But Julian would know, because he was there.
In another life, being near Nicholas would have given me enough reason to want to stay.
But he’d made his feelings about me clear. And I had other priorities.
My gaze slid to Elva, playing with her dolls at the foot of the bed.
“I don’t want to play house,” I said. “Nor do I want to partake in this game of undercutting nobles and
chasing princes.”
I had been away from nobility for a long time, but I hadn’t forgotten their cutthroat politics, where an action as small as selecting the wrong utensil at dinner could start a blood feud. Backstabbing, betrayals, pretending to be nice just to make someone vulnerable…
The memories made my already tired body even more exhausted.
immediately reclaimed my attention. She recovered quickly this time, thank God, and
overhear, I said to Julian, “My daughter is frail and sick
chin. “Piper, you realize this is
“Yes, but-
here, wouldn’t you have access to
I froze.
thought of that. Would the royal family truly be willing to
must have seen the disbelief on my face. “While you are here, you are under the care of my
sick child would surely be
would be horrible, be
being so generous
know
asked him, Julian laughed. A roguish light
more brown than gold, with no
not so different than I was
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