Tears fill up my eyes quicker than I can blink them back.
The maid looks distressed. “If they’re not to your liking, perhaps we can find something else…”
“No, no.” I fan my wet cheeks, desperately staring up at the ceiling because she just painted black liner around my eyes and now it’s going to smear. “They’re perfect. Oh gods, can you fix this?”
“I can,” she assures me. “Just breathe, milady, and I’ll put the jewels on for you. Then we’ll tend to your eyes again.”
“You’ve seen him today?” I ask. “The Pirate King?”
“Just the once, about the jewels,” she says. “Madam Thora says he’s been in his study most of the day. He did have one meeting with Lord Kardon and a few of the captains.”
While she adds the jewelry and fixes my face, I dig my nails into my palms and try to breathe evenly. Sweet as the gift is, this isn’t what I want. I don’t want a life of wandering about the estate, amusing myself with silly things while Locke is involved with papers and meetings. If I’d wanted that, I’d have married the stuffy duke, my lawfully betrothed husband. I’ve had a taste of hard work now, and while I don’t necessarily want to be a cabin boy, there’s an honesty and a sense of accomplishment that comes with such labor. That’s what I want—to feel useful and valuable. To end the day with the confidence that my rest has been well-earned.
I don’t want to be one of Locke’s treasures, set aside until he has time for it.
Thora flings open the door to my room. “Is she ready? He’s asking for her.”
71
“She’s ready.” The maid pats my hair one last time and spritzes me with an over-sweet blast of perfume. I choke and wave away the vapors. “The scent will fade in a few moments,” she assures me.
And then Thora is hustling me into the hall, guiding me along until we reach the two wings of the grand staircase.
Locke is waiting at the head of the stairs, dressed in an ebony coat bountifully adorned with swirls of golden thread. I gave him back his rings last night after our tattoo session, and he’s wearing all of those and more, it seems. He’s also wearing a shirt, but it’s only buttoned halfway, leaving part of his chest exposed. Two golden chains lie in that V of tanned skin. His dark hair is tucked back behind one ear, and the light catches the tiny gold hoop in his ear. A velvety black hat with a sweeping scarlet feather sits at an angle on his head.
He cuts a magnificent figure as he stands there, looking over the banister at the people milling in the hall below.
Then he turns. Sees me in the gown, wearing the black diamonds.
His full lips tighten, and his jaw clamps shut. At his temple a muscle flexes, while his brows form hard, dark lines.
I almost stop walking and offer to go back and change. Then I remember his reaction to seeing me in female clothing for the first time. He froze then, too, and it took him a minute to move past the shock of it.
Smiling a little, I glide toward him, stopping an arm’s length away. “Well? What do you think?”
“It’s good,” he says tightly. “It’s right. You look—you’re—” His eyes travel to Thora, and there’s a desperate plea in them.
“Beautiful,” she prompts.
“Yes,” he breathes, relieved. “Beautiful. I’d forgotten the word. It seems too common. There should be a better word for—all of this.” He gestures to me, and then he falls silent again.
“The party,” Thora nudges.
“Yes! I have an announcement for everyone and a question—I want you to—” He clears his throat. “I need you. Come with me.”
He offers his arm, and I descend the steps with him. “Locke,” I murmur, “Before you ask whatever you’re going to ask me—I need you to know that I can’t be a useless bit of treasure who sits around waiting for you to finish working. I can’t do that. I need more. I want to work with you, to help you. And I think—I think I’m addicted to danger and excitement now. I think I need a bit of that in my life.”
He squints at me. “You’ve had one quiet day, Veronica. One. And you’re already concerned that you’ll be bored here?”
“Well—when you put it like that, it sounds a bit ridiculous.” I wince. “And maybe I need a few days’ rest. But the principle is still true.”
“So you want work?”
“Yes.”
“But you have a job.” His fingers curl around mine. “I pay you for certainservices, don’t I?”
Narrowing my eyes, I smack his shoulder with my other hand. He chuckles and continues, “There’s work aplenty in Ravensbeck, more than I can ever get done, it seems. I’m sure I can find a job for you—something you’ll enjoy. I could pair you with Cyprus. You can help him with the interrogations. Imagine how much more quickly he’ll be able to get the information we need, with a little of your magic.”
