If pressed, Maylee didn't know exactly how her ability worked. Her mama had passed down the skill to her, and it was an old Meriweather tradition. Some families had water-dowsers and people who could predict the weather. Meriweathers were talkers. Maylee touched the burned skin and gently rubbed the inflamed mark one last time. "Now, Miss Alexandra-"
"Your Highness," her mother stiffly corrected next to Maylee.
She sounded so much like Griffin in that moment that Maylee got distracted. But she recovered and finished her sentence. "Go ahead and give me the rest of the pain."
Alexandra blinked for a moment, and then a smile crossed her face. "It's not hurting anymore. How on earth did you do that?"
Maylee lifted her hands. They always felt a little warm and achy after a good talking. "Don't know. It runs in my family. My mama can talk the warts off anyone, but I'm only good with burns."
"Warts?" said a horrified woman nearby. "How vulgar."
"I don't care," Alexandra said, smiling into the mirror at Maylee. "I wasn't quite sure when Griffin told me, but I have to say, I'm impressed. You have my thanks." The princess waved her makeup attendant forward, and the woman rushed in, cosmetic sponges in hand, to fix the crown princess's makeup.
"Just be gentle with it," Maylee cautioned. "Put some aloe vera on it tonight and cover it so you don't irritate the skin more. The mark will go away in another day or so, but it shouldn't blister."
"That's incredible," Luke said, a relieved smile on his face. He grinned at the princess again. "You sure you're okay, baby? Up to this party?"
"It doesn't matter if I am or not," Alexandra said, but her smile took the sting out of her words. "Give me ten minutes and I'll be ready to go downstairs." She indicated at a chair nearby. "Sit, Maylee. In case we need you again."
"No more curling irons," Luke said firmly. "You're lovely just as you are."
Alexandra's smile curved her mouth. "We'll just pin the rest." She snapped her fingers and pointed at her hair, and the crying woman wiped her eyes and sprung into action.
Maylee approached the chair designated for her, but she smoothed her dress nervously. "If it's all right, Miss Alexandra, I'd rather stand. I'm afraid I'd bust a seam or something awful, and then Mr. Griffin would be really unhappy with me."
The princess stared at her mirror, but her gaze flicked to Maylee and then back again. "Speaking of Cousin Griffin, I see he's dug out the family jewels?"
Maylee quickly touched both earrings and the necklace again. "Lordamercy, yes, and they're making me as nervous as a cat in a room full of rocking chairs."
Luke snorted a laugh.
"Indeed," Alexandra said in a pleasant voice. "Still, he must be pleased with your work."
"Oh, this is just a loan," Maylee said again, her hand pressing against the far-too-expensive necklace. "I think he felt sorry for me because I didn't have any jewelry."
"That doesn't sound like Griffin," the princess said.
"What doesn't sound like Griffin?"
Maylee turned at the sound of his familiar voice, suddenly uncertain. "Hello, Mr. Gri-um, Lord Montagne Verdi."
He moved to her side and put a hand on her shoulder. The move was oddly possessive for an employer, Maylee thought, but she didn't pull away. It was kind of nice, really. Like he was including her in the group instead of making her feel like an interloper.
"Has George been sniffing around?" Griffin asked, and she felt his fingers tense on her shoulder.
"He has not," Princess Alexandra said, leaning in so her attendant could whisk mascara on her lashes. "We're about to head downstairs, which means the dancing will start. Are you going to run out as soon as it does, like usual?"
Griffin scowled. "I do not."
"You do," Alexandra said, and their bickering sounded more like siblings than princess and viscount. "I told Luke you always sneak out of these functions because you hate dancing more than he does."
"Oh, are we going before we watch the dancing?" Maylee couldn't help the wistful note in her voice. Now that they were here and she'd met the princess-who was quite nice, really-she was feeling more relaxed. And she wanted to see what an actual royal dance was like.
"I suppose we could stay for one," Griffin said.
"Two," Alexandra corrected, and got to her feet in a swirl of delicate blue frothing lace. "The first dance is for myself and Luke."
***
Twenty minutes later, the princess and her fiancé had been announced to the crowd, and the band started to play. The official ball had begun, and Alexandra and Luke moved around the dance floor in an elegant swirl.