Total pages in book: 142
Estimated words: 137017 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 685(@200wpm)___ 548(@250wpm)___ 457(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 137017 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 685(@200wpm)___ 548(@250wpm)___ 457(@300wpm)
I could feel how Bella cared for me.
Granted, she didn’t know I wasn’t the Alicia she’d been serving for the past few years, but she also hadn’t treated me any differently. I was sure she’d noticed that I wasn’t necessarily the same person as before the accident, but she’d not said a word.
I could tell her the truth, but what good would that do? Would she even believe me? How would you even tell someone something like this? ‘The previous soul of this body died and I woke up here, sorry about that.’
It sounded crazy, no matter how you put it.
Harry stopped the carriage at the main street and helped me out. Bella had our cloaks hidden in a gift box, so it looked as if she were just carrying something I’d purchased. Harry had given me a crudely drawn map of the shopping district yesterday afternoon, and I’d studied it hard, so I knew exactly how to get to Illusion from here without having to take the carriage nearby.
I bade him farewell, and Bella and I set out on our walk towards the tea shop. We ducked into an alleyway to put on our cloaks to hide our identities on our way there, and we made it without being seen by anyone.
Anyone who mattered, that was.
After entering the tea shop, I repeated the same greeting I had when I’d come last week. The woman behind the counter must have recognised my voice, because she nodded to Allegra who again took me upstairs.
This time, Bella went straight into the waiting room while Allegra popped open the secret door. “Mister Jinx is waiting for you, my lady.”
I barely stopped myself from laughing. Of course, he was. “Thank you.”
I ducked into the dim pathway, brushing away a low dangling cobweb. Jinx was sitting in the middle of the room, lounging back on one of the sofas as if he didn’t have a care in the world.
He probably didn’t.
His expression lit up when he saw me. “Lady Alicia. How honoured I am that you’re back so soon.”
This smarmy prick.
I pulled down my hood and met his eyes. “I suppose it’s only right that one of us is happy with this turn of events. Tell me, Mister Jinx, do you think I have nothing better to do than return to this place again?”
He held up his hands and gently shook his head. “As I told both you and your maid last time, there’s nothing I can do, my lady. My master is a very difficult man to see.”
“Am I to assume that your position hasn’t changed?”
“I’m afraid not.”
“Then we have a problem.” I waited until he looked up and met his gaze. “You see, I don’t like it when people waste my time. Even if you waste my maid’s time, you’re wasting my time.”
He smiled widely, shrugging with his hands held out as if it wasn’t his problem. “My lady, do remember this: I told you the first time you came here that not just anyone can see my master.”
“Do I look like just anyone to you, Mister Jinx? The last time I checked, the eldest daughter of House Vermillion, the empire’s first sword, was not just anyone.”
He stilled at the bite in my tone.
“When I ask for a meeting, I expect it to be granted. That said, I know that your master is a very busy man, so I’ll be gracious.” I walked over to him and loomed over him, folding my arms across my chest. “I expect to hear a positive response from him within the next three days, by the end of the spring ball.”
Jinx held up his hands again, shrinking back from me as far as the sofa cushions would allow. “I don’t think that’s possible.”
“Then I suppose I’ll have to pay him a visit at home.”
“I cannot give you his address, my lady.”
“You don’t need to.” I held Jinx’s gaze. “Or perhaps I should invite my new friend, Lady Georgina Alansia, to my residence for tea so we can get to know each other better after her tea party this morning. On the other hand, I am a lady of marriageable age, and Duke Alansia has two sons in need of a wife, does he not?”
Jinx swallowed, panic flashing in his eyes. “My la—”
“My father would consider either of the Alansia sons a most excellent match for me. Perhaps I should request that my father arrange a meeting with His Grace to discuss an arrangement between me and his eldest son. After all, I am very interested in learning more about the future duke’s business dealings, if you catch my drift.”
Jinx leant back so far that he almost melded into the sofa cushions. “All right, all right. I get the feeling you aren’t bluffing here, my lady.” He sighed, running his hand through his slicked-back blonde hair. “I’ll make sure he gets the message.”