I smile, but I need to go on. “I’m sorry for believing you existed for my amusement, Alex. Forgive me for thinking I was somehow superior just because I’m Fae.”
He studies me for several long seconds, making me nervous, and then he nods. Relieved, I sink into him, wrapping my arm around him as tightly as possible.
When I’m warm and just beginning to drowse, he says near my ear, “Princess?”
“What?” I murmur.
Alex playfully runs his hand over the side of my waist, making my heart flutter. “Let’s revisit this amusement business again. It doesn’t sound all bad.”
I laugh, rolling away and sitting up. “It’s late.”
“Don’t go yet.” Alex pulls me back onto the settee, playfully pinning me under him. “Let me hold you a few minutes more.”
* * *
I wake,still mostly asleep as I stretch my arms and yawn. The pillows smell faintly of Alex’s cologne, and I roll over and bury my nose into them, liking the fragrance so much more than the rose scent Frederick’s maids use.
And then I sense someone beside the bed. I go completely still before I open my eyes. When I do, I let out a small shriek.
A woman stands before me in a starched black skirt and apron. She wears a severe scowl, and I blink at her, wondering who she is and what she’s doing in Alex’s room.
“I’m Ms. Kettinson,” she says.
“The housekeeper,” I manage, remembering. “We’ve met.”
She gives me a sharp nod.
Weakly, I try to smile.
“I would like you to know I do not approve of the situation I’ve walked into, but since I am not the master of the house, all I can do is ask if you’d like tea.”
“You don’t approve…” I stare at her, feeling chastised. “Because I’m Fae?”
Her eyes go wide, and she gasps, “You’re a Faerie?”
“I take it that’s not what you meant.”
With a strangled huff, the woman turns on her heel and disappears from the door. A moment later, I can barely hear her say to Alex, “Of all the crass behavior! I raised you better than this, Alexander. If your father knew what you were getting up to—and with a Faerie? Have you lost your mind?”
I cover my mouth, cringing as Alex answers, “Nothing happened. Sabine stayed in my room, and I slept on the settee. There were no scandalous activities, I promise.”
“I’ve put up with you all these years, but if you start bringing women—”
“Have I ever brought a woman home, Ms. Kettinson?” Alex demands, losing his patience. When she doesn’t answer, he continues, “Sabine is special to me, and I have treated her with the respect you expect. The fact that she’s a Faerie matters little.”
“After what they did—”
“Sabine wasn’t at fault.”
“But you’re—”
“An adult.”
The house then falls silent, and a few minutes later, there’s a knock on the bedroom door.
“Yes?” I say, bracing myself for Ms. Kettinson’s return.
But it’s Alex who steps through the door, carrying a cup of tea and smiling apologetically. “Good morning, princess.”