They had? Oh lord, both of them? Leah’s nerves suddenly stretched taut. Lady Matilda wouldn’t have liked that very much. When Royce stepped away from the bed to get a clean tunic, Leah sat up in bed and swung her legs over the side experimentally. A slight throb of pain here and there, but she was almost getting used to the constant aching by now. With luck, she’d be able to get down to the beach sometime today.
He helped her dress quickly in her over-garment, now wrinkled and smelling musty, and laced the sides while she finger-combed her hair. Hopefully, Leah reasoned, no one would be down their particular hall of the castle at this time of day, and she could sneak into her room and fix her appearance enough to where she didn’t look… well, obvious.
He finished tying the laces and moved her tangled hair aside to kiss her neck. “You still smell like pleasure,” he whispered against her skin, which caused a little ripple of delight to thrum through her body. “Regretfully, I can’t stay the day in bed with you, but you’ll come back to me tonight?”
Leah nodded, flushing with color. Her mind raced. If he wanted her to spend every night with him, how was she going to get down to the beach? She’d have to figure out a way.
When he opened the door to his chambers, however, he found a surprise.
Lady Matilda stood there, dressed in her finery, staring at the both of them with hate in her eyes. Two of her women stood behind her, the bored looks sliding off their faces as soon as the door opened. Her pretty blue eyes were narrowed into slits, her angelic face framed by a white wimple and equally pale gown.
She cocked her head, staring at the two of them, and Leah resisted the urge to step behind Royce’s large frame and let him take the brunt of her anger.
She’d completely forgotten about Matilda. And now she’d gone and slept with the woman’s fiancée.
That was pretty crappy of her, all things considering.
But Matilda didn’t look sad or brokenhearted – she looked furious. “So.” She eyed them both, but her gaze focused on Leah, her eyes sweeping over the rumpled dress and bed-hair. “I saw the two of you disappear into this chamber last night, but I had my hopes. I had hoped that my soon-to-be husband would cut his doxy loose and take up the reins of propriety, at least until we were married.” Her voice raised an octave, becoming faster and more shrill the longer she spoke. “And then I hear the chambermaids giggling about the two of you locked in there! And the whole castle is talking about how their new Lord Royce has finally conquered his little mute!
And I thought surely that they must be wrong, for what man would look at this… this creature,” she said, gesturing furiously at Leah, “when I am here?” Ouch.
Royce cut off Matilda’s ranting with a flick of his hand. “You go too far, woman. Your dowry is the only appealing thing about you, and even it pales with every moment spent in your presence.”
Lady Matilda’s jaw dropped. She huffed, looking as if she was going to inflate, and before she could speak, Royce took Leah by the hand and pulled her past the woman and her covey of maids. “Excuse us.”
Leah trotted behind Royce obediently, though she couldn’t help glancing back at Matilda.
The woman had recovered, her eyes narrowed to slits again, and she was staring at Leah with blatant animosity.
Royce didn’t take Leah very far – just the few steps to her room, and caressed her cheek gently when he opened the door. “I’ll meet you later and we’ll talk more.” She nodded and shut the door gently, wanting to get away from Matilda’s accusing stare more than the tender look on Royce’s face.
As she shut the door, she heard a screech in the hall behind them. “Talk? You can’t talk with that little fool! She’s a mute! What could she possibly say to you?” Leah bolted the door and smiled faintly to herself. She was looking forward to the day when she’d be able to say plenty to Lady Matilda. Turning away from the door, she touched the brick near the fireplace and waited for the secret passage to reveal itself.
She’d need her mermaid time now, if she was planning on meeting up with Royce again tonight. And she didn’t intend to let anything interrupt that. A sensual smile curved her lips as she hugged herself, giddy with emotion. She was in love.
Surely he wasn’t but a few steps behind her in that matter, if last night were any proof.
#
Muffin clearly thought otherwise.
The woman had descended upon Leah moments before she was able to shed her skirts and dive into the water. She stared at the tide, feeling it match the ebbing and rising throb in her legs. The pull of it was no match for Muffin’s not-so-silent disapproval.
“I can’t believe you,” she said for the ninth time, fluttering her heavily ringed hands in agitation. “After you’ve worked so hard to pull this off, you throw it away. Tossed! Vanished!
Gone!”
Leah put her hands up protectively, not wanting to be smacked in the chin by the overlarge ruby ring that encircled one of Muffin’s fingers. “What are you talking about, Muffin?
Things are finally working out.” She was actually starting to get pretty confident about the whole thing. Royce would declare his love soon. Then she’d be able to tell Muffin that Royce needed to come with her, back to the modern world, of course – the fairy godmother might be dotty, but she wouldn’t be so cruel as to separate the two of them, not when they were both clearly in love.
It was all going to work out beautifully.
“Get that dreamy look off your face, girl,” Muffin said, her voice snapping with anger.
“This is a serious matter.”
“Tell me while I’m in the water,” Leah pleaded. “My legs hurt so badly I can hardly think straight.”
“That much is obvious, judging from last night.” The fairy godmother gave a sniff but moved aside. “Very well, hurry on in, child, so we can figure out how to fix this.” Leah rushed for the water, hastily stripping off her clothes. The first kiss of the ocean was frighteningly cold, and she gasped at the sensation. It was like a prickly brush of ice against her skin, only to be replaced by the familiar burning and clenching in her legs as they began the
change. She struggled deeper into the water, moving forward until she was in the cold brine up to her neck. Her gills fluttered, chugging the icy cold ocean in and out with each breath.
It was like an immense relief to feel her mermaid form once more, and Leah relaxed in the water, soaking her hair and letting the tide carry her back and forth, her tail flicking. She’d get back to shore soon enough and deal with Muffin’s displeasure.
Something hard bumped against her head and she sat up in the water, twisting her tail to keep her balance. Muffin sat there in a small rowboat, clutching a ruffled parasol and dressed in a bathing costume like something from the turn of the century – bright red and blue with culottes.
“I think you’ve messed this one up, girl.”
“I haven’t.” She shook her head, brushing wet, salty locks of hair off her face. “I think I’m closer than ever. He’s going to fall in love with me, I just know it.”
“No, he won’t!” Her voice rose in a shrill crescendo that reminded her oddly of Matilda.
“Why would he be interested in the cow if he’s getting the milk for free?” Leah splashed at the boat, her gills heaving furiously with her own irritation. “That’s just an old cliché.”
“They become clichés for a reason, my dear.” The fairy godmother leaned over the boat and glared at her. “Now that he’s had your… goodies… you’re going to have to work extra hard to keep him attracted to you.”
Muffin was wrong. Leah glared at her and resisted the urge to dive back under the dark, calming waters of the ocean. No doubt if she did, Muffin would show up there with a scuba outfit. “Wasn’t this what you wanted? You’ve been pushing and pushing for me to take this to the next level for a while now. And now that I have, you’re mad at me? I don’t understand.” She smacked the side of the boat in frustration. “What do you want from me?”
Muffin shook her head and moved her parasol to her other shoulder as the boat began to rotate in the water. “I am a fairy godmother, girl. A fairy
godmother
. Not a pimp. I told you to encourage him. Tease him. Toss your hair at him a little. Make him want you. Keep him thirsting for more and
don’t
give it to him. That’s the trick to keeping a man panting after you.” Yeah, because a dotty little old lady was such an expert. Leah resisted the urge to retort something unkind and grabbed the prow of the boat to stop it from spinning around again. Count on Muffin to get one without oars. “He’s not going to lose interest, Muffin. I think he’s going to fall in love with me.”
“If you say so.” The woman raised an eyebrow, clearly lacking the faith Leah had. “Most men don’t fall in love with their bit on the side. You’ve gone from an intriguing challenge to an easy conquest, and now he’ll lose interest.”
That stung. “But I think I’m falling in love with him.” Muffin leaned forward, her parasol blotting out the sun. “And that, my dear, is the biggest problem of all. Do yourself a favor and don’t fall in love. It’s not going to lead to anything.
Understand me? Provided you win this little challenge, you’re off to a new mortal life. If you lose, you’re on your way to the Afterlife. He can’t follow you to either one.”
#
Muffin’s words had been harsh, but she’d succeeded in her goal – getting Leah back on track. She needed to make sure that she kept Royce interested in her – and she doubted the best way to do that was to moon after him like the lovesick fool that she was.
She moped about in her rooms for the rest of the afternoon, managing only a few small smiles for cheerful Ginny, who brought a cleaned dress for her and chattered on as if she didn’t notice Leah’s depression.
When Ginny shooed her out of her bedroom and told her with a sly smile that Royce was awaiting her in the great hall, she went to the solar instead.
The sitting room looked the same as it ever did. The sewing table nearby had a piece of needlework carelessly discarded on it, and the window seat was bare, the last of the daylight lighting it. Leah headed there.
A servant slipped in, bowing to Leah when she turned. “I was told you’d be up here, my lady,” he said, giving her a knowing smile that made her blush. “He gave me orders to bring this to you to ease your appetite.” The man set down the basket, lit a candle, and left, shutting the door behind him.
Leah’s stomach growled and she headed over to the table, hunger getting her past the melancholy. The basket was full of a variety of delicacies. Bits of roasted meat left in a bread trencher, a few pastries, and some dainty circles of cheese. There were even a few small treats that she knew to be apple tarts, and she popped one into her mouth. The flavor was cloyingly sweet, with an annoying aftertaste, and she grimaced. She’d never get used to the medieval custom of over-spicing everything. She ate one more, then moved on to the cheeses, pulling up a stool and beginning to eat. No sense starving herself.
A few minutes later, there was a quick knock at the door and Leah swallowed her last mouthful, staring at the door with wary anticipation. What now?
But it was Royce that stepped into the room, his dark hair tousled and the expression on his face unreadable. “Leah? Why do you hide up here?”
Her stomach twisted into knots at the sight of him. She sat down weakly at the table and offered him a small half-smile. How to explain that she was hiding from the world, and indulging in a pity party?
The look on Royce’s face turned black. “What’s troubling you?” When she wouldn’t look him in the eye, he shut the solar door behind him and stalked over to her, leaning over the table.
“You weren’t upset about it last night, Leah. Not when you were in my arms, making those soft noises in your throat as I stroked in your body.”
She averted her eyes and placed the last of her cheese on the table. She was going to be sick, her stomach was so upset. Her whole body tensed and she glanced over at him, feeling flushed and uncomfortable.
He leaned over the table, his face partly furious and partly incredulous. Angry that she was being such a baby. Incredulous that she’d change her mind after last night. His dark eyes stared down at her.
This wasn’t what she wanted. Muffin be damned – the fairy godmother’s advice had her completely turned around, and now he was in danger of cutting her out of his affections entirely.
Leah shook her head and buried her face in her hands, not sure what to think.
His arms were around her in seconds, his lips pressing kisses into her hair. “Leah, Leah,” he groaned, pulling her against him and cradling her. “I wish you could tell me what’s wrong so I could fix it for you.” He stroked her hair away from her face. “You’re mine. Do you understand me? Whatever has upset you, I’ll fix it.”
Her heart began to beat hard in her chest, and she snuggled against him, feeling sleepy and flushed. It felt so good to lie in his arms and let him comfort her. Muffin had been wrong –
she didn’t need to play hard-to-get with him – she needed to love him as much as she could, and
if that didn’t work? She’d at least have the memories. Leah lifted her tear-stained face to his for a kiss, feeling languid and warm in his embrace.
He kissed her mouth and then pulled away abruptly, seemingly surprised by her lack of reaction. Leah leaned against him, her limbs feeling slow and tired. Her stomach was still cramping and painful, and her heart was still racing, faster than ever. If she could just concentrate…
“Leah?” Royce said, and the sound was overloud in her sensitive ear. “Are you all right?
Leah?”
Her last conscious thought before she slid into the black was that perhaps she was not doing quite as well as she thought.
Chapter Fourteen
Royce stared down at Leah’s unconscious form in the middle of his bed. She thrashed every now and then in her sleep, her body shuddering with pain, and the whole time, never said a word, never uttered a sound.
It was the silence that got to him most of all, especially when she curled into a ball around her stomach and huddled, silent tears rolling down her face. And so he waited by her side and held her hand to let her know she was not alone.