Deck of Cards

by Johnson, ID

  No, Katey allowed Joan the pleasure of handling all of the planning. Instead of participating in the preparations, Katey snuck off to spend several hours visiting with Matthew. She brought him numerous small gifts, including food, water, another thin book, and some flowers she had picked from the garden.

  He had been singing again as she approached. He heard her lightly tapping on the door and abruptly joined her, resting on the floor. “Good morrow, Angel!” he exclaimed. “How are you today?”

  Katey smiled, but she did not answer, or course. She immediately began handing the gifts through the door and then used a fresh stem to fill Matthew’s cup several times. She had brought two canteens and he had emptied both of them. He was appreciative as always and she did her best to let him know that she was happy to be of assistance.

  “Say, Angel, do you think you could do me a favor?” he asked when he had finally quenched his thirst. “Do you think you could get rid of some scraps for me?”

  She was confused at first, not exactly sure what kind of scraps he could be talking about but she had an empty basket so she didn’t mind filling it. She nodded her head, letting him know she would do what she could.

  “Thank you!” he exclaimed. “I have all of this wood and sawdust. I was able to drop some of it through the arrow slits but then, I thought, I don’t want anyone to see it on the ground below and become suspicious. You see, my dear, I have a plan,” he said winking.

  Her expression was one of disbelieve and astonishment so, as he began to pass small pieces of wood and handfuls of sawdust, some of it wrapped in the bloody towels, through the slit in the door, he attempted to explain his plot for escaping the tower. “You see,” he began, “there’s a giant bookcase in here. I’m not exactly sure why it is here or who put it here because it takes up too much room and books don’t even really sit up on it, but it’s here nonetheless. And it’s hallow!”

  Katey stifled a sneeze. The sawdust was tickling her nose. The little basket was just about full. She knew she didn’t have room for an entire bookcase worth of wood in it. “So,” he continued, “Here’s my idea. I’m going to hallow out the back and hide there! When next they come to pay me a visit, they will see I have found a way to escape. They will run out, leaving the door open behind them and I will use that as my opportunity to flee! What do you think? Do you think it will work?’”

  No—that was her initial response. No, she did not think it would work for a number of reasons. First of all, while it appeared to be a bookshelf, Katey was pretty sure that was not what he was talking about. This tower had probably been used for religious prisoners back during the period of reform in Clovington. The shelves were narrow because they weren’t for books. They were for relics. Though she knew it was possible that Philip or Edward or whomever was next to pay Matthew a visit might be stupid enough not to pull the cabinet out from the wall, she didn’t think it was likely. Unless he found a way to reattach the back so that he was inside it with a cover over the enclosure, she was quite sure he would be found out. Secondly, even if he was able to go undetected, there was a pretty good chance that they would not leave the door open when they ran back down the stairs searching for him. Chances are they would take every precaution to ensure he was not able to escape if he were still inside of the room, therefore, a shut and locked door would make the most sense to everyone.

  Then, there was the fact that only one stairwell lead out of this tower. Matthew would have to follow his captures down the stair, through the secret passage, make his way out of the castle, past the army and home. How would any of this be possible? No, it really seemed completely impossible. The only way it could conceivably be successful would entail a comedy of errors on the side of Philip and his men. And though they were not exactly savants, surely they could keep a man in a prison with one gate and one exit.

  The expression in Matthew’s eyes was enough to convey to Katey, however, that he needed to believe in this plan. He needed one of the few things she could give him—hope. There was no reason to let him know she found his chances of success nil to none. She nodded her head in agreement. Yes, yes, she thought his plan was a good one—infallible. What could possibly go wrong?

  “Wonderful!” Matthew exclaimed. “I’ve been in here so long, sometimes I wonder if I’m even thinking rationally anymore, you know?” He finished with the last scraps of wood, which Katey placed in her pocket because the basket was full, and dusted his hands off on his filthy breeches and settled back against the door. He could vaguely see her blue eyes and their beauty made him desire to see the rest of her face. He wondered if she was really as beautiful as he thought she must be. “Now, once I get out of here, where do I go? Do you know?”

  Of course, she had some ideas. She raised her finger to her lips, tapping lightly as she gave it some thought. She knew of several tunnels that ran underneath the castle, but she wasn’t exactly sure where they led. She would need to investigate this some more before she could let him know for sure. She also needed to let him know about the terrain beyond Castle Blackthorn. She knew there was some hill country that led down into the Lowetian Forest, an extremely swampy area, full of muck and dangerous creatures. Then there was the area around Glendor, rocky and full of treacherous creeping juniper and purple berberis. Considering he had no shoes, his clothes were tattered and would be of no protection, she did not think he would make it too far. Of course, if he ran into the Arterian Army, there was a great possibility that he could be rescued. Or, if they didn’t recognize him, he might be killed by allied forces. There was certainly no easy way to escape this place and she feared for his safety, should he be bold enough to try.

  She shrugged her shoulders, indicating she wasn’t certain, but he could tell by her face that she was thinking so he was not exactly sure what to make of that reply. “Will you do some investigating?” he asked, rapidly raising and lowering his eyebrows several times. She stifled a giggle and nodded her head. She was so impressed with is ability to stay in a pleasant mood despite his situation.

  “Alright then! I shall await your council! Perhaps you could sketch me a picture?”

  Again, she nodded.

  “Very good. Now, I want to pry a bit so please forgive me. I mean no disrespect, I’m simply curious. Do you ever speak?”

  Katey wasn’t offended but the question was a haunting one. Of course, she had been asked the same question thousands of times in the last fifteen years. Usually the tone of the person inquiring was much more vicious and impatient than the one that Matthew used. She absently rubbed the lace at the hem of her dress between her thumb and first finger before finally shaking her head. No, no she never spoke. Never.

  It was his turn to signal in silence this time. He nodded his head in understanding. “I see,” he finally said. “Well, you do an excellent job of getting by without it,” he said reassuringly. He could tell that she was smiling. “I went a while without talking once,” he continued. Katey peered at him curiously, not sure how that was possible. “It’s true. First year of my life, not a word. Haven’t stopped talking since, but I knew absolutely no words for almost twelve months.”

  Once again she was laughing. She couldn’t imagine Matthew not talking. He was one of the chattiest people she had ever met. But he also always seemed to know exactly the right thing to say.

  “Now, my brother, he is more the strong, silent type. If the two of you were in a room together, well, there would not be a lot of conversation, I’m afraid.” Katey listened intently, wanting to know more about his life. “I sure do miss him, my brother, Caleb. We used to do everything together, go everywhere, get into all kinds of trouble. He was the best older brother a kid could ever want. Of course, he’s only a year-and-a-half older than me but I looked up to him like he was . . .” he paused for a moment, “well, kind of like he was my dad, or my uncle I guess.” Thinking about his dad brought up unpleasant memories so he suppressed them and moved on. “Yes, Caleb is amazing. I hope you get the chance to meet him
. I’m sure you’ll really like him. And once he finds out how much you’ve helped me, well, he’ll make sure you are greatly rewarded.” He glanced into skeptical blue eyes. He hadn’t really thought about what might happen to Angel and the other citizens of Castle Blackthorn when Caleb and his army arrived. Caleb never waged war against civilians; he found it extremely unethical, though there was always a possibility of unintended casualties with any battle. He hoped that Angel would be safe and that she would find a way to let Caleb know she had helped him. Otherwise, he would have to make sure she was taken care of just as soon as he found his way back to Castle Caine or the Arterian Army.

  Katey certainly wasn’t helping Matthew because she wanted to be compensated but she also knew that there wasn’t going to be much help for her once Caleb arrived. At the best, she hoped he would simply return her back to Placidia. That would be the kindest alternative she could think of. However, if she was already wed to King Philip upon the arrival of the Arterians, she would be viewed as an enemy and she would probably end up imprisoned in Castle Caine. Perhaps Matthew would be able to help her return to her family, if he realized who she was, but it was not something she was planning on.

  There was also the possibility that she and Philip would escape North to Gradenia. She knew he was looking for assistance from King Leopold. Hopefully, he would give them refuge until Philip could make amends with Caleb and possibly reclaim at least part of his kingdom.

  But Katey was fairly certain that Caleb would grant Philip no leniency and that this would only end when Philip was either deep in the ground below Castle Caine or in a tomb.

  She just hoped her fate would not be the same.

  Katey stayed for quite a bit longer, listening to Matthew tell a few stories about growing up in Castle Caine. She loved listening to the melody of his voice, especially when he talked about his adventures as a small boy. It was easy to tell that he had always been carefree and young at heart, while his brother was, apparently, more serious and felt more responsibility, particularly when it came to watching out for his little brother. No wonder Caleb was fighting so hard to get here to safe Matthew. He had always taken care of his brother and now he was here, locked in a filthy hovel with no food or water, no chance of escape (despite his fanciful plan) and no hope for release. She wondered how it was that Caleb had not prevented Matthew’s capture in the first place.

  As if reading her mind, he shifted his light-hearted reminiscing to more current events. “You know, I’m sure he blames himself for my capture, but it truly wasn’t his fault.” He was leaning back against the door now and Katey nestled up against it, wishing she could reach through the oak and provide him the comfort of human touch. “The Zurconians had been at war against Clovington off and on for a few years. I knew when I agreed to marry Maggie that there was a possibility of a flare up in the feud at anytime, but I was very hopeful that Philip would so greatly fear bringing Arteria into the war that he would suppress his need for vengeance, a need I’ve never understood, given the circumstances, and be content with the gains he had made. He had acquired large tracts of land from Zurconia. We were content to let him have it, too, if he would just back down. When he retreated from the western border, we thought he was done, that he realized he may be able to take Zurconia but not without suffering the consequences of dragging Arteria into battle. Caleb drew up his forces along the western border of Arteria so that Clovington could not invade. Queen Beatrice hesitated to give permission for him to move into Zurconia, afraid Philip would see it as a move of aggression and attack again. We knew the quickest route from Arteria to Castle Ringley was threw the passage at Jessella and the Zurconian army held that. That is, until our commanding general defected, taking the vast majority of his men with him. Philip must have emptied his coffers to fund that. Then, word came that Leopold was allowing Philip’s army to launch from his southern region. We never expected that. Zurconian and Gradenia have had a peace agreement for centuries. In fact, it was Leopold’s father who helped secure the marriage of Queen Beatrice and King Stephen. Leopold hates my brother, there’s no secret about that. “ He glanced up to see if Katey was still listening and she was hanging on every word so he continued. “When Caleb was nine years old, my father entered into an agreement with King George of Gradenia that, when he came of age, he would wed George’s oldest daughter, Charlotte, who, at the time was twenty-eight and suffered from St. Anthony’s fire. Our father died when Caleb was 15. By then, Leopold had assumed the throne. He insisted that Caleb hold up his end of the bargain and marry Charlotte at once. Caleb, however, felt that 15 was too young to wed and he refused. I think Caleb intended to carry through with Father’s promise but Charlotte died a short time after. Leopold has never forgiven my brother and I’m very surprised that he has not yet involved his own army of rogues in this war. Perhaps he is just waiting for the right time.”

  Matthew glanced up at the window then. “Oh, shoot! It’s getting dark!”

  Katey, startled and suddenly worried that Philip had returned and he would be waiting for her at the foot of the stairs, quickly gathered up her belongings.

  “I’m so sorry that I kept you so long,” Matthew said, pressing his face against the slot as tightly as he could. He could see her shrugging, waving his comment off, but he felt responsible for anything that happened to her. “Please, please come back tomorrow, if you safely can,” he added.

  She paused for a second, the heavy basket of wood slivers and dust a reminder of his treacherous plan and the work she needed to do before she came back. But she would certainly do her best to return the next day. As reassurance, she slid her fingers through the door, all four of them clearing the edge of the metal covering. She expected him to clasp her fingers in his or squeeze them perhaps. Instead, she was startled to feel his soft, warm lips grazing over her knuckles. Her first instinct was to jump back and pull her fingers out of his grasp. But she didn’t. She let him kiss her hand, feeling the scarlet rise up her neck, flushing her cheeks. After a moment, he released her hand and she retreated, still feeling the warmth in her face as she snuck back down the hallway to her room.

  Chapter 4

  The Arterian army was literally bogged down, at least to some degree, inside of the Lowetian forest. Though he had gotten an ear-full from Cook when he attempted to explain to her why he needed to go view the fortifications being built by the Clovington forces across the way, she was more understanding than he had initially expected and he didn’t feel quite as guilty for leaving as he had originally anticipated.

  Noel was correct in his assessment of the circumstances and, honestly, Caleb thought he probably could have handled the situation himself. However, Noel knew how important it was to Caleb to have control over every aspect of the army so he hesitated to make decisions without Caleb’s approval. They both agreed that they could build a corduroy road through the driest passages of swampland. They initially thought they might need to burn there way through because of the thick thorns and other snarly plants but the further into the forest they advanced, the less obstructed the path became and they determined they could chop their way through as long as they were careful with the horses. The terrain was certainly going to slow them down a bit, but it was not impenetrable and they would break through in a matter of days.

  As for the ridiculous fortifications his scouts reported on the other side of the forest, well, he was not too concerned about that either. Reports came back that they certainly wouldn’t hold against any amount of force and that Philip hadn’t even been smart enough to place them on the ridge beyond the clearing. It was just a matter of days now before he broke through these meager defenses and penetrated Castle Blackthorn. He was certainly more concerned about what he would find there than he was about calculating his arrival.

  Caleb knew he could take Blackthorn but he wasn’t certain just how long he could hold it. His supply line was long and it would be difficult to maintain if he couldn’t find a way to shift it to another location
outside of the forest. He wasn’t concerned about the Clovington forces, he was sure they would be practically annihilated after this. He was more concerned that Leopold would send down reinforcements from Gradenia and the first thing those bastards would do is cut his supply line and attempt to cut him off from retreating. He was honestly surprised that Leo hadn’t reared his ugly head yet. He wasn’t quite sure what he was waiting for. But he expected him; therefore, he had to consider just how he planned to hold Blackthorn. Either that or he had to consider just how to destroy it. One thing was indisputable, he had to make sure that neither Philip or Leopold had control of that castle at the end of this. When this was over, there could be no more threat from Clovington.

  It had taken him most of the day to ride to the front and so he decided to spend the night out in the trenches with his men. He actually enjoyed the army life, however. It gave him the opportunity to relax for a bit, to be a little less royal and a little more common. His only regret was that he would not be able to receive any updates from the castle. He was hopeful that word would be sent to him sometime tomorrow letting him know how their patient was advancing. At this point, he intended to stay with the army until they reached Castle Blackthorn and reclaimed his brother. Seeing the progress his men were making on constructing a path through the Lowetian Forest left him confident that he would reach his destination in a matter of days.

  ***

  Philip was sorry he had asked. Or perhaps he was sorry Joan had answered. Either way, he was sorry he was listening to her drone on and on about the wedding preparations. She went over the colors, the music, the food. They had wanted a certain flower but it wasn’t really in season and so there weren’t enough for all of the bouquets. So they had chosen a different flower. But that didn’t look right so they had to use both. On and on and on! And then there was the problem of the attendees. Unfortunately, it seemed, none of the dignitaries were willing to come to the ceremony because of the threatening Arterians. Even Katey’s family had yet to respond and Joan had sent word to them first thing yesterday morning. Surely they would have received the dispatch by now!