The prince noted Clement and I had stopped talking and cleared his throat. Previously, he’d been silent, scanning an open paper in front of him. “I need to remind you, my dear, to stay inside the castle. There are still worrying developments occurring in my town. I have the best people hunting for the culprit, but I’d hate to have you put in danger.” He directed his comment to Lilyanna, but his gaze attached to my face. “Only your maid is allowed out on errands. But, even so, I’m still concerned about both of your navigational skills. It appears that finding your way to and from the dining room still seems to be a little tricky.”
She laughed. It was an easygoing, light noise, but I knew her better by now. Her shoulders stiffened, and she remained focused on her plate, pushing around small pieces of hash.
Was the prince irritated with me? We’d come so close to kissing. There was no doubt that was his intention. I didn’t suspect people usually rejected his advances, and I’d literally turned tail and fled.
A knock sounded at the door, and Clement strode over. He had a brief conversation through the gap with Matron. Her ruby and diamond necklace caught the candlelight as she spoke, reflecting like dripping blood across her throat. He nodded and closed the door.
“My prince,” he said. “There was a man seen loitering around the castle. He tried to enter via the servant’s entrance, saying he wanted to speak with you and had information about the murders. Matron sent him on his way, and said he should contact the detective in town who will inform me if there is any merit to his advice.”
The prince nodded. “I agree.”
“And just so you know, it was the same man from the market. A newcomer to town. It could be nothing, maybe just trying his luck, but I’ll have the castle guards stay on alert in case he returns.”
My heart thumped against my ribcage. The Sheriff. It had to be.
The prince returned to his paper, and Lilyanna to pushing food around her plate. I shifted my weight, adrenaline firing through my body. I couldn’t let him leave. He needed to see me, to know that I could get him access to the prince or at least had secrets to spill. He wouldn’t be able to resist an opportunity like that.
“Clement,” I whispered.
He frowned at me.
“I forgot to go to the kitchens and ask for afternoon tea to be sent up. Lilyanna sent me out the other day, and I got lost and completely forgot.”
“Not surprising.”
I ignored him. “Cover for me. I’ll be back quickly, presuming I can find my way.”
“No. I’m not going to cover for you, Tam. It’s your...Tam!”
I slipped away and was out the door before he could finish. I hurried toward the kitchens and thankfully the corridors behaved themselves. The room was deserted as breakfast service was over. I snatched a stray teacake from the counter and swallowed it whole as I pushed through the servant's entrance.
The wind tore into me, slicing through my sweater and leggings. I kept my head down but my senses tightly focused as I hurried toward the gate. He would be lurking somewhere, observing who went in and out, cataloging faces, memorizing the castle routine. It’s what I’d do, what I’d done, before Siobhan severed all the fun from my job.
I scowled, my concentration lapsing for only a second, but enough that I walked smack into the Sheriff.
“Oh, I’m sorry.” I pushed off him, wishing I’d had the foresight to compel my magic to fire.
“Not your fault.” His voice was smooth and low, exactly what I’d imagined after all this time. He took a step back, glancing toward the guard posted at the servant’s door. “You look freezing. You shouldn’t be out in this weather without a cloak.” He wore the same peaked hat and wool cloak he had in the market, both pulled so tightly together only a sliver of his face was revealed.
“Yeah, I know. I was heading out to find it. I left it at the Nightingale, the inn in town. But it’s probably best I borrow some outerwear and get it later.”
Above us, the gargoyle hovered. Its face creaked toward me in the wind, the sunken diamond eyes sharp and alert in the stone face. The Sheriff didn’t notice. Or perhaps the gargoyle always swiveled, silent as a weathervane.
Instead, he looked over my shoulder again, his body tensing. “Well, I may see you there. I needed a good recommendation for where to spend my night and to do so in the company of such a fine woman would be a treat.”
I should’ve been flattered, but I doubt I was any more tempting than the hundreds of other women he’d been with. The guard posted at the door strode up behind me and I turned, knowing that as I did, the Sheriff vanished, the dull clinking of his spurs dying on the wind. The gargoyle above creaked back to stare through the gates toward the town.
Before the guard could speak, I hurried back inside. Hopefully, breakfast hadn’t finished, or Clement would be even more irked than before. But it didn’t matter, I had a date with my target. I’d been closer than ever before. Just so long as he didn’t spook between now and this evening.
A sharp knock came at the door, and a note was kicked under the threshold. Clement was presumably still mad at me. Shame that it gave me a thrill of warmth whenever I thought of his hard eyes and perfectly tensed body. Irritation suited him down to a T.
Neither of us moved.
“You want me to get that, Your Ladyship?”
“Ouch.” She pulled her finger away from the butterfly, sucking on the end.
I laughed and retrieved the note. Dear Tam, I hope this is more to your liking. Your friend, followed by an indecipherable signature. I shook the paper in case something else magically fell out and eventually opened the door. A petite blue box tied with a velvet ribbon was shoved up against the wall. I brought it inside.
