It’s time for me to start getting ready. I have to wear the gown, fix my hair and also apply suitable makeup.

Still, lying here is so much more comfortable.

«Whatever happens, don’t get away from me,» Alexander murmurs while caressing my hair. He’s looking at the ceiling, lost in thoughts and troubled. His heart is beating steadily, but I think he’s worried about the unknown threats waiting to cut my throat at the first misstep.

«I have an idea,» I start. «To bait out…»

«No traps,» he murmurs. «Especially if you use yourself as bait.»

«Don’t be so drastic. I know what I’m doing,» I giggle. «And you can use your superpower to find out what I’m thinking, right?»

«I don’t read minds.»

«Only mine,» I sulk.

«That’s not wrong,» he sighs, and he turns to the side. I move my head on his arm, letting him find a comfortable position, but I don’t back away. I’m feeling a bit tired, and I’d just close my eyes and rest for a while.

Unfortunately, that’s not an option.

«Can you help me put back the necklace?» I ask. In the end, rubies are appropriate for a wedding banquet.

«You said you didn’t want it.»

«No, I said I didn’t deserve it,» I correct him before he has time to start that stupid conversation over again. «And I was also wrong.»

«You admit it so easily,» he chuckles. «Has my Duchess realised how brave her husband is?»

Oh, come on! I’ve already complimented you enough, haven’t I?

«I’m going to my chambers. I need to start preparing.»

«I can come with you.»

«No, you can’t. You can’t see me until the ceremony.»

«No way. I won’t let you go alone. We’ll head to the throne hall together.»

«But the traditions…»

«We’re already married. The ceremony is a formality. The banquet is just an excuse for the nobles to get drunk and make havoc. Also, you don’t need to drink much, Thea.»

«What?»

«You can just take a sip when toasting, or you can pretend to drink. It will be a long night, and I don’t want you drunk after a few cups of wine.»

«Am I that unbearable?» I inquire. I usually just fall asleep after drinking, is there any need to be this cautious?

«You should stay vigil until the end,» he explains.

After kissing my forehead, the Duke gets up and opens the wardrobe. He takes out a white suit with golden details and buttons. I’ve never seen him wear white.

I’m looking forward to admiring this version of the Duke.

Instead of undressing, though, he turns to me.

«Doesn’t my Duchess have her own clothes to wear?»

«I do,» I nod. But I first want to see how Alexander manages to get dressed without help.

«Oh, you’re staying here because you want to help me!» he exclaims happily.

You wish!

I get up and walk to my chambers, pretending not to have noticed how easy it has become for him to manipulate me.

Kate is slumbering on the sofa when I get in, so I have a few minutes to prepare my little trap. I have no guarantees that it will succeed. If Patricia isn’t the only one behind the leak of information, I can’t let all the other culprits pass undiscovered.

When Kate opens her eyes, she notices me in front of the dressing table. She jumps up and runs to me.

«My Queen, what should we do?» she inquires.

«What we’ve done till now, Katerina,» I utter, feeling awkward at the way she addressed me.

«Shall I call for the other maids, your grace?» she mutters.

  I smile brightly, and she nods to signal that she understood my words.

When she comes back with a few maids, I recognise some of them. Indeed, they were those serving me till now. They have been waiting for a chance to return in here.

«Get the dress,» I start.

They follow my orders in silence, their head bowed and their eyes focused on their tasks.

It’s the first time I actually see the dress. It’s so complicated.

The first layer is of a pure white. It’s made of soft fabric, and it’s so delicate in contact with my skin. Then, the maids start to wrap my torso with red cloth. They finish with a ribbon on the back, with the extra material falling on the gown.

I wear a light jacket, and then they fix several layers of different shades of red and white. In the end, the result is spectacular.

I couldn’t avoid the corset, this time. After all, if even my Duke has gone out of his way to be presentable, I can’t avoid following the rules.

I haven’t finished dressing yet, but I sit in front of the mirror and observe how the maids make two small braids with my hair. Then, they let the braids meet on the top of my head, and they roll them to form a rose. Kate looks at everything with curiosity, trying to learn a few tricks as well.

The rest of my hair is carefully curled and let loose on the back. Small ornaments in the shape of roses are attached to the locks. I let one of the maids take care of makeup as well, and she applies some light shades of green to my eyes and lipstick the same colour as the gown.

I turn my face and observe how I look from various angles.

«Good,» I say out of habit. It doesn’t really matter what I think, so my approval is useless.

Still, Kate is looking at me with dreamy eyes. Her expression is a confirmation that I indeed look pretty like this. The sleeves of the dress are short, and the neckline covers every sign the Duke left on me. As if he had computed with precision till where my skin was covered.

It’s a bit scary, now that I think of it. My Duke could use his abilities for better purposes.

The necklace is still decorating my chest, as I didn’t let anyone touch it. I open the box with the jewels and rummage for a while.

«Where are the ruby earrings?» I ask, starting to get every single piece out.

I lean all the jewels on the table, but the earrings are nowhere to be found.

«Also, the necklace with the amethyst!» I exclaim. «Where is it?»

I’m such a bitch. This is harassing people for sins they didn’t commit. I perfectly know where the jewels are. I’ve asked Kate to hide them in the perfect place.

«I liked the necklace very much,» I whine.

My eyes suddenly tear up, and the maids start panicking. Stealing from a noble is a grave crime. They don’t want to get involved.

Before they have time to understand the situation and look around in search of the missing stuff, the Duke knocks at the door.

Ah, I didn’t want him to know about this. I just wanted to silently get revenge. I would have extracted so much information from these girls if he didn’t arrive.

Kate opens the room without waiting for my permission, following her guts’ feelings. She thinks that the Duke will scare them even more, but that’s not what I need right now.

Whatever, it’s not the first time that something doesn’t go as planned.

«My duchess!» Alexander exclaims while walking in.

He’s really dashing in his white suit. I was right: light colours look good on him!

I wait for him to see how beautiful I am, but he doesn’t utter a single word of praise. Instead, he reaches me and crouches in front of the chair. He holds my hands and looks at me, worried.

«Why is my Duchess crying?» he inquires, trying to figure out to what extent I’m pretending.

«I can’t find the ruby earrings,» I complain. «And the amethyst necklace as well. I liked that necklace so much, my Duke. I was keeping it for a special occasion, yet now it’s gone. I won’t be able to show it around…»

He sighs, finally realising what I’m up to.

«You don’t need to cry. I’ll find one ten times more beautiful.»

No, thanks. I need this specific one.

Also, I’m not crying. I can’t afford to ruin the makeup now.

«Will you?» I mutter, looking at him with hope.

«As long as you forget about the one you lost,» he nods.

I didn’t lose it. I hid it.

The grin that appears on his lips just a moment before kissing my fingers tells me that he already knows everything. He can read this Duchess’ mind, so there has never been any hope to hide my intentions from him.

He’ll surely tell me that I’m transparent like water, once this is all over. For now, I just hope he won’t abandon me.

«I wanted to wear the ruby earrings for the wedding,» I continue. How can he find a solution for this, ah? We have to search for them, right?

«I have a solution for that,» Princess Lyland adds from the door.

She analyses our surprised expressions, and she notices the weird mood in the room.

«Sorry for disturbing,» she adds, a naughty smile on her cute face.