The Paper Boat
Page 10
At dawn, Avery called one of her ladies to style her hair and accompany her to the gardens. “Stay out of sight but within earshot. I don’t expect trouble, but I don’t know for sure.”
This was the first time she’d left the castle since the Olympiad, and it felt wonderful to be outside in the sunshine again. The scent of new flowers and freshly turned earth met her as she moved into the lush grounds. And what a relief to find Tuck at the far end of a long path that led to a complex maze of every imaginable beautiful bloom.
She called out to dismiss her attendant, and as she ran toward Tuck, he bowed.
Avery laughed. “Now stop it! I feel silly enough when people I don’t know do that. I feel like I’m pretending to be someone I’m not.”
“But you are that someone, Your Highn—”
“Now I’m not going to allow that. One thing I’ve been taught is that family members don’t have to use titles—we don’t have to encumber ourselves that way is what I was told.”
“I’m not family.”
“Well, you’re closer than my new family, that’s for sure. And if you believe I’m really your princess, then I hereby decree you family and forbid you to address me with titles.”
“Now, see,” he said, “that’s the Avery I know. Being royalty is not your problem. Trying to be who you think you should be is holding you back. Just embrace this. Be yourself!”
Avery took his arm and they walked, talking about life in the castle and how much they missed Kendrick. They rehashed cherished memories and shared jokes.
Suddenly Tuck stopped and idly pawed at the ground with his foot.
“What is it?” Avery said. “What’s wrong?”
“I don’t like good-byes,” he said.
“You’d better be joking,” she said, but when he finally met her gaze she could tell he was serious. “What do you mean?” she said. “I can put you in just about any room in the castle and find you a great job. We’re understaffed.”
Tuck laughed. “I’m not desperate.”
“I didn’t mean that. I—”
“With you in the royal living quarters, Kate ran out of people to manage, so she taught me to read and write. I’m not good yet, but I’m not useless anymore.”
“You know that’s not what I was saying. You’ve never been useless.”
He smiled. “Did you know I sent you that note in the Tower about taking courage because Kendrick was bringing back someone from the Forbidden City who would make everything right?”
“I had no idea,” Avery said. She wanted to ask whom Kendrick had tried to bring back, but Tuck grew serious again.
“I don’t belong here,” he said. And though his words came quiet as a breeze, to Avery they clanged like discordant tower bells. “And we both know you and I—a royal and a commoner—would soon be forbidden from being friends. I couldn’t handle that.”
Avery pulled her hand from the crook of Tuck’s elbow, crossed her arms, and shook her head. It had been a long time since she’d lost her temper, but somehow royal blood couldn’t stem her anger.
“Stop!” she shouted. “We’re not going to talk like this! You’re not going anywhere!”
“Avery, is this really how you want to part, with an argument—our last meeting so much like our first?”
“Don’t say that, Tuck!” she said, tears brimming, but she refused to let them fall. “I need you now more than ever. What will I do without your smile, your words, your kindness? Your friendship has been a gift from the beginning.”
“You know I feel the same,” Tuck said, squinting into the rising sun.
Why can’t he look at me?
“They’ll be looking for you soon,” he said, putting a hand on her shoulder. “The king and queen will take good care of you. I wouldn’t leave if I weren’t sure of it.” He took her hand and pressed something into her palm before closing her fingers around it.
Avery knew it had to be the crown ring.
“And one more gift,” he said. He tugged her around a corner and whistled. A dog came bounding out, all golden paws and bright eyes.
“He looks like Bronte!” Avery said.
“It’s one of her puppies. I thought you might like him.”
Avery bent to scratch the dog’s back then rose to hug Tuck tight. “Thank you,” she murmured into his neck. “I don’t want a castle that doesn’t include you.”
“You’re here for a reason,” Tuck said. “Figure out what it is.”
He backed away, and she watched him until he was out of sight.
In tears she started back through the maze of flowers, hoping to either clear her head or get herself so lost no one could ever find her. How she hated losing the people who meant the most! The angrier she got, the faster she walked, the dog right behind her.
Avery took a sharp curve and brushed past someone. “Sorry,” she said, looking up. “My fault.” Realizing it was the advisor in crimson, she stepped around him and kept moving.
“Wait, Your Highness!” he called. “I came here looking for you.”
Chapter 31
An Offer
Avery kept going, eager to get out of the garden but not sure how. Tuck hadn’t been gone more than a few minutes and already she needed him. She wished she hadn’t dismissed her attendant. When people came searching for her, at least the girl would know she was likely somewhere in the maze.
“I’m not here to hurt you, Princess!” the advisor in crimson called after her.
Avery spun to face him, her back to the sun. “Then what do you want?”
The advisor folded his hands and said cheerfully, “Just a moment to talk with you. I overheard you and your friend. Pity he broke your heart.”
“Not that it’s any of your business, but he didn’t break my heart.”
The man smiled sympathetically, as if he knew better. “How would you like to see your family again?”
Fearing a trap, Avery could just see him racing to tell the king she considered someone else her true family.
“That’s a ridiculous question,” she said. He could take that in many ways.
“I’m sure your father would love to tend his garden again. And your mother could return to her sewing. And your brother could play outside again on mornings like this one.”
He’s guessing. Most families have a father who gardens, a mother who sews, and a son who plays outside.
The advisor smiled. “And you would have your castle tree house back.”
Avery recoiled. “How do you know my family?”
Again, the response was only a smile.
“Anyway, the king would never let me go.”
“I’m not asking the king. I’m asking you. And I urge you to think carefully. You may never have this opportunity again.”
“I’m listening.”
“Walk with me.”
Avery paid attention to every step so she could find her way out in a hurry if necessary. The puppy weaved in and out of the shrubs, scampering ahead and then lagging behind.
“You and I share something,” he began.
“I doubt that.”
He snorted. “Think about it. Neither of us has what we most want. You miss your family more than anything, and I want who I want on the throne.”
Avery stopped. “You’re a threat to the king?”
“No, no, no,” he said. “That would be treason. But assume the king has no suitable heir. Even if he precedes Elizabeth in death, she’s not likely to reign long before she passes. I want to see the crown go to someone—how should I say this?—someone…”
“Other than me.”
“I envy your way with words,” he said.
“And whom do you have in mind?”
“Who is irrelevant. There is more than one suitable candidate, but naturally I am keen to retain my role in the royal court.”
“You’re suggesting I abandon my place in succession to the throne to search for a family I don’t even know is still alive?”
Ave
ry would have given almost anything for that, but not knowing whom he had in mind for the crown, she couldn’t admit it. Regardless, his scheming was a flagrant overstepping of his role as former spiritual advisor to Queen Angelina and confidant to the king.
“Tell me,” Avery said, “do you think I’m so young and foolish that I would give up everything at the risk of finding out you’re lying?”
“Trust me, your family is healthy and safe—at least for now.”
Avery studied his eyes, angered by the subtle threat. Still, if it were possible he was telling the truth…“Can you prove that?”
“Smart girl,” he said. “I’m impressed. And yes, I can provide evidence.”
They walked on, and she asked, “Assuming you’re telling the truth, what exactly would you expect me to do?”
“Here is the agreement I am willing to make: if you return home and abdicate your right to the throne, I will personally guarantee you and your family against all royal threats—as long as you and your family stay clear of the castle.”
“And if I come back…?”
The advisor shook his head. “I wouldn’t advise it.”
Avery was relieved when they stopped at an exit from the garden that led back to the castle.
“Do we have an agreement?” the advisor asked.
She stalled. It was tempting, but would it be reckless? If he proved her family was alive and safe, there was nothing more she would rather do than reunite with them.
But was that selfish? By surrendering her right to the throne, she could be paving the way for a monarch she wouldn’t wish on her worst enemy.
One thrust into power through such maneuvers—and by a man like this—could be the vilest evil ever foisted upon the realm. Avery couldn’t be responsible for that.
“Could you answer something for me?”
“I’ll try.”
“Where is the Forbidden City?”
The advisor’s shoulders shook with laughter.
“It isn’t funny. It may seem off the subject to you, but I want to know. Where is it?”
“I can’t believe the daughter of the king and queen doesn’t know!”
“Laugh all you want—I’m new to this. Now where is it?”
“My dear, the Forbidden City exists only in people’s imaginations.”
She shot him a look. He had to be toying with her. “Impossible!”
“Know anyone who has been there and returned?”
Queen Elizabeth? Come to think of it, she’d said nothing about going there. And Edward and the other missing thirteen-year-olds had run away. It turned out they hadn’t been banished to the dreaded destination.
“Thomas,” she said.
“I’m not familiar…”
“He finished second to me in a race during the Olympiad.”
“Ah, yes,” the advisor said. “No, he wasn’t sent anywhere. He suffered another way.”
A chill slid down Avery’s spine. She hated life as a royal more with every minute.
The advisor leaned close. “The mind will believe what it’s told to believe. We didn’t need an actual Forbidden City. We merely suggested it, and people fell in line. What they fear most is fear.”
“And when you say we,” Avery said, “you mean you, don’t you? You’re the one who’s been behind all this from the beginning, moving people like chess pieces. You orchestrated Queen Elizabeth’s disappearance and the capture of the thirteen-year-olds. Did you kill Kendrick, too?”
The advisor smiled. “It doesn’t matter what I say. Your mind will believe what you tell it to believe.”
“You maneuvered Angelina onto the throne. No wonder you’re desperate to replace her.”
Avery was repelled by his sudden cheeriness as he said, “You know where to find me once you’ve decided. But I would not recommend waiting long. Remember, your family is safe for now.”
“I told you I need proof.”
“Swear to follow through if I prove it, and you will have your evidence.”
“I’ll let you know,” Avery said. She couldn’t help feeling as if she were dancing with the devil.
Chapter 32
A Familiar Face
With her new dog napping on the floor next to her, that afternoon Avery sat on her new throne in the Great Hall, acting in the king’s stead to hear and settle the complaints of commoners throughout the realm. No wonder he hated it. Typical grievances were missing chickens—blamed on pilfering neighbors; noise violations—most often against hungover defendants; and broken promises—which could have been settled easily if memorialized on paper.
Avery took this duty seriously and determined to fairly rule on each dispute before moving on to the next. She was pleasantly surprised that no one questioned her youth. These people believed in the royal bloodline, and as she had been affirmed by the king himself, that was apparently good enough for them.
Avery learned quickly that the loudest complainers typically had the least to complain about. Some cases she had to sort out between individuals. Others were claims against the castle, and she prayed she would be fair and wise.
Avery found the work exhausting. What had begun with about twenty people in line soon stretched out the door, and she couldn’t see its end. She collected taxes, settled arguments, and promised restitution.
After a brief break for a tea cake and water—and a little water for the pup, too—she longed to be done with petty disputes forever. Avery returned to hear a man who appeared haggard. He bowed and approached alone, hat in hand.
“I come on behalf of my missing family,” he said, his voice timid and faint but familiar.
Avery leaned forward. “Come closer,” she said. He took one tentative step. Beneath the grime, she recognized him. Though thinner and older, still he looked like her father!
Was this the crimson advisor’s proof?
Desperate to maintain her composure, Avery whispered, “Tell me more, sir,” and fought the urge to gather him in her arms and flee the castle forever.
Eyes sad and shoulders slumped, he maintained the posture of a beggar.
“I had a wife and two children,” he said. “Two years ago my wife traveled here to inquire about our daughter, but she never returned.”
This made no sense. Why would her mother have come to the castle to ask about her before the old woman snatched Avery from the woods?
People in line began grumbling, and one shouted, “Hurry, old man! The princess is not interested!”
Avery sprang to her feet and shouted, “I am, too!” causing the dog to peer at her, bright-eyed.
The room hushed, and everyone seemed to be watching to see what she did next. Didn’t her own father recognize her? Maybe my clothes and hair have truly transformed me.
She sat back down and said gently, “Did you search for your wife?” He shook his head and looked down.
“Why not, sir?”
What had happened to him since she last saw him? Grief could destroy even the strongest man.
His shoulders shook. “She had made me promise when she left that I would stay home and protect our daughter and son, no matter what. It was as if she knew something might happen to her. I swore I would do what she asked, but I failed.”
Avery’s eyes widened. If she left him home with two children, I wasn’t the daughter she came to inquire about.
Avery dared not identify her father, knowing it would be reported to the king. And the line grew restless again. She motioned him even closer and whispered, “Are you familiar with a tiny cottage on the other side of the Salt Sea, small and plain and separated from the woods by a field of tall grass?”
That description fit most of the dwellings in the area, but no one seemed the wiser.
He looked puzzled. “I am, mum.”
Avery beckoned a scribe, specified the home and property in question, and announced, “Have the cottage rid of any vagrants, squatters, or trespassers, and deed ownership of it and the land to this man free and clear.
Avery thought she saw a flash of recognition. He came to life at last, trembling, lips quivering. “Thank you, Your Highness!”
“Was I clear?”
He nodded heartily. “I’m to wait for my family.”
“Come with me, sir.”
With the dog watching, head cocked, the man followed her down the steps from the platform to a guard who kept the cashbox used to collect taxes and fines. “Open it, please,” she told the guard. When he did, she reached in and took a handful of the gold and silver.
Her father quickly tucked his hat under his arm and cupped his hands. She filled them with more than enough coins to cover his needs for a long time.
From the line someone shouted, “My family is missing, too!” and several laughed.
“Mine, too!”
“That’s true for me as well!”
“Mine isn’t missing, but I can arrange it!”
“Wait at home,” Avery whispered in his ear.
“I miss you, sweetheart,” he whispered.
Avery bit her lip to keep from smiling and pulled back to look deeply into his eyes, hoping to silently convey the same.
Brimming with joy and fighting to keep from alternately bursting out laughing or weeping, Avery was distracted for the rest of the session. An old woman complained about her neighbor’s cows, but Avery had to keep asking her to repeat herself. And when court closed, she couldn’t remember how she had ruled.
She had finally found her father, or rather he had found her, and that was all that mattered.
Chapter 33
Hard Questions
When Avery finally trudged to her room, the dog at her heels, she found Kate sitting by the window.
Avery pulled the rolled painting from the trunk full of baby things sent by the king, sat on her bed, and patted the spot beside her.
Kate joined her as the dog settled below.
“You knew my mother,” Avery said.
“The queen?” Kate said. “Well, sure—I mean, I knew of her, but I—”
“My mother,” Avery said, looking Kate in the eye. “You knew my mother.”