Chapter Four
Timothy
It is strange how I feel different. I administered the bite to Penelope, yet, something inside me seems to have been initiated. How strange that is. Why should my soul feel so different? I feel rarified, more solid, and tranquil.
I was honored that Penelope willingly married me. I thought such an event might never occur. Not only were the odds against me finding my fates’ arranged mate, but to have my fated one agree to the relationship . . . to find her a willing partner to my strange lifestyle. . . I feel complete and suddenly energized for our future. And now, thanks to the Queen’s words, I know that children will surely follow.
I dare not admit this to Penelope: I disliked the Queen enchanting her with fertility, and yet, my soul sings. A family. Children. Perhaps that is the cause of my body’s difference? It is what I’ve always hoped for.
Penelope
It was true, as I’d told my friends, I had no idea where we were going on our honeymoon, but I was ready to go, no matter where it was. Although I wasn’t antisocial, I was definitely anti-parties, and with the arrival of a Faerie Queen and her court plus all the invitees, half of whom had names that had slipped from my mind into the mists of oblivion, I was ready to find some tranquility, not a usual desire for a brand new bride, but there was nothing usual about the last few hours. There would be nothing usual about the life I had pledged myself.
Carlo would be taking over while we were gone. He’d cook for the house’s staff, which seemed as numerous as Timothy had once told me they were. Many of them I still had not met, like the housekeeper, Donna Miglas, and her assistant, Francine. How was that possible? I’d once asked, but Timothy said that most of the staff worked only at night. Then there was the head gardener, Francisco, and his assistant, Margot, and a pool keeper, named Tony.
Timothy assured me that Francisco and Tony both worked during the day, but I’d never seen them either. Wasn’t that kind of weird? How could I be part of Timothy’s household if I had no contact with any of the house’s caretakers?
“Leave that for another day,” Timothy had told me when I asked again. “For now, just concentrate on being ready for our honeymoon,” he said, eying me a look in his eyes that made me blush.
“And how do I do that when I don’t know how to be ready? I have no idea where we’re going.”
Okay, I sounded peeved, but I was — kind of. I knew Simone had packed for me, so that was under control, but now that the party was almost over and everyone was departing, except Cara and Sammy who wouldn’t be leaving until the morning, I felt itchy with impatience, exasperation, and, frankly, fatigue.