Three days passed by in a flash.
In that time, Eliza had managed to skim through a fair number of books. Of all the things she had learned about this new world, the most intriguing was that magic existed. It didn’t seem to be a truly magical world like some stories she had read, but it was exciting enough to know that magical devices existed. With how much money she had married into, it wouldn’t be too hard for her to get her hands on a few.
She turned her attention away from the scenery whizzing past and resumed reading from where she had left of. The vehicle they were traveling in was incredibly quiet. Not only was there no sound of the engine, Eliza could only vaguely make out the whirr of the tyres on the road. In the few days that she had been in this body, she had noticed that all of Artizia’s senses were enhanced. She could catch the maids’ conversations in the next room through the thick doors of the manor.
Therefore, the silence in the car was like a deafening ring in her ears. Was this an electric car? Did this world run on the same fuel as her own? Nearly everything she encountered was familiar, but it was strange that there was no such thing as the internet, nor handheld devices. There appeared to be some form of instant communication, but she hadn’t had the time to find out much about it.
She glanced out of the corner of her eye at the man seated next to her. Like her, the Duke was reading. Though the font was small, she could easily read the words that she caught sight of – it appeared to be a budget proposal for something. He had been poring over the same document since they left the manor in the morning. She returned her gaze to the book in her hands, slightly amused.
Would an outsider think that they were two peas in a pod or that they were complete strangers?
“Is that a good book?”
Eliza blinked in surprise. The Duke was looking at her expectantly. That was reassuring. For a moment she had wondered if the ringing in her ears was making her imagine things. Had he noticed the faint smile on her face and thought that it was due to something she had read? The smile grew. He clearly hadn’t taken note of the title of the book.
“Yes.” She had been on the same page for at least five minutes. A beginner’s guide to magical theory read about as easily as an advanced physics textbook. Was it a curse of interesting topics to be explained in the dullest way possible? “Is that an interesting proposal?”
The Duke sighed. “Yes and no.”
Eliza raised an eyebrow. “A good idea but a bad price tag?” He nodded. She continued, “Are you trying to figure out how to make it profitable?”
He hummed an affirmative. She shut her book, mindful to close it the other way so he wouldn’t see the title. “I’m intrigued. Tell me more.”
Their entourage of two cars and a van soon turned off the highway into a small parking lot. There was a small single storey building at the end of the carpark, in the midst of a clearing. This was clearly an unpopular stop. Most travellers would choose to continue a short distance down the road to the bigger stop that had a selection of restaurants and other shops.
Eliza stretched as soon as she got out of the car. Though there was plenty of leg room, it was still uncomfortable to be sitting for the past three hours in the company of two strangers. With her arms raised above her head, she twisted her torso back and forth to loosen up while taking in the surroundings.
The ground was littered with the aftermath of a big storm. Someone had made an effort to collect the broken branches in a small pile nearby, but the wind had had a merry time with the leaves.
This small stop was the halfway point of their drive. She wasn’t looking forward to another three hours of sitting in near-deafening silence. The last thirty minutes of their trip had been bearable. She had acted as a sounding board for the Duke’s ideas, and it seemed that he had arrived at a satisfying conclusion. Eliza’s eyes landed briefly on Artizia’s new husband who was having a discussion with his assistant who had been riding in the car behind them. She swallowed a sigh. Who brought their staff along on a honeymoon? Did the poor man not get any days off?
Leaving them to their own devices, Eliza entered the shop with Margaret a step behind. She couldn’t shake the thought that it was strange to have so many people tag along on a honeymoon trip. It wasn’t like she couldn’t dress herself.
A soft tinkling announced her entry. The store was deserted, but the door to the staff room was ajar. Eliza could hear someone scrambling to finish their meal. She browsed the limited collection of items. There was nothing that she needed, but she had a hunch that the Duke’s conversation would take a while.
Soon, the attendant appeared from the back room. Eliza shot them a glance and a small smile, then froze. The eyes that met hers were a bright blue. There was nothing remarkable about the appearance of the person behind the counter, but Artizia’s body was screaming at her that the boy – he looked barely old enough to be hired – was dangerous. There was no surprise in his gaze even as she continued to stare mutedly at him.
Finally, she blinked as she came back to her senses and looked outside at the group of people traveling with her. This was an unpopular stop, but the shop still did quite well on account of people like the Duke who didn’t like attention when they travelled. It wasn’t impossible to find out their itinerary, either. Was she being paranoid? Eliza looked at the boy again. He was still watching her. There was an alertness to him that she couldn’t ignore.
Making her decision, she said without turning around, “It’s a little chilly in here. Can you get me a shawl?”
“Of course, Your Grace.” Margaret answered promptly and left. Without looking at her Eliza didn’t know if her maid was aware of her wariness. The bell tinkled cheerily as Margaret left. In the store, a charged silence fell as the pair stared at each other.
Eliza spoke first. They wouldn’t be alone for long. “How much?”
Something flashed over the boy’s face. Surprise? Amusement? “What?”
“She’ll be back soon.”
He paused for a moment and glanced at Margaret’s retreating back, then, “I don’t do double-crosses.”
“What are your instructions?”
“Do you expect me to answer that?”
Eliza clicked her tongue in annoyance. “Are we supposed to drive out of here alive or not?”
The boy fell silent. She sighed, closing her eyes briefly. She hadn’t heard anyone else outside, and unless he was working with a expert, there was no one else in the store. After a moment’s thought, she said, “You must be quite good.”
He lifted a shoulder in a shrug. If he was the only one hired to take the entire group on, she had to be extremely cautious. But if she played her cards right, this encounter could turn out to be a blessing in disguise.
She grabbed a handful of snacks in front of her. Slowly, she moved down the short aisle, eyes cast down as though she was browsing. She added a large bottle of cola to her selection.
“I have a proposition.”
“I told you—”
“Hear me out,” she interrupted. A quick glance revealed that Margaret was still rummaging in the boot for a shawl. “I’ll pay you double to let us leave and I’ll pay you the same amount to find out some info for me.”
“I can’t do that,” he replied. “Do you know what this will do to my reputation?”
“Do you really want to develop a reputation as someone who takes hits for royalty?” Eliza asked, giving him an incredulous look.
He shrugged again. “There’s a market for everything.”
She shook her head. “That’s terrible business sense. There’s only one royal family in the Empire. Even if you get hired for every person of royal blood, your success rate would be near zero.” She added after a pause, “Sure, if you succeed once the payout will be big enough to set you up for life – but how sure are you that you’ll get paid? If I were in your employer’s shoes, I would rather pay someone else to get rid of you.”
The boy’s face was impassive, but he said nothing to refute her words. Margaret had found what she was looking for and had turned back towards the shop. Hastily, Eliza said, “There are easier ways for you to make money. I’m offering you quadruple the amount just to gather intel.”
A tinkling announced Margaret’s arrival. Eliza allowed her to place the shawl around her tensed shoulders as she kept her eyes on the boy behind the counter.
“Shall I pay for these?” Margaret asked, gesturing for Eliza to hand over the snacks in her hands. At this, the boy closed his eyes briefly and nodded nearly imperceptibly. Eliza took a deep breath, feeling her shoulders sag.
“I’ll do it,” Eliza said with a shake of her head. She walked to the counter. As the boy rang up her purchase, she murmured, “A week from now, two-pm, the Archaic Gardens.”
Silently, he packed everything into a bag and pushed it across the counter. A bright smile broke across his face. “Have a safe trip!”
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