Despite Elizabeth’s signal to me, our increased pace again closed the distance to six paces again to relieve Pallor’s suspicions. Whatever she had wished to communicate had already taken place. She would appreciate knowing about the secret weapon in his cane. Not because it scared her, but because knowledge is power in the palace. You never know when the smallest detail will become useful.
The double doors at the end of the garden swung open, and my nemesis Avery confidently strode through them. His head was turned to one side, facing the woman he escorted. She was a tall brunette with chestnut highlights that fell to her shoulders. Her dress was butter-yellow and matched her dainty shoes. She held his elbow pressed to her breast as he led her into the secluded rose garden which was forbidden for all to enjoy, but royalty.
I’d heard mention of her in many rumors, and recognized her instantly, but had never seen Princess Anna. This was the first I’d laid eyes on the beauty from the uplands of Mercia Provence, where they said dragons crowded against each other for enough room in the sky to fly in the thin mountain air. Her father was an obscure earl or duke, or some-such. Royal enough to be royal, but a hundred or more steps from sitting on the throne.
Even so, she was a royal and Avery was not. That in itself drew our four pairs of astonished eyes. Yes, there have been romances between freemen and royals, usually discrete and brief. Avery was not even the rank of a freeman, but a lowly servant. Whispers of older royals and servants caught in bed always spread around any palace, true or not. However, the idea of a servant publicly and openly escorting a nubile princess through the Royal Rose Gardens of the east wing was unthinkable.
Avery’s wide, surprised eyes located us in the normally empty garden. Fear replaced the surprise.
Pallor cleared his throat in a warning to draw my attention. A slight shift to look at him told me to observe his master. Lord Kent’s face almost glowed red with anger. Lady Elizabeth paled and appeared faint—and that was why Pallor had drawn my attention. My duty was to protect Elizabeth and not question the intruder who brazenly broke the rules. Elizabeth needed me before she swooned and fell, or fainted, or whatever it was she was about to do. My situation required me to swoop in and rescue her in order for her actions to be believable.
Her eyes rolled back in her head, and the back of her hand went to her forehead, as we’d seen actors do before fainting. She swayed unsteadily, weaving first to one side and then the other. Another servant would have already leaped to her aid. However, in my defense, in all the years I’d known her, she had never once fainted. Therefore, my response was slow.
I’d seen her clean fish, gut squirrels and deer, dig holes for corral posts, and fell trees with an ax. She held her own when we practiced with wooden swords and out shot me with a bow. Now and then she still pinned me when we wrestled, and her fierce punches had left multi-colored bruises on most of my body when we boxed.
The point being, Elizabeth was strong and didn’t faint at the sight of unpleasantness or broken rules.
However, in this case, her knees wobbled, and Pallor had hissed at me to act. He actually hissed like a snake to get me moving. My legs carried me to her side as if she was on fire. After reaching her, barely in time, it seemed to any observer, Lady Elizabeth collapsed into my arms.
I lowered her to the soft grass of the winding path and wondered what she expected me to do next. It was her show. I’d go along, but she needed to lead me, to guide me on the performance we were to play. In the meantime, I fawned over her.
When my ear was near her lips, she whispered, “Take me to Kendra.”
My sister. She wanted to go to my sister, which was to say she wanted to go to her apartment. It seemed Lord Kent threw caution to the wind as he ignored the sins of Avery, and he knelt at Elizabeth’s side. He patted the back of her limp hand. It seemed to help. Pallor remained on guard for all of us.
Avery and the princess had disappeared back through the door from where they had first appeared.
I managed to get Elizabeth to her feet and placed an arm around her waist to hold her upright while assuring Lord Kent she would survive. He wrung one hand with the other, and his anger boiled, his face still as red as an apple.
He said, “I will meet with the Heir Apparent this day and will straighten it out. I understand bending a rule here and there but shattering them so callously calls for stern action and Avery will pay for his overstepping the bounds of royalty.”
Elizabeth reached a limp arm in his direction, her fingers wiggling in place of a wave, and from the groan she emitted, it must have been a painful action. She croaked hoarsely and theatrically, “Go, Kent. Do what you must.”
I almost laughed. “Don’t overact,” I whispered.
“But what about you?” Lord Kent hesitated, although clearly wishing to rush off and confront Avery. “I can’t leave you here.”
“Damon will care for me as he always does. Please, you have to hurry. Don’t hold back for my sake any longer.”
Lord Kent stood, shoulders back, and pointed to Pallor. “Take me to him.”
“Thank you,” Elizabeth called after them, just loud enough for Lord Kent to hear and be spurred onward. When the other door to the garden slammed closed, her eyes snapped open and her brows furrowed. Her body went rigid.
She ordered, “Get me to my damn feet. We have work to do.”
“We?”
“Shut up and try to keep up with me for a change.”
Laughter bubbled at her rude comment, but within the passage of a few hallways, I had little breath to spare for trivial things like laughter. Every breath was required to keep up with the female zealot of a princess charging ahead. We passed others, servants, freemen, and royals, never slowing or explaining, nor did one in her station of life need to. I, on the other hand, looked over my shoulder more than once at the startled expressions we left behind and mouthed apologies.
The flight to her apartment was like lawn bowling with people instead of wooden pegs. Dozens of apologies were due, but we never slowed. Elizabeth threw open the door to her apartment and snapped in my direction, “Bar the damned door. We don’t need anyone else barging in here while we’re busy.”
Kendra was sitting at the small desk, a quill pen in her hand. She looked up as we entered, then leaped to her feet with concern. “What?” she asked.
“A map. We need a map,” Elizabeth said, pulling open the doors of a cabinet.
“Which one? I’ll run and fetch it from the library,” I offered.
She spun around to face me as if I’d slapped her. She snarled, “So that everyone in the entire palace will know that we not only need a map, but they will know which one and wonder why I’m interested in that location? Have you lost your mind?”
“Maybe,” my quivering lips muttered. “Because I have no idea of what just happened.”
“A map, a simple map of the kingdom, is that too much to ask for?” Elizabeth began pulling anything and everything from the ornate cupboard in her office.
Kendra saved the day. “Here is one. It’s small, but will it help?”
Elizabeth paused to look as if she was starving and the map was a serving of pudding. “Yes!”
CHAPTER THREE
Elizabeth unrolled and peered at the extremely small map, which was no larger than a splayed hand. It lay spread upon the desktop as the three of us tried to read the tiny print. Bending over to observe it, Elizabeth squinted and moved her head closer, as did I. She ordered in a demanding tone, “Damon, make it bigger with your magic.”