“Come on,” he said and pulled her along.
The staircase, thankfully, was close by and wound up through several floors of the palace. He helped her through another hidden passage behind a large tapestry, and a few feet later, he peered out into the empty corridor where their rooms were. He could hear the music from the ball. He told Olivia to run, and they made a mad dash from behind another tapestry to his rooms. Quincy closed and locked the doors behind him and turned to see Olivia bent over with laughter.
“Well, that was definitely a new one,” she said as she tossed her hair over her shoulders.
“And you didn’t even freak out,” he said. “You’ll make a fine royal yet, Princess Olivia.”
She frowned at his words and shifted. “Yeah, we’ll see about that. So, what do we do now?”
“I think we could both use a shower. I’ll run to your rooms and grab some clothes. If you want to get started without me,” he said with a wink, “I won’t judge.”
Olivia smirked and headed for his bathroom. She had just closed the bathroom door when he opened the other and came face-to-face with Pascal.
“Ah, there you are, sir,” he said and bowed his head. “Your father is looking all over for you.”
“Oh… well, here I am Pascal. What does he need?”
Pascal raised one brow as he eyed Quincy’s current state of dress, or rather undress, and cleared his throat. “He was hoping you were entertaining one of the many female guests from the ball, but I feel you and he have different meanings of the word ‘entertaining.’”
“Usually, but it is nothing of the sort. I took a walk down by the beach and slipped and fell into the waves. I came to shower and change before heading back downstairs.”
“Yes, I see. And the woman the maids saw you with?”
Quincy’s lips thinned. None of the servants could keep their mouths shut. “She fell in with me, I’m afraid, and has headed home.” The sound of the water turning on in the shower made Quincy’s eyes close as he cursed, and Pascal smiled wryly.
“I see… And her home is in your shower, sir?”
“She is embarrassed,” Quincy whispered. “She ruined her dress and didn’t want people to think that we had… you know. I loaned her my shirt. Poor thing was shivering in the cold. Please, Pascal, don’t say a word about it to anyone?” He watched the man’s face, but like always, he could never tell what Pascal was thinking. It drove him insane.
“Very good then, sir. Will the young woman be needing fresh clothes?”
“Her dress is drying now. She should be fine, but thank you, Pascal.”
“Of course, sir. I expect I shall see you back in the ballroom soon enough.” He turned and walked away but glanced back again. “And have you seen Princess Olivia?”
Quincy kept a straight face as he answered. “I passed her earlier, yes. She sends her regrets that she is not feeling well.”
“Right, then, I shall let her mother know. Perhaps I shall go check on her.”
“No, I’ll do it,” he said and stepped out into the hall. “I have to ask her about her plans for tomorrow anyway. There’s supposed to be a tour at the local university, but if she’s not feeling up to it, I’ll have to make different arrangements.”
Pascal eyed his shirtless chest again. “Very good, sir, though I expect a shirt might be a good idea.”
“Of course. Right as always, Pascal.”
His servant narrowed his eyes but bowed his head and walked away. Quincy dashed back inside and hurried into the bathroom. He could see Olivia through the glass doors and leaned in the doorway, watching the water glide over her naked skin, all worries of being found out forgotten. He could watch her all night, but his suddenly throbbing erection had other ideas. He stepped out of his pants again and slid back the glass doors to join her.
“Not too hot for you, is it?” she asked as she looked at his naked body.
“No, I like it steamy,” he said. He pulled her close until their bodies pressed against each other. “Don’t you?”
She swallowed hard but didn’t answer. His hands massaged her back, and she closed her eyes, sighing against his chest. “Was someone at the door? I thought I heard you talking to someone.”
“Just Pascal. Wanted to check on me, but I sent him away with a pretty good story.”
“Good, that’s good,” she said as his hands went lower, cupping her butt. “Did he say anything else?”
“Wanted to check in on you, but I said I’d take care of it.”
Her eyes opened wide. “Crap, I didn’t even think of someone checking on me!”