“I got a giant earful this morning,” Ben said, tilting his head. “Why?”
This guy, I swear.
“Ben,” I said, “You told Leticia and Abel that Nadir and I were going to that restaurant, didn’t you? That’s why Nadir was angry at you.”
“Whaaat?! I did not!” Ben denied it, seeming truly taken aback.
“Huh. Hmm. Hmmmmm.” I eyed him suspiciously. Ben looked back at me with nothing but innocence in his gaze. “You really didn’t?”
“I didn’t!”
“So you didn’t talk to either of them the day before yesterday?”
“I did.”
I knew it!
“What did you talk about?”
“They asked me what Young Master Nadir’s plans were for the next day.”
“And what did you tell them?”
“That he was going to a restaurant.”
“And what else?”
“Umm... They asked about your plans, Anna!”
And there it is.
“You do realize that with that information, they could easily guess we were going on an outing together.”
“Whaaat? I didn’t know that! How was I supposed to know?!”
How, he asked! How, indeed! How was this shining example of manhood ever supposed to know anything at all?!
“If you weren’t an utter moron, you would’ve known!” I snapped. “You’d better apologize to Nadir later, or he may actually ditch you!”
“What?! Nooo!” Ben whined. “I won’t survive if he kicks me out!”
Truly, I could not imagine any scenario in which he would’ve survived outside this estate.
“So, did Miss Leticia and Mister Abel go to the restaurant?” Ben asked.
“They did,” I replied. “And they sat perfectly positioned to watch Nadir and me.”
The butler took his head in his hands. “Nooo! Then the young master’s furious! He was so excited for it too!”
Those words gave me pause. “I’m sorry, did you just say ‘excited’?”
“He spent the whole day before working so hard on picking out a dress for you!” Ben mumbled, on the verge of tears. “And hair accessories! He looked super excited!”
Though the young butler’s sole concern was his scolding, my mind was elsewhere.
“So he was excited,” I mused, inadvertently bringing my hands to my cheeks and grinning. “I see... Hmm... Yes...”
Did this mean that Nadir, despite not showing it at all, had actually been looking forward to going out with me? I might not have fully understood his feelings, but this made me feel warm and fuzzy. I couldn’t help but crack a smile.
“Uh, you look creepy, Anna,” Ben said.
“I’m gonna sew your mouth shut,” I snapped.
With a shrill scream, the butler ran away. He was supposed to help me clean, the rascal! I was definitely going to report his slacking later.
✦ ✦ ✦
“Welcome home, Nadir!”
My unusually excited greeting made Nadir take a step back. “What are you plotting?”
“How rude!” I wasn’t plotting anything! I was simply in high spirits! “Now, let’s take off that coat!”
“Right...”
Normally I was reluctant to handle this part of my job, but today I took off his coat lickety-split.
“Now, to change you into your loungewear!”
“Right...?”
I urged him to strip fully, having grown used to this routine by now. Not that I was completely free of any embarrassment, of course. I’d become skilled at undoing his buttons and helping him change with my eyes closed. Maybe I was more dexterous than I gave myself credit for. I had no trouble making clothes for my business, after all.
Nadir inexplicably wished to see me flustered as I helped him change, but that was far too inefficient. He was rather dissatisfied by my proficiency at dressing him quickly.
“It’s much better when you’re shy about it,” he muttered under his breath. “You don’t understand. You don’t—”
“What are you mumbling about?” I asked. He only shook his head in response.
Once he was fully changed, I psyched myself up.
“Now then, I’ll wash your back today!” I said.
“What?!” he exclaimed, his face turning bright red.
I snickered. “I heard you were excited for our date!” I told him. “That you were antsy, fussing over the perfect dress!”
“What?! How do you—”
“Ben told me.”
“That mutt...”
So he did think of Ben as a dog. Which, to be fair, the young man was more dog than butler. And not a very smart dog either.
“If you were that anxious about it...”
Nadir gulped at my words, his eyes growing a little glossy, as if he was anticipating something. No worries! I knew exactly what this was!
“This was your first date, wasn’t it?” I asked.
“Huh?” Nadir stared blankly at me, his lips parting open.
Gently, I took his hand, and it twitched slightly in response. Oh, I knew what this reaction meant. I had everything figured out.
I shook my head. “You were excited about your very first date, right? It’s okay.”
“What?” he said, sounding displeased this time.
“And I bet you were really disappointed that Leticia and Abel intruded!”
Nadir sighed despondently. I knew it! He was devastated!
“So I’ll wash your back! Help cheer you up!” I offered. “Since that was your first date, no one’s ever washed your back before, right? Oh, I’ll be fully clothed, of course, and I’ll keep my eyes closed, but still! It’s supposed to be a romantic thing for men, right?”
Nadir said nothing in response. Poor thing! Personally, I’d been ecstatic enough just to be asked on my first-ever date, but surely Nadir had wanted his to be perfect.
“Come on! Don’t be sad! It was my first date too, which was—”
A bit of a shame, I wanted to say, but the words died in my throat when he squeezed my hand back.
“Is that true?” he asked.
“Huh?”
“That it was your first date.”
“Um, yes?” Sadly, no man brave enough to ask out the daughter of a debt-ridden baron had come my way.
Nadir stiffened at my answer, for some reason. Why was his face so red? Had the warm bath gotten to him before he even stepped into the tub?
“Listen,” he said, gripping my hand tightly. “It’s too early for a bath.”
Too early? What did he mean by that?
“Let me rest my head on your lap instead.”