When I returned to the bedroom, Elva was missing from the bed. I nearly screamed, were it not for both of maids, who quickly approached me.
“W-where’s Elva?” I asked them, panic quaking my voice.
“You caused a right commotion, running around,” the talkative maid said. “It was enough to catch the attention of Prince Nicholas.”
Nicholas? “He’s still at the banquet…?”
I remembered looking back at him as I was leaving. He’d been smiling at an eager girl desperate for his attention.
“The banquet is still occurring,” the maid said. “He must have excused himself early.”
Why would he do such a thing? Surely he hadn’t overheard what Susie said about Elva? Even if he had, he wouldn’t have cared… would he?
“Prince Nicholas came in here,” the quieter maid said. “He felt Elva’s fever, and then c
