my fee is a generous offer. “Yes, Your Highness.”
She leans forward, and though the length of the table separates us, I flinch at the movement.
“And if you do not succeed, your business will be in ruins.”
I gasp. To lose the fee promised me would be a devastating blow, but Madeline and I would still be able to come back from it. We’d still—
“Stop trying to rationalize whatever it is you think you’re going to say to me, Miss Winter. I’m not in the habit of ruining others—as long as we are on the same side. And I think we both want the same thing, don’t we? To see my stepson walk down that aisle and the throne stay in the...immediate family?”
“Yes, of course,” I say. I hold her gaze, determined not to flinch again.
Her posture relaxes, but only slightly. “Good. Then all you have to do is keep up business as usual. Seek out all the lovely, appropriate, deserving women. Build up Nikolai’s image like his father hopes you will.”
My teeth grind together in my mouth. Something is off here, but so far she’s not asking anything other than what I’m already doing.
“May I ask you a question, Your Highness?”
Her brows rise. She is considering my boldness, no doubt, but then she nods her head.
“Forgive me if I’m being untoward. But are you trying to see to it that I fail or succeed? Because I can’t for the life of me figure out why you called this meeting.”
This time her eyes light up as her lips curl. “You will succeed, Miss Winter.”
“How do you know?” I add, deciding to go for broke in my impropriety of speaking my uncensored thoughts in front of my leader.
“Because,” she says, standing from her chair. I stand as well. “I’m going to find the woman most deserving of a life with my stepson, and we will present her to him when the time is right.”
“But my list—”
She shakes her head, closing her eyes as she does. When she looks at me again, I see something so cold in that stare that I shudder. “My match won’t be on any such list, but when I’ve found the one, you’ll know. All you have to do is convince Nikolai she’s the one, as well.” She narrows her eyes at me. “That boy trusts you already. I’ve seen the way he looks at you. All you have to do is maintain that trust—keep him occupied while I set everything in place. You’ll get your doubled fee and maybe even an additional bonus. I get what’s rightfully mine and Nikolai gets what he deserves.”
“Rightfully yours?” I ask, unable to stop the question even though I know I should not speak out of turn with her.
But the queen doesn’t bother to respond.
She plucks a cucumber finger sandwich from the top of a tiered plate and pops it in her mouth, smirking as she devours it. Then she saunters out of the room, not waiting for me to say another word.
Double my fee. A bonus. Or a ruined business if we’re not playing for the same side.
Maybe Nikolai does play his games, but he no longer makes the rules.
I wonder now if he ever did.
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