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A numberof people have gathered around the lake. They must have been transfixed by the spectacle of me rescuing Emily. Chatter rises up all at once as we near the shore, each person offering assistance and asking questions in a mix of Russian and Croatian.
Among the group I spot a short, older woman with soft curves and blonde braids worn in coils on her head.
“Ivica!” I call out. “Help me.”
My head housekeeper hurries over to help me. But Emily wrenches away from both of us, her eyes narrowing in fierce slits.
“Easy now, dear,” Ivica cautions.
“Get her cleaned up,” I say gently. “Fresh clothes. Warm drinks. You know what to do.”
Ivica nods emphatically.
Turning on my heel, I stride over the grass toward the castle, my socks squishing loudly in my shoes. I’m a goddamn mess, but the wind that strokes over my soaked clothes has no chill to it.
The warmth in me is firmly embedded in my veins.
Inside the castle, I pass by the mirror from earlier. This time, instead of my haggard face, I notice something else.
I’m still smiling.
Wiping the expression away, I smooth my damp hair off my forehead and sigh. Emily has a strong spirit. I’ll have to stay on my toes around her. But as determined as she was to escape, I’m more determined to stop her.
This isn’t the first time she’s run from me.
But it will be the last.
21
EMILY
“That’s it,dear. Lift up your arms.”
I do as I’m told, but I’m moving on autopilot.
The woman, whom Konstantin referred to as Ivica, tosses my wet shirt into a basket.
“My goodness, you are soaked,” she says. “Surprised there aren’t fish in your ears.”
She’s been saying one folksy phrase after another ever since walking me back into the castle. I’m obeying because … well. I’m just too damn tired to fight anyone at this point.
Physically and mentally.
“Pants next.” She speaks like someone used to getting her way. Without lifting my eyes from my wrinkled toes, I peel my pants down my legs. She tosses those aside and passes me a fluffy brown towel. “Dry yourself before you catch a cold.”
“That’s a myth,” I mumble.
She blinks. “What’s that, dear?”
“You don’t catch a coldbecauseyou’re cold.” Hugging the towel tighter, I sit on the end of the queen-sized bed. Directly in front of me is the big window with its lovely view of the lake.
I turn to the left to stare at the wall instead.
Ivica sighs under her breath. “Well, my mother told me that a bad chill can make you weak to sickness, and she was never wrong about anything. Here, let me get you some dry clothes.”
She swings her wide hips on her way to the wardrobe. The way she opens the drawers, gathering things, it’s obvious she knows where everything is. She could retrieve them even if she was blind.
I push my damp hair from my face. “What are you, his maid?”
