“So, what? You expected I’d be fooled the entire month and we’d amicably sever our courtship at the end of it, leaving me none the wiser that the real princess had hardly ever been here?”
No answer, just a tap of her fingers against her thighs, a mild flutter of anxiety. Does that mean I’m getting close to the truth?
I ponder her words, going over everything she’s told me and analyzing every emotional shift I’ve tasted. The facts I’ve managed to glean are that Princess Maisie willingly departed Selene Palace in secret because of some supposed desperation, and she left behind her maid who is also her friend and ally as a glamoured decoy to continue to court me butnottry to marry me.
My mind whirls to comprehend it. What could possibly make a princess so desperate to go to such great lengths?
Then an explanation hits me. I know why she left. I know why the real Princess Maisie was so cold, so disinterested.
“She eloped, didn’t she?”
The impostor’s body goes still, emotions sparking with surprise. She says nothing to confirm or deny it.
“I’m right, aren’t I? She fell in love with some unsavory character her father didn’t approve of and needed this pretend courtship to hide what she’s really doing. Who’s the lucky guy?”
“I don’t know,” she says quietly.
I put my hands on my hips, feeling like a weight has been lifted from my shoulders. It doesn’t change that I’ve been duped, but at least now I can be almost certain I don’t have some grand conspiracy on my hands. I shake my head with a sigh. “I do wish she’d have told me the truth. She would have found me a far more willing ally than she anticipated.”
The girl nibbles her lip. “What now?”
“What now, indeed.” I look her over with fresh eyes and tap the underside of my chin. She trembles under my scrutiny, her emotions darkening with fear. I extend my hand. “Come. Let me fly you back to the palace.”
“Why? To throw me in the dungeon?”
“To take you back to your room. Well, Maisie’s room.”
“You aren’t going to punish me?”
“Oh, I’ll punish you.” My lips curl up at one corner. “Just not in the way you think.”
She takes a step back. “That’s far from comforting.”
“Committing a crime shouldn’t be comfortable. And if I’m going to allow you to continue your ruse, I’ll need something in return.”
“What do you mean?”
“More on that later,” I say with a wink. “Now, come along. Alternatively, you can try and run. In that case, I’ll just have to catch you. You can hide, but I’ll use your energetic signature to find you. Either way, you’re coming back to the palace with me.”
Her gaze falls to my bare chest, and her energy turns a delightful shade of panic. When her eyes return to mine, she says, “I don’t want to fly again.”
“Why? Are you afraid of heights?” I ask, voice taunting.
“Not at all.” She lifts her chin, and I can taste that her words are true.
“Then what’s the problem?”
Her jaw shifts side to side, eyes flicking momentarily to my chest. A pale blush creeps over her face—or, more accurately, beneath the glamour she wears. She tries to act nonplussed. “I don’t want to lose my shoes again.”
I glance down at her feet and the pale blue silk that adorns them. It takes a moment for comprehension to dawn. “They hold the glamour, don’t they?” Now it makes sense why Augie saw Maisie leaving Madame Flora’s room. She hadn’t been paying a friendly visit or getting something to wear to the ball, but procuring a glamour to disguise her maid.
“It’s imperative I keep them on at all times.”
“At all times? Surely, not when you sleep.” I kneel before her and reach for the hem of her petticoats.
“No, not when I sleep. Wait—” She steps away from me. “What are you doing?”
I glance up at her. “Making sure you don’t lose your shoes again.”
