Snow White's Not-So-Evil Stepmother (Grimmer Fairy Tales Book 4) by Lee Hayton

Author:Lee Hayton [Hayton, Lee]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Fantasy, thriller
Publisher: Lee Hayton
Published: 2017-06-19T07:00:00+00:00

Chapter Seven

Well, stuff that for a joke. I didn’t understand the subtext of my parents’ argument, but I wasn’t staying around to be bound in marriage to some jerk I didn’t want. And yes, I knew already I didn’t want any of them. The thought of Warren pulsed in my mind like an aching limb.

Since learning his name, he had solidified in my mind. The image that had been fading from my memory, burst forth in explosive color. It pained me to return the diary that had my one true love’s name written in it, the only solid evidence of his existence. I wanted a head start more than I wanted a scribble, though. If I didn’t return the diary and the keys I might be locked up before I could run for freedom.

Checking that Wallis was away from his office was almost as painful as attempting to clear a path to steal his diary had been. The man flitted—here, there, everywhere. Just as I advanced upon the door, certain of his position elsewhere, someone would knock on it before me, and there he’d be.

Magic. Except there was nothing magical about Wallis. Just steadfast devotion. The most my imagination could fathom was that he had access to secret tunnels to spirit him about the palace more quickly. Nothing magic there, at least not in my made-up version, just dirt and old brick and the occasional scampering rat.

Finally, a day after I started trailing Wallis, I saw him step out of his office and walk down the hallway. With him still in sight, surely there was no way I could be mistaken this time of his position.

I ducked into his office and raced over to the drawer. Within seconds, I twisted the key and pulled the drawer open.

It was empty.

Damn, but I was stupid. Of course, the drawer was empty. The diary would be with Wallis as he went around his daily tasks. Giving up on ever returning it to its rightful place, I slid cabinet shut and headed for the door.

Just as I reached it, Wallis pushed it open from the other side.

I gave a startled gasp, out of my mouth so quickly that it snatched away my opportunity to hide. Instead, I drew my shoulders up tall, straightened my back, and did my best to look Wallis in the eye.

“Miss? Was there something you needed?”

The tone of deference caught me off-guard. I knew Wallis always spoke that way to my father, to my stepmother. Because we’d never really exchanged anything but the most basic of pleasantries, however, I’d never contemplated he’d speak that way to me. The surprise caught my breath and ran it away. A gift, really. The lack of breath stopped me saying something foolish.

“My diary,” I said, holding out his worn volume. “I think that we’ve managed to swap these by mistake.”

He frowned at the book, then drew my hasty facsimile from his inner coat pocket. When he went to flip open the first page, I stilled his hand with mine and opened the diary I held instead.

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