I was somehow not surprised when Arlana showed up at my door early the next morning. She seemed to have a special frown that affected her whole appearance and was only to be worn in my presence.
“I need a word with you.”
“Good morning, Arlana. I was just headed to the infirmary. You are welcome to follow me there so we can speak in private.”
If anything, my friendly greeting seemed to deepen her scowl. I turned from my chamber door and took the few steps over to the infirmary, unlocking the door once I got there.
“I am going to need a copy of that key.”
I really was trying to refrain from being disrespectful to her once again, but she was making it difficult. After catching her plundering through the medical records, I had discussed it with Reagan. He agreed those records should be kept private, so he had the keys to this room found and had given two copies to me. I had passed one on to Clare, but supplying Arlana with a key would defeat the purpose of obtaining them.
I looked over my shoulder at the stewardess. “You will have to take that up with Prince Reagan.”
“Hmmp.”
She followed me in and shut the door behind her. I had planned to leave it open. I knew I was about to be taken down a notch, and although I had not wanted it to be done in the hallway, I did not savor being closed up in this room with her either.
“A few things have come to my attention that need to be addressed. First, I have just learned that servants have been cleaning your suite every day. I realize you did not order this, but I wanted to let you know that I am putting a stop to it now. You will be responsible for your own chambers. Servants do not clean up after other servants. Regardless of your title, you are in fact just a servant of this castle, and I expect you to act as such.”
Although I had nothing to do with the servants cleaning my room, her words shamed me. I had always kept my own bedchamber in order while living in Aisling, and I had no problem doing so here. I did not even have a chance to reply before she continued with her reprimand.
“This brings me to the second thing. You will no longer sit idle. When you are not working with a patient or attending the queen, you will work in the kitchen. You are to start when they begin in the morning and you are not to stop until everything is complete in the evening. Glynis is in charge of the kitchen. You are to report to her, but be assured that I will be checking up on you personally. Do I make myself clear?”
“Perfectly so.”
This seemed rather harsh. I could already imagine how exhausted I would be at the end of each day. I had never heard of a healer being required to work in the kitchen, but I was a servant, as she had said. As such, she had every right to order my chores, and I had no choice but to comply if I wanted to stay here.
“Furthermore, I want to talk to you about the improper way you found yourself alone in this room with the prince yesterday. If you want to sully your own reputation, I cannot stop you, but I will not allow you to dishonor the prince in such a way.”
I could comply up to this point, but now she had overstepped her bounds. “As the healer of this castle, there is nothing improper about me taking care of my patients, and I will not do so with an audience if it can be helped. Prince Reagan is the one who ordered you from the room yesterday—not me.”
I cut everything I wanted to say short. I had already allowed my temper to get the best of me. If she wanted to work me like a mule, so be it, but I refused to allow her to accuse me of anything improper, especially where it concerned my work as a healer.
Arlana closed the gap between us. I could read the dangerous look in her narrowed eyes as she pointed her finger inches from my nose, but I stood my ground.
“Now you listen to me, you little tart. You think you are so special having a close friend in royalty, your high-ranking father and uncle, and your title as a so called healer. They all mean nothing. I know what you really are. You are just like your mother. Oh, I know all about her. I will not have your kind stirring up trouble in this kingdom. You might as well pack up your things and return to Aisling where you belong because I will not stop until you are gone from here.”
She took a step back. Her eyes had gone wide, her breathing hard. I could tell she had said more than she meant to, but she had managed to leave me speechless. I had never felt so low. I had no idea what she meant about my mother, yet I still felt the humiliation of her words. I took a deep breath and then squared my shoulders. She may one day force me away from Gilvary, but today was not that day. Whatever my mother had done, it was in the past and was no indication of my own character.
“Is there anything else you wanted to talk to me about?”
This question hardened the look on Arlana’s face once again. Maybe she had said more than she meant to, but she was clearly disappointed that it had not made more of an impact. I was not without feelings. Her words had affected me tremendously, and I would probably mull them over for days to come. However, she would have a long wait if she hoped to see the result of her hateful speech reflected in my countenance.
“You just remember everything I have said. I am sure you have plenty to keep you busy now, so I will leave you to it.” With that, she exited the infirmary, swinging the door wide open so that it slammed against the wall.
I waited a few minutes before I gently closed the door. Despite the fact that she had just ordered me to work from sun up to sun down, I would need a moment of solitude to calm my nerves before I could start my day.
Once I had my bearings again, I had a quick breakfast and then went to check on Queen Finelle. She was already showing progress since my arrival at Gilvary. She was sitting up in the bed when I came in that morning to give Edina a break, looking slightly better than she had a week ago. She was the first to speak.
“Good morning, Gwen.”
I dropped into a curtsy right where I stood. “Good morning, Your Highness.”
“Please, call me Finelle.”
Edina stopped in her tracks, whipping around to stare at the queen and then at me.
After having Arlana bring it to my attention that I had not addressed Reagan properly when I first arrived at Gilvary, there was no way I was going to start calling the queen by her given name. I decided to skip around it by trying not to address her at all.
“How are you feeling this morning?”
“I am fine. How are you?” She was speaking to me as an equal, and I wondered if her mind had taken another turn.
“I am doing well. Here, allow me to take your pulse.”
I looked at Edina who was still standing there open-mouthed. This seemed to bring her back to the present. “I will be back in just a few minutes.”
“Take all the time you need.”
She just nodded and went on her way, but the stunned look remained.
I finished my routine check of the queen and then offered her more of the tea and cookies that were sitting on the side table. She patted the bed next to her, indicating that I should sit there. I perched uneasily on the edge. It did not feel right, but how could I say no to the queen?
“I heard Reagan spent last evening in the infirmary with you. How is he?”
I hesitated for a moment before answering. “I have not checked on him this morning, but I believe he will recover with no lasting effects. For now he has a nasty bruise which will probably be painful for the next couple of days.”
“He likes you, you know.” She was smiling as if she was not bothered by this news in the least, but it left me scrambling for the right words to say.
“He is the crown prince, and I am just a servant, but I guess you would consider us to be friends of a sort.” I wanted to make it clear that I knew my place here.
“Well it is a start. Great things can come from friendship.”
This was an impossible conversation. She made it sound as if she was hoping for something more from my association to her son which was shocking. I could not believe that I had been warned against a relationship with Reagan and encouraged into a deeper one with him all in the same morning. I felt nothing I could say would be safe, so I just nodded my head.
“I remember when Coman and I first met. It had already been arranged that we would be married and I had resigned myself to my duty, but I never expected to feel the way I did when I first saw him. I felt love bubbling up inside of me, and I could tell he felt the same way. He was handsome and full of so many ideas for the betterment of Gilvary and of Kearnley. I could not help but to get caught up in his enthusiasm. I had never felt that way before.”
This was another unexpected turn. I pictured the King Coman I had known, and it did not match up to the way he was being portrayed by his wife. She was giving one of her rare smiles as she looked off into the distance while her mind seemed to travel back in time. She almost looked whole again. I wondered if she realized that she had taken my hand during her reverie.
“Did you have a big wedding?”
I did not really care to hear about the evil King Coman in this light. I just felt it was a good thing for the queen to look back on her fond memories. Maybe it would be an aid to her healing.
“Oh yes. I was an only child, so my parents had doted on me. We had to be married outside to accommodate all of our guests. I wish you could have seen it. I wore a shimmering light green gown, and Coman looked so dashing in his black suit. I nearly danced down the aisle on my father’s arm. I could not wait for us to begin our life together.
“Dunbar was born almost a year later. Coman was so proud to have a son who would one day rule our kingdom. Then Reagan came a few years after that. I know I should not say this about my own child, but he was the most beautiful baby I had ever seen. He is still handsome. Do you not think so?” She looked directly into my eyes.
It was not a far stretch at all for me to agree with her. He was probably the best looking man I had ever known, but my response to her was less enthusiastic. I was afraid she would read too much into my true thoughts.
“Yes, no one could deny that he is just as handsome as you have described him.”
“I am glad you are here in Gilvary. You are the perfect kind of friend for Reagan. You are of a strong will, and I think that is exactly what he needs. You will be good for each other.”
I leaned back as I looked into her pale green eyes, trying to think of what to say. Once again she was speaking as if there was more than just friendship between me and her son, but it was not enough for me to correct her.
I was saved from replying when Edina entered the room at that very moment. “I am back now. Thank you for the break.”
It had been a short break. No doubt curiosity had brought her back so soon. Edina’s brows were drawn together in puzzlement. This woman had known Queen Finelle for almost her entire life. If she was bewildered by the queen’s familiarity with me, then I certainly did not know what to make of it. I knew nothing of the workings of the mind. Maybe I would write to Kerwin Mundy, the healer at Fort Bevan in Aisling, to see if he knew more about the subject. I slipped my hand from beneath my patient’s and stood to go.
I had planned to check on Reagan next, but after my conversation with Arlana and then Queen Finelle, I felt it would be best to send Clare instead. Besides, she needed the practice, and I needed to head to the kitchen as soon as possible. I thought if I seemed to embrace the added chores, it may cause Arlana to back off for a bit.
I found Clare working among the herbs in the garden. She stood as I approached. Her brows were raised in anticipation for what I was about to say.
“I came to help. What are we doing?” I knelt down beside where she had been working, and she did the same.
“I’m preparing this bed for winter, but I do not expect you to help.”
“It is good for me to know how to use herbs in the infirmary, but I should probably have knowledge of how they grow as well. Do you not think so?”
With a nod, she started naming the herbs near us as we covered each one with a layer of straw. She explained how the mulch would protect the tender plants while adding nutrients to the soil. She said the plants would have to be gradually uncovered come early spring.
We worked in silence for a few minutes before I revealed the true purpose of my visit. “I need for you to do a follow-up on the prince this morning.”
She whipped around to face me. She was already shaking her head, but I cut her off before she could start her verbal protest.
“All you have to do is question him as to how he is feeling. You will only have to do an examination if he indicates a concern, which I doubt will be the case. Also, leave him some of those herbs we put together that can be made into a tea for pain. I gave him enough to last through the morning. Just give him enough to last until tomorrow morning when you go to see him again.”
“I thought you would want to be the one checking on him. The two of you seemed so close last night. I can tell he likes you. This could be a chance to get closer to the prince. Who knows, maybe you could be our next queen, not that I want anything to happen to the current queen. Well, you know what I mean.”
I did a quick check to see if anyone was close enough to overhear. My reply was low enough that Clare had to lean closer to me. “I know you know that whatever happens in the infirmary is not to be retold outside of those chambers. I appreciate your discretion in all aspects of mine and your relationship as well.”
She grabbed my hand and her brown eyes searched mine. “You have my word that nothing you say or do will be repeated by me.”
Only time would tell whether I could truly trust her or not. Right now I needed a friend. “There is nothing between me and the prince except for friendship, and that is all I ever expect there to be. I wanted you to check on him because you need the practice and because . . .”
I took another look around before continuing. “Arlana came to see me this morning. She is accusing me of improper intentions toward Prince Reagan, and even though she could not be further from the truth, I do not want to add to her angst. You also need to be aware of the fact that she has ordered me to work in the kitchen in between my other duties.”
“She cannot do that.”
“She is the stewardess, and I am just a servant. She has every right.”
“You are not just some common servant. You are the castle healer. Prince Reagan would never allow this.”
“Prince Reagan must never hear of it and neither should anyone else. Do I have your word?”
“Yes, of course I will tell no one, but it just doesn’t seem fair.”
“I only told you so you would know where to find me should anything arise where you would need my assistance. Feel free to send for me. Honestly, you would be doing me a favor. I do not relish the thought of scrubbing the dishes.” I forced a laugh just to try to lighten the mood.
I had the eerie feeling I was being watched and looked up to see Arlana standing with her arms folded across her chest at the edge of the garden. Thankfully, she had not been close enough to overhear any part of our conversation.
Clare seemed to notice the attention she was giving us at the same time. I had the urge to jump up and run to the kitchen, but I remained where I was. There was nothing for her to complain about since she had not found me idle. I worked alongside Clare for a few minutes after Arlana returned to the castle before leaving to report to my kitchen duties.