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Comfort jiggled my shoulder. “Hey, if you were going to be with anyone, Curtis is a great choice. He really likes you, you already do everything together, and for goodness sakes, he is a prince! Just imagine, you could be second in line to be queen!”

“That makes it sound like I am using him,” I protested.

Comfort ignored my comment and instead asked, “Do you like him?”

“Yes,” I answered quietly. “I do. A lot.”

Comfort raised her eyebrows at me, as if to say ‘Then what is the problem?’

“But what if it doesn’t work out between us?” I asked in a rush.

“If it doesn’t work out, then it doesn’t work out,” Comfort said breezily. “But at least you won’t regret not ever finding out. And besides, you and Curtis are perfect for each other. He gets you to have fun, and you stop him from doing anything too crazy. You have similar interests, and you think that he is soooooo handsome…” she puckered her lips and I rolled my eyes.

“So have you ever kissed anyone?” I asked.

“Four someones, actually,” Comfort admitted. “But don’t tell Father!”

“Who?” I asked eagerly. “Tell me!”

“Do you remember Fredrick, the stable boy?”

I gasped. “Does Father know you have been kissing stable boys?”

“Shhhh! No he doesn’t. And he better never find out. So do you remember him?”

I screwed up my face as I searched my memory. “I don’t think so…Wait, was he that boy with black hair that was always following you around a couple years back?”

Comfort giggled. “That is the one. Well, I thought he was cute, and I would always find excuses to go down to the stables, pretend I had lost a hair clip during riding lessons, and he would help me look, but we both knew I hadn’t really lost anything. And then he would come deliver messages to Father or would volunteer to help with the horses for my horseback riding classes. Anyway, one day we snuck away to the woods, and he kissed me.”

“Just like that?” I asked incredulously.

“Well, it was the first time for both of us, so it was a little sloppy. But,” she winked, “practice makes perfect!”

“Weren’t you nervous?”

“Of course I was! Everyone is the first time. But he was really cute and I wanted to know what it felt like.”

“What about numbers two, three, and four?” I asked.

“Let’s see…” Comfort began ticking off on her fingers. “James was that one squire I would always dance with. Charles was an earl’s son that would take me out on long carriage rides. And then there was Theodore, who knew all the secret passageways and hidden rooms in the castle. All. Of. Them.” She grinned wickedly.

I couldn’t believe it! Prim and proper Comfort, sneaking around kissing stable boys and squires?

“What happened to them?” I asked curiously.

Comfort shrugged. “Stable boys don’t hang around long. They usually move on to bigger and better things. James was gone a lot with the knight he serves, and Charles became smitten with some girl in town about the time that Theodore noticed me. James and Theodore had a fight over me though.” Her mischievous smile broadened. “Theodore won.”

I stared. I couldn’t help it. Comfort always seemed so ladylike.

Comfort giggled. “Don’t look so shocked! It is flattering to be desired. You should know.”

I bit my lip. “What should I do though? Curtis was so upset when I pulled away.”

“Boys are pretty simple creatures,” Comfort said matter-of-factly as she picked a bit of stuffing out of the pillow she was holding. “They really aren’t difficult to figure out. He likes you and tried to kiss you, and you ran off, right?”

“Right.”.

“So he was really disappointed and probably got all grumpy and pouty, right?”