I couldn’t argue with that. Gideon was skulking around somewhere—and the last thing I wanted was to wake with him standing over us. But that didn’t mean I had to be all grateful about the accommodations. “Fine,” I huffed. “As long as you have the servants change your sheets—
Vee’s elbow dug between my ribs to pummel my kidney. When we got home, I was going to duct tape a pair of elbow pads to her arms. With a toss of her shiny chestnut hair, she curtsied to the prince. “Thank you, Prince—eh—your highness, sir.”
He reached for Vee’s hand. When she gave it to him, he bent to brush a chaste kiss across her knuckles. He straightened with a grin, his bewitching eyes darting from Vee to me. “You needn’t stand on formalities with me. Please, call me Duncan.”
Faced with his smug, lopsided grin, I couldn’t help but be contrary. “That’s very kind,
“I must insist.” He offered me his hand, palm up. Then for good measure, he added, “If ye refuse me, I’ll have ye thrown back into the dungeon.”
“You wouldn’t dare!”
“Is that a challenge?” The right corner of his top lip twitched in a way that made me almost completely certain he was bluffing.
The echoes of a long-forgotten incident floated up from my subconscious. Some kind of face off with a smug little boy—on the playground, maybe—but before I could capture it, Vee’s elbow struck again and the thought vanished.
“Duncan,” Vee interjected, all the while reprimanding me with her eyes. “You can call me Veronica. And she’s Mackenna—Kenna for short. Isn’t that right?”
And she accused me of being the bossy one.
“Fine. Call me whatever you want.” Feigning indifference, I placed my hand in the prince’s. His lips puckered as his head bent. Suddenly, I felt as breathless as when I’d stumbled into his room. I sensed the curse of the ginger—the blush of prickling heat—as it began to redden my neck and face. My only hope of controlling the affliction was cold water, and lots of it.
Giving his hand a firm single shake, I wrenched mine away before his mouth could make contact. In an overly loud voice, I heard myself babble, “Excuse me, but could you please direct me to the bath … ah … privy, the loo, whatever the heck you call it?”
He indicated a door along the back wall, next to his books. “Aye, it’s through there and to the left.”
“Come on,
Duncan’s bedroom was equally as dazzling as the sitting room. To the right, another roaring fireplace crackled like a mythical beast, and I had to admit the cozy window seat at the far end would make an excellent perch to contemplate the view of the mountains. I skimmed over an enormous four-poster bed that dominated the center of the room—refusing to consider what went on there—while in search of the bathroom. Just as our host promised, the door stood off to one side.
As I veered left, Vee broke from my grasp. She paused at the foot of the bed fit for a royal oaf and ogled the thick plaid-flannel comforter. Exhaustion accentuated the angles of her face, giving her purplish crescents under the hollows of her eyes. She teetered on her feet as she stifled a huge yawn. “I feel like I could sleep for a hundred years.”
I agreed. Since coming to this crazy place, time had gotten skewed. I couldn’t tell how long it’d been since we slept last, or how long until it was time to sleep again. But, unfortunately, some things were more important.
“No napping, Sleeping Beauty.” When her gaze turned somber, I quietly asked, “Are you okay? Really?”
Her eyes closed on a deep sigh and then snapped open. “I’m going to be fine. We both are.”
With images of the dungeon buckets still haunting me, I towed Vee toward the bathroom. How bad could it really be? I pushed through the doorway and froze in shock. “Whoa. Are you seeing this?”
“I would.” Vee gave me a light shove, sounding more like her usual self. “If you’d get out of the way!”
As I regained my wits, I walked forward to the item that had astounded me, and pulled lightly on an overhead chain.
“Modern plumbing!” Vee exclaimed as she turned an ornate faucet and watched in fascination as fresh water flowed out. “I wasn’t expecting this.”
“Neither was I.” I surveyed the rest of the spacious room. Blue and green ceramic tiling accented with little lion crests covered the floor and all four walls. While Vee turned her attention to the gold-plated mirror over the sink, I stepped farther into the room toward a sunken bath the size of a Jacuzzi. I tested the tap and hot water began to flow.
I couldn’t help but clap my hands together in delight. “Houston, we have hot water. I wonder if the ogre has any bubble bath.”
Rather than answer me, Vee made a small noise of alarm. Panicked, I spun away from the bathtub and toward my friend. But my alarm was unnecessary: She stared into the mirror, futilely rubbing a streak of dirt on her cheek. The wisps of hair that had escaped her high ponytail accented her face, giving her a sexy, windblown look. Attacking another smudge, this time on her forehead, she groaned, “I look disgusting!”
If by disgusting she meant flawless. It occurred to me for the umpteenth time in the course of our friendship that if I didn’t love her so much, I’d be obligated to hate her on behalf of Plain Janes everywhere. I also knew, thanks to Vee, that even the prettiest of girls could be plagued by self-doubt about their looks. “Impossible. You would still be stunning even after dunking your head in a pig sty.”
“Uh, thanks—I think.”
I placed my hand on her shoulder, careful not to encounter my own undoubtedly revolting reflection. “I wouldn’t worry about it, anyway. It’s not like you need to impress these people.”
As soon as I said it, I remembered the reason we were here. How stupid could I be? She thought she had some kind of cosmic connection with Kilt Boy.
Gently rubbing the streak on her cheek, I doubled back. “It’s not anything a bath won’t fix. Doesn’t a soak sound heavenly right about now? Light some candles, maybe pour in a little lavender oil, just kick back with—
The slightly blushing prince filled the doorway. Clearly, he was uncomfortable being in the bathroom with members of the opposite sex. And since he’d caught me naked in my imagination … that made two of us.
“M’ ladies?” His strangled voice sounded like he’d just hit puberty all over again. “Supper has—ehm—been brought up for ye. I wanted to let you—uh—know before it gets cold.”
Before he could escape, Vee pointed to the sink. “Where did the modern plumbing come from?”
His demeanor instantly relaxed, and Duncan inclined his head toward me. “Contrary to what Mackenna may believe, we’re no’ barbarians.” With a wink, he left the room.
“Arrg! What a total jerkwad!”
I waited for Vee’s agreement, but she just laughed and said, “Let’s go eat.” Leave it to her to forgive any slight from brutes bearing casseroles.
In the main room, Fergus and a young woman with strawberry-blonde hair tucked into a white cap were busily arranging a feast. Gleaming platters overflowing with vegetables, fruit, bread, cheeses, and meat waited for us. My stomach growled in approval.
Duncan introduced the girl as Fiona Fairshaw and explained, “Fiona is at your service.”
Resisting my baser impulses to dive face-first into the buffet, I waited impatiently as our self-appointed benefactor said his good-byes. Laughter colored Duncan’s tone as he said, “I am needed elsewhere, m’ ladies, so I will take my leave. But please, make yourselves at home in my quarters. Fiona can get you anything ye may have need of … including sheets.”
Everyone turned their focus to the spread before us but I continued to glare at the prince. In the space of a heartbeat, Duncan’s mirth vanished. Calling Fergus aside, he said in a soft, bone-chilling voice, “Ye know what to do, man.” Refusing to analyze the lethal look that passed between the two men, I turned my attention toward the food.
As Vee and I topped off our lamb and arugula sandwiches with blueberry puff pastries, Fergus beckoned
