Luciana took a slow, deep breath. Her sister was right about one thing. She had to be strong. There was no point in lamenting over her fate. She would have to marry the Beast. And the gorgeous man with the red hair and black horse would be relegated to her dreams.
Her life wouldn’t be that bad, she assured herself. She would keep herself and her father alive. She and her sisters had devised a way to correspond with each other, so she would have their letters to look forward to. And she had a beautiful man to dream about. If she kept him secretly in her heart, no one could take him away from her. As her dream man, he could be perfect. He would think she was beautiful and strong. He would believe in her.
Feeling much better, she stood and looked around the large room. Tatiana was hovering by the bedside table, attempting to touch a stack of notes. She hissed each time her hand passed through them.
“What are those?” Luciana approached her.
With a frown, Tatiana crossed her arms. “Why should I tell you? What could you possibly know about true love?”
“You have a secret admirer?”
Tatiana scoffed. “My life is far more dramatic than that. If you must know, I’ve been having a glorious love affair. With Alberto, the captain of the guard.”
Luciana tried not to let any shock register on her face. After all, she was already harboring a secret dream man in her heart, so she was in no position to judge. Her father had included the captain of the guard’s name on his long list, so she attempted to recall it. “Captain Booger?”
“It’s Bougaire!” Tatiana stomped a foot silently. “No one ever says his name correctly. My poor Alberto. It’s tragic enough that I can never touch him again. Now I can’t even hold his letters.”
“I could read them to you,” Luciana offered.
“No! They’re mine.”
Luciana gathered them up and headed toward the hearth.
“Wait!” Tatiana followed her. “What are you doing?”
“I have to marry a Beast whose touch could kill me. It is far too dangerous for me to keep love letters from another man.”
“We—we could hide them,” Tatiana suggested.
“It’s safer to be rid of them.” Luciana dumped the notes in front of the fireplace.
“You can’t burn them!”
As Luciana picked up a lit candlestick from the nearby table, a terrible thought occurred to her. “Did you write letters to Captain Booger?”
“It’s Bougaire!” Tatiana huffed. “And yes, of course I did. I love him.”
Luciana’s heart sank. “You’re going to get me killed.”
“No!” Tatiana looked aghast. “Alberto would never use them against me. He loves me!”
With a sigh, Luciana sat in front of the empty hearth, then set the candlestick on the floor beside her.
“No,” Tatiana wailed.
“I have to.” Luciana held a letter over the flame, then tossed the burning note into the fireplace.
“My poor Alberto,” Tatiana whispered. “How will he live without me?”
Luciana picked up another note, then hesitated when she saw a tear roll down her sister’s cheek. “I’m sorry. I can’t afford to make the Beast angry. He could kill Father. With that huge army, he could even destroy Vindemar.”
“Fine!” Tatiana waved a hand in the air. “Burn them! It doesn’t matter. Alberto’s love for me will never die.”
“That’s good.” Luciana lit the rest of the notes and tossed them into the fireplace.
There was a knock on the door, then Gabriella walked in with a tray of food. As Luciana returned the candlestick to the table, she noticed her guard was back at the door. And Tatiana had disappeared.
Her maid set the tray on the table, then drew a note from her pocket. “A letter from His Grace. I’ll be back for the tray in a little while.”
“Thank you.” As the maid left, Luciana broke the wax seal with her father’s insignia and unfolded the letter.
My beloved daughter, the note began, and Luciana smiled at the way her father avoided calling her by the wrong name.
I will be conferring with General Harden for the next few hours. There will be a banquet tonight and a celebratory mass tomorrow morning that you will need to attend. Please be sure to go to confession today.
All my love, Father.
Luciana sighed, then read the note again. Who was this General Harden? Captain Harden’s father, perhaps? Whoever he was, she would probably meet him at the banquet.
The thought of going to confession made her groan. So far, she’d avoided having anything to do with the priests who worshipped the Light. As she ate her soup, she recalled the lines her father had taught her to say. And his warning that she not confess anything serious.
With a sigh, she rose to her feet. There was no point in putting this off. She strode to the door of her bedchamber and found her guard standing outside.
“I’m going to the chapel,” she informed him.
He bowed. “I will accompany you, my lady.”
She started down the hall and wondered again what had happened to her new friend, Pirate. She slanted a look at her guard. If he was going to be her shadow, she might as well be friendly with him. “What is your name?”
He blushed. “Jensen, my lady.”
“Thank you for watching over me.”
They started down the stairs, but when they reached the landing, she spotted Captain Bougaire coming up the stairs.