Chapter 193
“Shhh, Kit!” a familiar voice said as he pulled her to his chest. “It’s just me.”
Kit pulled away from Eli’s grasp, and he let her go. She punched him, hard, in the arm. “What in the hell are you doing? You scared the shite out of me!”
If her blow bothered him, he didn’t let on. “You’re a fine one to be asking what I’m doing, Katrinetta. Where have you been?”
“What makes you think I answer to you?” Her voice was too loud, and he shushed her again. Tired of being stalked, Kit stepped around him, headed for the armoire where she’d hidden her gown.
He followed but didn’t obstruct her. “Kit, did you follow Pierce?”
She didn’t turn to look at him, only pulled her clothing out and wrapped all of the pieces around her arms so she wouldn’t drop any of them before closing the door and heading for the secret passage.
“Kit?”
“You can follow me if you wish, but I do not want to stand in here and discuss what I have just witnessed.” Even in the dark, she imagined he could see the fire in her eyes. He didn’t respond, so Kit pulled open the door and stepped into blackness. Eli followed, pulling the door closed behind him.
It was difficult to find her way with him right behind her. He gave her space so that if she stopped suddenly, he wouldn’t bump into her. Kit thought it might’ve been a better idea to let him lead the way, but eventually, she reached the location she was looking for and spun the dial the correct amount of times to let them out.
Danyen was pacing the room and turned abruptly toward her when the door opened. “Oh, Kit. Thank the goddesses.” Obviously, he was worried. She had been gone a long time, but a check of the clock told her she still had several minutes before he was to sound the alarm.
She stepped out of the way and Eli came through. Danyen tipped his head to the side. “Look who I found. Or rather, who found me.”
“Why does that surprise me?” Danyen asked. “We should’ve known better than to think he wouldn’t know what we were up to.”
Kit couldn’t argue with that. She placed her gown on the back of a chair over by the armoire where it would be hung, once it was cleaned, and walked to her bed as Eli made sure the secret door was latched. She dropped down on the edge, not even sure how to begin to state what she needed to tell them.
Danyen was staring at her expectant, but hopeful. Eli just looked angry, or perhaps betrayed, like he always did when Kit did something he disapproved of.
“I didn’t get caught,” she reminded him.
“As far as you know. Kit, just because no one confronted you doesn’t mean no one saw you.”
He had a point. Still, she needed to be right this time. “I believe I would’ve noticed.”
“What you just did was extremely dangerous.” He turned to Danyen. “I can’t believe you allowed her to go through with this.”
“Me?” Danyen asked, pointing at his chest with his thumb. “Do you think I had any say in this operation?”
“Are you saying you agree that I shouldn’t have gone?”
“I told you from the beginning I thought it was dangerous, and you should let me go,” Danyen reminded her.
“And yet you let her go anyway....”
“Stop!” Kit insisted. “Yes, he did let me go anyway. Because unlike some people, Danyen doesn’t try to make my decisions for me.”
“Or protect you, apparently.”
Danyen opened his mouth to say something but then closed it as if he had no argument there. Finally, he said, “Forgive me. I was only trying to do what the princess thought was best.”
“Yes, the princess who does have a little sense about her from time to time,” Kit noted, although she thought, at the moment, Eli would disagree with that notion. “Listen, Eliason, you can be angry with my recklessness all you want, but after what I’ve just discovered, you’ll have to let go your wrath some other time.”
“What is it, Kit?” Danyen asked, a softness taking over his disposition while Eli continued to scowl.
Kit drew in a deep breath, considering how to word it. There was no easy way to phrase it. “Pierce is in more than cahoots with the queen.”
“What’s that?” Danyen asked, leaning forward slightly. Eli didn’t move in the slightest.
“I saw him... beneath her skirts.”
Danyen’s eyes widened, and Eli turned around, his hands on his hips. The Representative from Farlington flew to her side. “Oh, Kit. Are you certain? My goodness. How terrible! I’m so sorry.”
“I’m certain,” Kit assured him, glad to have his hand on her back. “It may well be the most disgusting sight I’ve ever laid eyes on, and I was there for part of Jecob’s operation.”
Danyen continued to sit with his arm around her, shaking his head slowly. A few moments after Kit’s revelation, Eli turned around to face them. “Danyen, would you mind leaving us for a few moments?”
Danyen looked startled, as if he hadn’t been expecting the request at all. Turning to Kit, he asked her thoughts with his eyes, and she nodded. Slowly, he rose and walked out to the antechamber, closing the door behind him. Kit hoped he wouldn’t go any further.
