in June. Because of strained relations with her own father and a schizophrenic connection with her mother, she’d clung to the older man at times, soaking up his love and responding in kind. His death had been natural, but a sorrowful one for his huge extended family. His sad funeral had been a sort of reunion for the remaining Valentine clan, conjuring up all sorts of emotions that had been papered over for years. With so much going on, sometimes she felt as though she were running at full scream level without the sound.
But she couldn’t tell him all of that. Much easier to keep it simple.
“My job,” she said, nodding confidently. “I’ve been staying up late preparing for this special assignment for weeks now. I work all day as chef at a restaurant in London and study half the night. Then when I finally do go to bed, my heart is still racing like a hamster on his little wheel, running faster and faster. I don’t seem to be able to slow down again.”
“So the more tired you get, the less you sleep.”
“It seems that way.”
“Yet you had no trouble falling asleep on this hard tile floor.”
She crinkled her nose, thinking. “It was…pleasant. Sort of like taking a vacation from real life, lying here with my eyes closed.” She managed a weak smile. “I started to think a little temporary coma might be nice.”
He shook his head. “No comas. You might start liking them too much.”
He was right. She needed to get back into reality. Gathering all her strength, she sat up fully.
“Hey, take it easy,” Will said, reaching out to steady her.
And there it was again, that deep, provocative tingle that made her gasp. The man’s hands were like magic. Black magic. There was something in his touch that tempted her to curl herself into his arms, inviting more, but she stopped herself quickly, hoping he hadn’t noticed her reaction—or her automatic recoil once she’d realized what was happening.
“I’m fine, really.” She looked up into his face, then away again quickly. “Just…just a little woozy.”
Will nodded, thinking for a moment. “I don’t want to give you anything—no pills, no shots. In my experience, things like that often create more new problems while hardly dealing with the old ones. I leave the drugs to last resort.” He paused. “What I would like is for you to take a nice long nap,” he said at last, looking into her eyes gravely.
“I’d like that too,” she said, feeling a little as though she might cry if she didn’t watch it. Emotions were bubbling inside her and she didn’t have the strength to try to sort them out as yet. “But I can’t. I’ve got to get back to work. I just went off for a walk to find a cooler place than the kitchen for a bit. I’m sure they all wonder what on earth happened to me. Especially the housekeeper.”
“I’ll let them know.” Will started to help her to her feet. “I’m going to take you to your room. Doctor’s orders.”
Monty rose as well. “I’ll come too.”
She started to shake her head, horrified, but Will beat her to it.
“No, you won’t. You can’t wander around the castle in your swimsuit like you do on your yachts. There are sensibilities to be considered. Maids will be fainting in the halls.”
“That’s ridiculous.”
But Will was serious. “Monty, you’re not who you used to be. You have a new position and you’ve got to maintain some decorum.”
Emma wasn’t sure what they were talking about, but she knew she wanted to get away from Monty and his cool gaze as soon as possible. She could tell he was bristling.
“So now you’re ordering me around?” he said coldly to his friend.
Will nodded. “I’m sure you’ll give me this much leeway,” he said softly. “For old times’ sake.”
Monty stared at him for a long moment, then shrugged and turned to Emma. “Where’s your room?” he asked her.
Her eyes widened. “I have no idea. I get lost every time I turn a corner in this place.”
“How are you going to find it again if you don’t know where it is?”
“Someone will tell us,” Will said.
“It’s very high up,” Emma added, trying to be helpful. “A nice room. The sort of place that feels like if they locked me in and I grew my hair long…”
“Rapunzel, Rapunzel?” Monty’s look of irritation stung. “There you go with the fairy tales again.” His gaze raked over her. “All right, go with Will. I’ll check on you later.”
“Monty…” Will began in a warning tone.
“You can keep your opinions to yourself,” Monty ordered, giving his friend a look that registered something close to disgust. “You don’t have to worry. She’s clearly not my type at all.”
Will made a scoffing sound in his throat. “She’s female, isn’t she?” he said softly, plainly not meaning the comment for Emma to hear.
But she’d heard all right, and her mind had cleared enough to know that she wanted to avoid a room visit from this man at all costs.
“You don’t need to worry about me,” she said quickly, stepping a bit closer to Will. “The doctor will handle it.”
He stared at her and she realized she’d been a little too obvious in her anxiety. No emotion showed in his eyes, but she could feel his hostility.
“As you wish,” he said evenly. “Goodbye, Emma Valentine.”
Reaching out, he took her hand and bent from the waist to brush her fingers with his lips. “Until we meet again.”
He left her breathless but at least he was gone.
“What did he do that for?” she asked Will as they started toward the castle elevator. Her hand was tingling and she rubbed it against her shorts.
“He likes to keep us all on our toes by doing the unexpected,” Will told her cheerfully.
He’d certainly fulfilled that image today, she thought with some irritation.
“You’re the castle physician,” she said to the doctor. “What does Monty do?”
“Monty?” He chuckled. “You might say Monty is a servant to us all.”
She frowned, wishing she could really get rid of all the cobwebs so she could understand better what was going on around her. “What is that supposed to mean?”
“All in due time, my dear. All in due time.”
She was lost. Again.
“They should hand out maps at the door of this place,” she muttered in frustration as she hurried down one hall and then up another, hoping to see something familiar—anything at all.
It would also have helped if there had been someone to ask for directions, but the halls she went racing down were empty. Maybe she was lost in a ghost castle.
But she knew better. It had only been a half-hour before that she’d had a visit from Myrna Luk, the castle housekeeper.
“Well, he’s done it again,” she’d said as she breezed into Emma’s room. A pretty woman in her late forties, she seemed harried and overworked but managed to keep a friendly look on her face, which was more than most of the staff had welcomed Emma with.
“Who’s done what?” Emma asked, reaching for her white uniform, anxious to show that she was ready to join in after having been AWOL for so long. She’d had a wonderful long nap and was feeling very much herself again. Dr Will had been to check on her and had been pleased with her condition. So things were looking up.
“The prince, of