Neli was also one of the seamstresses for the palace and she bowed again at the prince's demand. She already had Anastasia's measurements.
Olivia was mortified. She stood there, dumbfounded. She couldn't believe that Ileus was such a shameless man. And her husband—he was such a gentle soul. She could never dream of her husband being so unabashed. He was possessive and arrogant and very Alpha, but he wasn't as cheeky as the crown prince. Right?
As for Ileus, he couldn't help staring at the dress and images of Anastasia in the dress flashed in his mind. He growled as his cock shot north. The wolf snapped his head to look at Kaizan. "Are you coming with me or not?" He was in a mood to bash up several men at the time.
"I am busy!" Kaizan snapped. "I will come in an hour later."
Ileus took a step closer towards Kaizan and for a moment it seemed that the two were going to get into a physical fight, but then Ileus snapped his fingers and he and his promised wolf vanished into thin air. Olivia heard Kaizan's angry roar from somewhere, but it faded. She should have been surprised, but this was not the first time Ileus did that.
She shook her head and then looked at Neli who was standing like a statue as if her mind had gone blank. She gulped and when she spoke, she squeaked, "What color would you want these dresses to be?"
She looked at the fabric rolls and said, "Make one with each color and get two nightdresses tomorrow."
Neli nodded and took her measurements. Once the measurements were taken, she bowed to Olivia and then left. On her way out she met Bernice.
"Are you finished?" Bernice asked, getting up from the couch where she was waiting for Kaizan.
"I am," she replied. "I can take your measurements now. Sorry to keep you waiting."
Bernice smirked. "I was waiting for General Kaizan, not you. He is supposed to come anytime and I will make tea for him."
Neli clenched her jaws at the girl's insolence and also how she addressed the General. "But General Kaizan is upstairs with his wife," she said with a soft smile.
"What? How?" Bernice's mind stuttered. Kaizan never came in. This woman was surely lying. "He hasn't come from his chancery."
Neli tapped her chin as she looked up at the stairs. "Maybe you are misinformed, m'lady," she said politely, enjoying every bit of her disappointment. "He was there showing me the sketches for his wife's nightgowns that HE had drawn." Neli emphasized on the word 'he'. That last sentence was like a punch in Bernice's gut and Neli couldn't help as her smile split her face.
Bernice gasped. She clenched her fists till her nails dig in her palm. She couldn't digest the fact that while she was waiting so patiently for Kaizan downstairs, he was with his wife and seamstress. "I see," she almost hissed. Did he not go to the office? In order to salvage the situation, Bernice took her to her room where she asked her to make two sexy training dresses for her. And for those two dresses Neli had to spend an excruciating one hour. The seamstress decided never to make any more dresses for the woman in front of her.
"When can you get these?" asked Bernice as Neli began to collect her stuff and leave.
"I will bring them tomorrow!"
"Good," said Bernice. "If you won't make them nicely, I will call you for alterations."
"That is fine, m'lady," Neli bowed and asked her assistant to collect the fabric. Then she turned to Bernice and said, "What about the payment, m'lady?"
Bernice's face turned sour. "Don't worry about it. Kaizan will pay for all of us."
"I see," Neli replied. She bowed again and then left. She wasn't going to see this girl ever again.
Next day in the morning, Bernice served Kaizan her best tea. She was once again up early and prepared. There were pastries, boiled eggs, bacon, yogurt, fig jam, various types of sliced fruits and a large pot of tea. He had come down alone and as if waiting for the opportunity, she sat down with him, but on the opposite side. "I hope you like all this," she replied, noticing how fatigued he looked. "I made it in the morning for you."
Kaizan exhaled. "Thank you," he replied lazily. His wife was still sleeping in the bedchamber. Yesterday night he had come home late after dragging Ileus from the caged boxing ring. He had made pulp out of five men and was in a murderous rage. The five men with whom he had fought were currently in the healer's aid center lying on the bed with fractures and bruises. He had personally taken all those werewolves and wizards to the healer. He was sure that he was going to chide Anastasia when she came back this time. He was after all now married and wanted to spend his time with his wife rather than a teenager-like hormonally-imbalanced Ileus.
"I hope you like it!" Bernice added when he didn't appreciate her efforts.
Kaizan snapped out of his reverie. He said, "Please make sure that Olivia eats it too." Saying that he got up from the table and strode out as Bernice gaped at his unruly behavior. Suddenly, Kaizan came back and she straightened her back. "Ileus has approved your request to meet Murtagh. You can meet him today in the afternoon."
"Thank you!" Bernice's eyes shone with excitement. Kaizan had done so much for her.
Kaizan gave her a tight nod and exited. He had too much on his plate since he had skipped office yesterday.
When Bernice relayed this information to her mother, Fuchsia said, "I will visit Murtagh. You wait here in the house for Kaizan. Yesterday also you didn't come to know when he came and he spent all his time with that mouse, Olivia. Don't miss your chance now, okay?"
"But I wanted to meet Alpha Murtagh," Bernice pouted.
"He is of no importance at the moment, Bernie," said Fuchsia. "The peace treaty has put Kaizan on a higher pedestal. You should focus on him, okay. Right now, I see that he hasn't claimed Olivia. You must seize this opportunity."
Bernice's lips curved down, but what her mother said made sense. She sighed and flopped on the bed.
In the afternoon, Fuchsia got ready to meet Alpha Murtagh. She was going there only for formality's sake. She would spend no more than fifteen minutes with him and then come out. The carriage was waiting for her on the outside with two soldiers on their mounts in the front. She knew that since Murtagh was a political prisoner, there was tight security with everything related to him. Olivia came out to see her mother off. "Come back soon, Mother," she said.
As soon as Fuchsia left, Neli's assistant came and Olivia met her on her way inside. She bowed to Bernice and handed her the dresses she had ordered. The assistant was carrying one more bag. Bernice knew that this one contained Olivia's nightgowns. "You can give this to me. I will pass them to Olivia."
The assistant bowed and handed that bag to Bernice.
At present those nightdresses were sprawled on her bed and they were… hot!