She shrugged again and hid a smile behind a drink. "It's all just a rumor. And he was a terrible jester, not like you. You're the best." She patted my shoulder, then slumped against my side.
"Oh, well, that's all right then. I'm sure he deserved his end." By Dallin, what if Rafe had been the one to dispatch him? Was that my fate? But again, why? And now I had a mere three days to discover the man's deepest secrets before my own fate caught up with me.
What if Rafe did kill the previous jester, then went into hiding, and only now reappeared to try and kill Quinton, and perhaps his own mother? And me? No, that seemed a stretch, even for my imagination.
I am far too drunk for rumors and heresy," I muttered. "Tell me, Ellyn, if you know him so well, do you think Rafe is a bad person, or a good one?"
"Good." She didn't hesitate. "He's good, but he's got muddled up," she slurred.
"And me?" I asked, leaning her back a bit so I could see her face. "Am I good?"
"Of course!" Well then, she was wrong and a terrible judge of character. "And I'm sorry for telling Rafe things about you. We're still friends, aren't we, Levi?"
I didn't have friends. I had pawns, each one put in play where I needed them to be. "Shall we return to the palace?"
"I did enjoy this."
"You were with me. What's not to enjoy?" I pulled her from the booth, and we stumbled from the Overlook together. The sweet-smelling evening air cleared some of my tipsiness. I'd learned a great deal about Prince Rafe. He hadn't always been this icy, somewhat distant prince. The death of his previous jester, or another event around that time, before my arrival, had forced him to hide behind his chamber door. I'd also learned he'd been curious about me for a long time.
His beautiful lie.
Ellyn could only have told him what she knew about me, and none of that was real.
I still had the upper hand, the control. I just needed him to know it.
We came upon my door first. Ellyn tripped, fell against the wall, and almost collapsed in a heap of giggles. I propped her up. She flicked my nose. "Why have you never propositioned me?" she asked.
"Ah, well, my dear, for one, you have no interest in what's between my legs—despite its magnificence." She snorted. I pretended to be offended and reached for my door. "And B—"
"Two."
"What?"
"You said one, so the next is two—"
I swung the door open, revealing the striking outline of Rafe standing at my window—and slammed the door closed again, sealing him inside and us outside.
"And two…?" Ellyn prompted, slurring. "What?"
Rafewas in my room. Again. But without his guards this time. When without his guards, he didn't seem as inclined to have them beat me senseless. Was this a replay of the pool then, or was he here to deliver a second slap to my face?
"You said there was another reason you haven't, you know…" Ellyn made an alarming grasping motion with her hands.
"Well, if that's how you think it's done, then I made the right decision not to seduce you." I slipped an arm around her shoulder and scooted her along the corridor, away from my room. "I haven't propositioned you because I know there's a woman you're fond of, and I do not wish to complicate our friendship." I gave her a small shove in the general direction of the servants' quarters. "Good evening, now. Off to bed, you go. Do not blame me for the headache you will surely get…"
She threw a wave over her shoulder and swaggered out of sight. Which left me in the corridor, and Rafe in my room. I'd swallowed a great deal of wine. Speaking with Rafe now was a terrible idea. Perhaps I could sleep in the gardens? No. I had under three days remaining. I couldn't afford to squander this opportunity.
I opened the door, strode in, and peered into the prince's cool blue eyes. "We really must stop meeting like this, or there will be rumors."
"Is that a threat?" Goodness, his smooth voice was delicious.
An ill-timed urge to laugh twitched my lips. So severe, this prince. Did he ever jest? Perhaps I should poke his nose and see.
"Are you… laughing?" he asked, golden brows digging into his smooth forehead.
"Not yet, but give me a moment… I'm rather drunk. And you'll find my tongue and a great many other parts of me exceptionally unrestrained while intoxicated—more unrestrained than usual." I circled my hand in the air. "Shall we just assume you're here to threaten me behind a veil of thin insults, after which we can both retire for the night?" I slumped to the edge of my bed and sighed with my whole body.
He hadn't moved. Still stood by the window, peering down his nose.
If I looked up, would I find him amused or furious? When I was gone, I'd miss our little games, despite not knowing the rules he played by.
He stepped closer, stopping directly in front of me. I stared at his buttoned middle, his jacket pinched over his hips, and his crotch, which was far less interested in me than the last time I'd seen it, although not without a noticeable presence behind the white fabric. If he tipped my chin up, I might do something foolish, like kiss him.
"This is rather perfect," he said, then strode for the door. "Follow me, Levi." He tossed a devilish smirk over his shoulder, the kind of suggestive smile I'd be a fool to follow. "You seem the sort to live without regrets. And you'll regret missing this."
The prince was likely responsible for several deaths, possibly even his mother's and my predecessor's. Yet, even sober, after that look he'd flung at me, I'd have gone with him. I suppose that did make me a fool.