The Duke of Snow and Apples by Elizabeth Vail Read Free Book Online Page B

think?”
    Before her eyes, the footman retreated behind his professionalism. “I apologize for my unseemly behavior…”
    “Don’t be like that!” she ordered. She rose from her chair, jabbing her finger forward like a weapon. “You don’t get to do that, not if you’re my footman.”
    “Do what, miss?”
    “Pretend to be all starch and ice in front of me, only to devour me with your eyes when you think I’m not looking. Acting one way while really thinking something else. I won’t have it!” Her amusement had vanished, and an old, cold anger took its place.
    She didn’t want to always wonder what people were really thinking about her. She hated thinking about whether every person’s friendly smile hid their disgust, annoyance, or boredom with her attempts to be proper. Why couldn’t they just be honest and tell her that she was doing something wrong, or that she was repeating the same anecdote for the third time. Or that they secretly wanted her suitor for themselves?
    She raised her chin. “I won’t have that nonsense from you, Freddy. I don’t want a—a tree stump for a footman.”
    “What in Heaven’s name do you want?”
    That brought Charlotte up short. “A partner,” she said at last. “An ally .” Yes. That fit her warrior metaphor quite nicely.
    “ Why? ”
    “Because I said so , that’s why! When your mistress gives an order your answer is yes, miss .”
    “Yes, miss.”
    “Thank you, Freddy.”
    “Frederick.”
    Charlotte blinked. “I beg your pardon?”
    The footman stood his ground. “If I’m to be an ally, my name is Frederick . Everyone calls me Freddy because it’s shorter but—but my name is Frederick.”
    “Oh.” An easy enough concession. “Well then, Frederick , we must start today if we are to move forward with my plan. Lady Mettle’s ball’s tonight, so I will need you to gather information. Relevant information. Favorite colors, interests, annoyances, secrets.” She tapped her lips with her quill. “I shall write you a list.”
    Feeling considerably more cheerful, she ordered Frederick to fetch more paper.
    …
    An hour later, Frederick’s pumps clattered up the stairs toward his room, every stomp punctuated with a different set of descriptive words for her ladyship’s grandniece. Arrogant. Spoiled. Childish. Melodramatic.
    Sweet Maiden help him, Charlotte had drawn out all of his worst qualities, on purpose , leaving him with all of his irritations and rages and frustrations hanging out in the wind like dirty laundry. Not to mention he’d almost betrayed the secret of his power to her. It had flared in his head on instinct, sweet and heady and instantaneous. It frightened him not a little that his curse could overcome his barriers with such ease.
    She had outlined her plans like a general preparing for full-scale war. She needed daily copies of the Trinidon Eyeglass to maintain her supply lines of gossip and fashion. She required detailed intelligence on the ranks and relationships of every guest present, for a good general knew her enemy. She demanded advanced notice of impending battles, er, events the Dowagers had planned, in order to prepare her arsenal of day gowns and polite utterances accordingly.
    In one baffled moment, Frederick had changed from footman to spymaster.
    What troubled him more was that this Charlotte behaved like an entirely different person than last night’s Charlotte, who acted like her favorite activity was discussing the weather. She accused him of acting one way while thinking another? What about her? She acted like two young women, both different, both equally confounding. It didn’t matter whether she was a wind-up toy or an impulsive flirt—both sides of her gnawed at him, set him on edge, dragged him out of his cold place with their sharp minx’s claws.
    She was a danger to him.
    Worse, by being a danger to him she was a danger to herself , and she didn’t even know it. His power gave him the ability to see into the