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“Yuri, darling, I need your help.”
Yuri looked up from the second volume of the three volume novel he’d stole from the Dominic library. Dorothea Arnault stood in the doorway of kitchen’s storage closet, absently tying on the apron of her maid’s uniform. Yuri was beginning to regret he’d given her a key to his favorite hiding spot.
He returned to his book. “I’m not pretending to date you again, Dottie.”
“That was only the one time!” she protested. She came into the room and sat on the sack of potatoes that he’d been using as a footstool. “It’s more important.”
“And I’m not singing in one of your operettas,” Yuri continued as if she hadn’t said anything. He moved his feet to the floor, though. What was he supposed to do, kick her?
“It’s not about me at all,” Dorothea protested, swatting at his legs anyways. “It’s about Lady Annette.”
Yuri paused for a moment, his hand hovering over the page to turn it. It was a very good novel, about two sisters with contrasting amounts of common sense. He had really been looking forward to spending the morning reading it.
He put the book down. “Go on.”
Yuri had been in the employment of Baron Dominic for the past year and a half. It was an comfortable enough gig – the Baron was a stern but ultimately toothless man, and Yuri’s culinary skills were more than adequate for the palettes in western Faerghus. The household liked him and they left him alone, which was what Yuri wanted. The job also allowed him to send the occasional monthly report on the comings and goings of Baron Dominic back to Garreg Mach, though he’d left his time there off his reference list when he’d applied for the job. The allegiances of House Dominic had never officially been in question, but Lady Rhea liked to keep tabs on things, especially for the more distant territories. And Yuri had always liked to travel.
He'd never once had to include Annette Dominic in one of his reports. Honestly, Yuri thought about Annette Dominic very little. She was the baron’s niece, just returned from finishing school in the last year. She was cheerful and clumsy, and most of Yuri’s interactions with her had involved chasing her out of the kitchen without hurting her feelings. But Dorothea had always been protective of the girl. And when Dorothea was interested in something, Yuri couldn’t help but take a second look.
Dorothea sighed now, leaning back against a stack of boxes in the kitchen storage room. “Duke Fraldarius and his terrible son are coming to tea today,” she explained.
Yuri wrinked his nose. “The one you’re always flirting with?”
“That’s the one,” Dorothea said.
“What’s that have to do with Lady Annette?” Yuri asked.
“The flirting never works,” Dorothea said, as if that explained everything.
It did not, and Yuri rolled his eyes. “What’s that have to do with Lady Annette ? Maybe he’s in love with the king. Maybe he’s too focused on his sword training to notice you.”
“Both could be true. But we’re not talking about that right now.” Dorothea shifted on the potato sack, leaning conspiratorially towards Yuri. “The last time he visited, I was humming a song as I was dusting in the parlor –”
“A job a lady’s maid does not need to do, and you would not have been doing if he hadn’t been sitting there,” Yuri observed.
“Hush,” said Dorothea. “I was dusting in the parlor and humming an aria – Cethleann’s Lament, if you’ve heard it – and he did the oddest thing.”
She waited for Yuri to ask what that was. He raised an eyebrow at her, which was good enough.
“He stopped writing his letters, looked up, and asked me a question ,” she said. “Imagine that! Felix Fraldarius, son to the duke, noticing someone exists when they don’t have a sword.”
“What was the question?” Yuri asked, finally taking the bait.
“He wanted to know if Miss Dominic wrote that song,” Dorothea said.
“Ah,” Yuri said.
“She didn’t. It’s very famous, you know.”
“He has it bad,” Yuri said.
“Tragically so,” Dorothea agreed.
Yuri frowned. “What does Lady Annette think of him?”
“When she heard they were coming for tea, she waited until her uncle had left the room, and then flung herself on the couch cushions and screamed into them for a quarter of an hour,” Dorothea said. “She spend the rest of the evening telling me each of Felix Fraldarius’s flaws in great detail. She named some ones I hadn’t even thought of myself yet!”
Yuri put his book down on the shelf behind him, which had originally been used to store dried beans, or perhaps flour.
“It sounds like she doesn’t like him very much,” he said.
The look Dorothea gave him wasn’t judgmental so much as pitying. Which was worse.
“Why are you so invested in all of this?” Yuri asked. “Annette Dominic making a good match won’t do you any good.”
Dorothea blinked up at him with enormous eyes. “Can’t a simple country maid do something out of love and devotion for her lady?” she asked.
Yuri gave her a look that wasn’t pitying so much as judgmental. She sighed and leaned back against the boxes again, crossing her arms.
“If Annie dearest goes to Fraldarius, she’ll take her favorite maid with her,” she said. “Maybe a trip or two to Fhirdiad in the summers. Lots of things to see, lots of people to meet.”
Yuri narrowed his eyes. He’d always wondered if Dorothea had her own reports she was writing and sending off somewhere down south. Not many parlormaids knew Cethleann’s Lament this far north of Enbarr.
“Besides,” Dorothea added, cutting into Yuri’s thoughts, as she often did. “The last three suitors grasping for Lady Annette’s hand were absolute troglodytes. And Baron Dominic wants that wretched Randolph fellow to come visit next week. I’m not a monster , Yuri love. I do want happiness and love in the world, and all that.”
“What’s in it for me?” Yuri asked, crossing his own arms.
“Besides love and happiness and all that?” Dorothea asked hopefully. But she could quickly see that Yuri wasn’t overly invested in that line of reasoning. She batted her eyelashes at him coyly. “If I do go to Fraldarius, Yuri dear, I would so love to keep in touch. I could send you the most interesting tidbits about the comings and goings in the northern kingdom.” She leaned forward, smiling sweetly. “I know you do love your idle gossip.”
There was just a hint of an invitation there, to push back, to defend himself. The was also the practical reaction, which was to take his book and walk away from this conversation entirely.
But Yuri wasn’t one to take the bait. And Annette Dominic had always been a nice enough girl, even if she did set his kitchen on fire if left unsupervised.
Yuri sighed and rolled his eyes. “What do you want me to do?’
* * *
What Dorothea needed for her plan to work was someone who was clever, quiet, and not allergic to bright pink peonies that Annette and her mother had planted in the front gardens that spring. Yuri fit two out of the three criteria, and so an hour later he found himself standing in the front hall of Dominic Manor, watching as Baron Dominic and his niece greeted their guests from Fraldarius. He kept to the corner, behind the other servants and mostly in shadow. This helped to obscure the large armful of flowers he cradled. He’d have to obscure his sneezes himself.
“Rodrigue, welcome!” Baron Dominic boomed as he walked down the stairs. “I’m so glad you could join us for tea as you’re passing through to – where was it, again?”
“Arianrhod, as it happens,” Rodrigue said with a deep bow. “Your generosity in hosting is always appreciated. I suppose you remember my son, Felix? He was with me on my last trip.”
“Ah, yes, and I believe we’ve met in Fhirdiad a few times, no?” Baronic Dominic did not wait for Felix to give an answer, as he shook both their hands. Instead, he turned towards the sitting room, waving everyone along with him. “Come in, come in! Make yourself comfortable. Tea should be ready in under and hour – and if you’ve time to stay for dinner, our head chef has promised an Adrestian fish dish that I’m sure you’ll find appealing.”
As Baron Dominic continued to prattle on about the weather and the evening meal, the servants rushed in to help Rodrigue Fraldarius and his son with their coats and hats. Well, Yuri rushed in. The other servants moved more slowly and subtlety, but Yuri made a beeline for Felix.
“May I take your hat, sir?” he asked Felix politely.
Yuri wasn’t a manservant, strictly speaking, but Dorothea had thrown a jacket at him that looked close enough to the house uniform, and Felix wasn’t really paying attention. He wasn’t paying attention as Yuri took his hat and coat from him, and he certainly wasn’t paying attention as Yuri handed him the bouquet of peonies. Perhaps he expected it to be a drink of some sort, or some other show of hospitality from House Dominic. But he was far too distracted staring at Annette Dominic to really notice what was going on around them.
Yuri smiled to himself as he slipped back into the shadows, handing the coat and hat off to some other servant who would know what to do with it. As the rest of the group dispersed – the servants off to see to dinner and Baron Dominic leading Duke Fraldarius to the sitting room – Yuri hung behind in the back alcove under the stairs in order to watch Felix speak to Annette for the first time that evening.
She waited until her uncle had disappeared through the back doors to acknowledge Felix. She was wearing a very fashionable dress in a shade of pink that matched the peonies Felix was holding. A matching pink ribbon tied her fiery red hair back in an enormous bow. Yuri imagined that Dorothea had had a hand in helping Annette dress that morning.
It was, Yuri had to admit, a perfectly orchestrated scene – almost like the stagecraft of one of those dreadful romantic operas Dorothea liked so much. Annette approached Felix slowly, almost shyly, although her posture was incredible straight and proper.
“Good afternoon, Lord Fraldarius,” she said with a slight curtsey. “I was surprised when I heard you’d be making the trip out to our little territory. I’m afraid we don’t have much to offer in terms of training grounds or military might.”
Yuri smirked to himself, more openly now that he knew no one could see him. He’d never seen Annette Dominic speak harshly to a single soul, but evidently they were teaching veiled insults at finishing school these days. He had to admit, she had a talent for it.
Felix didn’t appear to notice. He shrugged and looked at the ground, then towards the door, then at Annette. He finally turned his eyes to the middle distance to look at nothing at all.
“My father doesn’t expect much beyond diplomatic discussion at Arianrhod, but I don’t mind accompanying him,” he said, his expression unchangingly dour. “Provided the company and conversation promise to be . . . interesting. At least at some point.”
“Oh,” Annette said. She looked a bit disappointed that Felix didn’t take more offense at her attempt at rudeness. At first, Yuri worried she might turn away from the conversation entirely. But her curiosity got the better of her. “Did you bring peonies?” she asked, gesturing to the flowers.
Felix looked down at them, a slight expression of surprise crossing his face, as if he was finally processing what he was holding. “No – not really,” he said. “I just . . . have them.”
“Oh.” Annette was too polite to ask for clarification. “Are they for someone?” she tried again.
Felix frowned. “Not really.”
For a brief moment, Annette’s face fell. It was just perceptible enough that Yuri was able to see that he owed Dorothea an apology for doubting her. But the Annette Dominic was not one to be put off by disappointment, and she rallied quickly. “You just like peonies, then,” she said, lacing her fingers behind her back and rocking back on her heels. “I know I do.”
Felix scowled, thinking about the question for a moment. Yuri almost laughed at how easily this had all come together.
“Not really,” he said finally. “I don’t have much use for flowers. And these are awfully . . . bright. Depressingly cheerful.”
Annette dropped her hands.
“You know?” Felix asked, looking up at her.
“ Depressingly cheerful?” Annette repeated in shocked horror.
“Listen,” Felix said, holding the bouquet out. “You can have them if you want. Like I said, I don’t have much use for –”
But Annette had already turned on her heel and was stomping away from Felix. Yuri heard the string of insults she muttered to herself as she walked by – cad, villain, scoundrel. She’d gotten through half a dozen of the most obvious ones and was moving onto more creative options when she finally got the sitting room and slammed the door behind her.
Yuri looked back to Felix, who was staring at Annette with a rather bewildered expression on his face. He turned his bewilderment to the flowers that he was still holding. He looked around the room, and Yuri sunk back into the shadow of the stairs.
Felix evidently didn’t see him, or he might’ve demanded Yuri take the flowers away. Instead, he stalked over to a nearby end table and thrust the peonies into a vase of hothouse roses that had been placed there earlier that day. Mumbling something under his breath about strange girls he didn’t understand, Felix stalked after Annette into the sitting room, slamming the door almost as hard as she had. Yuri could hear the vague clink of china and silverware as the door closed.
Yuri walked over to the end table with a sigh. The hothouse roses were deep red and clashed with the peonies dreadfully.
“Well, that didn’t work out very well, did it?”
Yuri looked over his shoulder, startled. Dorothea was standing on the other side of the stairs, leaning idly against the banister. He wasn’t sure how long she had been there. The realization made him nervous.
“You’re the one who chose the suitor, not me,” Yuri said. He grabbed the roses out of the vase and walked back to Dorothea. “Next time, maybe choose someone who can take a hint.”
“Annette chose him, not me, darling,” Dorothea said, rolling her eyes. “I don’t waste my time matchmaking unless the cards are already on the table.”
“Remind me never to play bridge with you,” Yuri said. He held the roses out to Dorothea. “Here. They clash. Put them in your room or something.”
“Aren’t you a sweetheart,” Dorothea said. Her voice had very little emotion, but she smiled softly as she took the flowers from Yuri. “Shouldn’t I take the peonies?”
“Meh. The roses are more expensive. And it’s not like the Fraldariuses are going to notice the difference,” Yuri said.
Dorothea’s thoughtful frown returned at the mention. “I really thought I set the stage well,” she said. “Was it too obvious? Not obvious enough?”
“You can’t blame yourself,” Yuri said. “Lead a horse to water, and all that.”
“I suppose you’re right,” Dorothea said. “Ah well! On to plan B!”
“Plan B?” Yuri echoed.
“You didn’t think I only had one idea, did you, Yuri darling?” Dorothea said. She gathered the roses in her arms and turned towards the stairs. “Smarten yourself up, and I’ll meet you back here in 20 minutes. We have a tea to serve.”
***
Yuri lingered outside the door to the sitting room, which the maids had so carelessly left open a crack after serving the tea. He was used to listening at doors, so this part of the plan was remarkably easy. Unfortunately, it was also remarkably boring.
“We are considering a trip to Fhirdiad this summer, of course, but it’s difficult to leave the territory behind for too long,” Baron Dominic said to Rodrigue. “And we don’t want to send Annette on her own, now that Miss Martritz has up and moved to the Duscur countryside.”
“Ah, but Fhirdiad is so lovely during the season,” Duke Fraldarius said, and Yuri could perfectly picture the fatherly smile he bestowed upon Annette. “The weather is colder, of course, but all the best people are there. Even Felix enjoys himself, don’t you, Felix?”
“Not really,” Felix said.
“He likes the opera, at any rate,” Duke Fraldarius said, undeterred. “Felix has always been a great lover of a talented singers.”
There was a loud crash, which Yuri took to be a teacup clattering to the floor. Judging by the flurry of hurried apologies, it was Annette’s.
“Well, at any rate, we probably can’t spare the time to visit this year,” Baron Dominic said, a little too loudly, as his voice could cover his niece’s mistake. “Annette has several suitors that are planning to visit the territory, and it wouldn’t do to be out of town.”
There was a pause. But not a very long was.
“She has several what – ” Felix began, his voice sharper and more attentive than any of his monosyllabic replies had been.
Yuri figured this was as good a time as any to enter.
He opened the door deferentially, arranging his features to look as apologetic as possible.
“Pardon me, my lord, but there’s a message from Fhirdiad,” Yuri announced, giving a properly obsequious wince as he said it, as if he knew he was interrupting something far more important and interesting. “It may be best of Duke Fraldarius also consults on the reply.”
“I don’t see that there’s any need to –” Baron Dominic began, but Duke Fraldarius quickly interrupted him.
“Nonsense, nonsense, don’t think of it as any trouble!” he said, placing his teacup down and rising to his feet. “It’s such a rare treat to work collaboratively with the western territories – we might as well take advantage!”
Yuri kept his head down as they passed by and hoped that Baron Dominic would be too flustered Rodrigue’s interference to notice that his head cook had suddenly began delivering messages and reports. He didn’t know what Dorothea had faked in the letter, but it honestly didn’t matter. They just needed to leave Felix and Annette alone in a room for ten minutes or so, and things would likely sort themselves out.
Yuri hung back in the doorway, watching the two of them. It was a painful experience. Neither seemed willing to start a conversation or maintain eye contact, and it was a good thirty seconds of halfway-started thoughts and momentarily glances before thinking better of it. Yuri was almost ready to go over and knock over the teapot himself, just to make something happen, when Felix finally cleared his throat and committed to a full sentence.
“You’re seeing suitors in Dominic?” he asked. He was gripping his tea cup very tightly.
“My uncle thinks I should be,” Annette replied stiffly. Her posture was very straight. “I don’t see why you would care.”
“I don’t care,” Felix said. “Who are they? What kind of suitors is your uncle finding out here?”
“It doesn’t matter,” Annette said. “Nice ones. Very nice suitors. Who don’t eavesdrop. Or tease me. Or hoard all the tea cakes for themselves.”
Felix looked down at the table in surprise. Dorothea had in fact left a giant stack of tea cakes next to his left elbow. She’d also left two separate sugar bowls next to his right elbow. The fleeting touch of hands while passing the tray from one person to the other would have been irresistibly romantic, like something out of a three-volume novel with the happiest of endings. Evidently, Annette hadn’t thought to ask Felix to pass her the sugar bowl, and Felix hadn’t thought to offer.
“Are you more of a fan of pink cakes than you are of pink flowers?” Annette asked. “It’s raspberry jam in the middle, you know. The best kind of jam.”
“If you say so,” Felix said.
“Aren’t you going to try one?”
Felix leaned back in his chair, crossing his arms and glaring. “I don’t like sweet things,” he said. “And I don’t really like to snack between meals. It shows a lack of self-control.”
“That’s the stupidest thing I’ve ever heard in my life,” Annette said. “And tea is a meal.”
“Not it’s not,” Felix said. “And no it’s not,” he added for good measure.
“Well I think it’s dreadful for someone to keep all the tea cakes for themselves, especially if they’re not even going to eat them!” Annette said. “Dreadful and wicked and evil.”
“It’s not Lonato’s son, is it?” Felix asked, not seeming to notice Annette’s pointed glare. “Or Holst’s sister? Or Holst himself? I don’t see why anyone would want to marry Holst; he’s only good at axes, you know. Terrible with a sword.”
Annette stood suddenly, sending spoons clattering against saucers and flinging crumbs to the floor.
“How dare you come here and tell me what to do when you won’t even –” she cut off, balling her hands into fists and turning on her heel again. “I’m going for to get some air. In the east garden. And you had better not follow me .” She made it all the way to the back door before turning again. “The east garden is out this door and to the left,” she explained helpfully, before exiting with a huff.
Felix had risen to his feet, but it took him a moment to collect himself. He looked around the now-empty sitting room, and then looked down at the tea cakes by his left elbow, as if they would help him somehow. With a huff that was more of a growl than Annette’s had been, he stalked over to the back and flung it open, leaving without looking back.
Yuri strolled over to the back windows, watching silently. This time, he wasn’t surprised when Dorothea was suddenly, somehow, standing behind him, peering over his shoulder.
“Lady Annette did mention the garden was down the path to the left,” she said, her voice remarkably even.
“She was very clear on that point,” Yuri agreed.
“And yet, Lord Fraldarius went –”
“Down the path and to the right,” Yuri agreed. “Perhaps he needed to clear his head.
Dorothea sighed, flopping onto a footstool and resting her chin in her hands.
“I really thought they’d be better at this,” she said. “Not good at this, per se, but better.” She frowned, looking forlornly out the window. “Perhaps if Lord Rodrigue decides to stay for dinner, we could always arrange the seating so that –”
“Absolutely not. Time for Plan C,” Yuri said.
Dorothea looked surprised. “I don’t really have a Plan C yet, Yuri, darling,” she admitted.
“I do,” Yuri said shortly.
He walked towards the doors to the main hall, which had hidden him so well for the excruciating last half-hour. “Make me a list of every suitor Baron Dominic is considering, and why you don’t like them,” he said. “I’m going to get changed.”
“Get changed?” Dorothea asked. “I don’t see how you’re going to do much good as a chef.”
Yuri waved the question away. “Dorothea, please,” he said with a smile. “I’ve always been able one who can wear many different hats.”
***
Felix didn’t know how long he walked down the cobblestone path outside the Dominic manor house. He didn’t stop until he found a covered bridge leading over a babbling creek. The whole thing was disgustingly picturesque. He found himself picturing Miss Annette Dominic taking her morning walks across this bridge, the sunlight shining on her hair as she hummed a song to herself about bears or steak dinners or –
Felix growled in frustration and kicked a rock into the stream.
He didn’t understand her at all.
Ingrid and Sylvain had both insisted that Miss Dominic would be pleased to see him. That nice girls like Miss Dominic wouldn’t dance four times with someone at a ball unless they wanted him to call on them at a later date. Felix had been perfectly content to ignore them, as he always did, but he’d found himself whistling her music while tending to his horse and polishing his sword collection. And really, if she was so interested in seeing him again, it did seem possible she’d tell him what happened in the second verse of the library song. He’d spotted a piano in the corner of their sitting room. He’d been eager to ask her if she had any piece prepared.
And then she’d run away again. And it didn’t seem at all that she was pleased to see him.
Felix sighed and kicked another rock into the stream. He despised these sort of idle visits for a reason. It would have been much better to stay home and work on his sword work. At any rate, he should go find his father and insist they get on the road as soon as possible. There was no reason to stay in Dominic any longer than they –
A hand pushed in between Felix’s shoulder blades and slammed him up against the stone archway of the bridge, interrupting his thoughts and knocking him off balance.
“What on – unhand me, you craven cur!” Felix said, twisting to look over his shoulder.
“Fraldarius. Stop struggling, and listen to me,” a voice hissed in his ear.
A masked, cloaked figure pushed him up against the archway of the bridge, halfway hidden in the shadows. He didn’t appear to be armed, and Felix was sure he could take him in a fair fight, but he had the leverage of surprise.
Felix tried to kick him. The shadowy figure dodged.
“You need to be more honest with Miss Dominic,” the figure said.
“Miss Domi – honest?” Felix demanded. The mention of Annette was so unexpected he forgot his plan of attack to elbow the shadowy figure in the ribs. “I’ve been perfectly honest with her! If she wants to like flowers and raspberry cakes and all that, fine. But I’m not going to pretend I care about it.”
“I mean honest with her about your feelings.”
Felix froze. “I never – I wouldn’t – you don’t know what –” he spluttered. He finally remembered to lash out with his elbow, making fairly solid contact with the masked figure. The man let out a satisfying “oof” of pain, but didn’t let go of him. “Let go of me and fight me like a man, you coward!”
“If you are not honest with Miss Dominic about your feelings, there will be consequences,” the man said.
“Who are you?” Felix demanded. “I’ve heard of you – are you that Death Knight everyone talks about? If you go anywhere near her, I swear to Sothis I’ll find you and –”
“Her uncle is planning to invite Randolph Bergliez to visit next week,” the Death Knight (that was probably his name) said. “He hopes to arrange a match by next moon.”
He let go of Felix as he said this, but Felix forgot he was going to try to punch the man. He stumbled back, leaning against the bridge for balance.
“What?” he gasped. “He wouldn’t.”
“Go tell her how you feel. Right now,” the Death Knight said sharply. “I won’t ask again.”
He took a step back, disappearing more into the shadows. Remembering a final thing, he turned back and looked over his shoulder.
“And if you don’t do it by tonight, I’ll poison your wine,” he added. “Don’t try to follow me.”
He was gone before Felix could argue.
Felix thought about pursuing him, but he stopped before he could make it under the bridge. He peered at his reflection in the stream, which glared back at him. His hand was clenching at his side, where a sword should have been.
A sword may have helped him chase off this craven Death Knight – or whoever he was. But it wouldn’t chase away his words.
“Bergliez. . .” he mumbled to himself, clenching his hands into fists.
He turned and hurried away from the bridge, leaving the picturesque sun and stream behind him.
He wasn’t sure how long it would take to get to the east garden, but he knew he no longer had time to waste.
***
Yuri didn’t bother changing back into the servant’s uniform. That one Dorothea had found for him had been a size too large, anyways. And from the sound of things, the Fraldariuses were going to be staying for dinner, after all. He’d be needed in the kitchens soon enough.
He found Dorothea standing on the edge of the eastern gardens, hidden behind a topiary that had been fashioned into the shape of a giant lizard. She was sipping on a glass of wine as she watched Felix and Annette, who were holding hands and speaking in low, urgent tones. Annette beamed up at Felix, finally smiling for the first time that day. Felix looked back at her as if she was the sun itself.
“Stealing from the wine cellars again?” Yuri asked, sidling up to Dorothea.
“Stealing from you,” she corrected. “I found it behind your stash of books.”
She held out the glass and Yuri took it from her. He took a sip. It had been a long day.
“Excellent vintage, I’ll admit,” she said as he handed the glass back to her.
“I’ll borrow some more before the wedding,” Yuri said. “I’m sure the Baron will want to restock if they’re hosting half of Faerghus nobility.”
He watched as Felix leaned down to kiss Annette’s forehead. When she lifted up on her tiptoes to return the gesture, he decided it best to look away.
“You could always come with us to Fraldarius,” Dorothea said. “I’m sure Annette will bring more than just one maid.”
“Tempting,” said Yuri. “But I was so looking forward to those letters from you. And I’m sure you’ll be wildly curious to know what’s going on in Dominic.”
“We make a fine team,” Dorothea said. “Or a fine network.”
“I’ll drink to that,” Yuri said.
Dorothea took the final sip of her wine and smiled. “I thought you’d never ask,” she said. “Let’s go find you a glass.”
They walked off arm in arm, in search of pilfered wine and half-read books and hidden alcoves where they could disappear into the shadows once more. Yuri was content to leave Felix Fraldarius and Annette Dominic to the gardens and the setting sun and the stars that would soon appear in the sky.
The stars would keep their secrets, and so would Yuri.
And from now on, he was sure, everyone could find their happily ever after on their own.