cheeks while stammering her apology and looking anywhere but at my half-naked body.
At which point Alice finally spoke up, voice calm as ever. “I’m afraid you have the wrong impression. I… work for Prince Malcolm.”
“Of course, it’s none of my business,” Victoria hurried. “I’m just always notified of any visitors by security beforehand. I’m sure you understand. You can trust me to be discreet.” She averted her gaze from both of us, making Alice and me turn to one another with raised brows.
It seemed it was my turn to explain. “Victoria, again, it seems you have the wrong impression. She’s not, well…” Uttering the word prostitute seemed a tad indiscreet, so I left it at that and continued, “This is Alice.” I gestured to my diminutive assistant as if showing off a prized possession. And then, like a complete wanker, I added, “The best assistant a man could ask for.”
My aim, of course, had been to atone for the whole Alice/hooker misunderstanding, but, well, you can clearly see my error.
By the time Alice and I had explained the new arrangement and informed Victoria that she’d have a mentor for the next three weeks, all had descended to the point where I doubted I’d be seeing any of Victoria’s superfluous smiling anytime soon. At least there was that.
Back in my bedroom, Victoria straightened her shoulders, her eyes sending daggers at Alice. “I suppose I’d expected someone to volunteer information about the prince’s allergies,” she responded through gritted teeth.
Alice turned to lead us out of the room, iPad and stylus at the ready, nose a bit higher in the air than strictly necessary. “As his assistant, you need to remain one step ahead; prepare for any and all contingencies.” Then she turned on her heel—causing both Victoria and me to come to an abrupt halt—and eyed Victoria with the expertise of a proper Marvel villainess. “You don’t want a king’s death on your hands, do you?”
Part of me wanted to applaud because, well, that was outstanding to witness. The glasses really added that extra something. But the other part knew I should tell her that roll needed to be slowed a few knots.
“Let’s not get too dramatic here. It’s not as if a few sniffles will kill me.” I chuckled to offer some levity. “Although it’s nice to know you’d rather I were alive than dead.”
Victoria’s responding smile was on the smug side. But Alice wasn’t giving up.
“You’ll both be singing a different tune when King Malcolm dies of anaphylactic shock after ingesting a peanut.”
Victoria gasped at that while I crossed my arms over my chest. “I’m not allergic to peanuts.”
“How do you know? You didn’t know you were allergic to feathers.” There went that nose tilt again. I’d be in danger of spying a rogue bogey soon.
“Because you once forced me to eat a peanut butter and jam sandwich instead of a Dunwall pie because you claimed the pie had been sitting out too long and you feared I’d contract staph food poisoning.”
Alice huffed, her shoulders straighter than a boarding school mistress and her cheeks an attractive pink. “And it’s a good thing I did. Damon went with the Dunwall pie and had to call off the next day.”
“That’s beside the point. Stop scaring Victoria.”
“Fine. Let’s move on to the kitchen.” She turned and strode from the room. It was as if she’d had an IV of hostility and the Rocky theme song on repeat in her head. The Alice I knew was more timid than this creature. She’d always been strict, matter of fact, and bossy, but never quite so outspoken and, dare I say… evil? This was turning out to be fantastic.
Chapter 9
Alice
I honestly hadn’t a clue what had come over me back in Malcolm’s quarters. I generally avoided purposely insulting or intimidating others, but that Victoria woman had me riled immediately and kissing professionalism goodbye.
The introduction had been a disaster, leaving me feeling flummoxed at not only being threatened, but then finding myself paired with a shirtless Malcolm in some dodgy tryst scenario where I played the part of a call girl? With that as a start, there’d been no easing into the bit about me tutoring Victoria in the complexities of the prince, so her defensiveness shouldn’t have been a surprise. I’d have felt a bit insulted as well, had I been in her shoes.
Despite the initial rockiness, however, everything I’d ever need to know about Victoria had been revealed in the moments after Malcolm retreated to