Page 41 of Secrets of the Six

Now her eyes are trained on me, and I can't help but feel as if I'm in trouble and about to be on the receiving end of a rather long and scathing lecture.

Instead, the old woman gently closes the door and makes her way to the curtains I had drawn minutes earlier and swipes them open to allow the now rising sun entry. She goes about her normal morning routine as if there wasn't a half-naked man in my room when she first arrived.

"Do you truly have nothing to say?" I ask, her silence worse than her nagging.

She snatches a dress from my closet and marches to hang it by my changing curtains before turning to face me, a devilish grin already planted across her face. "Is he as handsome as you imagined he would be?"

I roll my eyes and exhale a sigh of relief. "Here I was worried you would be angry with me."

"Angry with you?" She purses her lips and shakes her head. "No. I was young once, too, Mocosa. I know the exhilarating rush of secret moments with a lover – "

"Calm down," I interrupt, stomping toward the bathroom. "He's not my lover."

"Yet." She says with such confidence I want to smack her. As if I didn't have a say in the matter at all. "Where are you going? You need to get dressed for breakfast."

"What I need is a nice warm bath." I snatch a towel on my way to the porcelain tub and switch the water on as hot as it will go. "I also need a nap."

Lupe pops her head around the doorway, wiggling her eyebrows. "Long night?"

I splash water at her, and she hisses like a cat. "Unless you want to watch me strip, I suggest you find something else to do for the next thirty minutes as I freshen up."

"Shall I inform the Doña you will be tardy?" Lupe's eyebrows pinch together. "You know how she feels about promptness."

"Ugh!" I toss my head back and groan. Tearing the dress I borrowed from Carmen over my head, I toss it at her. "Fine. Give me ten minutes and we'll do our best to make it to breakfast on time. Even though I feel like death."

"Maybe next time send him away sooner so you can get some much-needed rest."

"If you don't stop, I'll shoot you."

She waves a dismissive hand and clicks her tongue, calling my bluff. "Cállate, Mocosa. We both know you would be sad if I wasn't here to pester you anymore."

I slip into the scalding hot water and moan in delight. This is exactly what I needed after the longest night out of my life. Knowing I'll have little to no chance to rest as Doña Otero finishes fine-tuning my high society training is enough to make me weep. But after weeks of tiptoeing around who Salvador really is, I finally have answers, which was worth the sacrifice of sleeping.

"I'll be out in a few minutes, Lupe."

But when I look toward the door, she's already gone. Finally, a moment of peace.

Chapter 14

Ines

Although Lupe and I move with lightning speed, I'm still a few minutes late for breakfast and prepare myself to see an irritated Doña Otero with Remus by her side. Instead, I'm nearly run over by dozens of men and women decorating and cleaning the entire main level of the house.

I hear Doña Otero before I catch a glimpse of her. She's barking out orders and motioning workers in different directions and all I can wonder is what they're all preparing for?

My eyes dart around, hoping to spot Remus, but he's noticeably absent. If he was permitted to sleep in while I'm down here amidst the chaos in a dress that's definitely a bit too tight, I'll riot.

The workers zip past me and flash me odd looks. Possibly due to the fact I'm standing like a statue on the bottom step of the grand staircase. I pull myself together and flash a dazzling smile as I glide toward Doña Otero.

"Good morning, Tia," I say sweetly, drawing Doña Otero's bewildered gaze. When she meets my line of sight, she quickly nods her head in approval before a smile stretches across her face.

"Good morning, Elena."

"What is all of this?" I flick my wrist toward three men moving a gigantic ceramic vase to the courtyard.

"We are preparing for the first ball of the season," she puffs her chest like a proud peacock. "Did I forget to mention I host the inaugural ball every year?"

"Yes," I grit my teeth, doing my best to maintain a genteel expression. "You failed to mention that."