Cursed: Gowns & Crowns, Book 5 Page 19

  “I’m not your puppet anymore, Silas,” Edeena snapped, her voice shaking with anger. “I’m doing this for my sisters, not you. Even if the extended Saleri family does recognize it as some kind of end of the curse, you won’t get what you want.”

  “You’re wrong,” Silas retorted, and once again she saw the whisper of anguish in his face, quickly quelled. “This curse has followed me since I was born, the same way it has followed past generations of Saleris since the Andrises usurped our position and rose to power. With its abolition, it will not taint the future.”

  She stared at him, uncomprehending. “But Marguerite, Caroline and I are the future of the Saleris, yet you’ve done all you can to force us into unhappiness. What part of the future are you so desperate to protect?”

  Vince made the realization before Edeena could. Silas no longer had any concern for his older, capable daughters. He was worried only for his unborn daughter. For what the curse might do to her.

  “Sir,” he said sharply. “I think the important thing here is that it’s Edeena’s choice how to move forward. If you’ve finished with us here, I can help her return to the dais.

  Silas swung to look at him, his black eyes almost verging on the edge of mania. Vince had never seen anything like it.

  “I’ll make the announcement,” Edeena said quietly, drawing her father’s attention once again. “But I’m not going to make it from the dais inside.” She pointed to the small dance floor with its tiered sections that had been set up in the middle of the grassy courtyard. “I’ll make it there.”

  Silas spluttered. “Oh for God’s—”

  “Good,” Vince said, his booming voice making both Saleris jump. He held Silas’s gaze. “It’s the right call. She makes the announcement out here, and it’s symbolic of bringing all of the glitter from inside to mix with the general public. Even though there’s nothing general about this public. Every one of the families here is linked to the nobility in some way or another, I’m thinking.”

  Silas drew himself up stiffly. “The Saleri family is one of the proudest traditions in Garronia. Of course every branch of it is linked to the nobility.”

  “Well, her making her announcement in front of God, the world, and everybody is going to make that statement carry even more weight, then,” Vince said brusquely. “It’s a show, but it’s a show you guys have been waiting to put on for a long time. Might as well do it right.”

  He wheeled Edeena away and she took a few steps, enough for him to turn back to Silas and speak to him in relative quiet.

  “If you touch her or her sisters ever again, I will personally take you apart,” he said, watching as Silas’s perpetually morose expression was replaced by something else—indignation, and even the start of outrage. Good. “And I have the backing of the queen to make that happen.”

  It wasn’t an empty threat, and Silas seemed to know it. Queen Catherine had not been idle during her turn around the ballroom with Vince. She’d spoken quickly and assuredly, and he had no doubt she’d meant what she’d said. Vince was hereby no longer to be paid by the Saleri family to ensure the security of Marguerite and Caroline back in South Carolina. He would be paid by the Crown. As such, he had the authority of the Crown to take whatever measures were necessary to ensure the safety of the two women.

  He’d agreed, of course, but he couldn’t help being annoyed at the same time. The queen had seemed to assume that Edeena’s new husband, whoever he may be, would be enough to assure her security. That he’d have the money and social standing to oppose anything Silas might try. Vince wasn’t so sure about that, but there’d only been so much time for him to process and respond to the queen’s commands.

  Still, Silas appeared unbowed. “There are four daughters in the generation,” he said, curling his lip. “The first three are damaged. Failures. I can do no more with them. Instead, I will lift up the fourth to restore the family to our rightful glory.”

  Vince stared at him. “Failures?” He positively spat the word. “Seems to me Edeena’s doing everything you wanted.”

  “Not the way I wanted it, not the way it should and must be done.” Silas held up an imperious hand. “The Saleris are a proud and ancient family, and we will prevail--eventually. But I’ll take no more part in this charade. It is finished.”

  The older man pivoted on his heel and moved away, saving Vince the need to deck him. Edeena was going to prove her father wrong, of course. She’d save the family, no matter the cost to herself.

  Vince moved beside Edeena protectively, shouldering them both through the crowd as she kept her attention on the gazebo. As they moved through successive pools of people, he noticed the attention of the crowd fixing them with increasing intensity. Edeena was certainly the woman of the hour, and the ball was well underway. They’d be expecting her to make her announcement soon, and her presence out here simply fanned those expectations.

  The closer they got to the gazebo though, the slower Edeena seemed to move. Her hand gripped his arm tightly, and he realized she was trembling. Something shifted hard in Vince’s chest. Despite his dedication to helping her to be strong, he found his own courage was flagging. Not because he didn’t think Edeena couldn’t make the best of her situation, though. If anything, it was because he knew she would.

  Just then a small space opened up between them and the gazebo. He hissed a sigh of relief. Almost there.

  “Prince Rallis!”

  Both Edeena and Vince froze as a voice boomed across the clearing, then they turned as one. How had he ever allowed that stupid nickname to take hold in a country where being a prince actually meant something? Back in the states, his name had been a benevolent joke, here it was rapidly becoming a liability.

  Still, it had the effect of getting his attention, and he recognized the speaker at the same time Edeena did.

  “Guillarmo,” Vince said, nodding quickly. He half shielded Edeena with his body as he stepped forward to shake the man’s hand. “I didn’t know I’d see you again so soon, but I’m glad of it. With so many strangers in this courtyard, it’s good to see a familiar face.”

  “Agreed.” The man turned to Edeena and bowed to her, speaking in rapid and effusive Garronois. The words startled, but seemed to delight Edeena, and she relaxed a little bit, to Vince’s intense relief.

  Guillarmo turned to Vince again. “I told her she was good to have found you, that it spoke well of her character that she made such well-considered choices in her friends.”

  Vince grinned. “You managed to get the rest of the trees cleared without incident?”

  “Trees cleared and roofs reinforced. If the seas wish to vent their rage again anytime soon, we’ll be prepared.”

  “I’m glad to hear it,” Vince said. Guillarmo clapped his hand on his back and half-turned, raising his hands to his mouth to strengthen his cry.

  “Tsipouro!”

  “Oh, well . . .” Edeena’s startled glance met Vince’s and she frowned, but there seemed to be nothing for it. Guillarmo waved off their worry.

  “Indulge an old man, eh?” he asked with a wink. “There will be time enough for doing your duty, Countess Saleri. Life is also meant to be enjoyed.”

  “Of course,” Edeena said, recovering gracefully. She smiled gamely as more of the townspeople worked their way through the crowd, two or three of them waving bottles of the clear, fragrant spirits. Glasses appeared and quick work was made of pouring out the libations, all of them raising their glasses at once.

  “To celebration and good fortune,” Guillarmo said, repeating the words in Garronois and waiting until they were announced back to him before he tossed back the fiery drink. Vince touched his glass to Edeena’s, then brought his glass to his lips, stopping only when he realized her gaze was transfixed on him.

  “What is it?” he lowered the glass and took a step closer, and she shook her head.

  “Nothing! Nothing,” she said. She lifted her glass to him, then she also drank, Vince following her lead.


  The spell that had been dragging her down appeared to be broken, however, and as he finished his drink Edeena was once more smiling.

  “You ready now?” he asked and she nodded. There were too many other people around for her to say much more, and they moved the short distance up the walk until they finally reached the gazebo.

  Edeena mounted the steps quickly. Vince moved with her. The small platform was packed with people as well, but he suspected it would clear quickly enough when the time came. For now, he and Edeena were safe, cocooned against the outside world. And the look on her face indicated she knew it.

  “It’s funny, isn’t it?” she asked, gazing out over the crowd. “In some ways, I’ve been waiting for this moment my entire life. Waiting for the test to happen, the judgment to be made. I’ll announce who I’d like to wed and . . . what? The ground will open beneath us? The sea will rise up out of its bed?” She shook her head ruefully. “I have a sneaking suspicion no one will even notice. Father’s already left, like he’s already given up on me.”

  Vince grimaced, hating the pain in her voice. So, she had noticed Silas’s departure—of course she had.

  “I’ll notice,” he said, staunchly. “Your sisters will. The king and queen will, too. Somewhere in this throng of people there have to be Saleris as well. They’ll notice, Edeena, they will. It may not be enough for them to stand together, but it will be a start. And that’s more than anyone else has given them up to now—in longer than anyone can remember, I suspect.”

  She smiled at him, and he knew he’d said the right thing. Then his heart sank as she straightened her shoulders.

  “I’m ready now,” she said. “Please, somehow, get me a microphone.”

  Vince signaled and the order was relayed as his phone crackled. He drew it out of his coat pocket, scanning the screen quickly.

  Then he froze.

  The text was from Rob, but what he’d typed couldn’t possibly be true.

  Problem. Drunk suitor just blabbed. Says Silas has rigged tonight’s outcome. Wants new baby daughter to break curse. Anyone Edeena chooses will reject her. Curse will stand til he breaks it on his terms.

  Silas’s own words returned to taunt Vince. I’ll take no more part in this charade. It is finished. Shock and anger seared through him, but as he looked up, he saw the truth of it. The men who’d been in the line with him and Edeena at the dance a few nights ago had a different air about them now. Some were nervous, some were smug. Some simply looked resigned.

  None of them looked like the way they should, like men about to be given the greatest gift anyone could ask for, the loyalty of a woman as remarkable and beautiful and strong as Edeena Saleri. They expected to make a fool of her.

  Not on my watch.

  Chapter Twenty

  Edeena had entered a strange and surreal place. Distantly, she watched Vince fish his phone from his pocket, unsurprised that he’d already worked out the logistics of her announcement no matter where she made it. A few moments later, a castle staffer hurried through the crowd and approached the gazebo, mounting the few steps and stopping in front of her with a lavalier microphone. He pinned it to the bodice of her dress with quick efficiency, rattling off instructions.

  The crowd was swelling now, and she smiled automatically, looking out over it. She could see several of her supposed suitors in the throng—good men, capable men. Then she looked at Vince. He was standing not three feet away, solid, sure, and capable, the way he’d been solid, sure and capable since she’d first strode off that airplane in Charleston. He’d taken her and his sisters into his careful hands from the very first moment, and had stood by through every adventure, big and small, never once making her feel silly, stupid or small.

  “Are you ready, Countess?” the staffer asked.

  She nodded, but Vince strode forward, causing the staffer to shift to the side. “Is this on?” he asked gruffly.

  “No sir, not yet.”

  “Good. Give us a minute.”

  In the newly-cleared space of the gazebo, Vince fairly dragged Edeena to the side, his hands warm on her, his manner tense. From the look on his face she could tell he was thinking furiously, selecting and rejecting things to say in rapid succession.

  “What?” she demanded, steadying herself against him. “What’s wrong?”

  Something in his face put her instantly on edge. It was a flash of—what? Pity? Anger? Outrage? But not for himself, she realized quickly. It was outrage for her.

  Now it was her turn to race through the possibilities. He’d escorted her all the way here, supporting her at every turn, and now he was having cold feet? That wasn’t possible. He wouldn’t do that to her, not as her security detail, not as her friend.

  Which meant he was still protecting her. But from what?

  “Edeena,” Vince said, and his voice was gravelly. “I . . . I can’t let you go through with this.”

  She frowned. “Why not?”

  She didn’t think it would be for the reason she wanted. She didn’t think it was because he was about to prostrate himself in front of her, and declare his undying love.

  Right?

  Even the possibility sent her heart rate soaring, but Vince was too grim for a wide-eyed declaration of love. Too serious.

  “What’s going on, Vince?” she managed. Her carefully prepared bubble of happiness was quickly losing its ebullience, wavering under the hard glare of the lights. “What’s happening?”

  He blew out a long breath. “Look. I’m not going to lie to you Edeena. That’s not the way I’ve ever worked, not the way I want to be, even with you—especially with you. So I’m going to give this to you straight.” He tightened his lips. “You’re about to be set up.”

  Of all the things he could have said, she hadn’t expected that. “What?”

  “Set up, made a fool of,” Vince snapped, as if that was the part she was having difficulty understanding. He explained the rest of it quickly enough, however. “Your father apparently didn’t like the way you were handling things after you spoke at the matchmaking dance the other night, so he took matters into his own hands. The man you pick—whoever you pick—is going to reject you.”

  She stared at him. “What do you mean, reject me? Tonight? In front of all these people?”

  “Tonight,” Vince nodded. “The moment you choose, most likely. He’ll lose some face, or maybe he won’t. I’m not sure what the protocols are here. These men aren’t under any obligation, right?”

  “No, but . . .” Edeena could only stare at him, her voice dropping to a whisper. “No one’s ever done that before. The family . . . I mean, the curse is going to stand, then. All this time, all this effort, and Silas would rather keep the curse going than let it fall, because I stood up to him? And then, by law, he can choose my husband. He will choose my husband, too—simply out of spite.” She drew breath to say something more, then faltered. “How can he hate me so much?”

  “Oh, sweetheart.” Edeena blinked, shocked at the endearment in a public place, but Vince continued as if it was the most natural thing in the world for him to say. “He doesn’t hate you, he doesn’t. Not specifically. But he’s one of those people who has built up so much fear and anger in his world, so much of a sense of entitlement, of being wronged, that he sees defeat at every turn. I don’t know why he became the man he did. Maybe he has every reason to be bitter. Maybe he feels, even now, that life is doing him a disservice, and that you are the one standing in his way, that you’re the one who symbolizes everything that’s held him back his whole life.”

  “But I . . . I would never . . .”

  “Shhh,” Vince said, dipping his head forward so that their foreheads touched. It wasn’t an intimate move, not really. It was perfectly respectable gesture. Yet when Vince did it, it was as if he was wrapping her in a warm hug. “It doesn’t matter what your intentions are, Edeena. Your father isn’t lashing out at you, he’s lashing out at the world. He wants control more than he wants happiness. I suspect he’s
been that way his whole life.”

  “Yes, but . . .” Edeena pulled back from him, schooling her face into an expression of bright joy, all the more jarring for how false it was. “What am I going to say to all these people? They’re expecting me to announce a betrothal, and they all know why I must. This . . . this whole thing has become a joke, Vince. A joke. And my sisters are going to have to live with the embarrassment of this night for the rest of their lives. They’re going to feel like they need to make it up to me somehow, when the whole point of everything was for me to be able to cut them a break, for me to make their way easier.”

  She glanced quickly to the crowd but couldn’t see her sisters in the mix. She knew they would be there though. They’d be standing in solidarity, the stalwart Caroline and impetuous Marguerite, their hands clasped, their eyes shining, and they’d be waiting for her to name some young man in the crowd.

  And then that man . . . that man would stand forward and make a laughingstock of her.

  She closed her eyes. “You’re sure?” she asked. Vince’s sigh told her everything she needed to know before he spoke.

  “The texts keep coming in. I thought something wasn’t making sense about the setup of this thing, the energy. But I didn’t expect it to go down like this, I truly didn’t.”

  “I’m going to have to say something though.” Edeena tightened her lips. “What am I going to say?”

  Vince made to speak again, his face fierce with fury and protection, and she stepped back, suddenly resolute.

  “No,” she said. “This is my problem. I’ll handle it.”

  “You don’t have to do everything yourself,” Vince said, but she shook her head.

  “Who else will do it with me, Vince? You said it yourself. Every man who participated in that event has been reached by my father. Whether he coerced them, flattered them, intimidated them, it doesn’t matter. They’ve thrown in their lots with him and left the Saleri family, the future of our family, to be solved by some future generation, some future woman. And I wanted to solve it. I wanted to protect my family, to keep them safe. Was that so wrong?” She glanced at him, only to find that he’d gone a bit blurry with the tears building in her eyes. “Would you have done anything differently?”