Maid For You 4

Chapter 15

After a few more songs of practicing ballroom dancing, Nikotan decided to teach me basic steps and moves of Nikotan Folk Dancing, which was a lot like swing dancing, and we found ourselves having quite a bit of fun dancing in a less controlled way. Luckily, he was so good at dancing that it made it a lot easier to pick it up. This sort of dancing gave me and idea for a song that we could dance to.

"Hey Nik, could we try dancing to a different kind of song?" I asked him after a few more songs of practicing ballroom dancing.

"A different kind of song? Like what?"

He looked a bit dubious. "Cassie, I will be honest with you, I do not know how to breakdance."

The thought made me laugh out loud, trying to even imagine what Prince Nikolas would look like breakdancing. It seemed rather unfathomable. "No, no, we can still dance like this together," I said, picking up his phone and searching up a song.

"Is it a rap song?" he asked me. "I quite detest rap, and I do not think it would compliment this dancing style very well."

"Rap can be pretty good, actually," I said, looking up at him and smiling. "But no, I don't think it's your style."

"It is not."

"Okay, I have it pulled up! So, this song is from the 60s, so not hardcore rap, you'll be happy to know. It's called 'Brown Eyed Girl', and it's, well, it's one of my favorite songs," I chuckled awkwardly. "And well, I've always liked it because..."

"Because you have brown eyes," Nikolas finished for me, smiling slightly.

"Yeah." I smiled sheepishly. "I mean, brown eyes are pretty boring, you know? Everyone talks about blue eyes, so I guess I liked this song."

"Is that so?" he asked me, taking a step closer.

Suddenly, I felt a little nervous for some reason, so I just hit play, and then stood up by him while the bouncy beginning notes began to play. I could see the wheels in Nikolas's head turning as he listened to the first few lines trying to gauge the tempo and vibe of the song, and then we were dancing and I was laughing. "You know what, Cassie?" he asked me.

"What?" I asked, as he twirled me.

"I have always considered your eyes quite pretty."

Ba bump. I felt heat rise to my cheeks, but hopefully it looked like it was just from the physical exertion of dancing.

"Really?" I asked.

"Yes. They are a pretty deep brown, I think, and they light up in a certain way when you are animated."

I wasn't sure what to say for a moment. "I've just—I've just never thought my eyes were pretty."

He let out a breathy laugh. "Come now, I won't have you throwing a pity party for yourself because of your looks. You are quite blessed in your beauty, so it will not do for you to feel sorry for yourself. That would not be fair when you are so unequivocally beautiful."

"Nik!" I cried. "Geez, where is this coming from?"

"I'm only speaking as I find. I feel that you are objectively very very pretty," he told me sincerely. "Considering how many eyes you have caught and hearts you have captured since your arrival in Aregano, it is quite obvious that you are very good-looking."

"Hearts I've captured?" I laughed. "The only person was Luke."

"No, Cassie," he said, quite bluntly. "It was not just Luke."

I tried to interpret his meaning in those blue eyes of his—because yes, there had been servant interested in me at the beginning, and Coleman himself had displayed a level of interest, as well as Lord Harry. But was Nikolas talking about them? Or was he alluding to something else.

The song was coming to a close. "What do you mean?" I asked him.

"Vashe vysochestvo," a deep voice from my left suddenly interrupted our moment, and Nikolas and I whipped our heads, still mid dance, towards the voice as the last notes of Van Morrison's Brown Eyed Girl died out in a series of "la la-te-da"s. The man was tall and imposing, with brown hair, a short beard, and dark eyes that cut into me from across the room. Nikolas lowered his hands and broke off from me, which I was rather grateful for since my palms were starting to sweat.

"Count Volkov," Nikolas's voice was clipped, his eyes sharp. "What are you doing here?"

The apparent Count Volkov stepped into the room, his eyes moving from Nikolas to me. He then answered in Russian, of course, but Nikolas responded in English.

"There was no need to come in all this state to report that, Count," he said.

The Count sighed, clearly frustrated, then looked at me, and said in a thick accent, "You must be Cassandra Carmichael."

I mustered up my best smile. "Yes, I am." I curtsied, as I'd been taught to do. "And what is your name?" I knew his name from Nikolas saying it, but I figured I'd ask. It seemed more polite.

"I am Count Volkov." He didn't say anything for a few more second, just stared at me coldly.

"Is there something you need, Volkov?" Nikolas demanded.

"Yes. I must speak with you. Now," he said.

The prince looked quite frustrated, but he drew in a deep breath and said, "of course."

***

The Count Volkov took Nikolas away, and with that our lovely dancing time was cut short, and I returned to my room. Again, I didn't have to be a rocket scientist to guess that I was probably causing Nikolas problems—Volkov didn't take a lot of measures to hide his dislike of me in his stare.

Does everyone here hate me? I wondered as I walked back. Honestly, it was so different from Aregano. Yes, there were servants mad at me for being a climber, but that was different. Yes, I was pretty well aware that I wasn't nobility or whatnot, but still—Queen Klara liked me, Mercucio and Madeline were my friends, I was getting to know other nobility. Even when Prince Coleman had rejected me, he'd said that it wasn't because I was a maid (just his own personal issues). But here? It was different. People looked disgusted by me, angry at the fact that some nobody like me could possibly be friends with Prince Nikolas.

I had an hour or two before I would be fitted for my ballgown, so I plopped down on my bed and started texting Lydia when my phone started to ring, the text clearly stating that His Royal Pain is calling.