The Lady and the Prince
Chapter 21

Nick woke to awareness of pain in his head, his wrists and his hands, and the fact that he was cold. He tried to open his eyes, but only the right opened; the left stayed shut, and he saw just blackness with his right. He tried to move his left hand to his eye, and more pain lanced through his wrist and hand, but he lifted it to his face anyway.

He felt something crusted on his eyelashes and rubbed it away, and then he was able to open his eye. He was still seeing nothing but blackness, so he lifted his head a little. The prince was sitting slumped on some hard cold surface, the surface behind him the same, but he was finally able to discern a small dimly lit square opposite him, above him, and to his right with a dark cross-hatch on it. Nick checked both eyes and his vision seemed fine. The left side of his head from above the corner of his eye to above his ear was swollen and painful, and his hair was full of dried blood.

He felt disoriented and a little dizzy and was glad he was sitting down, apparently on the floor since his legs were straight out in front of him. What was wrong with his wrists and hands? They felt heavy and hard to move and hurt worse when he did move them.

The prince reached out with his right hand and felt his left, jerking his hand back when he encountered iron on his wrist. Touching it was like having hot needles shoved into his fingers, but he needed to get something between the iron and his bare skin. He realized his jacket was gone, but the cuffs of his shirt would do if he could push them into the small gap between the manacles and his wrists.

The manacles were broad iron circles and he could tell from the drag there were chains attached. The prince gritted his teeth, pushed down his left cuff as far as he could, and then shoved his right hand fingers under the manacle to catch the cuff and pull it down. It worked and eased the pain in his left wrist and hand, but it was so excruciating to his right hand that he had to rest a bit before repeating the action on the other side.

Finally, with both cuffs down inside the iron, Nick was able to relax a little and try to take stock of his situation. The chains on his manacles were attached to rings set in the wall and nearly long enough for him to stretch out his arms. The prince shortly realized his riding boots were gone too, and he had leg irons around his ankles with a short chain between them. But that wasn’t too painful since his heavy socks cushioned his ankles, and his feet weren’t as sensitive as his hands with their ejectors. But any attempt he made to move magical energy through his channels anywhere near the iron was painful, and the energy just could not be pushed past or even close to the metal bands.

So he was in somebody’s dungeon, but he didn’t know how he got here. He remembered being out in the hunt and riding into an open area with a lot of downed trees and high grass. Quite a few deer had leapt up and run, and he had started after a buck. After that he remembered nothing until waking up. Nick shook his head a little and regretted it when his head started to hurt. The pain slowly subsided as he held his head still again.

The prince looked at the little square of dim light. That must be the peephole in the cell door, but the steadiness of the light bothered him. It was likely no more than one unwavering candle flame, which meant no air movement unless it was inside a lantern. But it seemed no one was out there, and perhaps there wasn’t a door leading outside anywhere near. He hoped he hadn’t been abandoned to die chained to the wall. He tried calling out once or twice, but his voice echoed alone in the silence.

From the sound quality, he believed the cell was very small. Nick used his legs to explore a little and found a wall not very far to his left, but more space to the right. Moving around that much made his head hurt again, and he let himself settle back in the original position he had awakened in, hoping he could sleep for a time. Eventually, he did.

He woke to the sound of footsteps and more light coming through the peephole. Then something was set down with a soft thump outside, and there was the jingle of keys. The door opened and brighter light made him wince and squint as a man stepped down into his cell with two buckets. Nick could hardly believe it when he saw it was Duke Quenton himself.

The duke put one heavy sloshing bucket to his left and a lighter bucket with a board across the top to Nick’s right. On the board was a slab of bread with a chunk of meat. The duke said, “The bucket to your left is water with a dipper, the one on the right is for you to fill. I won’t be able to come very often, so I brought a little food, but I hear a man can live for days on only water.”

Nick realized he was very thirsty and had a dipper of water while his eyes were adjusting to the light. The dipper was made out of some sort of cheap tin and didn’t hurt at all to handle. He could see his cell was small with no windows, and the floor was a step down from the hall or room beyond. His jacket and boots had been tossed into the corner farthest from him.

He could only think to ask one thing, “Why?”

The duke looked down at him contemplatively. “I have a little time right now, so why not?” He sat down on the step and said, “A great man seizes the opportunities that he is given. When I had you alone and you were focused on the deer, I simply took the chance a lesser man would have missed.”

Nick shook his head a little and found it didn’t hurt as much as it had before. He said, “I don’t understand.”

“I’m sure you don’t,” Duke Quenton said smugly. “You see, we’re going to dispose of the Warwicks once and for all. Time for a new dynasty.”

“You?”

“Oh, no, I will be the puppet master behind the throne. Lawrence will be the new king, which will make his brother-in-law, Victor, a prince. Very satisfactory all around.”

“The Earl of Ulle, the Duke of Montexter, and you are all betraying Anglia together?” Nick could hardly believe that three of the Anglian high nobility would turn traitor.

“Not at all. We will be helping Anglia by eliminating the Warwicks. Of course that will mean a difficult patch for Anglia too, but it will all come right in the end.”

“What kind of a difficult patch?” Nick could see that Quenton was enjoying doling out information in small bits, making him ask for more. But he didn’t really care; he needed to understand what was going on. Although what good it would do anyone with him chained to the wall, he didn’t know, but he wasn’t going to think about that now.

Quenton leaned back and looked very satisfied with himself. “Yesterday, I got the call from the Warleader to assemble the army. The same day I sent birds to Franck to tell King Louis to attack in one week. That’s right, I am telling the Franckish king when to attack.” He leaned forward again. “It will take us two or three days to get the word out to all the villages and cottages for everyone to gather and the same length of time for them to get here. A day or two after we start to march south, the Francks will attack. None of our troops will get there in time, of course, although others starting out closer to Londinum probably will. So we will have done the best we could, but it will be Arthur’s fault the Anglian army was only at sixty percent or seventy percent strength when it met the Francks on the field of battle.”

Nick added in horror, “And the Francks have mercenaries and sorcerers as well. The Anglian army will be destroyed.”

“Right,” said Quenton jovially. “The Francks will take Londinum and the palace and put all the Warwicks to death. Louis thinks the three of us just want to create our own country up here in the far north and are giving him the rest in return for his support. Of course we know that once the Francks have settled in and have control of the rest of the country, Louis will betray us and attack us too, but that won’t happen.”

“It won’t?” the prince asked faintly. Was the man mad?

“No. Louis won’t want to keep paying the mercenaries, and he’ll need a lot of his peasant conscripts back home for the fall harvest. I doubt he’ll be able to keep his sorcerers in hostile country for very long either. They’ll want to go home to their luxurious castles. So by winter the Franckish presence will be seriously reduced, and then Lawrence and Alice will go to work on them. Oh, you probably didn’t know, but Lawrence and Victor convinced the king to release her to her father until a witch replaceer is located.”

“What are Lawrence and Alice going to do?” Nick asked, feeding Quenton the line to get him to continue.

“They’re both magicians, of course, and they will put runes on the bottoms of wagons full of supplies that will fall into the Francks’ hands—runes for sickness, madness, death, that sort of thing. Any food or fodder being carried in the wagons will have that effect on those Franckish troops and horses that consume the supplies. They’re both very good at runes, you know. Lawrence has had sterility runes under the Warwicks’ beds for years. Every time he goes to the palace, he just feeds them more power to keep them active, and the runes have been very effective.”

Nick just sat with his mouth open in amazement. What could he possibly say to that? But the duke didn’t even notice the lack of comment and continued.

“And other Anglians will harass Franckish foraging parties and such. By spring they will be severely weakened and then we will march. Our combined forces should be at least equal to whatever Franckish forces are left and will be in much better condition. Plus we will have two magicians. Other Anglians will flock to our banners, and Lawrence will lead us to a glorious victory, drive out the Francks, and be proclaimed king.”

By this time, Nick was wondering why he was still alive, but he wasn’t about to draw attention to the fact. So he asked, “What happens if the Francks don’t win the war? What if Anglia manages to defend itself without you?”

“Then the plan won’t be quite so glorious, but it will still work. If the Anglian army wins, it’s going to be severely reduced and vulnerable. We will proclaim the Warwicks incompetent to rule and demand that William abdicate. If he does, we’ll execute the Warwicks ourselves. If he doesn’t, then there will be a civil war, which we will win. And if by some bizarre circumstance we don’t, then you, my dear little prince, are my final bargaining chip for my own safety. You see? It all works out.”

“And the fact that thousands of people are going to die, be maimed, left homeless, or have their livelihoods destroyed doesn’t bother you?”

“Of course it does, but my dukedom won’t suffer much of that, and the rest of Anglia will recover. The peasants keep making more peasants, it’s not like we’re ever going to run out of them. The fields of crops where the battles take place will be destroyed, but next year the blood soaked into the soil will make the plants bigger and better than before. So it will be with Anglia once your family is removed and the new regime takes over.”

“I see. That’s quite a plan.”

“Yes it is, and I’m the genius that came up with it. Make your food and water last, Nicky. I won’t be able to come back for a day or two. Your fiancée and your guards are all over the place looking for you. But don’t hope, they will never replace you here. You’re not in the regular dungeon, you know.”

“I’m not?” Nick asked, hoping for elaboration, but he was disappointed.

“No. I lit a fresh candle outside, but it will only last a half a day or so. Don’t panic when it goes out.” Quenton rose and stepped up past the cell door. Nick said, “Wait, can I have my jacket? It’s cold sitting on the floor.”

Quenton hesitated but then said, “No, being cold won’t kill you, and I only need you alive, not comfortable.” He closed the door with a thump and locked it with a jingle of keys.

All those keys…Nick hadn’t really looked at his manacles before, but now he did as soon as his eyes readjusted to the weak light. They hadn’t been put on by a blacksmith; they were hinged on one side and had a keyhole on the other. But he didn’t have his lock picks with him, and anything he had been carrying on the hunt would be in his jacket that was out of reach. The young prince couldn’t think of anything else that might be in his jacket that he could potentially use to open the locks anyway.

There was nothing he could do but wait. Nick drank some more water, leaned to the side, and poured a little on the wound on his head, trying not to get himself wet since he was already cold. The cool water felt good on his injury. He wasn’t hungry, but he nibbled some of the meat and bread. He discovered the meat was venison.

When Elizabeth and Winkerhime returned to the castle after their morning search, Hal was waiting with a message from Duke Quenton. Elizabeth read it and then passed it to Nick’s valet.

After Winkershime had read it too, Elizabeth asked, “What does it mean? If Arthur has called the army, does that mean we have to return to Londinum?”

“It doesn’t affect us directly, but to have fifty trained guards in Denland instead of with the army…I’ll talk to the guard captain. He may have specific orders. I’ll let you know, but in the meantime, we keep searching.”

While Winkershime went to the guard camp, Elizabeth went to her room to freshen up and eat lunch. By the time she finished, Winkershime was back with bad news.

“Duke Quenton has sent out the summons for his conscripts. As soon as they all arrive, Denland’s contingent will march to join the Anglian army, and most of our guards will go as well. We have a few days—at least four, I think—and we have until then to decide what to do. We will have five guards and a sergeant left to protect us, but a number of the wagon drivers will be going to join the army too as well as most of the extra horses.”

“So even if we replace Nick before then, the Progress is over.”

“Yes, I’m afraid so, my lady.”

“For now, we keep searching for Nick. When Duke Quenton leads his men to join the army, I suppose it wouldn’t be right for me to stay here, so I will go home to the Stratton Barony. Without Nick, I don’t have a place in Londinum anyway.”

“Very well, my lady. And this afternoon?”

“Now we go back out and look some more.”

“Any place in particular, Lady Elizabeth?”

“Nick isn’t anywhere obvious, so let’s look for hidden places like a cave or an old root cellar.”

The two of them rode out along the top of the cliff and looked for a path down to a cave or a hidden hollow in a jumble of rocks, but found nothing. They had worked their way miles from the castle, so they moved inland and started searching their way back. When they came back in sight of the castle, they moved farther inland and started another sweep outward.

Elizabeth was in front when she realized Winkershime had pulled up. She rode back. “Did you replace something?”

Winkershime was fingering a broken twig on a small tree. “I suppose one of the search parties might have done this, but the grass here doesn’t look like multiple horses have passed. Let’s look around this area carefully, shall we?”

They walked their horses, circling around the area. Winkershime stopped and dismounted. “Look here, the hoof prints of a single horse. The trail gets lost in the grass there, but the direction is on a line with the broken twig. I think we may have something, Lady Elizabeth.”

Elizabeth wanted to rush forward, but she knew they had to go slowly so they wouldn’t miss something important. They moved on down a hill, and at the bottom Winkershime stopped again. She looked at him questioningly, but he just sat on his horse looking around. Finally he said, “There’s quite a lot of brush up there,” indicating the rise in front of them. “I don’t see anywhere a horse has pushed through it. Let’s look along this ravine.”

They didn’t go far before Elizabeth said, “There! Under that overhang, is that a cave?”

“Perhaps,” Winkershime said as he dismounted, and Elizabeth did too. At the entrance Winkershime stopped her and pointed to the ground. “See there, deep boot prints going in, shallower ones coming out, but the same shape and size boot.”

“Somebody carried something heavy in and came out without it.”

“Yes, but caution, please, Lady Elizabeth. We can hope that that something was Prince Nicholas, but we don’t really know. It’s quite dark in there.”

Elizabeth nodded and let Winkershime take the lead. He went in a couple of feet and stopped again. She couldn’t see what he was doing, but then he struck a light and had a lit candle in his hand. “There’s quite a nice supply of them here on a rock shelf. This passage is not an abandoned cave.”

He gave Elizabeth a candle too after lighting it off of his. The tunnel was wide enough for them to walk side by side and had rough-hewn wooden braces at intervals. But it went on and on. Eventually Elizabeth asked, “How far do you think this goes?”

“All the way to the castle, I should think. It’s an emergency escape tunnel. One wants to get quite a distance away before emerging if one’s castle is being sacked.” Winkershime stopped again and blew out his candle and hers too.

“There’s a light up ahead, silently now,” he whispered and moved slowly down the dark tunnel. Elizabeth could see the light too, but when they reached it, there was no one around. The candle flame flickered a bit as they approached, and suddenly a voice she knew called out, “Is there someone out there?”

“Nick!” Elizabeth rushed to the door of his cell and tugged on it, but it didn’t budge. “I’m here and Winkershime is too. Are you all right? Is there a key to your door around anywhere?” She peered through the peephole, but in doing so, she blocked the light and couldn’t see much of anything.

“No key,” Nick answered. “Winkershime, do we still have birds?”

The valet moved Elizabeth aside gently and took her place at the door. “Yes, Your Highness, we used two to tell the palace of your disappearance, so we have four left.”

“Denland, Ulle, and Montexter are traitors, but that’s not what’s important. They’ve sent birds to Louis telling him that Arthur has called the army and to attack in a week. I think he sent the birds yesterday, so it might be six days. In any case, Arthur must not pull Sothalia’s and Landsford’s troops to Londinum. He needs to send everyone he can round up to reinforce them to repel the invasion.” The prince quickly outlined Denland’s plan to them.

Winkershime responded, “Very well, Your Highness. What do you need to escape?”

“Come back with lock picks. I’ve got iron manacles on, but there are keyholes in them.”

Elizabeth looked at the valet in alarm. “You’re leaving? But we have to get Nick out of here. What happens if someone comes to check on him?”

Winkershime relit their candles and set them down. “Are you armed, Lady Elizabeth?”

“Just my dagger.”

“You can stay with him or come with me. I have to go back for the lock picks anyway, and the welfare of Anglia comes first. It always comes first no matter what our personal feelings may be.”

“I’ll stay with Nick. Hurry back?”

“As soon as I get the picks, launch a couple of birds and replace a way to sneak out of camp with an extra horse —an hour, perhaps.”

“Go,” Elizabeth said, and Winkershime took a candle and went.

She went back to the peephole with one of the candles and peered around the edge so she could see a little. Nick moved slightly, and she could make out his form. “What happened?” she asked him.

“I don’t remember much, but I guess Quenton smacked me in the head with something sturdy, maybe a boar spear. I’ve got a good lump down the side of my head.”

“And your manacles are iron?”

“Yeah, but I’m okay. I have my shirt cuffs in between me and the metal, so it only hurts a little, but I definitely can’t do magic. I’ll be fine as soon as Winkershime gets me out of here.”

“He can pick locks?”

Nick snorted. “He teaches lock picking. He’ll have me out of here quickly once he gets back. But the question is, what do we do then?”

“If Denland is a traitor, you can’t go back to the castle.”

“No, if he sees me loose, he’ll either try to capture me or kill me. That would mean a pitched battle between his guards and our guards and endanger everyone in the Progress. He couldn’t leave any witnesses.”

“You could go south back to Aggradon. Maximillian is loyal, and so is Gramp. We could meet you there. I’d already decided to go back home if we didn’t replace you by the time Quenton marched off with his troops. I could pretend to be disheartened, give up the search, and take the Progress back with me tomorrow.”

There was quiet from the cell. Elizabeth thought Nick was digesting the idea and just waited. She peeked and saw he was eating.

When he finished, he said, “Okay, but you mustn’t tell anyone else I’m alive. Winkershime can pull off a lie easily, but I doubt Sylvie could, and I know Hal would walk around grinning when he was supposed to be sad. You’ll have to be careful with your facial expressions and body posture. Keep your face blank as much as you can, people will assume you’re hiding your distress. And slump a little.”

“I think I can manage a little playacting.”

“I know you can, but remember you have to keep it up in front of Sylvie, and she knows you, so it’s going to be hard.”

“You’re right,” Elizabeth said simply. “Everyone will be disappointed in me for giving up so quickly, and I’ll just have to let it be that way until we’re out of Denland. Where do you want to meet up?”

“I don’t know, how about the first inn past the border?”

“That will do.”

After some time Elizabeth heard footsteps coming down the tunnel and drew her dagger, but it was Winkershime. He went to the door and knelt in front of it, took out two pieces of metal and began working on the lock while calling out, “The birds are away, Your Highness.” It seemed like a long time to Elizabeth, but she realized it was only a minute or so before the door swung open.

They both took candles and went in to Nick. While Winkershime worked on the manacles, she tore a bit of cloth from the bottom of her blouse and cleaned the blood off of Nick’s head as gently as she could.

In a few minutes Nick was free. Winkershime helped him on with his boots and jacket, and they all got out of the cell. The valet relocked the door behind them, and they left burning the one candle that had been lit when they arrived; the other two they took with them.

Elizabeth felt like a weight had been lifted off of her when they emerged back into daylight. A third horse was waiting for Nick with a bedroll strapped behind the saddle with a water skin hanging from it, his bow and arrows, and full saddlebags. Winkershime handed his prince a heavy purse.

“Your Highness, I’ve packed clean clothes, food, and water for you. I’m sorry I couldn’t bring Falcon, but his absence would be noted. Here’s money for you to buy anything you need and to pay at the inn. We shouldn’t be too far behind you, but the Progress moves more slowly than a single man on horseback, as you know.”

“I know. Give us a minute, Winkershime?”

The valet gave a small bow and retreated to the other side of the horses. Nick turned to Elizabeth. “Be very careful with Denland. Act normally and be pleasant to him. I’ll worry about you until I see you again.”

She went to him and hugged him tight. “I missed doing this. I was afraid for a while that I would never get to hold you again.”

He hugged her back and gave her a long kiss. “I was a little afraid you were never going to get to hold me again myself. But we’re here, and everything is going to be fine. I’ll spend tonight in one of those sad little villages, and by tomorrow afternoon I’ll be in Aggradon waiting for you. Then we can do this some more.”

Winkershime’s voice came from the other side of the horses. “You had best camp out tonight, Your Highness, in case someone in the village decides to run and tell the duke they found you. A cold camp as well, no fire to attract visitors.”

Nick sighed. He said to Elizabeth, “You see how he bosses me around? Why do I put up with him?”

“I don’t know, why?”

“Because he knows more about this kind of thing than I do, and I would mess up without him, that’s why.” Nick called back over the horses, “Thank you, Ralph.” Winkershime ignored him.

Nick gave Elizabeth one final kiss. He mounted his horse and looked around. Winkershime pointed, and Nick went off in the direction his valet indicated, not looking back.

It was late enough that Elizabeth and Winkershime could go back to the castle. They both went to the camp and dismounted by the guard captain’s tent, a guard coming to take care of their horses. Elizabeth squared her shoulders but then let them slump; time for her first performance.

The captain came out to them, and she said, “I understand that Prince Arthur has called the army, and that means you will have to leave soon.”

“Yes, my lady,” the captain said.

“We’ve looked everywhere for Prince Nicholas with no success, and now most of the searchers will be leaving for the army. There’s small hope of replaceing him with fewer people continuing to cover the same ground, so I have decided to return to the Stratton Barony to await word of him. I…I’d like the whole Progress to go if possible. We would be moving south, although much more slowly than your troop could move by itself.”

The captain considered for a moment. “That would be possible if you were willing to leave in the morning. Accompanying you to Baron Stratton’s would take no more time than waiting here for days for the duke’s contingent to be ready.”

“So soon?” Elizabeth did her best to look dismayed while secretly pleased.

“I’m afraid so, my lady.”

“I want Sylvie and Winkershime and Hal to have as much protection as possible for as long as possible. If it becomes dangerous to travel, they could stay with me at home, I suppose. And all my things would be with me too.” As if dresses really mattered. “Very well, Captain, we will leave in the morning.”

She and Winkershime walked to the castle. The next interview would have to be with Duke Quenton. They were directed to his study where they found him going over a map. Winkershime waited outside; he was escorting Elizabeth, but he was still a servant and had no place in the meeting.

Elizabeth blanked her face and slumped her shoulders again before she entered the study. “Duke Quenton, may I speak to you for a moment?”

The duke rose politely and indicated a chair. “Of course, just going over possible strategies the Warleader may direct. What can I do for you?”

Jumping from the highest battlement would be nice. “I have decided that continuing to search for the prince with this limited number of people is fruitless. I understand you must respond to the Warleader’s call, as will many Anglian men, so there will be inadequate searchers until the situation with Franck is resolved. I am going to return to my home, the Stratton Barony.”

Duke Quenton looked surprised and concerned. Like you aren’t pleased to be rid of us, but nice acting job, Elizabeth thought. I hope I’m doing as well. The duke said, “I am surprised, Lady Elizabeth. I thought you were determined to stay and search.”

“I wish I could, but the guard captain will only give me escort if we leave in the morning, and I must think of the safety of my people. I am not abandoning hope of replaceing Prince Nicholas, but I realize the search must be postponed for now until more men are available and the situation more settled. I thought it only courteous to inform you.”

“I appreciate that, thank you. Feel free to ask my seneschal for anything you will need for the journey.” The duke sat down and began looking at his map again, and Elizabeth realized she had been dismissed. That had been easier than she expected.

Winkershime was waiting for her, and she gave him a small nod. He said, “I’ll talk to Hal, but you’ll have to inform your maid.”

Sylvie was mending one of Elizabeth’s petticoats when she reached her room. The maid jumped up and looked at Elizabeth questioningly, and Elizabeth wanted to tell her that Nick had been found and that he was safe. But Sylvie showed her emotions plainly on her face and would have to remain in the dark for now.

“Sylvie, I have decided to give up the search for the prince temporarily.” The maid’s eyes got big, and she shook her head in denial. “The Warleader has called the army. The roads may soon become dangerous, and all our searchers will be heading to Londinum to do their duty. I really have no choice.”

“But, m’lady, the prince…he needs you to rescue him. We can’t just leave.”

“We’re not accomplishing anything here at the moment. I’m taking the Progress back to the Stratton Barony. You are welcome to stay there with me if you wish or continue on to Londinum. But most of the guards will be going on ahead as quickly as they can once we get there, so there will only be a handful of guards to escort anyone going on.”

“M’lady, how can you? I thought you loved the prince; don’t you love him?”

“That’s quite enough, Sylvie.” It came out harsher than intended, but it had the desired effect. Sylvie looked as if she was about to cry and rushed from the room. Elizabeth felt terrible, but if the duke happened to see her maid before they left in the morning, he would be entirely convinced Elizabeth was abandoning the search for Nick.

No sooner had Sylvie fled than Hal burst in. “You can’t! He’s out there somewhere, maybe hurt. We have to stay and replace him!”

“Hal, sometimes as adults we have to make difficult decisions, and this was one of them. Someday when you’re older, you’ll understand.” About two or three days older should do it.

“No, I’ll never understand. You’re a terrible person, and I hate you!” Hal ran from the room too.

Elizabeth collapsed into a chair. This was harder than she thought it was going to be. She started tearing up and then angrily wiped away the moisture. Why was she crying? She knew Nick was fine, but she hated having everyone believe she was abandoning her betrothed and think badly of her for it.

Sylvie returned an hour later, put away her mending and went about her job, saying nothing and not looking at Elizabeth any more than she had to. She packed, laid out Elizabeth’s clothes for the morning, and then brought in a cart with her dinner. Her maid served and waited for Elizabeth to finish her lonely meal and then took away the cart.

Elizabeth hadn’t been able to eat very much. She dismissed Sylvie as soon as soon as her night clothes were laid out so she could be by herself. She lay awake for some time, dreading the morning and the next day or two. But she had to get through it, and then Nick would be back with them and everything would be just fine.

In the morning Sylvie was equally remote, doing her job without her usual chattiness. When went out to the waiting coach, she could see a lot of the people of the Progress looking at her, some boldly, some surreptitiously, but none had a trace of friendliness in their eyes. She waited at the coach door, but the footman pretended to be busy with something and ignored her.

Winkershime came over and opened the coach door and handed her up. She held on to his hand and asked, “Would you ride with me today?”

The valet hesitated a moment, but then climbed in with her. He sat stiffly ignoring her, and even though knew he was acting, it still hurt a little. The Progress pulled out.