Page 60 of Hollow Court
The corner of his mouth tugged ever so slightly upward, though the expression was more subdued than usual. I got the feeling what he wanted to tease me about was whether I was desolate inhisabsence.
So, I gave him my most saccharine smile. “I hardly had time to notice, what with your entire harem here to keep me company.”
A barely perceptible wince crossed his features. He opened his mouth, but I realized I didn’t actually want to hear whatever he had to say on the subject, so I cut in.
“Don’t think I didn’t notice you avoided the question.”
He ran a hand through his hair, managing to only make it look more styled rather than less.
“It was more or less what we expected. I can give you the details after dinner.” His eyes darkened with an emotion I couldn’t read, and he seemed to scrutinize me even more intensely than before.
“Is something else wrong?” I glanced down to check that everything was in place.
My gown was one of the new ones, but it had been made in the Lochlannian style. It was navy with paler blue stitching, and I couldn’t help but wonder if the coordination with his own clothing was intentional.
He cleared his throat, blinking to clear his expression. “I’m just surprised that you like the Lochlannian style dresses.”
“I don’t,” I admitted.
At least with Davin, I didn’t have to bother with the pretense of politeness. It would almost have been a relief, if everything else about his presence hadn’t been so storms-blasted frustrating.
“Then why did you have it made that way?” he asked with a raised eyebrow.
“You said that appearances were important,” I reminded him, a trace of impatience in my tone. “That I needed to be…relatable.”
His lips pursed, and without another word, he disappeared into my closet.
“Davin!” I chastised him. “You know, when I thought you were a commoner, you had an excuse for your general lack of propriety, but now I know you very much don’t.”
“Blame it on my upbringing,” he called, amusement in his tone.
I shook my head, though he couldn’t see me. “I’ll be sure and share that with Princess Jocelyn.”
He emerged carrying a pale blue scarf, the exact shade of the stitching in my gown.
“I see you’ve already sussed out which of my parents is more terrifying,” he said drily.
Without waiting for a response, he crossed the distance to me, looping the scarf around once, then twice, before draping it artfully over my shoulders.
He didn’t directly touch my skin, but I felt the ghost of his fingertips trailing along my collarbone.
“I’m fairly certain this isn’t what anyone down there is wearing,” I told him quietly.
His answering smirk was all arrogance. “It will be after tonight.”
The worst part was, he wasn’t wrong. If I had learned anything after spending several days with the arriving courtiers, it was that Davin was an extremely important figure to the social scene here, upcoming votes notwithstanding.
If his betrothed showed up wearing a scarf with her dress, probably half the court would be wearing one tomorrow.
“What was it you wanted to discuss?” I turned away to put my earrings on and take a welcome reprieve from his presence.
“The rebels,” he said, his tone darker than it had been a moment ago.
“What about them?” I asked, catching his haunted expression in the mirror.
“We did, in fact, catch traitors as part of the fun we experienced on the road. Until we know for sure that we have them all, someone will need to accompany you when you leave your rooms. I’ll be assigning someone I trust to guard you when you’re not with me or Gwyn.”
I fastened the silver-and-pearl drops into my ears before turning back to him.