‘Ah, but you can’t be Frank. You’ve already told me that your name is Catherine.’
‘I’ve changed it.’
His laugh was unoffended. ‘At least the memory of this dream has brought some colour back to your cheeks. You were white as a dove when you fainted. I’m sorry if Raven frightened you.’
She remembered the shadow stretching across the castle lawn – the hooded, axe-wielding figure towering over her. She shuddered. ‘No, it wasn’t Raven. It was . . . I thought I saw . . . nothing.’
‘I see nothing all the time.’
‘As I said before, it was very warm inside, that’s all. And I’ve barely eaten all day.’
‘No doubt the corset of tortures didn’t help.’
Her scowl deepened. ‘A lady’s undergarments are not a suitable topic of conversation.’
He raised his hands in surrender. ‘Only a theory, my lady. I’m sure your lack of sustenance is much more the culprit. Here.’ He reached for a pouch at his belt and retrieved a chocolate. ‘I was saving this for later, and so I must have been saving it for you.’
‘Oh no, I couldn’t. I’m still a little faint. It will probably make me sick.’
‘Some say it is better to have eaten and lost than never to have eaten at all.’
She furrowed her brows, confused, but his sincerity never faltered.
‘In case you do get sick and the sweet makes its way up again.’
‘That’s horrible.’
‘I know. I should apologize.’ Rather than apologizing, he held the sweet towards her. ‘I must insist that you eat, regardless of the risks. Should you happen to faint again while under my care, I’m afraid I won’t be able to stop Raven from using that bucket.’
Catherine shook her head and placed a palm against her abdomen. She could feel the bone stays beneath the bodice.
Although, the corset didn’t seem as confining as it had before. Now that the evening air was reviving her, there was even room to breathe. Not a lot of room, but perhaps enough to fit in one little chocolate . . .
‘Please, take it,’ he pressed.
‘Is it from the feasting table?’ she asked, knowing better than to sample untested foods. Once, when she was a child, she’d sampled some wild berries and spent two whole days the size of a thimble. It was an experience she didn’t care to have again.
‘The King’s own.’
Catherine took it hesitantly, murmuring her thanks, and bit down. The truffle exploded with silky caramel and brittle chocolate on her tongue.
She stifled a pleased moan.
But if one added just a touch of sea salt – oh, euphoria.
She devoured the rest, her tongue searching for any missed chocolate on her teeth.
‘Better?’ Jest asked.
‘Much.’ She tucked a strand of misplaced hair behind her ear. ‘Well enough to stand, I think. Could you help me?’
He was on his feet before she had finished asking, his movements graceful as an antelope. ‘Shall I escort you back into the ball?’ he asked, lifting her to her feet.
‘No, thank you.’ She brushed off her gown. ‘I’m very tired. I think I’ll call for a carriage to take me home.’
‘This way, then.’
He grabbed his hat off the ground and settled it on his head. The hat looked wrong on him now, and she realized it was his fool’s motley that had disguised his handsomeness before. Now that she knew otherwise, it was impossible not to see it.
Turning his head up, Jest whistled into the tree branches. ‘Raven, would you mind . . . ?’
The Raven cocked his head and peered down through the branches, watching them with a single shining black eye. ‘I thought perhaps you had forgotten your companion in the dark, downtrodden.’
Jest squinted up at him. ‘Is that a yes?’
The bird sighed. ‘Fine, I’m going.’ He swooped off his perch and disappeared in the black sky.
Jest offered Catherine his arm and she slipped her fingers into the crook of his elbow. She was baffled at how much easier it was to breathe now. Maybe she’d been overreacting. Well, not to the King’s near proposal, but to the way her dress seemed to be strangling her.
They passed through the garden’s arches. The rosebushes fell behind, replaced with towering green hedges that thundered with the fiery bolts of lightning bugs.
‘I hope you’ll understand if I ask for your discretion,’ she said, wishing her heart would stop pattering. ‘This has been a most unusual encounter for me.’
‘Far be it for me to intrude upon a lady’s untarnished reputation. But to be clear, which part of our encounter should remain undisclosed?’ Jest watched her from the corner of his eye. ‘The part when you fainted in the grass and I heroically revived you? The part where we took an unchaperoned stroll through the gardens?’ He clucked his tongue in mock disapproval. ‘Or perhaps the part where you confessed to having had a dream about me, and that I must be quite a scoundrel to hope it wasn’t as boring as you’ve suggested?’
She leaned against his arm. ‘All of the above?’
He brought his free hand to her fingers, patting. ‘It will be my greatest pleasure to be secretive together, my lady.’
They hopped over the guard gryphon’s tail – he was sleeping, as always, against the garden gate. His quiet snores followed them halfway across the lawn.
‘So long as we’re sharing secrets,’ she said, ‘may I ask how you did it? The trick with Mr Rabbit?’