Page 61 of Her Royal Houseguest

‘I cannot,’ she said, her cheeks heating again. ‘It wouldn’t be proper.’ But she wanted to. She wanted to show him the dance she had choreographed herself. It was wild with leaps and pounding feet. She had no pointe shoes, so she danced barefoot. And she only did it during storms so no one would hear her thumping.

It was her favourite thing about storms.

‘But we could go to the theatre,’ she offered. ‘There is a lot of dancing in between the plays and especially during the pantomime.’

‘I will see it done.’

She sighed. He didn’t understand that it was the host’s job to arrange entertainment. He was their guest and yet here he was managing things.

‘Do you have a busy day?’ she asked. ‘Has my father introduced you to everyone you want to meet?’

‘Everyone except the prince.’

‘Prinny will plan an elaborate welcome for you. I’m sure it will be a grand affair.’

‘It is scheduled for next week,’ Prince Deva said. ‘Will you attend?’

‘If I’m not sent away before then.’

He sniffed. ‘I will see that you are not.’

‘Thank you,’ she said. It was only polite. He was doing her a favour, keeping her from being sent to the country. But how she hated the awkwardness of their conversation. She was still reeling—and a bit sore—from the things they had done yesterday. And now he said that her curse was nothing more than being a rare kind of bird.

Both of these things were momentous changes in her life and yet here they were talking about the prince’s party and her love of dancing. He seemed as calm as ever, polite and solicitous. To anyone else, they looked like two members of the ton, out for a morning stroll. Nothing untoward or unusual here.

Just that her entire life had changed. And he acted like introducing virgins to backwards sex was as mundane as changing one’s clothes. She searched for something to say, some way to broach the questions she had.

Was backwards sex normal in Siam? Did many people there preferred their left hand? Had yesterday been as extraordinary to him as it was to her? Did he want to do it again? If so, then when?

She did not voice any of her thoughts out loud, so they walked in silence. He guided her to a side entrance. Not the servants’ entrance but a shaded alcove meant for those returning from a promenade such as what they’d just done. Since the monks were known for enjoying afternoon walks, she’d had a bench set up with the necessary basin and tools for foot washing including thick socks in case their feet were cold. Usually, Clarke was stationed here whenever one of the Siamese went walking but he was busy hauling water upstairs for the monks’ baths. The area was empty.

She released the prince’s arm and knelt to uncover the pitcher in preparation for bathing his feet. No one else was around, so it was up to her to—

‘Please sit, Lady Anna.’

She looked up in confusion. The prince was holding out his hand to her to guide her to the bench.

‘But I was going to wash your feet.’

He looked at her, his expression grave. ‘I will not have you serve me today.’

‘What?’

‘But you must tell no one. They would be shocked and ask me why.’

She frowned at him. ‘Why?’

‘Because you humble me.’

She didn’t know what that meant. She couldn’t even tell if that were a bad thing in his mind because he had already knelt down to finish setting up the basin.

She felt incredibly awkward, sitting there as he prepared the implements. Worse, she knew she was supposed to keep her head below his. Given that he had knelt on one knee, she had to bend over at the waist to be sure her head was lower than his.

Every time he moved, she thought to straighten up but he was shifting to gather things from the nearby table. She ended up bobbing up and down until he rocked back with a full-bodied laugh.

She straightened up to her full height, seeing the merriment in his eyes while her cheeks flamed.

‘You did that on purpose,’ she accused, not really insulted.