Page 13 of Deceiving the Cursed Beast
I didn’t manage to hold back my hiss, but neither Marc nor Isa were paying any attention to me.
Pulling out the chair facing Marc’s desk, Isa sat. “The ones who are dishonest, which in my experience is most of them.”
Time to remind everyone of my presence. I hopped onto the table. “A problem you won’t have with Marc at Rose Castle.”
She raised a brow at me. “We’ve been over this, Your Grace. Marc can’t tell an outright lie, but that doesn’t mean he has to be honest.”
“It would still take him considerable effort to craft a lie within the constraints of the truth-telling enchantment.”
She shook her head. “Few people—except small children—have the confidence to lie flat-out. Most rely on bending the truth. There also seems to be a general consensus that it is morally better to lie by omission or misdirection rather than complete fabrications. I’ve never understood that viewpoint, but it means that the magical constraints here aren’t much worse than what people impose on themselves.”
I cocked my head to the side. “So you assume all people are dishonest without exchanging more than a few words?”
“When they lie within those first few words, it seems safe to assume dishonesty is a character trait for them.” Clearly, Isa had no interest in minimizing the scope of her power, even if it made Marc more wary of her.
Though I still didn’t understand why she was wary of him. “All Marc did was call you beautiful. Hardly a lie.”
Her eyes went wide for a moment before she schooled her expression to blandness once more. “No, he asked what man wouldn’t want to talk to a beautiful woman. He implied I am beautiful, but did not actually say it. Based on my power, I’d have to conclude he does not consider me beautiful. Dishonesty in the first few words.”
My estimation of Marc sank even lower. Did he not consider Isa beautiful because she wasn’t stick thin? Or perhaps he preferred a woman whose cheekbones were razor sharp rather than her tongue. I’d bet he would consider Lady Cecily more beautiful than Isa. He’d be wrong.
Isa turned her attention back to Marc, who still stood behind his desk, his lips parted. “To return to our earlier discussion, sir, my insistence on calling people out on their lies often results in them not enjoying my conversation.”
Marc snapped his mouth closed and took his seat once more. I could see him struggling to choose his next words. “The fault doesn’t lie with you that people are uncomfortable with honesty.”
I didn’t want to watch him try to talk his way into Isa’s good graces, though I suspected it would be a futile effort that I might find enjoyable under other circumstances. I didn’t appreciate being ignored, as if I really was nothing more than a house cat. “But she is the one making them confront their dishonesty. So, in that sense, she is responsible for their discomfort.”
Isa rolled her eyes. “If you choose to place the blame on me for not ignoring deceit instead of on the speakers for telling the lies.”
“My choice hardly matters, as I’m sure those people do prefer to pass the blame to you.” Forget about changing her opinion of me, verbally sparring with Isa was intoxicating.
She smirked at me. “You consider yourself separate from the people I discomfit, then, Your Grace?”
I chuckled. “Most definitely. My immunity to your power gives me an advantage.”
She leaned forward. “You underestimate me. I don’t need magic to turn a conversation to uncomfortable topics.”
I met her gaze, pulled into the deep brown depths of her eyes and not wanting to pull away. “I think you’ll be surprised at how many subjects I’m comfortable with.”
Marc cleared his throat. “Perhaps we should instead choose a pleasant topic?”
I looked over at the secretary. “I thought the origin of this discussion was Isa’s deficiencies when it comes to pleasant conversation?”
Isa snorted. “At least I’m not the only tactless one here.”
Marc’s gaze darted between us, and he cleared his throat once more before addressing her. “How do you like Rose Castle?”
I waited, curious to hear her answer.
She shrugged. “There are too many clocks.”
Her evasion made me want to purr. If she hated it here, she wouldn’t have hesitated to say so. For her to resort to such a silly complaint, I knew that she must actually like Rose Castle overall. She simply wouldn’t give me the satisfaction of saying so aloud.
Marc clearly didn’t know what to do with her pronouncement.
“We aren’t here for small talk,” I said, standing once more. “Please show Isa the contract her father signed and my notes on the wording of Lady Cecily's curse.”
I leapt off the desk. Isa didn’t need me to protect her from Marc, and I had no interest in protecting the secretary from her.
