“Why don’t we use the mirror to see what Marc is up to today?” Isa suggested as we left the stables. “It might give you a stronger reason to send me away.”
I had no better plan. I had gone over every reason I didn’t need Isa at Rose Castle, but I couldn’t help also thinking about all the reasons I wanted her here. When we settled in my spire room with the mirror, however, I knew this plan would fail. In order for us to both see and hear through the mirror comfortably, I ended up draped over Isa’s lap. She thought nothing of it—I was merely a cat to her—but I was very aware of the intimacy of our position.
Especially when her fingers stroked through my fur, an idle gesture as we waited for Marc to actually do something.
“I suppose we were lucky yesterday, using the mirror right when Marc met with your father,” I said, trying to focus on anything other than the motion of her hand.
“We also listened in near supper time. If the bulk of his plot is centered on these rumors, he’ll be busiest in the evening.”
“True, but I was still hoping he’d go into a lengthy monologue detailing all his plans and motivations the instant we used the mirror.”
Isa looked down at me, the corner of her mouth tilting up. “You’ve been reading the novels on the third floor of the library, haven’t you?”
“Knowing how the library is organized does explain why I always found the books on the lower levels so boring. When I read a story, I want to escape reality.”
Isa’s gaze snapped back to the mirror. “Marc’s finally leaving his room.”
Thirty-Three
Isabel
???
Felix and Iwatched Marc descend into the common room of the inn, then make his way to a private parlor. A woman waited for him inside.
“This is a waste of time,” she complained the moment Marc closed the door.
“Cecily,” Felix hissed.
I studied the woman closer. No wonder Felix had slept with her. She had golden blond hair—every strand pinned perfectly in place—a tiny waist, and delicate features. If that was what Felix was attracted to...
I cut the thought off. What was I doing worrying about what he found attractive?
After a pointed glare, Marc began speaking, and I gratefully focused on the conversation.
“It is not my fault,” the secretary snapped at Cecily. “If you hadn’t ruined our best chance, we wouldn’t be in this predicament.”
“He deserved to be cursed!”
“We had a plan, Cecily. If you had stuck to it, then you’d already be a duchess. Wouldn’t that have been a more fitting punishment?”
“You said I’ll still be the Duchess of Truthhold. Then you made me wait for months. When your letter arrived telling me to return tothis backwoods town, I thought things were finally happening. But every day all I hear is ‘wait.’ I don’t want to wait anymore.”
“If you want this to work, then you have to do what I say this time, Cecily. And that means you wait. Her Highness will be here before the week is out.” Marc pivoted, not waiting for agreement, and stormed out of the room. He didn’t pause until he was out on the street. Then he took a deep breath and moved away from the polished central area of Leort towards a neighborhood like the one where he had met with my father.
Felix’s body vibrated under my hand. “In novels, the villain monologues are more explicit.”
“We still learned more than we knew before. Your curse wasn’t part of the plan, Lady Cecily expects to marry you, and the princess is critical.” I watched Marc walk down the streets of Leort and let my hand glide over Felix’s spine. “Did this help with your determination to send me to town?”
“I am determined, but I don’t think we learned anything that will make it any easier than before to convince the node. Let’s see what Marc says while he is out.”
We watched the mirror for hours. Felix called in simple foods we could eat without making a mess and we followed Marc from tavern to tavern until he finally retired for the night.
The contract binding him didn’t allow Marc to mention Felix’s curse or why everyone had been sent away from Rose Castle, but those were the only limits it placed on his tongue. He could lie and imply plenty. He could also tell the truth and confirm that I had gone to Truthhold. And though he was counting the days until Princess Charmina’s arrival, he was patient.
“He’s very good at this,” I said, putting the enchanted mirror aside. “He isn’t pushing too hard, making people second guess his motives, and he only says enough to get talk started, then lets everyone else speculate.”
Felix growled, and for a moment he wasn’t a ball of fluff in my lap, but a predator. Thankfully, I wasn’t his prey. “I’m going to befuming over the things he did say all night. By morning, it should be easy for me to send you to Leort. Your presence will put an end to these rumors.”
