Privateer

by Margaret Weis

  “I questioned the staff as you ordered, Colonel Smythe,” the soldier was saying breathlessly. “The woman I saw in the hall could have been the Princess Sophia. She was dining with the queen and no one actually saw her leave the palace.”

  “Two of you go see if you can find her,” Smythe ordered, sounding annoyed. “Where were you when you saw her?”

  “In this hallway, sir.”

  “Search every room. I will be with His Highness,” said Smythe.

  He and his escort continued walking down the hall, coming closer to where Kate was hiding.

  She was concerned to hear that Sophia was still in the palace, but she was safe, apparently. She had not been caught in the explosion. Thomas was safe, as well, it seemed. Kate thought for a moment of trying to find Thomas, but immediately abandoned the idea.

  “He might well be king now,” Kate said softly.

  The soldiers trooped down the hall. They were wearing the same uniforms as the palace guard. The man in the lead wore a red sash around his waist and carried a sword and sidearm, which generally denoted an officer.

  Kate assumed that this must be Colonel Smythe. He was almost past her when he turned to speak to one of the men behind him.

  Kate saw his face. His nose was broken and his jaw was bruised and swollen, as though he had been in a fight, but she had no trouble recognizing him.

  She began to shake; her gut wrenched; her mouth went dry; and her hands shook. She could never forget that face. She was looking straight up into that when he struck her to the floor, grabbed hold of her hair, dragged back her head, and held a drug-laced handkerchief over her nose and mouth.

  Colonel Smythe, the commander of Thomas’s army, was also a cold-blooded killer, the man who had murdered Lady Odila and Coreg.

  Kate gave a little gasp and then pressed her hand over her mouth. She was too late. He had heard her.

  “Who is there?” Smythe called out sharply, staring intently into the shadows.

  Kate shrank back against the wall and closed her eyes, as though blotting him from sight would make him vanish.

  “You two, go search,” Smythe ordered.

  The soldiers entered the hall. They were carrying dark lanterns and their lights flashed around the hall and into the alcove. Both lights shone right in her eyes.

  Kate raised her hands.

  “It’s a sailor, Colonel,” reported the soldier.

  “A sailor?” Smythe repeated in disbelief. “What the devil is a sailor doing here? Bring him.”

  Kate had recognized Smythe, but perhaps he might not recognize her. He had seen her only in the darkness and only for a few seconds.

  The soldier grabbed hold of her arm and dragged her into the hall, bringing her to stand before Smythe.

  Kate kept her head lowered, touched her hand to her forehead, and broke into a mumbled explanation.

  “I was in the servant’s hall, sir, visitin’ my girl, Jenny, when we heard a blast. Terrible loud it was, sir. We didn’t know what had happened and we started runnin’. I lost hold of Jenny and I come here lookin’ for her.”

  Smythe frowned at her. “Why do I know you?”

  “I’m sure I couldn’t say, sir,” said Kate gruffly, shuffling her feet.

  She shot a quick glance around. The soldiers were regarding her with amusement. Smythe was still frowning and then his eyes fixed on her, narrowed and glittering.

  Kate shoved past him, darted through a gap between the two guards, and ran down the hall.

  “Catch her!” Smythe ordered. “She’s not a sailor. She’s an agent for Sir Henry Wallace! And don’t kill her. I need to question her.”

  Kate ran as fast as she could, but she was already exhausted, and she could feel her strength flagging. The soldiers pounded after her. She ducked around a corner and dove into another hall, hoping to lose them. Too late, she saw more guardsmen posted near the end of the corridor.

  Kate stumbled to a halt and looked frantically for a place to hide. She saw only long stretches of wall with niches and alcoves, few doors and no windows. The guardsmen who were in pursuit dashed around the corner. They caught sight of Kate and shouted to their comrades at the far end of the hall to stop her.

  Kate was cornered. She couldn’t go forward. She couldn’t go back.

  The soldiers closed in on her.

  Kate raised her hands and opened her mouth to tell them she surrendered.

  The corridor was suddenly plunged into darkness as black as the Deep Breath. Kate couldn’t see a thing and neither could the soldiers. She heard them clatter to a confused halt.

  Before she could think what to do, a ghostly figure seemed to materialize at her side. The apparition reached out, took hold of her wrist with a very real hand, and pulled her through a red-and-golden-papered wall.

  SIXTY

  Kate stood, shaken, on the other side of the wall, wondering what had just happened. She heard the muffled sound of a door being softly, stealthily closed, and the ghostly figure put her fingers on Kate’s lips.

  “Hush, Kate! It’s me, Sophia! Keep quiet!”

  Kate had no trouble obeying the command. Her breath came in ragged gasps, and her heart seemed to be beating in her throat.

  In the hall outside, soldiers were blundering around in the darkness, shouting for light.

  “Wait here,” Sophia whispered. “I’ll fetch the lamp.”

  “Won’t they see the light?” Kate asked, alarmed.

  “We are inside a room behind a closed door,” Sophia explained. “The soldiers won’t see anything if they look, not even a door. I cast an illusion spell. If they ever do manage to light the lamps in the corridor, all they will see is a wall. Are you all right?”

  “I will be when I can breathe again,” said Kate. “You scared me half to death. I’ve never seen magic like that!”

  “I’m a savant,” said Sophia, shrugging. “It’s my one useful skill. Keep your voice down. They can’t see us, but they might be able to hear us. Come onto the balcony with me. We can talk out there.”

  Kate followed her across the room that smelled of roses. She passed a sideboard and the sight of a pitcher made her realize her throat was parched.

  “Is there water?” Kate asked.

  “Yes, and brandy, too,” said Sophia. “Here, let me.”

  Kate tried to pour the water into a glass and ended up sloshing most of it all over the table. Sophia poured the water for her, and Kate gulped it thankfully.

  “You’re shivering! Here, take my cloak.” Sophia draped a fur-lined silk cloak over Kate’s shoulders.

  Kate clutched it around her.

  “I saw him, Sophia,” she said, shuddering. “And he saw me. He knew me.”

  “Who did you see?”

  “That man, Colonel Smythe.”

  “The commander of Thomas’s army?” Sophia said, amazed.

  Kate shook her head. “Smythe is a murderer, a cold-blooded killer. Thomas doesn’t know the truth about him. Smythe is behind a plot to kill the queen. You heard the explosion? They might have succeeded!”

  Sophia paled. Kate started to tell her more, but then she heard men talking right outside the door.

  “We will be safer outdoors,” Sophia whispered.

  She extinguished the light of the lamp and drew Kate through the darkened room and out onto the balcony. Drawing the curtains closed, she shut the door.

  “How long will the illusion last?” Kate asked, still a prey to fear.

  “Until someone who is familiar with this part of the palace realizes that there should be a door there instead of a wall,” said Sophia. “We don’t have to worry about these soldiers. They are not the palace guard. They are disguised to look like the palace guard. A real guardsman would see through the illusion.”

  Kate sank down on a stone bench and almost stepped on Bandit, who was eating his way through a plate of sandwiches and tea cakes.

  She looked around and saw another balcony close to theirs, not more than twenty feet aw
ay. The curtains covering the doors leading to the balcony were shut, but she could see light shining from behind them.

  “Is someone in that room over there?” Kate asked.

  “I don’t know,” said Sophia. “That is the Yellow Drawing Room. I can see the light, but no one has come out on the balcony.”

  She sat beside Kate and leaned down to pet Bandit.

  “I had to feed him to keep him quiet. I was afraid they would hear him bark.” Sophia spoke softly and added, with a glance at the balcony next to theirs. “I’m sorry we have to sit in the dark, but if someone did come out, they might see us.”

  “What are you doing here in the palace, Sophia?” Kate asked. “The countess told me—”

  “The countess!” Sophia interrupted with a breathless gasp. “Is she in the palace? Where is she?”

  “The countess was in the palace,” Kate answered. “She and Sir Henry ran to warn the queen. They left me in the rotunda, under guard, and then there was the explosion…”

  “Is the queen safe?”

  “I don’t know,” Kate said. “I hope they reached her in time. But what are you doing here? The countess was worried when she heard you had been dining with the queen. The servants told her you had left.”

  “I was going to leave,” said Sophia. “Oh, Kate, it is all so confusing, like a strange, horrible dream.”

  She picked up Bandit, who had finished off the sandwiches, and held him in her lap. The dog closed his eyes, his stomach full, and went to sleep.

  “I dined with the queen,” Sophia said. “Her Majesty was in good spirits. Bandit barked at Jo-Jo and the monkey threw something quite nasty at poor Bandit. I thought Her Majesty would be angry at Bandit, but she laughed and laughed. She said she knew a few members of the House of Nobles who deserved the same treatment.”

  Sophia patted the dog on his head and then put him down on the floor at her feet. Bandit yawned, rolled over on his side, and began to snore gently.

  “The queen looked pale and seemed very tired and so I left early, at about nine of the clock. One of the servants and I were walking down a hall when Bandit suddenly jumped out of my arms. He ran over to a closed door and began barking at it. I tried to make him come back to me, but he was frantic, and began pawing at the door. The servant bent down to grab him and I am afraid Bandit bit her.

  “The poor woman’s hand was covered in blood. I felt terrible. I told her to go to the servants’ quarters and have someone tend to it. She didn’t want to leave me, but she was dripping blood on the carpet and I ordered her to go. I knelt down on the floor to try to convince Bandit to leave and a voice called my name through the door.”

  Sophia took hold of Kate’s hand. “It was Phillip!”

  “Phillip?” Kate repeated, stunned. “What is Pip doing here in Freya?” She answered her own question. “He came with Thomas.”

  “I didn’t even know Thomas was here,” said Sophia. “Not until Phillip told me. He warned me that I was in danger and so was Thomas. He said Thomas was in the palace, in the Rose Room.”

  “The countess told me the same thing,” said Kate. “I was searching for it. What else did Phillip say?”

  “That I must find Thomas and tell him and we were to leave. Oh, Kate, Phillip sounded so strange. His words were slurred and he had trouble talking. I peeked under the door and I could see him lying on the floor, as though he had collapsed.”

  “Was he drunk?” Kate asked doubtfully, thinking of the Pip she had known in Wellinsport.

  Sophia gave an emphatic shake of her head. “He was drugged. I know what being drugged is like. When I was young, I had terrible headaches. They used to give me laudanum to ease the pain and Phillip sounded like I used to feel. I tried to open the door, but it was locked. I asked him if he was all right, but he only kept repeating over and over that Thomas and I were in danger. And then … he didn’t say anything more.

  “I didn’t want to leave him. I kept hoping someone would come. Then I saw the green light and heard the explosion. The blast shook the floors and the walls. Something inside the room fell down with a crash. I was frightened for Phillip and I decided to go to the Rose Room to see if I could find Thomas.

  “I was hurrying down this hall, to the Rose Room, when I saw three members of the palace guard at the far end of the hall. I was so relieved! I started to call to them, but they acted very strangely. They stared at me and began whispering. I heard one say, ‘That’s her, the princess.’”

  “They looked so grim, not at all like the palace guard, who are always very gallant and polite to me. I didn’t trust them. The door to the Rose Room was standing open—”

  “This is the Rose Room?” Kate asked, interrupting. “But if that’s true, where is Thomas?”

  “If he was here, he left before I came,” said Sophia. “The room was empty. I picked up Bandit and ran inside, then cast the illusion spell. I could hear the men outside in the hall. They had seen me enter a room, but they couldn’t find the door. I knew, then, that they weren’t really palace guards.

  “They said something about telling the colonel, and left. I didn’t know what was happening and then I heard voices and men shouting.

  “I peeped out the door and saw you running down the hall. I caused all the lights to go out, opened the door, and pulled you inside. And here we are. I don’t know what has become of Phillip. I am so afraid for him and now I’m afraid for Thomas, as well. What is going on, Kate? Who are those soldiers?”

  “They belong to Thomas’s army,” Kate said.

  “Thomas’s army? No, that’s not possible!” Sophia protested, shocked. “Phillip told me to warn him—”

  “The countess says he doesn’t know the truth; he’s not involved.”

  Light suddenly shone on the balcony of the room adjacent to theirs. Someone had parted the curtains and was opening the glass-paned doors.

  A man stepped out onto the balcony. He was speaking to someone over his shoulder, answering impatiently, “I will be perfectly fine, Sir Richard. The room is stuffy. I need a breath of air.”

  Kate and Sophia stared at each other.

  “Thomas!” Kate whispered.

  “At least he is safe,” said Sophia. “Do you think we should call to him? Ask him about Phillip?”

  “Who is Sir Richard?” Kate asked. “Do you know?”

  Sophia shook her head.

  Kate longed to talk to Thomas. She hesitated, then remembered that the guards were searching for Sophia as well as for herself. “As you say, he is safe. We need to find out more.”

  Thomas walked onto the balcony, glancing over his shoulder, perhaps to see if he was being watched. He hurried to the railing and leaned over it, as though trying to gauge how long a drop it would be to the ground below him.

  The drop was a long one, too long for a leap in the darkness if that is what he contemplated. He slammed his fist into the stone in disappointment, then turned his gaze to the ivy, as though that might be of some use to him.

  A man called to him from inside the room. Thomas made an annoyed gesture.

  “I told you, my lord, I am fine!”

  A guardsman walked out onto the balcony.

  “Colonel Smythe is here, Your Highness. He respectfully asks to speak with you.”

  “Smythe?” Thomas repeated, amazed. “That’s not possible. The colonel is in Bheldem!”

  “He is here, sir, as commander of your forces.”

  Thomas appeared relieved. He started to return to the room. “Smythe! It is you. What the devil is going on?”

  Sophia whispered frantically, “We have to warn him!”

  “Thomas!” Kate cried, jumping to her feet. “Don’t trust him!”

  Her call woke Bandit, who flipped over and jumped to his feet with a growl and a snarl. Sophia grabbed the dog and clapped her hand over his muzzle.

  Thomas stopped and turned to stare into the night. “Who is there? Is someone there?”

  Kate started to reply. A soldier walked
out onto the balcony of the Yellow Drawing Room and she shrank back down on the bench, out of sight.

  “Is everything all right, sir?” the guardsman asked.

  “How do you know Colonel Smythe?” Thomas asked abruptly. “You are a member of the queen’s guard. You serve Her Majesty.”

  “I serve you, sir,” said the guardsman. “I am with the Army of Royal Retribution. Forgive the deception. It was for your own good. We feared for your safety. But victory is ours this day, sir!”

  Thomas stiffened. His jaw tightened. His hands clenched to fists. “I don’t understand. What is going on?”

  “You will be king, sir,” the guardsman said, excited and enthusiastic. “Colonel Smythe has arrived. He will tell you the glad news.”

  The guardsman stood waiting. Thomas cast a glance toward the other balcony, perhaps hoping to hear again the voice that had called to him.

  Kate didn’t dare speak, but she willed her thoughts to touch him, willed him to know she believed in him and she was sorry for ever having doubted him.

  “Sir,” said the guardsman. “Colonel Smythe is waiting.”

  Thomas straightened his shoulders, braced himself as though for battle, and walked back into the room. He did not close the doors behind him, but left them open. Perhaps he had felt her touch.

  SIXTY-ONE

  Thomas entered the drawing room to find Colonel Smythe, accompanied by several officers, all wearing the uniforms of the palace guard. Smythe bowed low, as did the other officers.

  Sir Richard rose in outraged dignity. “Colonel Smythe. I demand to know what is going on! We have been most shamefully treated!”

  Smythe ignored him.

  “God save Your Royal Highness,” he said. He seemed to be in earnest, his tone respectful, even reverent. “The blessed Day of Retribution is at hand.”

  “I do not understand, Colonel,” said Thomas, carefully maintaining his composure, modulating his voice. “You are going to have to explain.”

  “The queen is dead, sir,” said Smythe. “Long live the king.”

  “The queen is dead…” Thomas repeated with a catch in his voice.