She met my eyes for one long, sober stare. “I don’t know,” she said at last. “Perhaps he wouldn’t.”
But perhaps he would.
I released her, took a deep breath, and leaned back against the cushions. I was on the seat facing backward, which I normally despised, but today I was so happy to be traveling in relative luxury that I didn’t mind at all. “Can you go to your father?” I asked. “Would he take you in if you told him you were afraid for your life?”
She made an inelegant sound. “No.”
“Do you have other relatives who would give you sanctuary?”
“A brother who is so much like my father that he could not be trusted. No one else.”
“Do you have money? How long can you afford to travel like this?” I gestured at the interior of the coach, with its silk-covered walls and leather bound seats.
“Your father is footing the bill for this particular trip,” she said. “The coach is his and I have his vouchers for any inn I patronize while I am with you. I believe he expects Neville and Mellicia to stay with him two weeks. After that—” She shrugged. “I have some money. I have all my jewels. I might be able to find work in Newmirot. They have quite a textile industry there, and I’m a good seamstress. I’ll get by.”
“I might be able to send you money,” I said. “My allowance is generous enough.”
“That’s kind of you,” she replied. “But don’t forget what I said before.”
I had to think a moment. She had warned me to be safely married before my father managed to get himself a son. At the time, I had scoffed at her, and I still had no proof that anything she said was true, and yet…
And yet I believed her. My father was the kind of man who would get rid of an inconvenience in the most efficient way possible. I remembered the piebald stallion that had been my father’s favorite ride until the horse took a tumble that nearly snapped his right leg. The groom had thought the horse might be succored and saved, and certainly would be able to hobble around well enough to serve at stud, but my father had ordered the stallion destroyed. “If I can’t ride him, I don’t want him,” he’d said. “He’s of no use to me now.” A wife who could not bear him a son was of no use to him.
Was a daughter of any use to him?
Particularly if he had a son?
“So you’re not going back to the palace,” I said.
“That’s my plan.”
I leaned forward, rested my elbow on my knee, and cupped my chin in my hand. After three years of trying to pretend Gisele did not exist, I found myself suddenly wanting to be her champion. I did not stop to puzzle over why it did not seem strange. “I wonder,” I said. “Perhaps you can meet with an accident on the road. Harwin and I can bring back the sad news that you died while we were traveling.”
Gisele looked amused—and a little intrigued. “But wouldn’t you be expected to return with my corpse in tow?”
“Not if you—fell off a cliff and drowned, and the water carried you away,” I said, improvising quickly. “Not if you were mauled by wolves and eaten.”
“Oh, yes, do have me devoured by wild creatures.”
“We could bring back your bloody clothes as proof,” I said. “And maybe your wedding ring—with the finger still in it. Someone else’s finger, of course, but no one else will know that.”
“Where will you find such a thing?” She was trying not to laugh.
I waved a hand. “I don’t know. Maybe we’ll come across a fresh grave while we’re traveling. Maybe Darius will manufacture one for us. He can change things from one shape to another, you know.”
“Yes, so I had heard. Perhaps he will not like to use his magic in such a fashion, however.”
“Oh, if he thinks you’re being abused, he’ll be happy to oblige. He’s very softhearted.”
She studied me a moment. “And perhaps Harwin will not like to lie to your father.”
“He will if I ask him to,” I said confidently.
“Well! You are quite fortunate in the men who attend you,” she said. “How will you choose between them?”
Now I scowled at her, my sudden amity evaporating. “I have already chosen.”
“So you have,” she said and settled back against the cushions. She closed her eyes, as if she was too weary to keep them open any longer, and in a few moments, she was either asleep or pretending to be.
I looked out the window and watched the autumn trees shake off their red and yellow leaves as if they were dogs shaking off water. I saw the clouds overhead grow angrier and closer to the ground, reminding me of furious taskmasters bending down to berate a clumsy servant. I wondered if anything Gisele had told me was a lie.
I wondered how I could bear it if everything was true.
5
The Dreadful Secret
We arrived in a prosperous little town just around sunset and followed Harwin to the inn he had recommended, having patronized it with his father. By this time, it had been raining steadily for two hours, and both Harwin and Darius were thoroughly soaked. So was the coachman, I imagined, but Gisele’s maid had taken refuge inside the coach the minute the first drops started falling, and I had invited Dannette to join us as well. The four of us passed a rather pleasant afternoon playing cards with a dog-eared deck the maid had in her bag. She was a freckle-faced and friendly girl who didn’t seem to understand her place, but I was too lazy to try to stare her down and Dannette wasn’t the type to enforce class distinctions. I spent a few moments wondering how much we would have to bribe her to lie about Gisele’s death before I realized that such a step wouldn’t be necessary. This was a servant Gisele had brought with her when she married; this was a servant loyal to the queen. No doubt she would accompany Gisele as she set off for Newmirot or Amlertay. I felt a little better knowing Gisele would not be completely alone.
“I cannot tell you how grateful I am that you joined us when you did!” Dannette said to Gisele as we prepared to disembark in the courtyard of a very fancy inn, four stories high and faced with white marble. I started to glow with happiness just thinking about the luxuries awaiting us inside. “How lovely to sit in your coach on such an ugly day.”
“I am glad that someone appreciates me,” Gisele returned with a smile.
“Even I appreciate you today,” I said, climbing out after the two of them. The maid clambered down behind me.
“Then I must call the journey a success,” Gisele said.
I grinned at her and hurried in. Darius was still outside with the wagon, but Harwin had arrived ahead of us, and I could see he had already dealt with the proprietor. He stood near the front desk, a cluster of keys in his hand, and let water drip from his overcoat to the floor. Oh, surely in such a large hotel we would not all have to cram together in one room!
“The inn is quite full but I have bespoken three rooms,” he said, pushing his wet hair from his eyes. “There are bunks in the servants’ quarters for the coachman and the maid.”
Dannette was glancing at the heavy tapestries on the wall, the brightly woven rug on the floor. “The place looks a little dear for Darius and me,” she said quietly.
“I have paid for one room, and the queen’s vouchers will cover the other two,” Harwin replied, smiling down at her. “You will have a room to yourself for a change.”
I mentally populated the remaining two rooms and instantly frowned. “Wait—you and Darius will share quarters, of course, but I should not have to sleep with Gisele,” I said.