Page 1 of The Doctor and the Devil
PROLOGUE
MINA
October 25, 1747
Buda, Hungary
Since today ismy 17thbirthday, I asked the devil for a kiss. He winked at me and asked, “Where?”
“The library will do fine,” I said.
He threw his head back and laughed at me, then tugged at my ringlets. Confused and embarrassed, I felt my cheeks burn and stormed up to my room to hide for a bit.
It wasn’t until I persuaded the stable boy to explain the jest to me that I understood.
“I am happy to offer you a kiss in his stead,” he said with a smirk.
I tried to hide my distaste at the thought of the stable boy’s lips pressed against mine. “Thank you,” I told him. “But I think I’d rather have a cup of tea and go read a book.”
The sound of his laughter followed me out of the stables.
I find the male sex perplexing and annoying. It’s a pity the devil is so handsome since he is such a rogue—or so the housemaids say.
* * *
Later in the evening, I was in the library by myself. The cook had given me a spice cake as a treat and I was nibbling it while I read some of Papa’s anatomy books, and the devil came in. He sat on the chaise next to me and laughed at my book.
“Shouldn’t you be reading something more appropriate for a young lady?”
I didn’t understand, so I asked, “What is inappropriate about the vital organs of the human body?”
He looked somewhat stricken, and his eyes took on a strange light that made me feel oddly warm, but he did not answer me. Instead, he tilted his head in that infuriating way that made his dark hair swoop over his eyes and had all the housemaids sighing at him. Since he didn’t reply, I assumed our conversation had ended, so I went back to my book and my spice cake. He did not depart, however.
“Didn’t we have an appointment?” he asked, after a few quiet moments.
I was certain I looked confused, because he chuckled again. Oh, I didn’t want to come off all silly over him, but his laugh makes me think of bitter coffee and too much sherry. It was low and dark and heady and sometimes I thought I could become intoxicated by it. I wished I were more charming or had a lighter temperament to draw it forth more often.
“You asked me for a birthday kiss in the library,” he replied, moving closer. I knew I turned bright red at that—I thought he had forgotten my impetuous and embarrassing request.
I tried to calm my pounding heart and will the blush from my cheeks, but I knew it would do no good.
“Did I?” I lied. “I don’t remember.”
He shifted even closer, plucking the book from one hand and the cake from the other. He set them on a table at our side and licked the sweet crumbs from his fingers. A strange tightness began to build low in my abdomen as I watched him.
I had seen how quickly the devil can move—faster than anything on earth. Yet he drew my hands into his and leaned forward with such slow steadiness, I thought perhaps an hour could have passed. When his lips were but a breath from mine, he paused.
“Would you still like a kiss, little Mina?” he whispered.
I was entranced by his dark eyes. They had always looked black to me, but this close, I could see flecks of chocolate brown and warm copper in them. It made me curiously hungry, but I didn’t think it was for food.
“Yes, if you please,” I replied, suddenly shy.
He moved a hair’s breadth closer.
“Why?”
I blinked, startled by my peculiar feelings.
