Page 37 of King of Lies
Sometime after Rhys’s sister deposited me into my room, my bags were brought up. I carefully took off the dress and coat and hung them up before sliding a pair of velvet sweats up my legs and zipping up the jacket. Apparently, old stone castles are pretty drafty.
I had settled on a velvet chaise of sage green with a cream colored cashmere throw delicately folded over the edge and then the middle-of-the-night phone call, the rush to pack and get to the airport, the big truths revealed, all caught up to me. I must have fallen asleep.
“I said six o’clock!” the tiny redhead snaps like a fire breathing dragon, and I look at a clock.
“Shit.”
“No shit, shit is right!” she snaps. “Get up, up, up!”
“What I’m I going to do?”
“You’re going to fix your hair and makeup and I’m going to sort your dress …now!”
“Okay,” I nod.
“Then go!”
“Shit. Right. Okay.”
I race into the huge bathroom and scoop up my hairbrush. I brush out the bouncy waves that became somewhat of a rat’s nest, and twist and pin my dark hair into a sweeping ballet bun at my crown. Then I snap open my makeup bag. I didn’t pack much but by the looks of Rhys’s sister, dinner is a dress-up-and-wow occasion. I wish Rhys was here now to tell me what to do but I also know that he has more important things than babysit me.
I pop open my favorite eyeshadow palette and while I always stick to the soft pinks and beiges, I gravitate toward the darker, bolder colors on the other side of the pan. The side that I never try. I frame my almond shaped eyes and sweep more mascara on my lashes. I pop some soft pink lipstick on my lips and leave my gold heart necklace and earrings on. I’m just about done when Dahlia comes racing back into the room.
“Here,” she says as she thrusts a garment bag into my arms. “Put this on. Now. We’re about out of time.”
“All right.”
I unzip the bag and pull out the dress. I quickly pull it on.
It’s a layered chiffon in deep green. The top wraps around my body. Short sleeves hit just above my elbows and a wide, black velvet band nips in at my waist before the dress falls to the floor in a sweeping skirt.
Dahlia zips me up before I step into the black velvet heels she tosses me.
“I wish you had better jewelry,” she says. “We’ll have to have Rhys sort that out.”
“No,” I blurt out and she looks at me. “He gave me these and I … like them a lot.”
Dahlia smiles at me with a knowing look. “I see that you do. Now let’s get to dinner before we’re late.” She holds out her hand to me and I take it, letting her loop my arm though hers.
“Okay.”
“I know this must seem like some alternate universe,” she says as she leads me back through the twists and turns of the hallways.
We pass through what must be a residential wing and down to what has to be common areas. A chime sounds and Dahlia blurts out, “Shite.” Before picking up her pace. We barely make it to a room with ornate panel walls and antique carpets where the family and several new arrivals are waiting to be let into a dining room.
“Rhys will escort you in,” Dahlia instructs as she leads me to where he’s standing.
He takes in my look and smiles at me. “You look lovely,” he says before placing a kiss on my cheek. It’s not exactly the warm welcome I was expecting after being apart for several hours while he handled not-fun business. Maybe Dahlia wasn’t so far off the mark when she said it was like I’d been dropped in an alternate universe.
“Taylor, see to Dahlia,” the queen orders. “Rhys, darling, see to Suzanne. She’s just in from the continent, you know.”
“I was going to see to Stella,” Rhys replies to his stepmother with a brow raised.
“Lord Umbrey will see to her,” she challenges as she shoves a tall, willowy blonde woman into Rhys’s arms. He has to let me go to catch her and she happily curls into his arms leaving me standing stunned and firmly off to the side.
“Rhys, darling!” she coos. “It’s been absolute ages. Did you miss me?”
“Always,” he answers blandly.
