The Duke of Snow and Apples by Elizabeth Vail Page B

dragging Frederick back to an unwanted conversation. “Thought you were ill.”
    “Well, I’m better.” Frederick avoided Tall John’s eyes. When Ellie returned with spare linens, the footmen pressed them into the space under the door to keep the unfortunate results of Lady Leighwood’s potion from escaping.
    “Are you?” Tall John arched a sandy eyebrow. “You’ve been acting…out of sorts lately.”
    “What’s that supposed to mean?”
    Tall John stared.
    “I guess I’m just in a bad temper.”
    “Since when do you have a temper?”
    Frederick tried to control his expression and failed.
    “Ah, Miss Charlotte,” said Tall John, taking Frederick’s silence as confirmation.
    “What’s this about Miss Charlotte?” asked Ellie, tucking an errant red curl under her cap. “I overheard the lady’s maids talkin’ and they say the girl’s a right terror.”
    “She’s nothing of the sort,” said Frederick. “Can we find a more appropriate subject for discussion?”
    “So it’s true!” said Ellie. “She’s managed to break our own dear Snow, has she?”
    “I’m allowed to lose my temper,” Frederick growled.
    “Except you never have,” Tall John said. “Not in the ten years I’ve known you, at least, and you’ve had plenty of opportunities to. If it’s taken this long for you to show a bit of teeth, there has to be a reason. Is she getting to you?”
    “No.”
    Ellie smirked. “Maybe she’s sweet on you.”
    “Maybe I’m sweet on you ,” Frederick countered, summoning a false levity to hide how close she’d come to the truth.
    “M-mercy, Freddy.” Ellie flushed beneath her purple freckles and dropped her gaze. “Your charm overwhelms me. I didn’t mean to tease.”
    Before Frederick could muster an apology, Mr. Lutter strode toward the still-room. The house steward gazed at the blocked door with a face politely devoid of expression.
    “Another failure.” Lady Leighwood sighed.
    “Any structural damage?”
    “Not this time.”
    “Any repairs that need attending to?”
    “I’ll need a new cauldron,” Lady Leighwood said. “And I fear the second-largest basin may be cracked. Otherwise, it was a fairly harmless explosion.” She waved a violet finger. “The color should fade with time.”
    “Thank the Maiden,” Ellie whispered.
    “Very well then,” Mr. Lutter said. He turned and saw Frederick. “Ah, that reminds me. Freddy, can you spare a moment?”
    The house steward waited until they reached a deserted part of the house before he spoke. “Freddy, I had an interesting conversation with her ladyship about Miss Charlotte Erlwood.”
    Outwardly, Frederick showed no reaction, not even a break in stride, although his legs felt like lead and every last drop of moisture deserted his mouth, making it hard to swallow. Of course she would have told someone. Charlotte wasn’t a fool. Even if she wasn’t able to explain how he’d dazzled her with magic, his kiss alone was enough to warrant an instant dismissal without references.
    “Her ladyship came by my office personally to tell me what her grandniece had reported to her,” Mr. Lutter continued.
    I’m losing my position. He’d worked for the Dowagers since he was fifteen years old. Where am I going to go now? Certainly not back to Snowmont Abbey. Rising anxiety began to beat a frantic rhythm against the wall of his control.
    Mr. Lutter stopped and turned so that he and Frederick stood face-to-face. Then he smiled. “She says her grandniece thanked her profusely for the services of her footman, particularly for the extraordinary services rendered at Lord and Lady Mettle’s ball, going so far as to mention you by name! I do believe the word indispensable came up more than once. Excellent work, my boy!”
    Frederick’s mouth worked, but his brain lagged a step or two behind. “Extraordinary s-services?”
    “Her ladyship insists those were Miss Charlotte’s very words! Extraordinary. Indispensable. ” His waved his