by Paige Elwood
He nodded towards a cobbled street. She recognized it as the one the brothel was located on. She scowled and walked away in the opposite direction, heading towards the field Agata had showed her. She wanted to be somewhere green and open where she could collect her thoughts and figure out her next steps.
She was filled with a million emotions, all swirling inside her and eating her alive. Rage at the king for his short-sighted and misguided decision, and even more rage at Cedric and his lecherous suggestions. The thought of the way his eyes had roamed her body made her want to shower immediately. Grief at the thought that she might not see Max again. Fear at being cast out and alone. She had no belongings, no money, nothing. She had no family here, and the only people she knew were back at the castle. What could she do now?
No doubt Max would be under house arrest and unable to come and find her. Katherine’s words floated into her head: “If I can ever help…” But she didn’t have the paper with the address on it. And even if she did, how would she get there? She had nothing to write a letter on, no way to get a message to her.
All the rage and emotion suddenly drained out of her, and she sank to the floor, defeated. She couldn’t survive in this world. She looked at her ring. “Can you take me back?” she whispered to it. She twisted it on her finger, but the now-familiar warmth was gone, and it was cold, lifeless gold again.
Nothing happened. She was still here, still alone in a field in the middle of a strange country in a strange time. Fat tears dropped from her eyelids and splashed on her shoes. She watched absently as they ran off the brown leather. She remembered the day she’d bought the shoes, when Agata had showed her this field. And the brothel.
She stopped crying, wiping away the tears. Maybe she wasn’t quite as alone as she thought. Cedric’s taunt had been cruel, but maybe he was right about one thing. The brothel might be the very place that she could find the help she needed right now.
She picked herself up, wiped her face on her sleeve, and took some deep, calming breaths. She found the three-story house next to the tavern and knocked loudly on the door. There was no answer at first, and she knocked again, harder this time. A plump woman, hair loose and curling around her face, opened the door. She was wearing a purple gown of fine material, and her cheeks were rouged.
“What?” she barked, looking Sarah over. She must have looked a fright, her clothes torn and dirty and her face streaked with tears. She put on her best authority expression.
“I need to speak to Agata’s cousin,” she stated, her confident tone hiding her agitated state.
The woman wrinkled her nose. “Who?”
“My friend Agata. Her cousin works here, and it’s imperative I speak to her.”
“Imperative indeed?” The woman looked her over once more, and then deciding she was no threat opened the door wider. “Come in then!”
Sarah stepped in, not sure what to expect. What she found was a clean, well-furnished house where a lot of women sat chatting with men. Some played cards, which Sarah knew went against the church in this time, but then why would a brothel stick to the rules, she supposed?
It was a lot less seedy than she’d imagined, and she tried to stop herself from staring as the woman led her through the house. The women were generally well-dressed, and they gave her sideways glances as she made her way through. She felt self-conscious of her bedraggled appearance, but she kept her head high, imagining how Katherine might have dealt with such a situation.
She led her to a small room, where a middle-aged woman sat, counting money and noting numbers in a book. Sarah’s companion cleared her throat. “We have a visitor,” she said.
The woman looked up, her eyes flicking over Sarah. “New girl?”
“No! Sorry, “she added, not wishing to offend the women. “I’m just looking for someone.”
“What’s their name?” the woman behind the desk asked her, raking her over with her dark, beady eyes that shone with a feral kind of intelligence.
“I don’t know, I only know their cousin, Agata,” Sarah explained.
“I don’t know any Agata,” the woman said, placing her quill back in its rest. “You don’t know this cousin’s name at all?”
“No, Agata never mentioned it, she just said she worked here,” Sarah said. Her tightly controlled composure began to unravel, and tears threatened to fall.
“Sit,” the woman said. “Matilde, go and ask a few of the girls. And bring this… lady some wine.”
“Yes, Edita,” Matilde said.
“Oh, water is fine, thank you,” Sarah said hurriedly. Matilde raised an eyebrow but slipped out of the room without a further word.
“May I ask what it is you need to speak with one of my girls about?” Edita regarded her coolly.
“It’s a long story,” Sarah said.
Edita folded her hands on her desk. “I have time,” she said, smiling the smile of a cat toying with a mouse.
Sarah squirmed in her seat. “Oh, well, I suppose the thing is I got in some trouble at the castle, which is how I know Agata, we worked there together.”
Edita nodded for her to continue but gave no further reaction. “I was banished from the castle and escorted out without my things. I can’t go back there, and I have no money and no family to turn to,” she said, tears prickling her eyes again. She dabbed at the corner of her eye with her fingertip, collecting the moisture before it trailed down her cheeks.
Edita was still just calmly watching her. The silence stretched out between them and Sarah was suddenly desperate to fill it. “Agata said her cousin worked here and I hoped she could help me get word to Agata. To get my things and maybe help me?”
“Help you how?” she asked, “Other than sending word to Agata?”
Sarah’s shoulders slumped. “I’m not sure yet. If Agata can bring me my things, I have a little money, but I don’t know where to start to find somewhere I can live, or a job, and I need to try and get word to the Prince…”
“The Prince?” Edita’s eyebrows shot up. The first sign of a real reaction since Sarah had met her.
Sarah nodded. “That’s why I got kicked out of the castle. We fell in love and his father refused to allow us to be together.”
“He is a Prince,” Edita said plainly. “What did you expect?”
“He’s a man too, and we love each other,” Sarah said. Here, away from the castle and under the scrutiny of a stranger, it sounded less convincing. But her heart wasn’t letting go.
“If I had a piece of gold for every girl who comes to work here after some Lord made her a million promises and ruined her reputation, I’d have a lot of gold.”
“He’s not like that.”
She laughed. “Darling, they are all like that. Isn’t he betrothed? What did you think would happen?”
Sarah shook her head. No, he wasn’t like that. She recounted the story of Katherine, and how she and Max had fallen in love. She left out the time traveling part, and the rings. Edita listened carefully, her impassive features showing a glimpse of surprise now and then.
“Well that is quite a story,” Edita said. “I don’t know if I believe all of it, but if it’s true then perhaps your Prince is worth the effort. In the meantime, you are welcome to stay here.”
Sarah nearly fell off her chair. She hadn’t expected this direct woman to want to help her. There must be something in it for Edita. A terrible thought occurred to her. “I don’t… I’m not…”
Edita waved a hand. “Not to work. At least not like that. You can stay a short while, and if it happens that you have to stay longer I can give you work in the kitchen, or perhaps you could help me with the management, seeing as you are well-educated.”
Sarah shrugged. That wouldn’t be so bad, would it? Hopefully she wouldn’t have to worry about it. All that education, and she could end up working in a brothel! A giggle escaped from her and she clamped her hand over her mouth. “Sorry,” she said. “It’s been a very strange day”
Edita shrugge
d. The door opened, and Matilde entered with a tiny, pretty blonde woman in tow. She was so delicate, like a little doll. She looked like she might break if you looked at her too hard.
“Leona has a cousin named Agata,” Matilde said. Leona stared at Sarah with wide blue eyes.
“She works at the castle?” Edita asked.
Leona nodded. “Thank goodness!” Sarah said. She explained her predicament, the words tumbling out of her. Leona listened along, still looking like a deer caught in headlights.
When Sarah finished, Leona said, “I will see if I can speak to Agata. I will go tonight,”
Sarah blew out her breath. “Thank you so much!”
“Now, if you are going to be staying a while,” Edita said. “I need you to get yourself cleaned up and presentable. I know you’re not one of my girls, but the customers don’t know that, and we have a reputation to maintain.”
Sarah almost fell off her chair. Had she just actually been told that she was going to bring down the reputation of a brothel?
Edita ignored her flabbergasted expression. “Matilde, please show Sarah to one of the residential rooms, and find her something clean to wear?”
Matilde nodded and gestured for Sarah to follow her. “Thank you,” she said to both women. “I really appreciate it.”
Matilde led her to the top floor of the building and into a tiny bedchamber. “I’ll bring you something to wear,” she said, closing the door behind her.
Sarah sat on the tiny bed. It was much smaller than her room at the castle. With the door closed, it felt like a barren cell. She looked out of the window, the castle visible in the distance, and wondered what had happened after she left. Had Max’s father managed to talk him into forgetting all about Sarah? Or was he scheming a way to find her, just like she was going to do everything she could?
Matilde returned, entering the room without knocking and clutching a wine-colored dress. She handed it to Sarah and then left without a word. It was similar to the one Sarah wore now, although it had been made for woman with a slightly shapelier bust. But it was clean, and not torn, so she pulled off her old dress — that had been practically brand new! The new dress hung a little at the bust like she’d expected, but other than that it fit pretty well. She fixed her hair using the tiny, grubby mirror and sat back down on the bed.
Now that she was dressed, she was unsure what to do. The room was too small to spend much time in without feeling a little claustrophobic. She could go downstairs, but she was nervous. It was a brothel, heavens only knew what she might see, or walk in on!
Her initial walk through the house had been surprisingly tame, but she wasn’t in the mood for tempting fate. She lay on the narrow bed, the lumps in the mattress pressing on her back, and stared up at the ceiling. Her eyelids were heavy, and she rested them a moment.
She jolted awake to someone shaking her roughly. “Sarah!” a familiar voice said.
She sat bolt upright, disoriented for a moment. “Agata?” she said, suddenly giggling. Agata shook her head and thrust at Sarah the parcel of her things from her room, including the little green money pouch.
“Thank you so much!” Sarah said, pulling her into a hug.
Agata pulled back and grasped Sarah’s shoulders. “I can’t believe you haven’t left the city. The king won’t be happy when he finds out. “
“I don’t care,” Sarah spat out. “Besides, where would I go?”
Agata’s lips tilted downward at the corners. “The prince hasn’t left his bedchamber since you were taken away.”
Sarah’s eyes welled up with tears again. “I don’t know what to do now,” she said, as a couple of tears spilled over. She wiped at them with the back of her hand.
Agata dropped a second green pouch into her hand, “Use this and get away from the city.”
“What’s this?” She asked.
“Your wages. I picked them up fir you this morning before you got kicked out,” Agata grinned.
Sarah threw her arms around Agata’s neck. “Thank you!”
“You’re welcome. To be honest, when you got banished I was pretty happy because I thought I could keep the money. I nearly said no when Leona came to the castle,” Agata teased.
Sarah grinned. “You’re a saint. But I can’t leave the city.”
“You have to.”
“No, I have to find a way to convince the king I’m good enough. Or at least get to speak to Max.”
“You’re crazy,” Agata said, shaking her head.
Sarah laughed. Maybe she was crazy. She felt crazy. Her crazy gramma’s voice popped into her head: “You’re a princess.” It was something she’d said often to Sarah, that she was special, royalty, not like other girls.
She looked at the ring on her hand, the ring that was supposed to be a family heirloom. If it had been in Max’s family, then surely it had stayed in some kind of royal lineage all along. Was it actually possible she wasn’t simply a commoner?
“I know what I need to do!” she said, a sudden rush of energy putting wind in her sails.
“Get out of the city?” Agata said.
“No, research!” Sarah said.
“Definitely crazy,” Agata said, shaking her head.
Sarah ignored her, clapping her hands together. “I might have a way to prove Max and I can be together.”
“Can I help?” Agata asked, warily.
“Maybe. Oh, but you can’t read.” Agata frowned.
“I can,” a small voice spoke up from the doorway, and Sarah jumped. She’d forgotten Leona was there.
“Would you help?” Sarah asked.
Leona smiled. “If you’re Agata’s friend, then you’re my friend.”
Chapter 33
“Darling, let me in,” his mother’s voice drifted through the door. Max ignored it. “You can’t mope in here forever. Let me in,” she pleaded.
Max stayed silent and stared at the ceiling. He didn’t want to speak to anybody, much less either of his parents. His mind kept replaying the moment they dragged Sarah out of the door over and over again. He hadn’t been able to stop it. He’d never felt as helpless in his life as when the three guards had restrained him and taken her away.
And where was she now? She wasn’t even from this time, how would she survive on her own with no friends, no family, no money? He felt sick at the thought of her out there and alone. And he couldn’t stop it. He didn’t even deserve her. She deserved someone who could have protected her from that.
"Just let me in," his mother shouted through the door. "This is ridiculous. You must let me in. I just want to speak to you."
Max sighed. It must have been over an hour and she showed no signs of leaving. Maybe if he let her in and listened for a minute she’d go away and leave him alone to wallow in his misery.
He yanked the door open, and she rushed inside, giving him a hug. Max stayed inert, not returning the embrace. When she released him, he flopped back onto his bed, staring at the ceiling again as though she were not there,
"I know it seems like a terrible thing right now,” she said, “but you know that you can’t marry that girl. If you’d been sensible you could have kept her as a little...pet... perhaps, but you can't just break off a betrothal to a Princess that builds an alliance with her kingdom!"
"Why?" Max said.
"What do you mean?" she said, confusion twisting her features.
"I mean, why can't I? Why can't I choose who to be with?" He sat up, his eyes locked on his mother. "And Sarah is not 'a pet' I can’t believe you’re suggesting that the best action would be to marry someone I don't love, when we're both in love with another."
"Because you can't," she said. "We're not commoners, we have a duty to fulfil. The money, the servants, the castle, the privilege. It doesn't come for free. This is the price we pay for those things."
"But what if I don't want them?"
"It doesn’t matter. God chooses that, and we carry out his will.”
"But surely love is more divin
e than duty? Isn't it the most sacred thing in the world?"
His mother shook he head. "It’s a childish fantasy, something we want but can’t have." She rolled her eyes. “Don’t look at me that way. I know of love, I've experienced it."
"With my father?" Max asked.
"No, before your father. But I had to lose it. I had the same duty you and Katherine both bore. It's a very selfish thing, to put yourself before your duties. I gave up my love to do what was right.” She looked him in the eye pointedly. “Now it’s your turn."
"But don’t you regret that lost love?" He truly couldn’t imagine walking away from real love.
"No. Because if I'd have abandoned my duties I would never have had you." She smiled and reached out a hand, stroking his face. Max closed his eyes. “I just want what’s best for you. And that’s being the ruler of this kingdom.”
“Then why does it feel like that’s not what’s important to me?” he said, his voice rasping.
“It’s a test,” she said. “Life tests us all sometimes.”
“But Katherine is gone,” Max said. “We broke off the betrothal. She’s probably married Phillip by now.”
“There are other princesses out there,” his mother smiled. “Or even a noble woman with a good lineage. There’s an Italian Princess whose betrothed just died in a jousting match, and I hear she’s even more beautiful than Katherine.”
“I don’t care. It doesn’t matter how beautiful they are, I love someone else.”
“Love is irrelevant,” his father’s voice came from the doorway. Max rolled his eyes. “You need to grow up and stop behaving like a spoilt child. You can’t just decide to marry a commoner.”
“James, let me deal with it,” his mother said.
His father folded his arms. “No, we’ve been too lenient with him. I let you talk me into turning a blind eye to his ridiculous hobbies, and not firing that nanny that put all these frivolous ideas of true love into his head.” His mother looked down at her feet.