Page 86 of The Princess and the Fraud

I chuckled a little. “Lovisa Navigations isn’t that trustworthy, apparently.”

“I disagree.”

A little flutter rose in my chest, light as a trill on a piano. I busied myself watching the road.

Aaron turned onto Everview, which was rougher than the main road. Each pothole made me even more nauseous, but he didn’t seem too bothered by the lack in quality. If he wasn’t yet, he’d soon be when he saw the house. Nerves once more reared their ugly head, and I forgot our conversation entirely.

We were only on Everview for a few minutes until it came into view. “It’s… on the right.”

1442 Everview Road was located just outside of Bayview on the east side. It sat atop a hill that was visible from the road, and behind the house, after a little drop-off, sat the bay in its full, glimmering glory. It was a house that must’ve been beautiful in its prime—tall, two stories, with gabled roofs. Now, though, those roofs slumped with the weight of neglect, and the house’s Victorian elegance was faded by time and weather. Tall, arched windows stared hollowly at the bay below, their glass dulled by dust and salt.

Having sat empty for so long, it just looked like a shell of what it used to be.

As I stared it down, I wanted more than anything to reverse out of the driveway. The house, as Aaron drove closer through the weeds, elicited nothing but dread that churned in my stomach. It reminded me of the previous night, moments before I threw up.

“That must be the realtor’s car,” he said as he pulled up alongside a black SUV, locking the car into park. Aaron reached over and nudged my hands where they sat in my lap. I’d been tracing my fingers—specifically, the area my callouses used to be. “You ready?”

No, I wanted to say.Not in the slightest. “Of course,” I forced out instead, unbuckling my seatbelt and opening the door.

We climbed out, and after sliding off his sunglasses, Aaron took a moment to stand and look up at the house, no doubt taking in every inch of chipped paint and broken floorboard on the porch.

I’d only come to 1442 Everview Road once in my life. It’d been after my first bad day at Alderton-Du Ponte. A long shift, a reprimand from Mrs. Pine, and an embarrassing faux pas in front of the clubgoers. I’d driven all the way out here, in the dead of night, and stared at the house. I couldn’t remember what scolding Mrs. Pine gave me, nor what embarrassing thing happened in front of the guests, but I vividly remembered how I’d felt. I’d looked upon the house with determination, even with tears streaking down my cheeks.If it’s the last thing I’ll do, I remember thinking,this house will be mine.

Even back then, it hadn’t seemed so… decrepit. And maybe it’d been the shadows shielding its true colors, or maybe time had been particularly unkind to the structure.

Now, as I stared up at the house, I searched and searched, but couldn’t find a trace of that hope I’d once felt.

Aaron stepped into the open doorway first, and I straggled in after him. “Mr. Astor?” The realtor came out of a doorway, bundled up for the cool March weather. He appraised Aaron, and it was almost like a switch flipped.Money, his eyes told him. I knew it. He was quick to offer his hand. “James M. Keiser.”

Aaron slid his hand into his and gave a firm shake. “Good to meet you.”

“I’ll tell ya, I was shocked anyone was calling about this property. It’s been on the market for—shoot. I think the paperwork said fifteen years? Elderly couple lived here. The husband died, and the wife moved into a facility, I think. Too many stairs.” He gave his head an emphatic shake. “It was well maintained until then.” He glanced at me.

The Alderton-Du Ponte training in me screamed to flash him a polite smile, but I couldn’t manage it. I felt wound too tight.

“You heard it’s going up to auction, right? Best bet is to wait for that rather than paying full price. The bank appraised it high—because of the land, you see—but between you and me, it isn’t worth that much.”

Aaron hummed cordially.

“You’ll have to forgive the lack of lights,” the realtor went on. “With the last-minute showing request, we didn’t get the electricity switched on. The heat, neither.” He punctuated it with a laugh, one that puffed visibly in the air.

“Pipes didn’t freeze in the winter?” Aaron asked, glancing around.

“Oh, they did. Long time ago. There’s—well, there’s water damage because of that. Sellers shut the water off, but… damage had been done, really. Mostly in the upper floors, the drywall is pretty shot from a leaky roof, but the basement’s got some rot as well.”

Aaron listened carefully. “So, it’ll need new pipes. And new drywall.”

“And a new roof. And, most likely, updated electrical. With the amount of water that got in, it’s a house fire waiting to happen.” The realtor laughed again, as if discussing the damage was nothing more than discussing a sports game. “Told ya. Isn’t nearly worth the pretty price tag. Most logical idea would be to tear it down and rebuild.”

I squared my shoulders and walked past him. It was probably rude to show myself through the house instead of letting him guide me, but I didn’t care. Behind me, I could hear Aaron ask him, “How’s the foundation?”

“Oh, that’s pretty good, miraculously!” the realtor responded, but I tuned the rest out.

The floorboards groaned with each step I took. I came into the doorway that led into presumably the living room, which was nothing but an empty cavern of dust and echoes. The ceilings were tall, with arched windows that were north facing, so they didn’t let in a lot of light. A soot-streaked fireplace sat against the far wall, its hearth cracked down the middle.

My mother talked about this fireplace.We could roast s’mores every weekend, I remembered her saying. Her voice rang in my ears now.Every night, if we wanted!

I didn’t realize I started breathing heavily until my gaze caught on the puffs of air in front of me. Swallowing hard, I continued on.

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