18. Chapter 18
Michaela
D ahlia picked out a simple outfit, jeans and a woolen sweater that matched my eyes. After a small argument about whether or not I could wear a ponytail inside the palace walls, apparently a travesty in her eyes, I negotiated her down to an intricate braid. I still did my makeup since she had a thing about blue eyeshadow, but we’d made some good strides in our working relationship.
“You missed breakfast,” Dahlia scoffed. “Everyone noticed.” She recovered from her snarky lapse quickly. “But breakfast is laid out in the dining hall if you’re hungry.”
“Thanks.” I pulled on a pair of thick socks and then my furry boots. “I was thinking about going for a walk in the gardens.”
“Is that where you were this morning?”
“What?”
“When I came in,” Dahlia motioned to my bed, clearly made and unused, “you’d already tidied up, but you weren’t here. I thought maybe you went for a walk.” Three wrinkles appeared between her eyebrows. “But you were still in your nightclothes when I arrived to help you dress…”
“Uh, yeah…” I needed an answer and an alibi. “I sleepwalk pretty bad. I woke up halfway across the grounds. Really weird.”
Her eyes widened. “In your nightclothes? Wandering about where any man could see you?”
“Uh, I guess so.” That was the last thing on my mind when it came to wild sleepwalking patterns. I mean, how about walking into traffic, accidentally driving, or sleep eating? I’d heard horror stories about people waking up in a pile of food with a stomachache. Having some guy see me in my thick flannel PJs was hardly an emergency.
“Never fear, milady. I shall keep guard or lock you in so you can’t escape.”
That seemed right on par for my life… a lady’s maid and a warden… two things I really didn’t need but got anyway.
“Always a pleasure, Dahlia.” I saluted and left before she got a chance to tell me she wasn’t a sea captain. I started toward the gardens, but all this talk of food left my stomach in full mouthy rebellion. Besides, I needed some directions and hoped that either the other women or my lurking bodyguard would be willing to help a girl out. I switched directions and took the stairwell that landed outside the dining hall.
Everything with Fitz had left me in a great mood. Last night had felt like the good ol’ days. Talking, laughing, confiding in each other. I had to admit a few things felt different. Not bad, but… new? I didn’t know how to explain it, so I chalked it up to getting used to each other again.
I came up on the edge of the doorway, but my feet stuttered as I heard a voice.
“Molly told my lady’s maid, Hilda, that the prince had a girl in his room this morning.” I didn’t recognize her voice. “Or at least a pile of blankets shaped like a girl.”
Someone groaned. “It had to be Gwen. The question is, did he send for her, or did she invite herself?”
I recognized Esmerey’s snotty tone as she piped in, “Could have been the American. She wasn’t at breakfast. In fact, I haven’t seen Michaela yet today.” She paused before she asked, “Sadie, did you see her leave her room last night?
No,” Sadie’s soft voice barely rose above a whisper, “and I would have heard her footsteps in the hall. It echoes.”
“So it had to have been Gwen.” The original voice had to belong to Chantal. “I bet it was her idea. That’s not like him.
“You’d know.”
“Hey now, put your claws away, Esme,” Chantal teased. “At least I’m not stealing off in the night to seduce him.”
Panic rose in my chest, making me feel like I was about to choke on my own tongue. No wonder Fitz didn’t want anyone to know. They all assumed the worst. No one was seducing anyone. I was checking on my friend, but even if I told them that, they would never believe me.
I abandoned the idea of food, knowing the second I walked in the room my face would give me away. Maybe the gardens would have a carrot or an edible rose or something. Maybe I could fill up on snow. Anything to escape the venomous gossip that waited in the dining hall.
I took the first right, assuming it would lead to the back gates, but it became a multitude of twisted corridors and as many times as I tried to correct, I only became more lost.
“Do you have a pass for this hall? I’m not sure you’ve got clearance.” His voice startled me and I spun around as if I was ready for an attack. Bishop cocked an eyebrow, unimpressed. He perched on the edge of a table that lined the wall. In my confused state, I’d mistaken him for a statue and had nearly passed right by him.
Reaching for my hand, Bishop counted off the charms. “Sorry, you need a porcelain fox charm to be in this section of the palace. I’m afraid I’ll have to escort you to dinner tonight, as punishment.”
I rolled my eyes and stole my hand back. “I got turned around. Do you know where the garden entrance is?”
“You’re nowhere near it. All screwy.” Bishop hopped off the table he’d perched on. “Come on, Hopeless. I’ll show you.”
I stayed close enough to follow, but not so close that anyone would see us and suspect hanky-panky. Apparently, that was the first thing people assumed.
Totally unfair.
We turned a corner and Bishop stopped short. Without warning, he started rushing backward, coming straight at me. I backed quickly, but my boots tripped me up and I lost my balance. Before I could fall, Bishop caught my waist with one arm and slammed his palm over my mouth with the other to stifle my cry of alarm. With his full body, he pressed me into a crevice between a knight’s armor and the alcove where he’d been stationed.
I narrowed my eyes at Bishop. “You have a lot of nerve, buddy.”
Truth be told, with his hand covering my mouth, it definitely came out a lot more garbled, like Charlie Brown’s teacher but ticked off. Who did he think he was, shoving me into the shadows and pretending like we were—
“Shhh!” he cautioned. “I heard someone.”
“So what?”
He must have understood me even with my voice muffled by his hand.
“So, you’re not supposed to be over here. I swear it was the queen and I don’t like our odds if we’re found out, that’s what.” He drew closer. “Now be a good girl and shush.”
I wanted to fight back, maybe lick his hand to get it off my mouth, but he made some valid points. I wasn’t used to not being beloved by my friends’ parents. Everyone loved me. What was up with Fitz’s mom?
“I want it there on time, do you understand?”
“He’ll suspect, Your Majesty.” The feminine voice sounded familiar, but it was still too far away to place it.
“Not a thing,” the queen insisted. “I need you to do as I ask, do you hear me? My husband will get what’s coming for him if it’s the last thing I do.”
“Yes, Your Majesty.”
“Midnight, tomorrow in the east loading bay.” Her voice darkened. “He won’t be king forever. That’s a promise.”
The footsteps moved away, but I dared not so much as breathe. Had we heard what I thought we heard? Was the queen really plotting to kill the king?
Though Bishop’s body pressed against mine, his stare was a thousand miles away. I hadn’t heard anyone wrong. He’d reached the same conclusion I had. As his hand peeled back and he edged out of the alcove, I remained still. Forget the queen not liking me because I was American, knowing that I’d overheard her plotting would only darken the target over my head. Bishop’s fingers raked through his hair, reminding me immediately of Fitz when he got stressed out. When they linked behind his head, they looked like twins.
I kept a hand on the knight who stood guard so that I wouldn’t accidentally knock the whole thing over. Call it self-awareness. If anyone could bring five-hundred-year-old artifacts to the ground, it was me.
“You heard that, right?”
Bishop snapped back to face me, as though my appearance surprised him. He started to talk but shook his head. “I don’t know what I heard.” Reason started to filter into his expression. “And you’d be smart to forget it.”
“Is that a threat?”
“It’s a warning, Bird. If anyone knows you heard that… Leo would never forgive me if I got you kil—” He stopped early as if it would be unlucky to say it out loud. “You should get back to the others, so no one suspects you were here.”
He had a point. If I hurried, I might be able to pinpoint the voice who’d talked with the queen. But the second I took a step toward the door, I hesitated.
“Wait.” I turned back to look at Bishop. “Why were you in the hallway anyway?”
The slightest flare in his eyes told me I was onto something. “What are you asking?”
“I mean… what are the chances you were only a couple turns away from a clandestine meeting?” I narrowed my eyes as I grabbed hold of the thread of evidence. “And just sitting there… waiting.”
“Are you accusing me of involvement?” His indignance rose with every word. “You’re as bad as they are.”
“You misunderstand.” I crossed my arms over my chest and stared him down with a look my mom called ‘The Breaker.’ A combination of tough cop, angry librarian, and sympathetic teacher, cocked eyebrow, tight lips, and soft eyes. The perfect mix of mean and tender, meant to coerce information from the most stubborn. “I don’t think you’re involved, but I think you knew it was going to happen. Didn’t you?”
“You’re bonkers.” He turned as if he planned to leave but spun back to face me. “And if you’re getting some hairbrained idea about talking with my cousin about what you just heard—”
“Of course, I will.” I couldn’t keep this from Fitz. “He deserves to know.”
“We don’t know what we heard, Michaela. It’s a risk to tell him before I gather evidence.” Muscles flashed across his jawline as he clenched his teeth. “It’s too soon. All the work I’ve…” He stopped short before he could give anything else away, but it was too late. I’d heard enough.
“The work?” He started to walk away from me, but I jogged to catch up to him. “What work?” Another question occurred to me. “What are you doing here, Bishop?”
“I’m helping Leonidas.” He cleared his throat and stuffed his hands in his pockets. “He needs help finding a wife. You know how helpless he is with women.”
“I do,” I agreed. “But that’s why I’m here. Why are you here?” I went at it from another angle. “Those illegal letters, never once did Fitz mention you, so I know he wouldn’t have asked you to come. Why—are—you—here?” I put emphasis on each word, hoping he understood that I wasn’t about to give this up.
Like a trapped animal, Bishop’s eyes strayed far to the left, determined not to look at me. As his head shook slowly, I felt him waver. “It’s only been whispers. Rumors, really. Nothing I could confirm.”
“Rumors about what?”
“Threats,” he answered as if it was enough.
“Against Fitz?”
“Against the king,” Bishop corrected.
“That doesn’t make any sense. The king is already dying.”
“Not fast enough.” Bishop exhaled through his nose. “There’s a proposal coming before Parliament that would limit the power of the king to rule as head of state and give power to Parliament to enact more laws without his approval.”
“And that’s bad?”
Bishop shook his head as though to say I wouldn’t understand. “When most of them are corrupt? Yes, definitely bad.”
“It’s not like Fitz would let that happen. He loves this country. He—”
“He lived for a year in America and it shows. His love of democracy and pickles is all too hard to ignore.” Bishop started to walk forward, enabled by his upper hand. “Just look at the upset in the past few days. He’s made commoners into noblewomen. He’s granted jewels and gifts to perpetuate equality. He certainly looks like he wants to change things, doesn’t he? And his American influencer certainly has had a hand in that, haven’t you?”
“But none of that would fit the agenda you’re talking about and if the queen hates me as much as you say she does, then why would she want Fitz to be in a position to—”
“I don’t know.” Bishop’s hands clamped around my shoulders, stopping me short. His eyes searching, still looking for answers. “I told you. Whispers. That’s all I’ve heard. Enough to come and try to see what I can learn. At least now I have a place to start.” There, in his grey eyes, I saw it, a flicker of fear. “My cousin isn’t the only one who loves Nolcovia.” He released his grip and turned away. “I’ll go tomorrow night to the loading bay. If I see something substantial, then I’ll take it to Leonidas.”
“You mean we .” I waited on his reaction, knowing he would fight me, but when he spun back, I was ready. “I’m going to be there. I came here for Fitz and I’m not letting anything into this palace that could harm him. So,” I put up a finger to silence him, “you either take me with you, or I go wandering around the palace making a commotion and blowing your cover.” I crossed my arms and cocked out my hip. “Your choice.”
Annoyed, Bishop growled under his breath. “Fine. You drive a hard bargain, don’t you?” He shook his head and muttered to himself, “Absolutely bleeding barmy, this one.”
“And until then, nothing out of the norm. We have to keep up appearances.”
“Obviously.”
“Good.” I took a step back, headed for the exit. “Glad we’re in agreement.”
“Absolutely.” Bishop waited until I’d almost fully passed below the archway before he tacked on, “It’s a date.”
Though he’d promised, Fitz never gave me an update on his time with Blair. But I certainly got the update straight from the horse’s mouth, so to speak. Sporting a new dress and a ruby necklace she couldn’t stop touching, I got the feeling things had gone great.
She was positively bursting to tell me everything, and yet, I couldn’t bring myself to hear it. Which was weird. Blair was one of my top picks, so knowing they’d hit it off shouldn’t have floored me, I just felt… jealous. That was stupid. I didn’t have any romantic feelings toward him, and I could be friends with Fitz while he had a girlfriend. He’d obviously dated Chantal for a long time and he’d never missed a single letter. This didn’t have to be different.
And yet it was.
I put up a shield as she went on about the shops and the spa. I even held it together when Sadie tried on the gifts Blair had brought back for her. But when the opportunity to escape arose, I quickly made my exit.
The day left me weary, and I retired to my room early. As I stepped inside, Dahlia was just setting out my flannel pajamas to warm by the fire. Bless her.
“Milady, I found this card for you.” She held out a card that reminded me of the one Blair had received. My heart skipped a few beats as I covered the ground quickly to take the card. Was it my turn to go out with Fitz? A whole day, just the two of us? My mind instantly went back to the previous night, my head against his chest, his arms around me while the fire blazed.
All these years later, and he still snored.
I bit the inside of my lip as I read the card, excited to hear about the adventure we would take together. But my elation fizzled as I tried to make sense of what I was reading.
Sneaky snoods, frozen troops, and adventure comes encore. Grab the flag and watch your back, before Sagure returns.For legends speak and angels weep, may the best Haishee endure.
I read it two more times, but all I came up with was… huh?