Thief Liar Lady by D. L. Soria

Author:D. L. Soria [Soria, D. L.]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Random House Worlds
Published: 2023-07-11T00:00:00+00:00

* * *

When I returned to my chambers, Merrill was busy laying out my nightclothes and humming to herself. I don’t know why, but that only further dampened my mood. I stalked to the fireplace to light a fire. I wasn’t particularly cold. I needed something to do with my hands. Strangling a certain hostage prince for being an enigmatic prick was my first choice, but I settled for my second.

“I can do that,” Merrill said, rushing over to take the matches from me. The hearth was already arranged neatly with kindling and logs, so literally all I had to do was strike the match, which made her interference all the more annoying. I yanked the box back from her.

“I can light a damn fire,” I said, and proceeded to snap not one, but two matches in half in my attempt to spark them.

“I don’t mind.” Merrill reached out tentatively for the box, as if soothing a feral animal.

“I’m not a child,” I said, then immediately undermined my point by flinging the box to the floor, scattering the matches everywhere.

“I’m sorry, milady,” Merrill said in a small voice. She folded her hands against her stomach. It had been a while since I’d heard a “milady” from her. I closed my eyes for a few seconds and tried to contain myself.

“No, I’m sorry,” I said finally.

“You’re right, I shouldn’t—”

“I’m being a bitch. You have every right to be concerned when I burst in here after midnight and throw a tantrum.”

I opened my eyes to find her smiling tightly at me. Together, we gathered up the matches. I could tell from the weary lines in her face that I wasn’t the only one who was exhausted. It only made me feel worse.

“I don’t think I’ll need a fire after all,” I said.

Merrill, a consummate professional, did not comment. I went to the washroom to fetch a cool cloth for my head while she turned down the bed.

“Your stepsister came by earlier,” she told me when I returned. “She asked me to tell you that Cecilie will be here tomorrow in time for dinner.”

“Wonderful,” I said, without much enthusiasm. Merrill had figured out early on that I didn’t enjoy talking about my stepfamily, so she just stepped behind me and started undoing the buttons of my dress.

I swiped the cloth across the back of my neck. The welcome coolness soothed my headache infinitesimally. If only the swirling thoughts that were causing the headache could be soothed as well.

“Can I ask you something?” I hated myself the moment the words left my lips, but that didn’t stop me from barreling forward. “Something personal?”

Merrill’s hands faltered. Or maybe I was imagining things now.

“Of course,” she said.

“How long have you and Ra—Lord Verance—been…seeing each other?”

She jerked, and I heard a button pop free. I hadn’t imagined that.

“I don’t know what you mean, milady,” she said, a little breathlessly, as she went to grab my nightdress off my bed. A pink blush was already blooming in her cheeks.

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