Page 68 of A Deal for the Duke’s Virgin

By the time Thalia got to the part where the selfish girl was struck down dead for refusing to thank her mistress for something, she had decided to tell an entirely different story. Besides, she had read ahead, and the pious girl, far from being rewarded for her endurance and self-sacrifice, died of a fever while lying on rags.

The story assured them that she was swept right to Heaven, but still, Thalia did not consider it a particularly happy ending. In her retelling, the girls—who had not been given names in the narrative—were Mary and Sophie and were good friends, plotting to escape together and live in a small cottage in the woods.

Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Christian step into the room, and a sense of mischief rose inside her.

“And then Mary woke up one morning to find Sophie gone, quite gone!”

The children gasped.

“She has my name,” Sophia whispered. “Well, almost.”

Thalia winked at her. “Mary was determined to find her friend, even though she knew that the search for her would be dangerous.”

She glanced up at Christian, meeting his eyes pointedly. I hope you are listening, she wanted to say. He only tilted his head, watching her carefully. Then, abruptly, he turned away and stepped out of the room.

That startled Thalia. She’d expected him to stop and listen. With a sigh, she gingerly closed the book. Not that it mattered, since she had no intention of reading any of the dreary stories it contained. Still, one had to pretend.

“I shall finish the story soon,” she promised the children, rising to her feet.

She ruffled Sophia’s hair as she passed by and winked at Alex and Nicholas, who were sitting together. She knew she ought to go straight to Christian, but she could not stop herself from crouching down before Hannah, a small and sickly girl who sat in the corner by herself.

“I have heard that you have not been well again,” she murmured, stroking her hair. “Are you feeling better?”

Hannah nodded eagerly. “Thank you for the food, Lady Thalia. It was very delicious. I shared it with the others.”

“Oh, you didn’t have to. It was all for you, my dear.”

Hannah gave a small, shy smile. “I like to share.”

Thalia kissed the top of her head. “Well, that is good to hear. Now, I’ll be back soon, all right?”

She slipped out of the room, gingerly closing the door behind her. She found Christian leaning against the wall, staring out a dusty, round window in great need of polishing.

“Was there any particular reason for you to storm off in a huff, or are you simply in a bad mood this morning?” she demanded, placing her hands on her hips.

He glanced at her, saying nothing. To her annoyance, she felt the now-familiar frisson of desire coiling in her gut.

“Is there somewhere private we can talk?” he asked quietly.

She walked over to him. “We won’t be disturbed here,” she said quietly. “Nobody can hear inside the library, and the nuns aren’t likely to bother us.”

“Are you certain?”

“Quite certain. Didn’t you understand what I was doing? My translations…”

“Yes, yes, you were turning them into a story,” he said shortly. “That name… Sophie. Did you choose it at random? Was it in the book?”

Thalia blinked, confused. “No, nothing like that. That’s what I’m trying to tell you. Those German excerpts were notes Laura wrote down so that she wouldn’t forget. She took pains to hide them, and my guess is that they are out of sequence and we’re probably missing parts. The most important notes, she probably took with her.”

Christian’s shoulders stiffened. He glanced away from her, staring fixedly out the window.

Thalia let the silence sit for a moment, waiting for him to speak. She couldn’t understand what the problem was, but clearly something was up.

“Sophie?” he echoed. “She mentioned Sophie in the notes?”

Thalia nodded wordlessly.

“Does she have a friend named Sophie?”