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was well past dinner time, and her shoes scuffed dust up from the road. “What an endless day.” She sighed. There hadn’t been time to eat anything substantial since the bread and milk from lunch. At least she’d been able to take a bite or two of the leftover pork before the kitchen staff threw everything into the refuse pit.
    “And as long a wait.”
    She looked up to see Robert by her side. Now that she knew his true form, it was easier to see through the curse. “What are you doing here?”
    “Escorting you home.”
    “You needn’t bother.”
    “I insist.”
    She shrugged. “Suit yourself.” Her silly heart picked up. Maybe she was walking too fast.
    Naturally. It has nothing to do with the beautifully masculine man beside you.
    He’d claimed he was a prince. He probably really was. No commoner had five hundred gold coins on hand, or treasures such as that lovely golden ball. Even if he reneged on his promise and didn’t pay her the rest of the money, she had enough to resign from her post.
    And leave she would once her week of helping him was over. She was getting sick of serving Princess Serenia hand and foot, and with little to show for it. The princess didn’t know the words
thank you
or
please
. Everything was an order, usually followed by a dire threat. Not an empty one either; a previous gardener had lost his little toe for being unable to make her favorite roses bloom.
    Never mind that it had been mid-November.
    Molly had been lucky to be able to keep all her bodily parts so far, but it was only a matter of time before she ran afoul of Serenia’s temper. There was no point risking it any longer than needed.
    “You don’t have to thank me this way.” Famished, she ripped a piece from the hunk of old bread in the bag she carried. The crust was getting hard, but she didn’t care so long as it didn’t have any mold. She also had two soft fresh croissants, but those were for her mother. “Have you eaten?”
    Robert nodded. “What am I thanking you for?”
    “The present went well, didn’t it?” She chewed the bread, grimacing at the rocklike texture. She’d need to filch a fresh loaf from the kitchen tomorrow.
    “I wouldn’t say ‘well.’ Serenia was too shy to really talk to me.”
    Molly shrugged. “She’s not shy. Trust me.” The princess was shameless when it came to things she coveted. She always got what she wanted, no matter what she had to do to get it.
    “You do your mistress insult. I cannot imagine a princess with such dismal lack of knowledge of current affairs. Surely she has an opinion concerning the troll situation.”
    “Why should she?”
    “The issue is polarizing. Everyone has an opinion, and usually a strong one.”
    “No, not everyone, and that’s the truth. What the trolls do doesn’t affect the princess one way or the other. Some people don’t even know anything or care about Fairy Godmother.”
    He looked scandalized. “You are having a jest. Everyone has a secret wish they would like fulfilled.”
    “What would Princess Serenia need Fairy Godmother for? Her Most Royal Highness has beauty, wealth and a doting father who allows her to do anything she pleases.” It was people like Molly who cared about Fairy Godmother, not that she seemed to have time for lowly people like Molly. Maybe she should simply be grateful she hadn’t caught the Wicked Witch’s attention.
    Robert frowned in puzzlement. “What does Serenia occupy herself with when she’s not taking walks?”
    “She buys things.”
    “Such as?”
    “Clothes, jewelry, accessories and shoes.”
    “She can’t be doing that every day.”
    “Naturally not. When she’s run out of things to buy, she naps. It helps her skin look young and radiant. When she can’t nap any more, she makes lists of things she’d like to eat. Well…dictates them, really.”
    “You can’t be serious.”
    “Can’t I?” Molly finished her bread and leaned down to look him more or less in the eye. “She is a