Total pages in book: 159
Estimated words: 144433 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 722(@200wpm)___ 578(@250wpm)___ 481(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 144433 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 722(@200wpm)___ 578(@250wpm)___ 481(@300wpm)
"No. I'm just...concerned I might have jumped into something dangerous." She manages a wan smile. "You know me, always sticking my nose in. What if I stuck it in something I can't handle?"
Ah. The news of my title is starting to sink in for her. Understandable. "Then I will tell them the truth." I emphasize the word to ensure that she knows it has additional meaning to it. "That you are a foolish, worthless human and I would never marry one unless I was under duress. That I would only do so as part of a disguise in which to hide myself. That our union is a sham."
I say all of this in the most clipped, highly enunciated, aristocratic tone I can muster. One that says that it's a cloak of deception, that I do not really think such things about her.
Maeve bites her lip and nods. "Okay then. Good to know."
I am glad we are on the same wavelength. For the first time, I notice the pathetic plant she is clutching in her hands. She must have purchased it in town. She mentioned she had to pick something up. "I think your new purchase is dying."
"Oh." She seems to shake herself out and then focuses on the potted plant in her arms. Maeve holds it aloft so I can get a better look at it. "This here is all part of our grand plan, my darling Lord Hairball."
Lord Hairball? We are back to that, eh? I frown, as it's not a nickname I'm overly fond of. "What plan?"
She lifts her chin. "This foolish human has a plan to get you in to see your idol, Nassakth."
Excitement floods my system. "You...what? What plan?"
"Oh, I found out where he lives." Maeve lifts the pot and pretends to study it closely, turning it this way and that. "It's a homestead a fair distance from here, but one I'm familiar with. I learned he likes plants, so I thought, well, what if I had an exotic plant that was dying and needed advice? What would it hurt to stop by and ask a neighborly question or two?"
It takes my breath away, how crafty she is. "That is genius."
"I mean, we're not neighbors. That's the flaw in the plan. But I can point out that I recently married a praxiian and was asking around town about the other women that had married praxiians, and once I heard he was an expert on plants, it seems natural that I'd go introduce myself and ask questions. Don't you think?"
She lowers the plant and studies me with a triumphant expression.
It's clever. It's simple but it's clever. And to think she has set this all in motion simply because she knew I wished to meet my hero. A funny feeling starts in my chest, one I've never felt before. I want to grab Maeve by her pasty cheeks and kiss her all over. I want to leap with joy. I want to shout at the top of my lungs. I want to squeeze her again.
I haven't felt like this since I slept with my first courtesan and imagined myself in love with her. This feels different from that moment, though. That one was full of hormones and the way I feel about Maeve has similar shades to it...and yet it's different. The hormones are there, of course—I could grab her and haul her to bed right now and love every moment of our rutting. But it's more than that. She thought about me, about what would make me happy.
It's like for the first time, I am seen. Not Heir Zhurrrvas. Just Zhur.
A knot forms in my throat. "This is...there are no words, Maeve."
"I'm pretty awesome, right?" She wiggles her little brows at me, pleased with herself.
She should be. This is...incredible. "You are the most wily of females. I do not know how to thank you."
Maeve holds a hand out to me. "Come inside and eat lunch. You spend too much time out here in the barn. It makes me feel guilty."
I don't point out that I like spending time in the barn. That I like working through the puzzles her homestead has to offer my mind, which loves to fit and piece things together so they work better than before. Right now, all I can think about is Nassakth, the Scourge of Askorthi Prime...and a plant lover. My hero is a gardener.
I think about that, and how I'm going to meet him...and I think about Maeve.
Good, precious, sweet busybody Maeve, who has gone out of her way to make me happy.
We go inside and I wash my hands, that feeling of delight still bubbling in my chest. I sit down and she plops the plant on the table in front of me. "The linchpin to our master plan."
It makes me so giddy once more—that she has gone to such effort for me—that I grab her and pull her into my lap so I can hug her and squeeze her tight. "You truly are the best of females."