by C. J. Archer
"It's Miss Eva Cornell."
Lady Oxana's eyes tightened. "A maid?"
"My friend," Alice said, trying to keep the tartness from her voice. "The bed in here looks big enough. We'll share."
"But you're the princess."
"Even so, I'd like to be near my friend."
"I'd prefer it too," Eva said.
"If you wish," Lady Oxana said. "Clean water, clothes, and supper will be brought up to you. We've already dined but the cook will manage something."
"We are sorry to put you to such an inconvenience," Alice said. "If Sir Markell had been able to get word to you of our pending arrival, I'm sure he would have."
Lady Oxana's mouth stretched into a smile. She backed out of the room but stopped. She nibbled her lower lip, looking every bit like a nervous subject in front of her princess. Alice steeled herself for the request, expecting Oxana to ask her for a favor after she became queen. She wasn't prepared for the question that came.
"Is Lord Vickers your intended?"
"No," Alice said on a laugh.
"So he's free?"
Alice looked to Eva. Eva busied herself with unbuttoning her cuffs. "As far as I know," Alice said.
The predatory smile that crept across Lady Oxana's face gave Alice pause. Perhaps she should have given a different answer. Then again, Seth could handle the likes of this woman. He had, after all, been with Lady Harcourt.
"She's as stiff as a board," Alice said, once they were alone.
"And as tart as a lemon." Eva pinched her lips together in a very accurate impersonation.
Alice collapsed on the bed, laughing. Eva plopped down alongside her and they both stared up at the canopy. It was carved with chubby faces baring jagged teeth and forked tongues.
"How are we supposed to sleep with those looking down on us?" Eva asked.
"Thank goodness you agreed to stay with me in here. Those are enough to give me nightmares, and we all know how they end."
Eva laughed and rolled onto her side, facing Alice. "Do you think they'd give me an outfit like yours?"
"You can ask." Alice sat up and removed her tunic. She wore only a shirt with the bodice over the top, as well as the hose. She undid the bodice's laces. "This is so much lighter and freer than a corset, and it's no trouble to get on and off by myself."
Eva rolled back and sighed. "Perhaps I shouldn't ask for one. It'll only make me yearn for it again when I have to go back to England and my regular clothes. Speaking of going back, what are you going to do? Have you decided to stay?"
Alice flopped back down again and blew out a breath. "I don't know. I'm torn. There's nothing for me there and so much for me here, but…this doesn't feel like home."
"It will, in time."
"And the situation here is perilous."
"Once the queen is overthrown, all will calm down and you'll have Markell to guide you. You'd make a wonderful ruler, Alice. I mean that. You're always thinking of others, and you have a sort of queenly bearing about you that people naturally look up to."
Alice was taken aback. "Thank you. But…you sound like you want me to stay."
"I want you to make up your own mind."
Alice nudged Eva's elbow. "Does this have anything to do with Seth being free?"
"No!" Eva spat out the word with such velocity that Alice suspected it had everything to do with Seth.
"You make an excellent couple," Alice said.
Eva scooted off the bed and peered out the window. "I don't want to talk to you about Seth."
"Because you think I still like him?" Alice asked gently.
"Because I think he still likes you." Eva folded her arms and rubbed them.
"There's nothing between Seth and I, and there never will be. I know my heart on that score, at least."
"I don't want to be his second choice."
Alice touched Eva's shoulder. "I think you overstate my importance to him."
A knock on the door announced the arrival of maids carrying basins, jugs of water, towels, clean clothes, and a tray of food. Alice forgot about Seth and ate. She was starving. Eva chose to freshen up first then changed into a gown similar to the one Lady Oxana wore. It was all one piece to the floor in forest green with long bell shaped sleeves. A belt in the same fabric with a large circular metal buckle cinched the waist.
"That's very fetching on you," Alice said. "The color reminds me of Markell's eyes." It was out of her mouth before she realized what she was saying. Hopefully Eva wouldn't think it odd.
Eva didn't think it odd. She thought it highly amusing, going by her grin. "So his eyes are green, are they?"
"Of course, and don't tell me you hadn't noticed." Alice busied herself with undressing so she didn't have to meet Eva's knowing gaze.
"I hadn't noticed, as it happens." Eva sat down at the small table by the window to eat her supper, humming to herself. "I'll tell you what I have noticed about your advisor, Your Highness."
"Do stop calling me that. I always feel as though you're teasing me."
Eva put up her hand. "Very well, Alice, stop changing the subject."
Alice pretended to ignore her. She really didn't want to hear what Eva had to say, and perhaps ignoring her would make her stop. She was wrong.
"I've noticed how he looks at you." Eva popped a cherry into her mouth, her eyes sparkling in the candlelight. "Go on, ask me how he looks at you."
"No."
"You want to know." Eva spat out the pip. "Or perhaps you've already seen?"
Alice had seen. Seen and liked it. But… "It's no different to how other men look at me."
That shut Eva up. She ate another cherry in thoughtful silence.
Alice washed then put on the dress. Once the belt was in place, it cinched her waist nicely.
"Does it matter how he looks at you if there is true feeling behind it?" Eva finally asked.
"Of course it matters. I want to be admired for more than my face."
"I think he does. He thought you held your nerve when you were dragged off by that guard."
"He thought you even more remarkable for rescuing me. I'm afraid I'm simply the person who can get him what he wants, and what he wants is the queen gone. It helps that my face is pretty to rally the troops, but that's all."
Eva sighed. "You're far too hard on him, Alice, and on men in general. Sometimes they just want to admire you but not…kiss you. And some men are capable of seeing beyond a woman's appearance."
"Like Markell?" Alice shook her head. "He hardly knows me."
"Then don't dismiss him before giving him a chance."
"I'm not."
"Are you sure? That's not how it seems to me."
Alice stared at her. Is that what Eva really thought of her? That she dismissed all men as admirers of beauty but not of substance? It made her sound as if she didn't respect men when that wasn't the case at all. She truly believed Markell had only his realm's interests at heart. He was certainly a man of great substance himself, and pride and honor.
Whether he liked Alice for being herself, however, was not at all clear.
"I'm going for a walk," Alice announced. "I'm too restless to sleep."
"Are you sure that's wise? Lady Oxana looked as if she would flay us alive if she caught us outside these walls."
"I'm not afraid of her. She reminds me of Mrs. Denk, the headmistress at the School for Wayward Girls. She used to terrify me back then, but I suspect she wouldn't now."
It had been Charlie who'd shown her that Mrs. Denk wasn't deserving of her fear. Indeed, Charlie's influence in drawing out Alice's courage couldn't be overstated. It had happened so slowly while staying at Lichfield that Alice hadn't really noticed it until now. She used to do everything Mrs. Denk demanded, for fear of reprisal, and now here she was, prepared to defy Lady Oxana. Perhaps her courage had blossomed after finding out she was a princess. With that knowledge came a certain power.
"Don't wait up." Alice took a candle and the empty tray and headed back the way
they'd come, hoping to find a maid to ask for directions to the kitchen. Perhaps there she could warm her fingers by the fire.
The soft leather shoes that had come with the dress made little sound on the stones. The castle wasn't silent, however. Male voices drifted to her but she couldn't make out the words, and somewhere someone sneezed. A door creaked and footsteps echoed.
The moonlight piercing through the windows bolstered the light from her candle so she had no trouble seeing where she was going. She found the winding staircase and descended to the ground floor where she assumed the kitchen would be situated. She was about to make her way to the back of the castle when she heard Markell's voice.
She approached the closed door and was about to open it when she heard Lord Quellery. "She's beautiful and elegant and all that, but she's also young. Is she up to it?"
Alice almost barged in to assure him she was capable as long as she had good advisors around her until she was ready to rule alone, but she held back. She wanted to hear what Markell said.
"She is," he said, "or I wouldn't have brought her to Wonderland. She's clever, a quick learner, and kind."
Alice's heart swelled.
Lord Quellery snorted. "Kindness isn't a requirement for a monarch. It's more of a hindrance, in fact."
"I beg to differ."
"You can beg all you want, Ironside. She might even like that."
"Don't, Quellery," Markell snarled. "Show some respect to your future queen."
Another snort. "I'll say what I bloody well want. I seem to recall you need my help."
Silence.
"So the next question is," Quellery went on, "who will be the lucky man to marry her and become king?"
"That's up to her, naturally."
"Don't be absurd. She should marry from the ruling classes. We can't let any old knave fondle the royal jewels."
Something slammed, perhaps a fist on a table. "Enough, Quellery!"
Quellery chuckled.
"She'll need time to settle into the role first and worry about marriage later," Markell said, calmer. "But it will still be her choice. It's in the royal charter that royal blood can choose their own consort."
"Yes, yes, we all know what the charter states, but you're not such a fool to think the monarch can marry just anyone. She'll need to choose wisely. The man needs to be a good leader, well respected, rich, with lands. Oh, and above all, he should come with an army to put her on the throne in the first place."
Alice's stomach lurched, threatening to toss up her supper. She almost barged in to tell him she could never marry him, but Markell was speaking again and she very much wanted to hear what he had to say. She had to strain to catch the words.
"Is the loan of your forces conditional on her marrying you?" Markell's voice was hard and unemotional, the consummate political negotiator. If he felt anything for her on a personal level, there was no sign of it in his voice.
"Yes."
Alice slumped and placed her forehead against the cool stone wall.
"She belongs to no man, as far as I know," Markell said. "But she's not the sort of woman who'll marry without love. Of that, I'm quite sure. I'll put your proposal forward and—"
"Don't be a brat. We both know you're her advisor, Ironside. So advise. Do your duty to your realm and its people and tell her she must marry me. If she does not, you will not have my army, the queen will remain where she is, and the princess's pretty head will do no one any good on the end of a spike where it shall rot in the sun along with the heads of her friends and yourself. Do I make myself clear?"
"Very."
Wood scraped against stone as a chair moved. Alice doused the candle's flame and sank into the shadows. Markell emerged and shut the door. He marched off. When it became obvious that Lord Quellery wasn't following, Alice caught up to him.
"Markell," she whispered, "slow down."
He stopped altogether. It was too dark to see his eyes but she felt his anger as clearly as she could feel the cool air from the drafts on her skin. "Alice," was all he said. He seemed dazed, unfocused, his thoughts elsewhere. Perhaps they were still in that room.
She knew something that would draw his attention. She sucked in a deep breath. "I listened in to your conversation with Quellery."
His gaze snapped to hers. "How much did you hear?"
"The last few minutes."
"I see. Come. We need to talk."
She followed him up the stairs, but instead of entering a bedchamber, he knocked on a door. Lord Blaine invited them in.
"Not here," Markell said. "We need to talk somewhere we can't be overheard."
Lord Blaine gathered up a cloak and handed it to Alice without a word. She set down the tray and candle on a table in the corridor then followed Markell and Lord Blaine down the stairs and outside. More than one servant saw them leave but Markell claimed it didn't matter.
"Quellery knows we're going to discuss this," he said. "He'll be disappointed he won't know what's said, but he knows there's nothing he can do about it."
"Discuss what?" Lord Blaine asked.
Markell didn't answer him until they were well away from the house in a part of the garden that sported no walls, hedges or bushes large enough to hide eavesdroppers. But when they stopped, he didn't explain. All he said was, "There has to be another way."
"Can you think of one?" Alice asked.
Markell paced briskly along the gravel path between the roses, hands on hips. "Not yet."
"What is it? What's happened?" Lord Blaine demanded.
When Markell continued his pacing without answering, Alice told him. "Lord Quellery will only give us his private army if I agree to marry him."
Lord Blaine swore under his breath. "He promised me the army."
"And he's giving it to you," Alice said. "On one condition."
"There has to be another way," Markell said again.
"We could buy the army off him," Lord Blaine said. "They're mercenaries. They'll go where the money is."
"How will we pay them?"
"I have lands. I can sell some." He cleared his throat. "You have lands of your own now, too, with your father's passing."
"My lands will have been confiscated by now, yours too probably. The queen will have guessed that you're with us." Markell dragged his hand through his hair, making it stand on end. "Damn it."
It was the most harried Alice had ever seen him. He'd been so confident and competent up until now, so sure of everything. She didn't like seeing him brought low.
He began pacing again, but this time she caught his arm. She forced him to face her. "All will be well, Markell. We just need to think." She wasn't sure why she said it; she just knew she wanted to reassure him, wanted to see that confidence again.
He managed a smile. "I'm the one who's supposed to be reassuring you."
She smiled back and reluctantly let him go, but not before their fingers brushed and something passed between them. Something that set Alice's pulse racing. The moon emerged from behind the clouds and she saw the spark in Markell's eyes and the wonder. It thrilled her and terrified her too.
"I should have known not to trust him," Lord Blaine said, oblivious to the emotions surging through Alice.
She couldn't quite believe that he didn't notice. She felt exposed, raw, as if she were running along Oxford Street in just her petticoat. She couldn't tell if Markell felt that way too. The moon had gone behind the clouds again and the shadows cast his handsome features in darkness once more.
"Markell? Are you listening?" Lord Blaine was saying.
Markell cleared his throat. "Yes."
"Did you see Quellery's face when you informed him about your father's death?"
"He gave nothing away."
"Precisely. No surprise at all. He knew about it. That's what I think, anyway."
"News must have already reached here," Markell said.
"Then why not tell us he already knew?" Lord Blaine had a point.
"You think he's pl
aying both sides?" Markell asked. "Waiting to see which prevails so he can use that to his own advantage?"
"It wouldn't surprise me." It was Lord Blaine's turn to pace along the path now. "Quellery is greedy, and the queen's taxes are high. Make no mistake, that's the only reason he wants her to lose. While the taxes remain, he won't support her."
"She won't lower the taxes now," Markell said. "She needs the money. She has bled the treasury dry to pay for her luxuries, not to mention the recruitment. She's bolstering the army's numbers," he told Alice.
Alice watched Lord Blaine pacing, a hollowness opening up inside her. "We need his army."
"Yes," Lord Blaine said when Markell didn't answer. He stopped pacing and rounded on her. "Could you marry him, Your Highness?"
"No!" Markell snapped.
Lord Blaine and Alice stared at him. "I see," Lord Blaine said carefully.
Markell passed a hand over his eyes. "I'll think of something else."
But Alice knew they could not defeat the queen without an army, and they could not raise their own army without money. Lord Quellery had the power to save them or send them to their deaths.
"I'll leave you two alone," Lord Blaine said.
Alice watched him go, glad he'd given her this moment alone with Markell yet dreading it too.
"Don't even consider it." Markell's voice was honey and spice, silken and nuanced. "I'll send you back to England before I'll let you marry Quellery."
She lifted her gaze to his and waited. He did not move toward her, did not kiss her like she thought he might—like she hoped. He looked away and swallowed.
"That's all well and good," she managed to say, "but I can't go back without the spell to activate a portal, and the queen has the spell book. Even if we don't want to fight her, we have to go to her castle to retrieve it."
The task was impossible without an army.
Chapter 8
Seth
Seth stared down at the figures of Alice, Markell and Blaine striding across the garden. "I wonder what they're up to."
Gus joined him at the window. "Wonderland business."
"They should include us in their talks."
"Why?" Gus flopped down on the bed he'd claimed the moment they set foot in the bedchamber, high up on the castle's second floor. Seth didn't bother tossing for it. For one thing, they didn't have a coin to toss, and for another, he didn't care where he slept. The truckle would do him well enough.