Chapter 4
CHAPTER FOUR
WHISPERS IN THE WALLS
The bath hurt as much as I anticipated. Hot, soapy water scalded all the sore areas as if wielded by Siobhan herself.
The uniform, I quite liked. It was the same dark sapphire that the guards wore, but in a close-fitting sweater that rose to my neck and dropped to mid-thigh with snug, velvety leggings.
The only things out of place were my scuffed boots, but they hadn’t gifted me with new shoes. These hid a small knife in the seam of each one anyway, so I kicked the grass and mud off as best I could and ventured up the spiral staircase toward Lady Lilyanna’s room.
There was no lock on my side of the door, nor hers when I cracked it open. The walls here seemed thinner than below, not deep enough to hide a person, but I still felt something watching me. Everywhere I looked, the shadows would shift as if harboring a soul of their own, obscuring their occupants.
I stepped into the large lounge. It was at least three times the size of my dungeon below with two separate doors leading to adjoining rooms. A huge fire blazed in the hearth, diamonds sparkling in the ornate moldings.
Large stained-glass windows distorted the town beyond, the houses contorted into colorful mounds of melted wax.
Plump purple chaises and thick rugs were artfully scattered throughout the space.
Hopefully my job didn’t include maintenance of this place but only of its occupant.
The clouded marble floor echoed my footfalls, amplifying my tread, no matter how quietly I tried to walk the perimeter.
There were no tapestries on the walls, nor paintings.
Not a drop of warmth or personality bled into the decor.
No flowers hung limply in vases, though the lingering odor of roses threatened to gag me.
I sniffed at the window. Perhaps they were outside? Concrete was smeared in the window lining, barring all scents, breezes, and sounds from the descended fog of evening. I scratched at it with my nail and moldy flecks sprinkled to the floor.
A door opened, and a young woman of about nineteen peeked her head out.
Her hair was disheveled, blonde mats caked to her skull and a lingering floral odor surrounded her that choked to the back of my throat.
She clutched a robe to her breast, the cream silk drooping down over her shoulders.
I wasn’t sure if she was in trouble or if I’d interrupted something.
I coughed. “Are you Lady Lilyanna?”
She nodded, glancing quickly around the room and up at the ceiling before scurrying over to me. Extending a hand, she tugged the robe tighter with the other as it slipped. “You must be my appointed maid. Welcome.”
I shook her damp hand which smelled strongly of flowers like she had jumped in a vat of rose water. “Are you in trouble, miss?”
“Trouble?” Her face paled, and she glanced at the ceiling again.
I followed her gaze, seeing nothing except the diamond-encrusted ceiling sparkling like the night sky.
“I suppose I have found myself in quite a precarious situation.” She hoisted the robe higher and tossed a clump of hair over her shoulder. “You’re a bit old, aren’t you?”
I bit back my retort and smiled. “Consider me your big sister.” Who has been forced to wait on you hand and foot like an infant.
She smiled back, a hint of color returning to her cheeks.
She really was beautiful and innocent. Innocent enough for me to immediately like her.
Maybe having a kind-of-sister for a few days would be entertaining.
Different, anyway. Siobhan had been my only constant for so many years, I sometimes forgot not all relationships involved being dragged into other people’s games.
“I wish to take a bath,” she said.
“Alright.” I stood there waiting for her to leave so I could snoop around the room and inspect the ceiling thoroughly.
“I will need you to run it for me.”
I blinked. “Would you also care for me to wash your hair and coordinate your outfit afterward?”
Relief broke onto her face. “Oh, yes. I’m so pleased you arrived when you did.
” She took my arm and led me toward the door she’d emerged from and into a very large marble bathroom.
“As you can see, I began the process myself, but the water wouldn’t run hot and then the oils were too pungent.
I didn’t know what I would do if the prince suddenly summoned me like this. ”
Water had sloshed down the sides of the bath and pooled on the floor in oil-slicked puddles.
Towels were randomly flung about to cover the spillages, all now sodden with a faint pink sheen like diluted blood.
An almost extinguished fire crackled and popped in the hearth as water dripped into it from the mantle above.
What had she done in here? It looked like she’d been fighting a bear. With rosewater.
I sighed. I wasn’t a real maid, but I could at least properly draw a bath.
Once the sunken tub filled and a mild lavender steam wound its way into the air, I placed a new towel upon a small stool and backed toward the doorway with a gesture for her to start.
“Where are you going?” Lilyanna dropped the robe into a puddle of water and cautiously stepped down into the bubbles.
“To find you something to wear, I guess.”
“You can do that afterward. I will need you to wash my hair and then braid it. Can you do a reverse twist knot? That would look the most impressive for when I dine with the prince tonight.”
I didn’t answer. She would be lucky if I managed a simple plait. Was that my job for the next six weeks? I glanced longingly at the door before moving to the bath and plopping myself down in a dry patch. “Do I need to wash Your Ladyship as well?”
She giggled. “Lilyanna is fine. You can call me Lady Lilyanna when we are at court.”
She lowered her head back, and I kneaded the water into her hair, working the mats loose with my fingers.
She hadn’t confirmed whether she wanted me to wash her or not.
Surely, she could manage that task herself since she’d lived nearly two decades on this earth.
And if I did lather her down and she didn’t want me to, I’d probably be fired.
Or hanged for inappropriately touching the prince’s new toy.
“And what am I to call you?” Her eyes closed as she leaned back into my hands, murmuring contentedly.
“Tam is fine.”
I added a small amount of soap. The prince would thank me if he didn’t have to dine with a walking floral arrangement. The pungent odor of rose still clogged the room.
“I arrived earlier today.” Lilyanna’s eyes remained closed and her face relaxed. “I was informed that I would be given a maid when I arrived, so imagine my shock when I was told you were delayed.”
“You poor thing.”
She moaned again as I ran my fingers down her scalp. “Yes, quite. Anyway, it was an arduous journey to get here. The lands to the West are incredibly rugged, which is why they’re so well protected. We mine mainly gold out there, second only to diamond, of course.”
She leaned forward and with a reluctant sigh, I began soaping her back.
“So, this match will do wonders for my town. I never thought it would happen. It was read in my tea leaves when I was twelve and repeated every year on my birthday. But all these years, the prince has been inviting new ladies to be in his court, I didn’t know if it would ever happen.
He’s such a charmer, I don’t know how anyone could resist the invitation. ”
“Haven’t all the previous ones been killed?”
“Oh Goddess, no.” She raised her arm, and I worked my way down toward her hand.
“Well, some have died, that is true. But none of their deaths were the prince’s fault.
” She offered me her other arm. “Just wait until you meet him, Tam. He’s enthralling!
And not just because he’s beautiful, he’s also so kind.
They say his heart is made of pure diamond. What a match we will make!”
I doubted the prince would be worthy of her.
He did have a reputation for being extremely generous, polite, and educated, despite the less savory rumors also circulating.
He treated his staff and his people very well.
Butter wouldn’t melt in his mouth, or so they said.
I didn’t believe it. I’m sure it eventually curdled like everyone else once you’d been with it long enough. He’d been targeted for a reason.
I had no intention of getting to know him before I killed him. Goddess forbid I actually liked him, too.
I sat up on my knees, cracking my aching back.
“Do you want to soak a little longer or shall I get you a towel?” This dinner couldn’t come fast enough.
What if I could access the prince straight away?
I could end my task within a day and abscond into the night on Siobhan—the good one—before anyone came looking for me.
“Yes, I am done. Thank you, Tam,” she said. I grabbed the towel, and she stepped into it, allowing me to swaddle her in a cloud of fluffy white. “You will be there throughout dinner?” The smile slipped from her lips, her light blue eyes suddenly intense.
“Yes, I will be nearby.”
“No, I want you right there.” She grabbed my arm, her manicured nails imprinting upon my flesh.
What was I supposed to say to that? I didn’t want to stand in the corner and watch people eat, pretending I was nothing more than a realistic statue.
I needed to scour the castle, find the easiest ways in and out, scurry around with my head down.
Isn’t that what maids did? But the fear widening her eyes sent chills skittering across my skin.
“For propriety's sake of course,” she added.
“Of course.” I flashed her a smile with more confidence than I suddenly felt.
She released me, hugging the towel close to her body again. Instead of glancing at the ceiling, she briefly eyed the hearth and shivered, gooseflesh erupting over her bare arms.
“Get dry and I’ll find you dinner wear.” I pushed her from the bathroom and steered her toward the unopened door which had to be the bed chamber. “Then I'll attempt to braid your hair.”
I suppose I could use dinner to my advantage.
Maybe offer to help serve the prince, and I could ‘accidentally’ trip and scratch his arm.
Or maybe we were supposed to prostrate ourselves before him and in a show of false modesty, he’d say, “No, no,” and offer his hand.
As I rose to my feet, my thumbnail could dig into his palm, lost amidst the pressure of the grip.
But it had to be deep. And it would sting.
He couldn’t know or I’d be in shackles within seconds and unwittingly find out what actually happened to those with blood magic the royals had been rounding up.
It would remove the variables if I could do it straight away.
It wouldn’t be ideal not to know the layout or the habits of the staff, but then they too wouldn’t know me.
A failed hire that only lasted a day. Then I’d swipe a few valuables on the way out, using the profits to bury myself in ale and meat pies at a local inn before fleeing south again.
If it only took me a day instead of the imposed six-week deadline, even Siobhan wouldn’t be waiting for me. I could taste true freedom.
As I pulled the door to the bathroom shut behind me, a groan vibrated through the air directly above. I snapped my head to the ceiling but found only my own face, reflected and monstrously distorted by the diamonds.
A chill tiptoed down my spine.