Chapter 10
TEN
LILY
The journey over the next few days passed uneventfully.
Even Iris quieted down, although possibly that had more to do with the fact she often chattered long into the night before grumbling over every hard lump under her sleeping mat.
I swore every root must have met in a cluster under her delicate behind.
On our last day of the journey she was a little out of sorts, her hair a bit wilder, and I was still teasing leaves and moss from it—anyone would have thought she’d spent the night rolling around the forest floor.
Dirt streaked her pale skin with streaks of grime, and she’d even managed to rip the bottom of her skirt on something.
I rolled my eyes in amusement. Only Iris.
Well, maybe also Camellia, I amended, thankful she wasn’t also here. She would have taken great pleasure in the nights outdoors, but she probably would have escaped to be with the guards any time she could.
The carriage rolled along at a sedate pace as the sun shone from an almost cloudless blue sky and occasional birds chirruped to each other in warning as we passed.
I tucked the warm fur firmly around Iris as she dozed against the carriage window.
Her mouth hung open and her entire body rocked with the motion of our journey.
In any other environment, sun would have meant heat, but not in Talador during the winter.
Here, only clouds guaranteed any insulation.
Without them, any warmth in our kingdom escaped straight into the sky.
Winton Castle was cold. Icy and beautiful, but this time of year the summer palace wouldn’t be much better. In fact, the name might have been because it was the only time temperatures there made it inhabitable at all. Either way, I hoped they’d stoked the fires for our guests.
As I thought about the palace, Keane rode up alongside my window. “Not long to go now. Just a turn or so more of the road.” Then he nodded at Iris. “Have you worn her out?”
“I’m making the most of this peace now because I know as soon as she sees the summer palace, she’ll be unstoppable.”
“I suspect she will.” He was a man of few words, but his quite assurance made me feel better in any situation.
At a shout from the front of the carriage, he looked ahead then back at me. “We’re approaching the palace, if you want to wake Princess Iris.” Then he clucked his tongue at his horse and rode away.
“Iris.” I nudged my sister gently. “We’re nearly there.”
She stirred and yawned. “Finally,” she grumbled. “All of this traveling is boring.”
Then she shoved the fur away, pushed down the ill-fitting window of her carriage, and stuck her head out to watch our approach. An icy blast of frigid air blew in through the open window, but I didn’t attempt to correct her.
Instead, I watched her face as her nose turned red in the cold, and her eyes glazed with excitement. Iris had spent too long cooped up in Winton. This change of scenery would be good for her.
We passed between narrow gateposts of white stone that sparkled and glinted in the sun. Gilbrook Castle used many of the same materials as Winton. Gravel crunched under our wheels, and we jolted gently as the horses stopped.
“We’re here!” Iris cried, as she started to open the door.
“Just one moment.” I grasped her forearm. “Wait until we’re completely inside.”
With everything that had happened recently, additional caution seemed wise. She nodded and sat back against her seat. “Fine, but I get to pick the best bedroom for once.”
She knew as well as I did that our bedrooms had probably already been prepared for our arrival by staff who’d traveled under the cover of night for safety and to continue the ruse I hadn’t left Winton, but I didn’t argue.
When I glanced out of the window, I withheld a small gasp.
It had been a few years since my last trip to the summer palace, but it seemed to have fallen into a level of disrepair.
The stone no longer gleamed, and seemed to have a slightly green coating, as if it was growing a moss or mold.
Our carriage rolled to a stop, and Keane dismounted and moved toward us.
“We can get out now.” I turned to Iris, but my comment was unnecessary—she already had her hand on her door to open it.
I stepped out, my hand in Keane’s, and his gloved fingers curled a little around mine to support me before he released his hold.
The castle rose in front of me, the bleak windows nothing like the windows of home.
Ivy had grown over some of the better features I remembered, and the whole place had an air of having been left alone for too long.
Iris wrinkled her nose. “Are you sure we’re in the right place?”
“Yes, we are, although it has…” I paused as a moment of sadness caught me. “Changed a little over the years.”
“Shall we go and see inside?” Iris gripped my hand.
I squeezed her hand back, but before I could reply, the front door of the castle creaked open, and an older woman stepped out.
“Oh, Your Majesty,” she cried. “Please accept all of my apologies. I didn’t hear the carriage.
I would never leave you and Princess…” She hesitated.
“My goodness, is this Princess Iris? My, how you’ve grown!
” She stepped forward, and for a moment I thought she might reach out and touch my sister, but her arm dropped back to her side and she tossed her fly-away gray hair out of her eyes instead.
“Had I known you would arrive so early, I would have arranged the staff to welcome you.”
“We made better time than anticipated. I don’t believe you’ve changed a bit, Grimelda.” I smiled warmly at the housekeeper. She’d been here on my last visit too, and Father had kept her to ensure the palace was taken care of, even after he dismissed most of the other staff.
She bobbed a belated curtsy. “I was very sad to hear about the King. Death. It’s a terrible business.
And all of you girls still so young.” She shook her head, sorry gleaming in unshed tears in her eyes.
“I remember when you girls were here the last time, and the palace fair sang with laughter and play. But listen to me carrying on, Your Majesty. Let me take you inside and show you to your rooms so you can get yourselves settled. You must both be tired after such a long journey.”
She turned and climbed two of the green-coated stone steps.
I hesitated as I studied the exterior. White shone through in the patches scuffed by feet.
I’d ask Keane the best course of action on restoring the castle to its former beauty.
I didn’t want to think of it quietly decaying while no one used it.
Iris pulled impatiently at my hand. “Come on.”
Grimelda glanced over her shoulder. “Right this way, Princess Iris. There’s so much for you to explore here. Your sister might even wish to rest for a while. There’s to be a ball tonight.”
My stomach contracted. “A ball? Already? But why?”
Grimelda laughed, and the sound grated like she hadn’t done that for a while. She had my sympathies for the lonely life she must live out here by herself, with only a few other staff and guards. “To introduce you to your suitors, of course.”
As if on cue, Iris poked her head around the cracked and faded wood door. “Your suitors are already here,” she called in a stage whisper so loud that half the kingdom must have heard it.
“Are they all here?” I asked Grimelda, hoping she’d say no so we could delay the introductions to the others.
But she nodded and swept her hair back again, adjusting a pin to keep it in place as she led me into the castle. “Yes, Your Majesty. Everything is proceeding to plan.”
I groaned and silently cursed Dahlia for her latest scheme. Suddenly having seven suitors didn’t suit me at all. I had other important matters to worry about, like if Queen Riala was really trying to steal the throne from me.
“I’ve lit all of the fires to take the chill away, Your Majesty,” Grimelda said.
“Thank you.” I nodded in acknowledgment as I took in the entrance hall.
In my memory it was grand, but in current reality, the grandeur had faded almost to the point of loss.
The rugs on the floor had more threads than pattern and a thin layer of dust seemed to cover a lot of the ornaments and decorative touches.
There was also a large mirror I didn’t remember, with an ancient-looking silver filigree frame, and it was the only thing that seemed to have been cleaned recently.
Poor Grimelda really needed more staff to help her.
She paused, her hand on the balustrade as it swept down the grand staircase. “Oh, look at me, Your Majesty, marching ahead like I own the place. You must forgive me. I’m so used to being on my own here. Would you prefer to lead the way?”
A pang of sympathy echoed through me for this woman’s lifestyle.
Once I returned to Winton Castle, I’d ask what funds were available to look after this palace and make her accommodations more comfortable.
I had a duty to maintain the estate for future generations, after all—although that wasn’t a subject I wanted to think too hard on, when I was pretty much being put out to tender for seven men I’d never met.
“Not at all.” I gestured Grimelda forward. “Please. You know the way, and I can’t remember where everything is after so long.”
Her face creased into a smile, and I caught a glimpse of a missing front tooth. “Don’t you worry at all. I’ll look after both of you while you’re here. No request will be too big, no desire an imposition.”
“Thank you.” Gratitude swirled through me at her words. Hopefully, we could provide her some company during our stay, too.
“What will the ball be like?” Iris swung around the post at the top of the staircase.
“Stop that! You could fall to your death down these stairs.” Then Grimelda covered her mouth and looked at me, her eyes wide. “Oh, Princess Lily. I am sorry. I just get so worried you see. I wouldn’t want anything to happen to any of you girls.”
I narrowed my gaze at Iris as she resentfully stepped away from the top of the stairs.
“That’s perfectly fine, Grimelda. I’m sure I’ll be glad for the help keeping Iris in line.
” None of my sisters were here to entertain her, and my time would probably be taken up fending off the advances of men I couldn’t imagine spending the rest of my life with, if Dahlia had done what she’d planned.
Iris stuck her tongue out at me, but then she sighed. “I just want to see my bedroom. Which is mine?”
Grimelda quickened her step a little. “Let me see. I’ve put the two of you down this corridor, in the west wing, and the visiting gentlemen are over here in the east wing.” She looked at me and lowered her voice. “I didn’t want to take any chances on the manners of the men involved.”
My face heated, but I nodded. “Thank you.”
Then I glanced around. Something was missing. As I looked back down the staircase at the now closed door, I turned my head, about to ask Keane if I’d forgotten something. But he wasn’t there. He was my missing thing, and it felt strange to be without him.
Worse than strange. It felt wrong.