Page 58 of A Curse of Hope and Shadows: Part I
Most unnatural.
So she made the best use of this time, sweeping the floor and behind the dresser, taking care to pull it forward quietly so as not to rouse him.
There was a response from his cousin Alexei on the desk. She shuffled the papers into order, trying not to read, although she did notice the question,“is your new maid as pretty as her handwriting suggests?”as she straightened up.
She tried not to giggle, but she did feel a little like she was being flirted with by royalty.
Her gaze shifted to Dimitri, lying on the chaise, all long limbs. A word from Prince Alexei shouldn’t have such an effect on her. Dimitri was technically royalty after all, but it was hard to think of him as anything quite so noble. Maybe it was just because she’d grown used to the grandeur of the house.
She returned to her sweeping. A half-scribbled up letter fell from behind the desk; he must have been aiming for the wastepaper basket. She picked it up to throw it away, but spied her name on a corner of the page.
Even though she knew it was wrong to pry, it was hard to resist when your name was spotted.
She unrolled the letter.
Adeline,Dimitri had written.My new maid is Adeline. And she is pretty. Distractingly so. I can’t stop—
Her chest heated, but no giggle rose from her lips. That word again,pretty,drawing up feelings she ought not to be having. Maybe she should speak to him, remind him of the lines between them, the ones that could not be crossed—
But she did not want to hurt him.
Or myself, either.
Dimitri stirred on the couch. “What are you doing by my desk, spy?”
Adeline stuffed the crumpled letter into her apron pocket. “Oh, looking for royal secrets or cleaning out the inches of dust under here, you decide.”
Dimitri snorted. “How long was I asleep?”
“Not long. Twenty minutes or so.”
He rubbed his eyes. “Falling asleep in the middle of the day like an infant. How embarrassing.”
“Are you feeling all right?”
“Tired, mostly.”
“You can sleep again if you—”
“Would it shock you to know I’d rather be awake and with you?”
Something thumped in Adeline’s chest, between delight and dread. “Dimitri—”
The door opened, and in came Thomas with the lunch, setting it out on the table. Two silver plates of steaming slivers of roast beef and creamy potatoes.
Adeline frowned. “There’s two portions here.”
Thomas bit his lip, stifling a smile. “Indeed there is.”
Dimitri ran a hand down his face, groaning. “I forgot to ask you.”
“Ask me what?”
“That I was thinking…” He glanced at Thomas. “What are you snickering at? Remove yourself.”
“As you wish, Young Lord,” Thomas responded, still grinning as he left the room.
“That was a bit rude—” started Adeline.
