Valerie
I regretted my snooping the moment I had to seat myself in front of Lucas for lunch. I hadn’t meant to spy on him anyway, I was just curious. And then…confused. Why had he kissed a statue?
But I couldn’t bring myself to ask, nor could I explain myself. Why had I been watching from the window, anyway? What kind of intention did he think I had?
I had done everything I could to avoid him—even asking the servants if I could eat at the other dining room. The servants claimed the other rooms were currently occupied, though I doubted it. Lucas and I were the only ones here, and I had just dined in the other room nights before. I had a feeling they only wanted to make my stay here as excruciating as possible.
It was understandable. I didn’t blame them.
They had watched their master h
