“Well, who is this prince?” Millicent wanted to know. “Is it one that Erin and I might have encountered in our travels?”
“I know not,” their father admitted tiredly. “His servant gave me only the name ‘Griffin,’ and no one I have spoken with since has been able to tell me anything else about him.”
“No one we know, then,” Erin sniffed. “Which is strange, when you think about it. Is his castle far away?”
“Only a few days’ journey from the coast,” their father told her. “It’s strange—I felt as though I should have known the place, when the servant was giving me directions, but it appears on none of my maps, nor could I find any even in the area who knew of the palace.”
“Well, that’s easy enough, then, isn’t it?” Erin wanted to know. “If we can’t even find the place, there’s no way to deliver one of us to it, is there?”
“It’s there, sure enough,” he told her gently. “I’ve seen the place with my own eyes. We have a choice, my loves; and I think, should I labor in that place, that it will be a very hard year of labor indeed.”
“So he’s looking for a bride? For just a year?” Callista wanted to know.
“No, dear.” Her father smiled sadly. “He’s looking for a lady who could fall in love with him, and who he could come to love, as well. The year and a day is his request: he wants a lady who will be willing to look past the outward appearance, to look past the frills and the jewels, and decide along with him whether or not they could suit for a lifetime.”
“That doesn’t seem so bad,” Callista pointed out quietly.
“No, it doesn’t sound bad at all,” Erin agreed. “And can you imagine?”
Millicent giggled. “Married to a prince? It sounds wonderful, doesn’t it?”
“It’s a long way from home,” Kris pointed out quietly. “A few days from the coast—in bad weather, it would be next to impossible to come home.”
“And what of it?” Anastasia wanted to know. “What if happily ever after is waiting there? Wouldn’t that be worth it?”
Some of the tension Callista had sensed in their father seemed to ease at her oldest sister’s words. He looked around at them all. “Are you certain you don’t mind?” he wanted to know.
“Mind?” Millicent giggled again. “It sounds like it would be a grand adventure to me. Tell me—can the prince dance?”
“I don’t know much about him,” their father said slowly. “Only that he is seeking out a bride, and that he’s willing to allow me to keep my freedom in exchange for—well, for one of you.”
“And we need only stay for a year and a day? There’s nothing binding us there past that?” Millicent pressed.
“Nothing,” he promised.
“Then if no one has any objections, I’d love to go,” Millicent said simply. “Just think, who could turn it down? The chance to marry a prince!”
No one, it seemed, had any objections. If anything, they were all relieved that Millicent was so eager to go, to try her hand at making a life with the prince and seeing if they would suit as husband and wife. Within a matter of days, she had packed her bags and was gone.
Callista missed her sister, of course. She always missed them when they were gone, all of them; but she was used to it, and she was quite sure that if Millicent was going to find her happily ever after in this prince who had such a strange way of looking for his bride, then she was very happy for her sister indeed.
CHAPTER TWO
Beneath a Mask
“Theo, come for a ride with me?” Callista hovered in the door of the library, hesitant to disturb her brother. He had been buried in the household accounts more than usual, of late, as though he was worrying over some problem or struggling to arrange for something.
He looked up with a faint smile on his face, and she sagged a little bit, relieved. Not a problem, then: just something that had caught Theodore’s interest, or some new project that he was intent on pursuing. That meant that there wasn’t any real trouble—not that she had thought there would be. After their father’s revelation about his gambling habits, Theo had rather shortened the amount of money he had available to him at any moment, and he, Stephen, and Kris had been taking it in turns again to go with their father whenever he traveled; as such, she was sure that the estate’s finances were probably rolling along just fine. “I suppose I could make a few minutes for my favorite little sister,” he teased her with a smile. “Where did you have in mind?”
“Anywhere!” Callista proclaimed, spreading her arms wide in a gesture that encompassed the entire room—could have encompassed the entire world. “We could ride to the ruins again, if you have time.”
“That’s hours away!” Theodore protested, but he was laughing as he said it.
“I could pack a picnic,” she suggested.
He stood, coming around the desk to ruffle her hair. “Could you?” he wanted to know. “By which, I assume, you mean that you already have one packed, and you’re only waiting for my agreement before you dash off down to the stable?”
Callista tried to give him an innocent look, but she was quite sure she didn’t manage it. Theo was the one of her brothers most likely to come with her on all of her adventures. He was the only one who seemed to understand her obsession with things beyond their own borders—or even, to some extent, things within them. She wanted things that had stories, things that had life and adventure.
All her life, she’d wanted more: to know more, to see more, to do more. She had no idea where she would end up or what would end up happening to her, but she was very sure that, no matter what might befall her, she wanted the chance to see it all, do it all, experience it all along the way.
It didn’t seem too much to ask for.
Theodore just laughed again. “Come along, then,” he told her. “If we’re going to make it to the ruins in time for lunch, it’s going to be quite the ride.”
Cally’s eyes glowed. “Papa and Kris bought that new mare the last time they were out,” she reminded him. “I’d thought I might try her today.”
“Is she already saddled and waiting?” he teased.
She grinned, twirling toward the door without answering him.
“And for me?” he wanted to know.
“Your Breath of Wind, of course.” She caught his hand once he was finally close enough, preparing to tow him toward the stables and get on their way as soon as possible.
Theo shook his head in a gesture of amused tolerance, but she could see that his eyes were sparkling, too: he was looking forward to getting out with her for a little while. For all that he was a serious scholar to his core, Theo loved getting into mischief with her. She often thought that, had he not spent his entire life being told that Stephen needed him, Theo might have made a great adventurer.
They were almost to the front door—almost away—when it burst open, sending both of them hurrying backwards as a cloud of fabric seemingly exploded toward them.
“I couldn’t stay there another minute!” Millicent threw her hands up, her hair disarranged, her eyes more wild than Callista had seen them even when she was in the middle of her most impassioned dance. “Not another moment!”
“Did he hurt you?” Theodore stepped immediately into protective older-brother mode, glowering as though the ruffian were standing in front of him.
“What?” Distracted from her tirade, Millie spun gracefully to give him a look of utter confusion.
“What did he do to you? Where are you hurt?” Theodore demanded, looking her over.
“I—oh, stop snarling, Theo, I’m not hurt.” Millicent folded her arms petulantly over her chest, sticking her lower lip out. “He never even touched me.”
Theodore sagged. Callista could practically see the adrenaline streaming away from him and sighed, realizing that it was a good thing she had put a contingency plan in place and the grooms knew to unsaddle their horses if she didn’t show up within the hour.
They weren’t going riding that day. She just kn
ew it.
Theodore shot her a look of understanding, but they did what was expected of them and gathered around Millicent, ushering her into the sitting room and giving her the audience she so clearly needed in order to tell her tale.
“Where are the others?” Millicent demanded, looking around her as though she expected them all to appear in an instant.
“Well, Kris is away with Papa,” Callista said slowly. “And Erin is singing for the Earl of Holbrook and his family—the engagement’s been planned for weeks.”
“Oh—right. I was going to dance.” Millie sighed, throwing herself into a chair and arranging her face into a forlorn expression. “And Stasi? Stephen?”
“Stephen’s out for the day, checking over the farms,” Theodore said firmly, when she stared at him, clearly waiting for an answer.
“And Stasi’s spending the day with Peter’s mother,” Callista filled in. “I think she expected to stay for dinner.”
“Was hoping to stay for dinner and make eyes at Peter, more like.” Theodore rolled his eyes.
Callista elbowed him sharply.
“Well, at least she gets to make eyes!” Millie declared. “I don’t know what the fool man was thinking. How on earth are you supposed to see if you’ll suit someone you’re never allowed to see?”
“What do you mean?” Callista leaned forward, caught by her sister’s tale.
“I mean,” she informed her, “that he came to dinner in, of all things, a mask. And dinner was the only time he would even deign to let me see him. The rest of the time, I was completely on my own.” She folded her arms over her chest in a huff.
“All alone in an empty palace?” Callista shook her head. For outgoing Millie, who loved nothing more than to be surrounded by people, that would have been an absolute disaster: something of a nightmare, really.
“Well, there were the servants,” Millicent said grudgingly. “But really, what is one supposed to say to servants?”
“I would imagine the same thing one says to anyone else,” Theodore said firmly. “That’s how we treat Cook and Mrs. Fillmore.”
Millicent rolled her eyes. “But it’s not the same!” she complained. “They’ve both been with the family forever—why, Mrs. Fillmore practically raised us all, after Mother died.”
“Perhaps the prince’s servants have been with him for just as long,” Callista suggested.
“I wouldn’t know.” She sniffed exaggeratedly. “He never came close enough to answer any of my questions. And that horrid mask—” She shuddered. “I simply couldn’t stand to look at it for another moment. Cold—unfeeling—it was like—like being in the middle of a performance every moment, only I had no idea of my steps!”
“But what comes now?” Callista asked, feeling dread rise in the pit of her stomach. “The bet was for a year and a day, and Millie, you were only gone for three weeks!”
“Five days there, five back—oh, Millie, couldn’t you have lasted at least a month?” Theodore demanded.
Millicent shrugged eloquently. “He said it didn’t matter—that any of the rest of you could come and fulfill the term in my stead,” she informed Callista. “And honestly, I think Erin would be much better suited to him than I ever would have been.”
“Are you sure?” Callista pressed. “It’s not going to come back on Papa, or—or—” She wasn’t even sure what else she wanted to ask.
“Trust me,” Millicent said firmly. “Erin will be back in a few days, and you’ll see—she’ll make a much better showing of it than I did.” She sighed. “He likes music, I think—at least, he kept asking me questions about it, and you know I don’t care for the music except as a background for my dancing.”
“Did he dance with you?” Callista asked curiously.
“He refused. Wouldn’t even get that close to me!” Millicent sniffed haughtily. “He sat down the table from me at dinner. The first night, he chatted away; but he would insist on talking about composers, and instruments, and I simply had no interest in any of it. Talking to that mask—” She shuddered again.
“Was it so terrible?” Callista asked quietly.
“It was terrible.” For the first time, Millicent let the drama slide away. “I hate to leave it on Erin, but she’ll be so much better suited to it than I was. Erin likes to be alone.” She sounded as though she was trying to convince herself more than she was trying to convince either Callista or Theodore.
They exchanged a long look; but the deed was already done, and there was no talking Millicent out of it now. Besides, the prince was waiting for a new potential bride to arrive, not expecting Millicent to show back up.
A year and a day. It hadn’t sounded so very long when their father first told them about it. It was just enough time to have a grand adventure, and perhaps to fall in love with a prince. He was certainly going out of his way to make it worth the girls’ while. The first night she had been there, Millicent had been gifted with gorgeous jewels to match the gown she’d chosen for dinner. The second, she had been offered a stunning gown—the one, in fact, that she had come home in. The palace, she’d insisted, had been open for her to explore to her heart’s content.
The trouble had been that it was so empty. Millicent craved company, loved to be surrounded by people. There was no use, she had pointed out, exercising a gift when there was no one around to see it. She had felt completely isolated, utterly alone.
“Won’t Erin feel the same way you do?” Callista wanted to know.
Millicent waved her off. “Erin likes the quiet,” she insisted. “She performs because Papa wants it—and, I think, because Mama did.” For a moment, Millicent was quiet, considering. “But I think if Erin had her way, she would sing more for herself than for anyone else.”
Callista raised her eyebrows, unconvinced. Erin loved the thrill of the stage every bit as much as her sister. In many cases, she was the one who made the plans, the one who arranged for them to perform together—but Millicent, who traveled with Erin, knew her far better than she did, so perhaps she was right. Perhaps Erin would enjoy the quiet life at the palace; and after all, there was no commitment. It was just a year and a day; and Millicent had already served nearly two weeks of the time, even though she had decided that she and the prince couldn’t possibly suit.
After Millicent’s experience, however, it was obvious that Erin had more doubts than her sister. No—Erin simply had more doubts than her sister in general.
“You’ll like him, Erin,” Millicent insisted when her sister arrived home several days later. “Really, you will. The palace is quiet—you’ll have plenty of time to practice your singing, and there are all sorts of instruments, more than I’ve ever seen before. You’ll have a chance to try them all, since you’ll be there for a year; I’m sure the prince plays at least some of them.”
Erin didn’t look convinced. “And yet you came running home in a matter of days,” she pointed out. “How can you think I’ll last longer when you thought it was so terrible you couldn’t bear it?”
“It was the isolation,” Millicent insisted. “The isolation and that mask.” She shivered every time she said the word “mask,” as though it was the most terrible thing she could think of.
“What did it look like? What was the prince like, other than the mask?” Callista asked question after question, but if Millicent answered them, it was only to Erin, who, it had clearly been decided, would be the next to brave the prince.
Erin had barely been home for three days before she set out again, headed for her visit with the prince. Callista wasn’t even sure what to hope: that Erin would prove to be of sterner stuff, and thus to be able to whittle away the time required of their father? Or that she, too, would be home soon, back in the bosom of her family where she would be truly happy?
“Something doesn’t feel right about this, Theo,” she confessed softly to her brother, huddling in the library with him one afternoon just a couple of days after Erin had set out.
“There are a lot of things
that don’t feel right about this,” he admitted, resting his hand on her shoulder. “But there’s nothing really to be lost—and you know Millicent’s easy to spook.” He frowned. “I do wonder about that mask, though. What could possibly possess the man to think that’s the way to come to the table, when there’s a young lady there with him?”
“I wonder if he’s so handsome beneath it that it makes ladies swoon away at the sight of him,” Callista suggested.
Theodore stared down at her, one eyebrow raised.
She ducked her head. “All right, I don’t really believe that,” she admitted. “He must be disfigured in some way, don’t you think?”
“But what disfigurement would be so terrible as to cause everyone to leave the castle behind?” Theodore shook his head. “I don’t like any of the answers that are coming to mind.”
“Maybe Erin will be able to see out the rest of the year and a day and come home without ever finding out,” Callista suggested. “Or—”
“Or?” A faint smile touched Theo’s lips as he waited to see what fanciful thing she had come up with this time.
“Or…” Callista smiled softly. “Maybe he’ll turn out to be her true love. That would be something, wouldn’t it? Her finding true love in a way like this?”
“Cally.” Theo sighed.
I know, I know. It’s entirely unlikely, all things considered. But you don’t know,” Cally reminded him. “He could be everything she’s ever wanted. Millie did say he likes music.”
As weeks bled into months, it seemed as though Cally’s pronouncement might have been right. The first month went by with all of them half watching the door, waiting for the moment when Erin would come bursting back through it. In the end, however, it was not Erin herself who arrived, but rather a letter.
My dear family.
I can’t say that this is the most pleasant experience I’ve ever had, but it’s not as terrible as you made it out to be, either, Millie. I’ve been treated very well. Like you, I was presented with jewels and a gown, though it took the prince a couple of days to offer them to me. I don’t think he was quite prepared to make me that kind offer, to be honest, but when I mentioned what he’d given you, he came to it quickly enough. There have been a few other things—trinkets, really, but they’ll serve me well when I’m ready to return to singing, add that element of finery to my costumes, you know.
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