by C. J. Archer
"You can't take advantage of someone who knows full well what's going on and can walk away without getting hurt. I didn't have to agree, not to him, not to any of it. He never threatened to expose me to polite society or to my mother. He never held anything over me."
Not like Lady Oxana, Eva could have said but did not. She didn't want to remind him of that witch.
"As I settled into my money-making scheme, I found I no longer had any need for Monsieur Fernesse. I took over the organization of the auctions and slowly untangled myself from him. I told him I could never love men the way he did, and he returned to Paris soon afterward."
"Was he in love with you?"
"Perhaps. I didn't know what love was, so I wouldn't have recognized the signs." His fingers tightened around hers. "So there it is. My innermost secret. You have the power to send me to prison and ruin my reputation if you want to."
"I will never abuse that power, Seth."
"I know. I wouldn't have told you if I had doubts. Now it's your turn. Tell me your secret. It can't be more shameful than mine, surely."
She thought about changing the subject or lying and telling him she had no secrets. But that would be cruel. He'd given her the gift of his trust. She would cherish it and return it with her own gift.
"My secret is quite different to yours," she began. "It involves you, as it happens, and me."
"Then I already like this secret."
"You may not, when you learn what it is." She hesitated, steadying her nerves, and he squeezed her hand in encouragement. "Do you recall when we first met?"
"You were very quiet and gave me odd looks."
"That's because I'd seen you in my visions."
He pulled away to look at her better. "Really? I'm honored."
"I didn't know your name, nor was I prepared for our meeting. It came as quite a shock to learn that the man in my visions was not only a friend to my new half-brother but also a nobleman. It came as an even bigger shock to see how you looked at Alice."
"With infatuation, no doubt."
She nodded.
"I meant what I said earlier," he said gently. "I am not in love with her. I never was."
"I know that now, but I didn't then."
"Why did it matter that you thought I was in love with Alice?"
"Because in my vision, we were married."
His fingers flexed around hers. Wanting to release her? Or wanting to hold tighter? She watched him closely for a reaction, for signs that her admission disturbed him. She saw nothing, just blankness.
"A real marriage?" he asked, slowly. "Or the false one we made up to trick Lady Oxana?"
"A real marriage. I knew in my soul that we wed. My mother had a similar vision."
"I see."
"Visions don't always come true," she told him. "Perhaps it will never come to pass."
"Have you ever known one not to?"
She gave her head a small shake.
"Well then. It seems a foregone conclusion." He sighed. Sighing after hearing such news was not a good sign.
"It doesn't have to be," she said lamely.
He studied her. "Do you mind marrying me?" It sounded like a proposal. Almost.
"I resented it," she said, wanting to continue their newly set precedence of honesty. "I didn't want to marry anyone. A husband would stifle me, force me to give up my dreams and plans of becoming a doctor. And you were a nobleman. A nobleman would expect his lady to behave conventionally."
"A conventional nobleman might." He stroked her jaw. How could calloused hands be so gentle? "But I am not conventional, Eva." His voice purred and his eyes were no longer blank. They shone with an emotion she couldn't decipher.
She swallowed. Waited.
But he said nothing more, merely stared at her with unwavering intensity that shattered her nerves.
"Eva!" David called, breaking through the fog that clouded her head. "What did you put on Seth's wound earlier?"
She let Seth go, or perhaps he let her go first. She found she couldn't look at him anymore. They knew one another's deepest secrets as well as their future together. The problem was, she didn't know how to proceed. He seemed just as awkward and unsure. He moved away and buttoned up his shirt again, all business.
"I have some carbolic acid," Eva said, reaching for her hem. "It's an antiseptic. Do you need it?"
"Gus does."
Gus held up his wrist. "Got a small cut. Nothing bad but David thinks you can do something. Do you always carry antiseptic in your dress?"
"It's a long story," Seth told him.
Eva felt along the hem, counting the number of vials of carbolic acid. She'd sewn in two and she wasn't sure how many more her mother added before sewing it up. She counted four lumps. No, five, except the middle one didn't feel the same as the others. It was longer and flatter. She pushed the lumps along the hem and plucked them out through the opening. One was definitely different to the other four. She unwrapped it but still had no clue what she was looking at. Two long metal pieces the length of her smallest finger lay on the gauze. Why would her mother hide them with the vials?
"Bloody hell," Seth murmured, picking them up. His face took on a new light, as if he'd been lit from within. "Where did you get these?"
"My mother must have placed them there. Do you know what they are?"
"I certainly do. Is your mother a master burglar, by any chance?"
"No."
"Then someone advised her to give you these. My guess is Lincoln. Eva, it seems your mother and half-brother have been colluding behind your back."
"What are those sticks for?"
"Picking locks." He took the sticks and stood. "Lincoln taught me how to use them." He squatted by the door and tried to reach his hand through the bars but it was too big.
"Let me try." Eva's hand fit and she was able to grab the padlock and draw it closer to the bars so he could insert the sticks into it.
Gus, David and Sir Uther grasped the bars of the cell opposite, their gazes glued to Seth's nimble fingers. None spoke. Eva dared not breathe.
"Damn it," Seth muttered. "I wish I'd practiced more."
Finally the lock clicked open. He grinned at her in triumph. She grinned back and swung the door open. The rabbit hopped on the spot as Seth picked the lock to their cell.
"Fitzroy's saving us and he ain't even in the same realm," Gus said. "The man ain't human."
David picked up the heavy padlock, weighing it in his palm. "Or he placed those sticks in the dress because his new wife forced him to."
Gus smacked David's shoulder. "Idiot."
"Charlie didn't know we'd need the tools to save ourselves," Eva said. "One look at her worried face as we left would have told you that."
David's lips flattened.
"Lincoln doesn't deserve your hatred," she said. "It's not his fault we share a mother but not a father."
"I don't hate him."
"You don't like him."
"He's so…different."
"You just got to get to know him," Gus said, watching Seth move on to the neighboring cell that harbored a goat. "He ain't so bad."
"Don't waste time freeing us," the donkey said from a cell further down. "You've got to save the princess first. There won't be much time. Trials are notoriously swift."
"And fatal," Sir Uther said on a groan.
"How can we save them?" David asked. "The queen has guards and two armies."
None of the animals answered, but Eva had an idea. "If we can find the magic book and speak the spell that turns an object into a portal, we can slip through it before we're captured." It wasn't a foolproof plan, nor a particularly clever one, but no one could come up with anything better.
"Take the princess with you," the donkey said. "It's the only way to keep her alive."
"And us?" the rabbit whined. "Who will keep us alive when they realize we played a part in this madness?"
"Perhaps you can all come," David said, without much conviction.
&
nbsp; "We can't abandon our country," the donkey said. "But thank you. Now, you'll need to get near the princess without anyone noticing."
Seth glanced along the dimly lit corridor. "That won't be a problem. Everyone, back in your cells."
"No," Sir Uther said. "I'm not going in there again." He crossed his arms. "No way."
Gus grabbed the rabbit's ears and pulled him back to the cell. David followed. Seth and Eva returned to theirs.
"My apologies, David," Seth said. "But I'm going to shout at your sister."
"Be my guest," David said.
Seth turned to Eva and shouted about how much he couldn't stand the sight of her. "You're a horrible, cruel woman!" He indicated she should say something back.
"And I hate you!" she screamed.
He looked pleased. "I hate you more! You're a vicious snake, too beautiful for your own good."
She tried not to laugh. "And you've got the face of an angel! Come here and let me mess it up a little for you."
"Guards!" David shouted, joining in. "Guards, come and separate these two before they drive us all mad."
The other prisoners chimed in, shouting at the top of their lungs to be relieved of the ear-splitting duo in the end cell.
Finally a guard emerged like a ghost from the darkness. "What's all the noise down here?"
"It's them," Sir Uther pointed at Eva and Seth.
Eva shouted something at Seth, she hardly even knew what. Seth shouted back at her.
The guard sighed. "You," he said to David, "and you," he said to Eva, "swap cells." He went to unlock the padlock with his key.
Seth shoved the door back. It smashed into the guard's face, bloodying his nose, sending him careening. Before he had a chance to alert his companions, Seth punched him. Gus was already out of his cell and managed to catch the unconscious guard and lower him to the floor so his sword didn't make a sound on the stones.
Seth quickly undressed while David and Eva removed the guard's clothes. She thought her brother might tell her to look away for modesty's sake, but he seemed not to care that she was touching a near naked man.
Sir Uther picked up the key and unlocked the nearest cell as they worked.
"Where will Alice's trial be held?" Seth asked as he pulled on the guard's tunic.
"The audience chamber," Sir Uther said.
"And the spell book?"
Sir Uther shrugged. "The queen's private chambers?"
"I think I know," the donkey said, tapping a hoof against the bars as he waited for the rabbit to unlock his cell. "There are four guards posted at her wardrobe door. The crown jewels aren't kept there, so what is she guarding?"
"Clothes?" Gus offered.
"The spell book," Sir Uther said, opening the donkey's cell door. "You owe me an apology, you moronic oaf. My ears are sensitive."
"So's my pride," Gus said. "I ain't 'pologizing until you 'pologize for calling me an oaf."
Dressed in the guard's white uniform and carrying his sword, Seth headed along the corridor, Gus at his heels. David took Eva's hand but they kept their distance as Seth approached the two guards lounging by the exit. The first guard didn't realize what was happening until Seth smashed his fist into his jaw.
The second guard reached for his sword but Gus struck him before he could draw it. Eva helped David and Gus change into the white uniforms while Seth scouted ahead. Her heart hammered in her throat until she saw him hurry back, safe.
"The coast is clear," he said. To the various animals and humans now clogging the dungeon's corridor, he added, "There aren't enough of you to fight off the armies and guards."
"She'll have several in the audience chamber with her," the donkey agreed. "And many more spaced through the castle, and outside it. It'll be easy for her to summon them."
"We'll stay out of sight until your signal," said the goat dressed in a cape.
"Eva, stay here," Seth ordered. "Your dress is too conspicuous. David, use that sword if necessary."
"I'm coming with you," David said.
Gus clapped him on the shoulder. "Good man."
"Sir Uther will go with you too," the donkey said.
"Why me?" the rabbit wailed.
"Because you know the way to the queen's chambers and you've got padded paws for feet." The donkey lifted his front hoof. It would make too much noise on the stone floor.
Seth's gaze connected with Eva's. She nodded. He nodded back with a grim smile then disappeared through the exit and out of the dungeon. Gus, David and Sir Uther followed.
Eva folded her arms, rubbing them, but the chill in her bones remained. The two most important men in her life were stepping into unknown dangers, and she hadn't told either of them she loved them.
Chapter 13
Alice
Alice had never felt fear like this before. It clawed at her like a beast, took hold of her entire body and squeezed until she could hardly breathe. She'd faced dangers before with Charlie, but this time the fear was more intense because she was afraid for someone she loved. She was afraid for Markell.
He knelt on the floor, head bowed. She could just make out his swollen eye, almost entirely closed now, and the bruise on his cheek. He'd struggled with the guards on the way up from the dungeon to the audience chamber until Alice begged him to stop. She'd been afraid they would execute him on the spot, without trial.
Now, she almost wished they had. His trial was over and Lord Indrid was announcing the punishment. It involved torture and the removal of limbs. If he survived that, he would be hanged in front of Alice.
She didn't beg. There was no point. The queen didn't possess the capacity for mercy. She'd smiled when Lord Indrid read out Markell's punishments. Then, when he'd finished, she'd turned gleaming eyes onto Alice.
"Miss Alice is charged with high treason," Lord Indrid announced. "She left the realm unlawfully—"
"She was a mere child!" a brave soul called out from the back of the room.
The queen stamped her fist on the arm of her throne. "Who said that? Find him and send him to the dungeon until he learns respect."
A guard moved through the crowd and the courtiers murmured among themselves.
A soldier dressed in army crimson took the opportunity to offer Markell a sip of wine. He held the cup to Markell's lips since Markell's hands were tied at his back. He was one of ten soldiers in the audience chamber. Another twenty guards were interspersed around the room too. All were armed.
"You there!" the queen snapped. "Do not show kindness to the prisoner."
The soldier stepped back and apologized profusely. "Forgive me, Your Majesty. I fought for his father and it pains me to see him—"
"Enough!" She leaned forward. "General Ironside betrayed me. He broke his oath of fealty and would have gleefully led you all to your deaths if he hadn't died first. Is that a man who deserves your loyalty?"
"I'm not loyal to him, Majesty. I merely felt some sympathy for—"
"Get out! Sentimental fools don't belong in my army. Indrid, see that he is expelled without pay."
"No pay?" the soldier cried. "But I have children to feed."
"Then you should have been more careful who you give wine to."
Alice watched him leave, shaking his head. He threw the cup at one of the guards. The wine made a satisfying stain on the white uniform.
Alice's heart lifted. If there was one thing she knew, it was that kindness meant something. Kindness in the face of danger was powerful.
She looked around the room with fresh eyes. Where before she saw only enemies, now she saw potential allies. Where before she thought they were eager to watch her trial, now she thought they seemed afraid. Afraid to rise up against the mad queen who liked to turn her enemies into animals before executing them.
The soldier who'd been seeking the dissenting voice amidst the crowd had stopped looking when he saw the queen's interest wander. He melted into the background.
"We call the first witness, Lord Quellery!" Lord Indrid announced.
Lord Quellery broke away from the crowd and advanced to the queen. His size wouldn't allow him to get down on one knee so he merely bowed. The queen didn't look too pleased but allowed it. "Your Majesty, I offer you my fealty," he said, stating the oath that the witnesses in Markell's trial had also spoken. "I offer you my loyalty and my…guidance."
"And your lands for my use," the queen reminded him. "Come along, Quellery, you know how it goes."
"My lands for your use," Quellery mumbled into his chins.
"Tell the queen and court what transpired seventeen summers ago," Lord Indrid said.
Seventeen years? That was when Alice had been sent to England through the portal.
"The father of the prisoner came to me," Lord Quellery bellowed loud enough so that even the people standing at the back could hear. "He begged me to take her and hide her. I refused, knowing that she was a rival to your good self, Your Majesty."
"We thank you for your loyalty," the queen said. "It's because of you that I was able to remove my corrupt and inept brother from power. It was a pity he'd already sent his daughter into safety."
"Traitor!" Markell spat.
"Silence!" The queen stamped her foot on the floor like a child demanding to get her own way. "Continue, Quellery. Get to the good part."
"When Markell Ironside brought the prisoner to Quellery Castle, I was overjoyed to once again be able to help Your Majesty remove another thorn from the kingdom's side. I pretended to be a sympathizer to gain his trust then sent a man here immediately to alert you."
"Nonsense," Alice scoffed. "He wanted to marry me," she told the queen. "If I had agreed, he was going to give us his army to overthrow you."
Lord Quellery spat rebuttals and saliva at the queen.
The queen put her hand up for silence. "Don't try to fool me, girl," she said. "You might be pretty, but you're a liability for a man like Quellery. I also suspect you're quite mad. Who would want to marry you?"
"I do," Markell said clearly. "I do."
Alice's eyes filled with tears even as her heart swelled. If everything ended today, she at least had this moment to cherish, his declaration to cling to.
"The knave will hold his tongue!" the queen shouted. "Or expect it to be cut out."