The mountainof blue dresses on my bed reached nearly to the canopy, and there wasn’t a garment left in the empty armoire. I’d never cared much for fashion, choosing modesty over flash. But tonight, I wasn’t happy with anything.
I wanted to look well. I wanted to be beautiful. To bemagnificent.
Eventually I settled on a dress the color of Rían’s eyes, embellished with gold thread along the sweetheart neckline.
I couldn’t wait for him to see me in it—and out of it. The frilly lace undergarments I wore beneath looked suspiciously like the ones he had bought that day in Graystones.
I didn’t want the prince thinking of anything or anyone else tonight.
Tonight, I wanted all of his attention on me.
After what had happened in the dungeon, I wasn’t sure how he’d act when he saw me again. Then he’d shown up at my door an hour ago, inviting me to dinner. It was the first time he’d asked me to dine with the rest of them. The idea of not having to eat alone in my room was nearly as thrilling as imagining what tonight would bring after dinner ended.
Ruairi was the only one in the parlor, standing with a glass of green liquid in his hand, watching the flames in the fireplace dance. His waistcoat wasn’t buttoned, but he looked as if he’d bathed and combed his hair.
When I walked in, he saluted me with his glass before taking a deep gulp. “It’s about time he let ye out of that room at night.”
I poured myself a glass of green wine from the bottle on the mantle. “I can be very convincing.”
He took the bottle from me to top up his own drink. “Lots of convincing goin’ on down in the dungeons these days.”
I choked when I sipped but managed to keep from spewing the disgusting drink into the fire. So much for keeping us a secret from Ruairi.
Returning the bottle to the mantle, he grinned as he raised his own glass in a toast. “Think yer man will run me through fer sayin’ yer lookin’ well?”
“Probably.” I laughed, tapping my glass against his. “But I won’t tell him if you don’t.”
Ruairi pretended to lock his lips and throw the “key” into the fire.
“Where are the others?” According to the clock beside the drinks cart, it was half past. Rían should’ve been here thirty minutes ago.
“A lady showed up not an hour ago askin’ fer Tadhg. Because of his . . . em . . .situation, Rían is meeting with her instead.”
“What situation?” Why couldn’t Tadhg deal with it himself?
“It’s his curse.”
“What about his curse?”
The moment the question left my lips, Tadhg strolled into the room in what appeared to be a clean pair of breeches and black braces. His dark green shirt, although wrinkled, had no visible stains.
“I am a whore, Aveen,” he said, selecting a glass from the drinks cart by the window and withdrawing the stopper from a decanter of clear liquid. “Cursed to be used and cast aside for all of eternity,” he explained, pouring himself a glass. His nailtap tap tappedagainst the crystal. “While I do not always have a choice about whom I am forced to sleep with, this castle is the one place I am safe from unwanted advances.” He downed the drink in one go and slammed the glass back onto the cart. “Andthatis why my brother meets with women in my stead.”
With that, Tadhg turned on his heel and sauntered back out of the room.
No wonder Tadhg had locked himself away when Keelynn first died.
Nothing in this blasted land was what it seemed.
I dropped onto the settee, splattering wine onto my skirts. Ruairi settled himself beside me, stretching a long arm across the back of the cushions.
“Any other curses I should know about?” I glared sidelong at him. “Are you cursed too?”
“We’re all cursed,” he drawled, cradling his glass against his chest. “I love those I cannot have, and you love a heartless, bastard prince.”
I didnotlove Rían.
I loved having sex with him. And I loved it when he was ridiculous. But I wasn’t foolish enough to give my heart away to a villain.