decipher her intentions. “Well, to be totally honest, because he is my brother, I don’t know much about his experience with women—and I’d like to keep it that way. But I do know that he doesn’t spend nearly enough time out of the house. He refuses to accompany me when I spend evenings away from the estate. He’s never even been here, as far as I know.”
“And so you are worried about his romantic abilities?” Something doesn’t seem to be fully adding up, and I still can’t seem to wrap my mind around what the princess is actually asking of me.
Dom’s cheeks flush. “It’s not just that.”
I sit in the silence, waiting for her to elaborate.
“My brother, he is a good man, Lady Caterine. The best, really. And these past few months, few years really, have been hard on him.”
I’m not keen on the sympathy building in my chest for the prince, but it’s clear from Dom’s speech that she cares about her sibling very much, a feeling I can relate to.
“And now…and now…”
I place a gentle hand on her forearm. “It’s okay. You don’t have to say it out loud.”
And now her brother, Callum, is going to have to deal with the loss of their father. I never had a real father of my own, but I imagine how I might feel if I knew Harold had no more than a few days left to live. I would be devastated.
Dom’s voice falls. “I’m worried about my brother. How he is going to handle things, how he is going to cope.”
My fingers tighten on her arm. “Is this really about sex lessons, Dom?”
She straightens, pulling her shoulders back and facing mehead-on. “Yes. It’s also about letting my brother find some relief from the tension that seems to be eating him alive. Can you do that, Lady Caterine?”
I stop myself from immediately agreeing. Something about this woman and her obvious love for her brother is pulling at my heartstrings, but now is not the time to ignore the opportunity that sits before me. “Does your brother know you are here, Your Highness?”
She shakes her head. “No. Callum was not exactly open to the idea of coming to you for assistance.”
I arch my eyebrows. “Is he prejudiced? Against courtesans, I mean?” Though she hasn’t come right out and said it, I know the princess is asking me to use my Gift on her brother. But on the off chance she doesn’t know about my true talent, I am surely not going to be the one to tell her.
“Not prejudiced. Just untrusting. I think it might take a few lessons before he is able to really open himself up to you.”
“It will be hard to teach him if he does not trust me.” My Gift only works when my clients allow themselves to be fully vulnerable.
“I do not think it will take him long, Lady Caterine. I think if anyone has the power to reach him, it might be you.” Each of her words is weighted, heavy with double meaning.
I nod, crossing my legs primly at the ankle, ready to get down to brass tacks. “How many lessons would you like to arrange?”
