We walked up one flight of stairs in silence. At the top, Nance scurried across the clean floor, leading us down a long hallway. On either side were massive arched doors with gold details andmatching doorknobs. Not a single aspect of this place had been unattended to.
It took effort to keep my expression even.
On the inside, I was damn impressed.
“You’ll be staying here, miss.” Nance stopped and opened a door on the right side of the hall.
The three of us stopped in front of the door. “And what about the others?”
“They’ll be right down the hall.” Smiling, Nance pulled a set of keys from her white dress and fumbled with them before finding the one she was looking for. She slid it into the keyhole of the door and turned until the lock clicked.
Jessiah stepped closer, his body heat soaking into my back. “The doors lock?” he asked.
“For your privacy, yes.” Nance seemed innocent enough, but we all knew better than to believe a pretty woman just because she was smiling. “They’ll lock from the inside. The keys here are just for emergencies.”
Xavier said nothing. Jessiah just nodded.
They were uncomfortable with splitting up, but we were in their kingdom, so we’d have to play by their rules.
“Okay, then!” I turned to face the guys, clapping once. “You boys enjoy. I’ll be taking a long, hot bath and trying to look presentable.” With that, I spun toward the now open door.
“Rummy, is it?” Nance called from behind.
“It sure is.”
“Cornelius has requested that the three of you dine with him this evening. He’d like to celebrate the arrival of his new friends.”
Jessiah’s focus was fixed on me, the weight of it palpable, even without looking at him. “Perfect. I’ll be ready.”
I walked inside and closed the door softly behind me.
Only when I heard the sounds of footsteps retreating did I exhale.
The room was just as grand as the rest of the damn place. Cornelius had really outdone himself. A small balcony on the far side of the room flooded the room with fresh air and sunlight, the sheer white curtains on either side flowing in with the breeze.
The place was massive, with a four-poster bed bigger than any I’d ever seen in the center and several golden wardrobes lining one wall.
Crystals strung from the ceiling, sunlight reflecting off them and illuminating the place with a special glow. They either had way too much fucking time on their hands, or they wanted their guests to feel special. Royal, even.
I wasn’t complaining.
After I’d spent a solid hour making myself look somewhat presentable in the grand, porcelain bathroom, I flung open one of the wardrobes.
The golden box was filled with more dresses than I could count. White, red, adorned with rubies, pearls. You name it, they had it.
I had never worn a dress this fancy before. Not once in my entire life.
Oh, this would be fun.
I spent another hour trying on dress after dress and assessing my reflection. The room was a fucking disaster by the time I chose one, but damn, it was worth it.
I took in my reflection in the long mirror again, trying my best to remember why I lived in Scarlata when places like this existed. When dresses like this existed.
The red silk fabric hugged my curves with little effort. The halter top exposed my shoulders and arms, and plunged just low enough between my breasts to draw the eye, but not enough to minimize the elegance of the garment.
The skirt fluttered around my calves, moving with every step I took. The dress left the majority of my back exposed, so I twisted my blonde hair into a braid over my shoulder to keep it that way.
We had to have some fun with these men, right?
