Princess of Silence, page 37
part #1 of When Kings Collide Series
“Matthew be damned!” the queen shouted. “How dare Caleb allow our sister to put herself in harm’s way once more! This is despicable!”
James tried not to dwell on the fact that it was Eleanora herself who had created this situation, sending Katherine into the middle of the fray between Clovington and Arteria to begin with. Bringing it up would do him no good. “Regardless of who we choose to blame, my Queen, the situation is what it is. We must do something about it, to get her back.”
“Oh, I will get her back, and when I do, you can be sure that Caleb of Arteria will never set eyes on our younger sister again!” Her arms were flailing out of her control, and James thought she may clear the table that held the few comfort items she’d brought with her—a brush, a few combs, a bottle of perfume.
“Eleanora, I understand your anger at Caleb, but believe me, he didn’t want her to go either. And... you should see her when they are together. I’ve never seen....” Eleanora wasn’t listening. She was pacing, her arms folded now but her chin set. “She’s speaking.”
The queen froze, her back to him. Slowly, she turned and looked him in the eye. “Katherine is... speaking?”
“Yes, and quite well, too, I might add. He did that. Caleb managed it, one way or another.” James had missed many details regarding what had transpired between them, including how Katherine had gotten the marks on her wrists and fingers, but he assumed it wasn’t his business. It was obvious to him that Caleb loved her and would take excellent care of her—once he had her back. “Eleanora, we must assist in Katherine’s recovery, but she insisted you know he is not to blame for any of this.”
Eleanora’s expression changed, her anger morphing into something else. She ran a hand across her forehead, smoothing back her hair, and cleared her throat. “I always blamed myself for her silence.” James’s eyebrows arched. He hadn’t known that, though he felt a similar guilt. “I wished... I wished I could’ve better explained to her... If she hadn’t shouted at that moment, our forces may have ridden past our location, and we’d all be dead. That man, the murderer, I believe he saw us before she screamed. Don’t you?”
He nodded. “Yes.”
“Mother... she would’ve done anything for any of us, especially Katherine, her precious little girl. If she could’ve spoken before she faded away, I believe Mother would’ve told her all was well, that she was thankful her children would survive.”
“The burden she has carried with her all of these years has finally been lifted. Who are we to try to keep her from the one person who could make her see past all of that?” He watched as Eleanora dropped her eyes to the ground. “Let us focus on getting her back, sister. We have an opportunity. Your forces are far closer to the Gradenian border than I realized. We can use that as an advantage while Caleb gathers strength. Leopold will be expecting him to invade. He won’t know what to think of us. We have a chance to take advantage of his own scheme.”
A fire lit behind her eyes, one he recognized—determination. “Leopold has asked me to align with him as he’s managed to rescue Katherine from the Arterians. If I were to accept his offer, he will trust us as we cross his border, even invite us in.”
“Precisely.” A solid nod confirmed what he’d been thinking as he rode through the night.
“Won’t he assume my compliance means Katherine is his to claim—or Philip’s?”
James shook his head. “Katherine has her own plan to deal with that.”
Chapter 35
Even in the late-morning sun, Castle Graden was dark and dreary, jutting out of a mountain top like a jagged tooth. Riding in, Katherine noticed much of the area around the castle was steep, rocky terrain. Caleb’s troops would be forced to fight their way uphill in full view of the castle. While the road made Graden slightly more accessible than the fortress would’ve otherwise been, defending a narrow strip of ground would be nothing for an army such as Leopold’s. Katherine’s stomach twisted as she thought, for the hundredth time, she’d gotten herself into a difficult situation. She had to put those thoughts aside, though. Caleb would find a way to reach her, and she would trust in him.
The carriage came to a stop in front of the main entryway. A blast of cold air greeted her as she stepped out of the coach, shivering. Only a few soldiers were there to oversee her arrival, which she thought quite odd. It wasn’t even noontime yet; where were the kings who had so adamantly requested her presence? Pulling her cloak tightly around her arms, she followed a man she assumed was an officer into the castle and down a long corridor. He never spoke, not until they turned down another hall. Then, he stopped in front of a door halfway down the dark passage. “This will be your chamber, Princess.”
She nodded, not wanting them to know she could speak.
“I will attend to the delivery of your trunks. King Leopold will see you when he is available.”
Without further explanation, he strolled past her, back the way they’d come. Katherine took a look around before she entered. Graden was somehow even darker and eerier than Blackthorn had been, a possibility she would’ve thought unimaginable. With a deep breath, she pushed the door open.
“Princess Katherine?”
The sound of Joan’s voice brought a smile to her face despite the circumstances. When her former lady flew around the corner of the four-post bed and wrapped her arms around her, Katherine burst into tears, hugging her tightly. “Thank the Good Lord,” Joan whispered into her hair. “I have prayed that you were spared, that you were safe. But they would tell me nothing.” She pushed Katherine back to arms’ length. “You look well. Where have you been? Have you been taken care of?”
Katherine nodded, knowing she’d have to let Joan in on many secrets but not wanting to alarm her. She looked over her shoulder at the door and decided they’d likely hear the sound of the one trunk she’d packed arriving. She wasn’t planning on staying long, so why bring all of her things? Katherine looped her arm through Joan’s and stepped over to the bed, setting down. It was covered in dark brown furs. Bear, she imagined, and Katherine noted even with the fire blazing across the room, there was nothing warm about the chamber. At least it had a window, though the light that came in was filtered through mountain mist and not the bright sunshine she was used to in Nadoria or Arteria.
“Did you stay in Clovington?” Joan asked, sitting beside her, not releasing her arm but sliding her hand down to take Katherine’s hand. “I’ve been so worried.”
Katherine held a finger to her lips and made the signal Joan knew mean to stay calm. With a deep breath, she whispered, “Stay quiet.”
Joan’s eyes bugged out of her head. “Did you speak?” she shouted. Katherine placed a hand over her friend’s mouth and shook her head as the lady continued to squeal in glee.
“Joan! Get hold of yourself, please,” Katherine said, looking past her at the door. “I can’t let Philip or Leopold know.”
Taking a few deep breaths around Katherine’s hand, Joan managed to calm herself enough for Katherine to release her. “Beg pardon, my princess. I didn’t mean to become overexcited. It’s just... I’ve waited too long to hear words from your mouth. And now, here you are, arrived from a distant land, speaking, with a glow about you I can’t quite comprehend. Tell me, what’s happened in these weeks since we’ve parted?”
How long had it been since she’d seen Joan? Counted as days, the number was few, but the moments seemed to reach the hundreds or thousands. “I have much to tell you, but you have to remain calm. I am here on a mission, my sweet Joan, and as I have counted on you to help me in the past, so must you do all you can for me now. It will not be easy, but it is imperative, or else I will fall victim to Philip once more, and many lives will be lost.”
Joan’s eyes were wide, but her head bobbed up and down. “You know you may rely on me for anything, my Princess. Serving you is my life’s duty, and I am honored to have the opportunity to do so once more.”
Katherine thought it more than a little unfair that Joan had resigned herself to such a station but put that out of her mind for the time being. Should she escape, she could go about finding her dear friend a proper suitor. “First off, love, you should know. I am no longer a princess.” Katherine lifted her hand to show Joan her ring. “I am a queen.”
The lady began to sputter again, gasping and giggling with delight. “Arteria?” she asked, a look of shock mixing with her happy smile. “However did that come about?”
Without going into all of the details, Katherine told her how she’d arrived in Arteria, how Rose had lied about her identity, how she’d attempted to help Caleb find Matthew, and that they’d fallen in love. She left out the part about the dungeon, as she had when she’d told the story to James. It seemed inconsequential now. She also failed to mention that they’d consummated their relationship before they took their vows as the order seemed unimportant. Eventually, she mentioned that Leopold had arranged this trade and that she’d decided it was something she must do. “I couldn’t allow Matthew to languish here any longer.”
Joan took it all in and then shook her head slowly. “Oh, Princess—Queen—I fear Leopold must want you for himself. I’ve heard whispers throughout the castle that Philip is to be banished for his disloyalty to Leopold. However will Caleb win you back?”
Her hand on the secret pocket in her skirt, Katherine replied, “We have a plan. It won’t be easy, and you will not like it, but you must help me carry it out, or else all will be lost.”
Joan’s lips began to tremble with fear. “What is it, my Lady?”
Swallowing the lump in her throat, Katherine replied, “If Leopold thinks me dead, he cannot harm me, and I will be safe until Caleb can find me.”
“Dead?” Joan echoed. “However will you trick him into thinking you’re dead?”
“I won’t,” Katherine said simply. “You will.”
Her head was shaking before Joan even replied. “Me? What? How will I do that?”
With another deep breath, Katherine explained to Joan how the elixir worked and her plan for putting it into place. Joan protested at every turn, but Katherine knew she could rely on her lady to do exactly as she asked. When she concluded, she looked her friend directly in the eyes. “It is time for us to take back some of our power, Joan. I am tired of simply being a pawn for men to bargain with.” Tightening her grip on Joan’s hands, she said, “We can do this.”
Slowly, Joan’s head tipped back and forth. “Yes, my Queen, whatever you wish, I will do it. I dread it—but I will do it.”
“Your part is simple, my friend. All you must do is react as if you think I’m truly dead.”
“Don’t you worry, my sweet. When I see you collapsed on the floor, I will have no trouble fooling anyone—not even myself.”
A small laugh escaped Katherine’s throat as she knew that was true. Thankful that Caleb had been able to persuade Leopold into letting her have her Joan back, Katherine wrapped her arms around the lady’s shoulders. “I have missed you.”
“I have missed you, too, though I’m not quite sure you’re the person I let go.”
Katherine rested her head on Joan’s shoulder. “I’m not. I’m better.”
Arriving back at Castle Caine just in front of the hospital wagon that carried Matthew and the physician, Caleb dismounted and rushed to make sure all of the preparations were ready. He hadn’t even made it into the castle before Caroline stepped out and gave him a nod. “She is waiting,” the cook called. Caleb nodded, thankful she had taken care of everything, and hurried off to oversee Matthew’s transport.
They had taken their time moving Matthew, despite Caleb’s rush to get on with rescuing Katherine. It was evident the moment he saw his brother how much pain he was in. Jarring him senseless on the bumpy roads would’ve been a fresh round of torture, so Caleb had done his best to stay patient. Thoughts of abandoning his brother and getting on with it never lasted long; he needed to see Matthew safely inside Castle Caine’s walls, and Katherine had made him promise he would witness the reunion between Matthew and Margaret so that Caleb could recount it to her later.
Four of his men carefully lifted the litter out of the back of the hospital wagon, taking extra precaution to keep the king still. Matthew was awake, though his eyes were glazed, and Caleb took that as a good sign that Russell was aware of how much of his concoction was needed to reach a specific level of sleep. The physician approached him as Caleb watched the litter make its way up the steps. “His pain has been minimized, but there is much work to be done.” Russell shook his head, looking at the ground. “If even the smallest degree of pressure had been added to the strain on the tendons in his shoulders, his arms would’ve been displaced. It will take a great deal of time to heal. His legs are better, but as I said earlier, he may have a limp. Riding may also be difficult for him.”
The last part was disappointing to Caleb because he knew how much Matthew loved to ride, but he had to focus on the positive. “Thank God he is alive,” he said, clapping Russell on the back and following the others up the stairs.
He entered just in time to see Margaret’s face as Matthew was carried into a room near the entryway where his queen lie on a bed that Caroline had prepared for her. There was room next to her, and the soldiers moved Matthew to her side, setting the entire litter down on top of the bed before propping him up on pillows. Margaret covered her mouth with her hands, tears rolling down her cheeks. Matthew reached for her hand. His voice was hoarse when he spoke, but Caleb could make out his words from the doorway. “I thought I’d lost you forever.”
His queen leaned down and kissed him softly on the lips before she said, “I will never leave you.”
“Oh, how I have missed those emerald green eyes,” he said, attempting to sit up. She gently calmed him with a touch of her hand and moved in close to him, her mouth near his ear as the couple continued to whisper to each other, Matthew’s face morphing into the fond smile Caleb was used to seeing from his brother.
Seeing the two of them together made his heart sing, but the fight wasn’t over yet, and now that Caleb was certain his brother was safe and in the loving arms of his bride, he needed to find his own wife and reclaim her so that both brothers got their happy ending.
A knock on the chamber door interrupted Katherine’s sleep. She hadn’t meant to dose off, but when she opened her eyes, she found herself lying in an unfamiliar bed, a fur blanket wrapped around her shoulders. It only took a second for her to recall where she should be, and the sound of Joan’s voice was both a comfort that at least she was not alone and a reminder of the task she had to do.
Joan finished speaking to whomever was at the door and returned to the bedside. “King Leopold is requesting to see you, my Lady.”
Reluctantly, Katherine nodded and slid from beneath the warm covers, the chill of the room seeming to penetrate into her soul. Pushing her feet into the slippers by the bed, she rose, straightening the skirt of the red gown she’d changed into earlier when her trunk arrived. She gave Joan a moment to straighten her hair and then wrapped a cloak around her shoulders so that the cold of Graden couldn’t seep into her bones.
A male servant, older than her and apparently annoyed at the few moments it took for her to prepare herself to see the king, was waiting at the door. He walked briskly down the hall, and the queen fought to keep up. As she went, she checked her pocket that she had the letter for the king. Feeling it inside, she folded her hands in front of her and fidgeted nervously with her ring, wondering if Rose was here somewhere and she might be able to get her signet ring back.
The servant opened a thick mahogany door but did not enter. Hesitantly, Katherine walked through. Thick burgundy curtains hung over the windows, leaving only a few candles and the fireplace to light what appeared to be a study. In a large chair near the fire, she saw him sitting, waiting for her. He did not stir as she entered, holding her breath.
He wasn’t as tall as she’d expected, not that it was easy to tell while he was seated. He was wiry, not solid muscle like Caleb, or even Philip. His hair and mustache were not the same color, which was almost amusing—except for the scowl he wore and the blackness of his outfit, including the furs draped around his shoulders—which cast a foreboding look around him that seemed to radiate out of his very soul. He was evil. She could smell it on him and in everything he touched, everything associated with him. The quicker she could remove herself from his presence and his home, the better.
“Forgive me,” Leopold said as she stood near an empty chair across from him. “Where are my manners?” He took a step toward her and reached for her hand. Katherine lifted hers, praying he couldn’t tell how badly she was shaking. When he pressed it to his lips, the coldness she’d felt earlier in her room seeped into her hand and up her arm before he finally released her and offered her the chair.
Katherine perched on the edge of the seat, not trusting him enough to get comfortable. Leopold reclaimed his own chair. “An interesting color of gown you’ve chosen,” he muttered, crossing one ankle on top of his knee. “Have you grown fond of the Arterians while you were their prisoner, then?”
He’d purposely asked the question in such a way she couldn’t honestly answer both parts with only a nod or a shake of the head, so she did neither, only waited.
Leopold chuckled, lifting a goblet from the table next to him and sipping what she assumed was wine. “Would you care for a drink?”
She shook her head. Something told her to eat and drink as little as possible while she was in the castle. Leopold seemed like the sort of person who’d poison his own mother.
“Water then? Anything? You must be tired from your journey?”
Katherine shrugged. She had brought food and water with her and taken care of any other needs she had while he’d kept her waiting in her chambers. Not that she was complaining that it had taken him so long to send for her. Her eyes wandered the room. They were alone, and she found it odd that Philip wasn’t there, unless Leopold’s letter hadn’t been completely honest and he had something else in mind for her.
