Jonathan was the first to speak. “How? I already tried burning it down. It’s a stone bridge, and it still worked after that, did it not?”
“It did,” Quinn said. “I don’t think we can close of the gate by destroying the bridge.”
“Then is it even possible to close it?”
“Yes, I think it is,” she said. “But I don’t know exactly how, and I don’t think it will be easy, but we have to try. We have to get back to the gate before Hector does. The sooner the better, because it could take us days to figure out how to close it.”
“When is the gate supposed to open again?” Jonathan asked.
“Four more days,” Nathaniel said. “I’ve just done the math several times. It will be open again four evenings from now.”
“Well, this changes everything, then,” Marcus said. “We don’t have time to wait for Charles, or for anyone else. We have to try to get Linnea from the Miller Estate ourselves. Today.”
24. The Miller Estate
“Isn’t it too dangerous to try to take Quinn into the estate itself?” William asked, as they walked. “She’s the one person we can’t afford to lose.”
“We can’t afford to lose anyone,” Quinn said, taking his hand and squeezing it. She understood what he was doing, and she loved him for it. She was having plenty of trouble thinking about allowing him to take part in this, but there wasn’t going to be a choice. “But it doesn’t matter. We’re not just sending someone in to try and get Linnea.”
“That would never work, anyway,” Jonathan said, stopping and turning around to face them. His horse snorted at the sudden interruption. The animal was already irritated at their slow pace; Jonathan had been walking alongside the horse all morning, holding its lead.
“We’d never get her out of the Miller Estate unchallenged. And the chances that we would win – it’s not even worth attempting. We’d put Linnea in more danger. Our goal now is to get Quinn in to see my mother. And it would be best if you were with her, Prince William.”
“How do we know this isn’t just a trap?” Nathaniel asked. “A way to get all of us inside?”
A swell of irritation rose in Quinn’s chest, and she snapped. “Enough, Nathaniel! I understand that you’re worried – we all are. But this wasn’t even Jonathan’s idea. He was willing to wait for backup from Charles and Stephen. This is because of me, because of what I dreamed. Jonathan has had plenty of opportunity already to betray us. He could have had us killed in our sleep last night. He could have us surrounded with Philothean guards right now.
“Yes, he kidnapped me, before he knew who I was, when he was looking for answers. He’s your brother, and during this whole thing here, he’s given us no real reason not to trust him.”
Nathaniel sighed. “You’re right. I’m sorry. Jonathan, I’m sorry.”
“I can’t say I blame you, Nathaniel,” he said, shrugging. “I never did apologize to you – to any of you – for taking Quinn. And for taking your family. I’m sure that distressed you, and is very good reason for all of you not to trust me. I haven’t had the resources that you have, though. I’ve lived with and dealt with Hector and Tolliver all of my life – and if I hadn’t, you all would stand no chance right now. I hate to point out the obvious, but – whatever your reservations might be, Nathaniel – you don’t have a better option right now.”
“Or any other option at all,” Quinn said. “So how do you propose we do this thing?”
“We’ll come up on the perimeter of the property in about ten minutes. If we can keep to the trees and get as close in to the main house as possible, I know where my mother is staying. The important thing is to get inside without being detained by any guards or soldiers. Brian Miller and his family are Friends of Philip – they’ll fight, if they have something to fight for. Right now, they are avoiding getting into a fight with Tolliver’s men – they don’t want to give up their loyalties until it is necessary. Quinn will be worth the fight – if my mother recognizes her as the heir.”
Quinn’s heart thudded in her chest, and her palms were suddenly damp. “This is all on me.”
“Get used to that, Princess. Quickly.”
* * *
They’d only walked for about five more minutes when Jonathan stopped suddenly. “Be silent,” he hissed through his teeth, and they all froze.
Quinn heard it almost immediately. Footsteps and low talking from at least two people, but possibly more, only about ten yards to their left.
Marcus and Ben were around her so quickly that she didn’t even see them move. Even William pulled out his knife.
They all held their breath and listened. The footsteps continued, but didn’t come any closer. Once they had faded away, Marcus nodded, and they all continued walking, but much more care, and making as little noise as possible.
When they crested a hill and caught a glimpse of a sprawling stone-and-wood house, Jonathan stopped and tied his horse to a tree.
“There will be guards everywhere,” Jonathan said, under his breath. “And some regular soldiers, too. Some of that is standard, with the queen in residence, but even more will be special details because this is where they’ve brought Linnea, and Tolliver is coming – if he’s not already there. Many of them won’t even know about Linnea.”
“Where will they be holding her?”
Jonathan shook his head. “I don’t know. It’s only a house – a big house, but also pretty ordinary. There is a basement under one of the wings, but Tolliver and his guards wouldn’t know about it.”
“Is anyone in the basement?” Quinn asked. Underneath Ellen’s house on her estate, the basement served as a hiding place for fugitives who belonged to the Friends of Philip.
“Probably, though that isn’t our concern. Anyone there will be safe, so long as they’re not discovered. We’re trying to get to that wing back there.” he pointed to a long section on the opposite side of the house from where they were standing. “That’s where the guest quarters are, and where my mother is staying. There’s a back entrance.”
“We just have to get through it without getting caught?” Quinn asked.
“Without getting caught by one of Tolliver’s soldiers. The good news is, all the members of the Miller family are Friends of Philip – and so are their personal guards.”
“The bad news is there are lots of soldiers here who aren’t?”
“Yes, Princess. If you reveal your tattoo to the right guard, it could save us all; but if the wrong person sees it, you could lose your life.”
“Great. Glad we’ve cleared that up.” She couldn’t resist flashing a thumbs-up sign at him. William snickered under his breath, but the effort was lost on Jonathan – the motion didn’t mean anything to him. “Let’s go.”
“It’s always the little things,” William whispered as they walked, and she remembered a conversation they’d had back when they’d first started courting, before they’d even made their courtship official.
She’d asked him if he had ever gotten used to spending so much time in a world that was so different from his own, and he’d told her that it had been easier than he’d expected getting used to the big things – like school, and cars, and television. What had always been harder were the “little things”–the small habits and customs that were so ingrained that nobody ever even remembered to tell you about them, like which hand to shake with when you were meeting someone new, the slang terms for things, the “right” way to eat certain foods.
In third grade, he’d told her, his class had earned a pizza party for some special occasion, and he’d embarrassed himself by asking for a fork. The whole ordeal had been made even worse when he’d finally held his slice and taken a bite of it, only to discover that he didn’t even like it. Tomatoes weren’t native to his world, and he’d never tasted anything like the thick red sauce under the cheese.
He squeezed her hand now, and she squeezed back gratefully. She knew how lucky she was to have found him – the one man who could really under
stand both parts of her life, and how strange this transition was for her.
Of course, it wasn’t always the little things, and she was steeling herself right now to face one big thing William couldn’t relate to at all. She was about to meet her grandmother who didn’t even know she existed. She hadn’t had much time to process that before, but it was the biggest thing on her mind now. What was Queen Sophia going to think of her? Would she believe her? Accept her as the heir to the throne?
Everything – the decision she’d made, the journey they were on, turning her back on the world she’d been born in, leaving her family behind – it could all be for naught, if Sophia didn’t accept her as her granddaughter.
She glanced up at Nathaniel, and she saw the apprehension on his face, too. He was about to see his mother for the first time since he was a young teenager. His mother who had believed all this time that he was dead.
She reached up now and squeezed Nathaniel’s shoulder. For a moment, he covered her hand with his, and gave her an understanding smile.
And then they were there.
Somehow, they’d walked all the way around the property, hidden in the safety of the trees, without catching the attention of any soldiers. They could see the door to the guest wing now, only a short distance away, across a wide, open space.
A single guard patrolled near the door.
“Thank the Maker,” Jonathan whispered.
“What?” Quinn asked, looking up at him.
“I know him. He’s a Friend of Philip. I’m going to go talk to him.”
And before she could stop him, Jonathan was gone, walking across the wide lawn, and then chatting casually with the large, armed man.
Her stomach felt like it was folding in on itself, forming a solid mass. She was waiting for it all to go horribly wrong – for more guards to come around the corner, for Jonathan to betray them – she didn’t know how it was going to happen, but she could feel that it was.
For the first time ever, she found herself following the example she had seen William set so very many times, and she whispered a prayer to the Maker, asking for their safety, asking for the courage to do what she needed to do.
And then Jonathan held his arm in the air and waved them over.
In what felt like the very next instant, Jonathan was ushering them into the sitting area of a large, well-appointed guest room. “This is where I was staying,” he said. “Wait here and I’ll be back in a few minutes.”
Quinn, William, and Nathaniel all stared at each other, none of them sure what they were supposed to do. Just standing there was uncomfortable, but sitting down was awkward, too.
Marcus and Ben walked to a far corner of the room, and took up sentry positions, obviously trying to be as unobtrusive as possible.
William had just wrapped his arms around Quinn’s waist, and had his lips by her ear, about to whisper something that she was sure was meant to be calming, when, without fanfare, the door swung open.
Quinn gasped at the same time the woman standing there did. There was no question about who she was. They’d traveled all this way to see her. And her hair, pinned up on top of her head, was the same warm auburn as Quinn’s.
But that didn’t account for the fact that Quinn recognized her. There was no way she’d ever met this woman, no chance she could have ever really seen her, and yet, somehow she knew she had. Perhaps in one of her dreams.
The way Queen Sophia was staring made Quinn think for a moment that maybe she, too, was staring at a vision from her dreams.
But then, she realized that her grandmother wasn’t looking at her at all.
“Nathaniel…it’s really you…” Sophia’s voice was barely more than a whisper as she crossed the room to her son. She paused there, her hands twitching as if she was fighting the urge to reach out and touch him.
“Yes, Mother. It’s me.” Nathaniel’s eyes were actually damp, and he took her trembling hands in his.
The moment that passed between Nathaniel and Sophia then was so tender and personal that Quinn almost felt like she was intruding by watching it, but she couldn’t pull her eyes away.
So this was the woman who had somehow raised both men like her father and Nathaniel, and a man like Tolliver. Quinn wanted to understand that, and as she watched the scene unfold in front of her, she thought she caught a glimpse of at least some of it.
Tears were streaming down Sophia’s face by the time Jonathan put his hand under her elbow, and carefully led her to one of the couches, handing her a handkerchief before sitting down next to her. After a long moment, she finally looked up, seeming to notice for the first time that there were other people in the room.
Looking first at William, she frowned. “You must be one of Stephen and Charlotte’s sons, but I’m afraid I don’t know which one.”
William smiled kindly, bending down as he stepped closer to her. “I’m William, their fourth born.”
“And those are your guards?” she asked, tilting her head back toward the corner. Innocent as the motion was, it let Quinn know that Sophia wasn’t quite as unobservant as she seemed.
“Fourth born. Just like Nathaniel,” she said, nodding.
“Yes, Mother,” Nathaniel’s voice was tentative. “William is a healer, like I am. He and I have been very close since he was young.”
“So you’ve been living in Eirentheos all this time?”
“Mostly.”
“And everyone kept this from me? Stephen knew? Everyone knew?”
“Calm down, Mother,” Jonathan said, resting his hand on her shoulder. “It wouldn’t have been safe for you to know. If Hector had found out…”
Sophia took a deep breath, staring at her lap and smoothing out invisible wrinkles in her dress. “You’re right. You’re right. I’m sorry.” She looked back up at Nathaniel.
“And so, William, son of Stephen, may I ask what you are doing here? Has Stephen finally decided to lend his support? To help me find some way to avoid handing the throne over to my youngest son? To keep my husband from ruining our kingdoms?”
Quinn felt dizzy as the rest of them exchanged wary looks.
“Mother,” Jonathan said, very softly, “we have more to tell you.”
* * *
“So you’re my granddaughter,” Sophia said, studying Quinn intently. She held both Quinn’s and Samuel’s pendants in her hand, and was rubbing the etched surface of Samuel’s with her thumb. “I can see it; you certainly look the part. Those are Samuel’s eyes.”
She looked at Nathaniel. “Why would he have done this? Why didn’t he just come back when he was an adult?”
Nathaniel sighed. “I’m afraid I don’t know all of the reasons, Mother. He was afraid – for himself, for Quinn, for his wife, who didn’t even know who he really was.”
“How is that possible? Surely everyone in Eirentheos…”
“It doesn’t matter how, Mother. It’s the truth.” He opened the backpack he’d been carrying, and pulled out an envelope, handing it to Sophia so she could examine the certificate inside, the one from Quinn’s Naming Ceremony, signed by Alvin. “Quinn only just learned who she is about a moon ago.”
“And now you’ve pushed her into a marriage, so that she can fulfill the prophecy?”
“No.” Quinn was careful not to shout, but her voice was firm. “My marriage to William had nothing to do with the prophecy.”
“Other than the fact that it conveniently fulfills it?” Again, there was that tiny spark in Sophia’s eyes.
“That was rather fortunate,” Quinn agreed.
“Quite. Not that it matters. You’re married now – however that came to be. Are you with child?”
A flash burn raced across Quinn’s cheeks. “We’ve only been married six days.”
Sophia raised an eyebrow, but continued speaking. “And you’re standing here telling me that you’re prepared to take your birthright, to take my place as queen.”
Quinn swallowed hard. “Yes.”
Sophia nodde
d. “This should have been different, I suppose. I should have known you existed, for one. I should have been prepared to meet you, and greet you properly and get to know you a little bit … but that isn’t where we are. So, for today, I’m going to have to say that I’ve been praying for an answer – any answer that would keep the throne away from Hector and Tolliver, and you’ll do.”
25. Sophia
She’d do. Quinn didn’t know what she’d expected, but hearing her long-lost grandmother tell her “she’d do” hadn’t quite been it. She supposed it was better than rejection.
She was still reeling from that response, trying to figure out what exactly it meant, when Sophia turned to Jonathan. “Go and speak to Hadrian. Have the girl brought to me, please. I don’t care what he has to say about it.”
“Yes, Mother.” Jonathan stood and walked toward the door. When he reached it, though, he turned around with a strange look on his face. “Has it been like this the whole time?”
They all looked. Although he’d not yet grasped the knob, the door was ajar, just slightly.
Sophia frowned. “I thought you closed it all the way.”
“I did.”
She shrugged. “These old houses – sometimes you can’t be sure. This is a private, secured hallway in any case. I’m sure it’s fine.”
Once Jonathan was gone, the silence was awkward. They all stared at each other for what felt like a very long time.
Quinn finally decided to speak. “So you believe me? That I’m your granddaughter and the heir to the throne?”
“Do you have some reason to lie to me that I don’t know about? If someone was simply trying to usurp the throne, I suspect they’d have sent me a boy. Though it would have been hard to find one that looked as much like Samuel as you do. And harder still to find one that Stephen would have allowed one of his children to marry.”
“I suppose that’s true.”
Blooms of Consequence (Dusk Gate Chronicles - Book Four) Page 29