Upon reaching the door at the top of the secret stairwell, Katherine hesitated. All morning, while she had been collecting the items she’d brought with her, she’d thought about the possibility of actually seeing the king for herself. For some reason she couldn’t explain, she felt compelled to lay eyes on the man who’d suffered so much. Rumors of his wife’s murder had reached even as far as Nadoria. In moments when she’d found herself pitying her own situation, reflecting upon Matthew’s plight had helped her to find perspective. He’d been so grateful to her the day before, even though she’d done little in the scheme of things. Katherine wanted to do more but wasn’t sure how she might without Philip catching on. It was a risky game she played. Still, a glimpse of his face would make it all seem even more worthwhile.
Katherine tapped lightly on the door. A fluttering of pages let her know she’d been heard. This time, she waited for him to open the slot, which he did promptly. “Who is there?” he whispered. She could tell by the projection of his voice that he was peering through the narrow slit. Glancing down at the bloody spot on the floor, she decided to fold up a piece of cloth and cover it, rather than attempting to clean it. Spreading out her skirts, Katherine lowered herself down to the ground and saw a dirty hand holding up the small flap—and a pair of dark brown eyes, wide with curiosity.
“Ah, I see by your gown that my angel is a lady. Good morrow. How do you do? I have been hoping that you would return.”
Unable to reply, Katherine only smiled, glad to see he was in a jovial mood. He sat down on the floor on the other side of the door, leaning forward, and Katherine got a better view of him. He was as handsome as she had heard, even in his filthy and disheveled state. His dark hair was bloody, and his face was streaked with the same crimson, along with grime from being trapped in the same small room with no clean water for so long. Still, his smile was friendly, and Katherine instantly liked him.
“What is your name?” Matthew asked, his eyes moving up and down as he attempted to see as much of her as he could through the slot.
Katherine wanted to answer his questions but simply couldn’t. Looking down at her folded hands, she fidgeted with the signet ring she always wore, the one with her family crest. Perhaps, if she showed him the ring, he would be able to figure out her identity. But, then again, it might be best if he didn’t know the truth. If it were ever discovered that someone had been paying him visits, she would rather no one knew it was her.
Katherine looked up from her ring, met his eyes, and smiled again, not sure how to answer his question.
“You’re shy then?” he asked, one corner of his mouth pulling up farther than the other. “Very well. You don’t have to speak. My name is Matthew.”
The kindness in his voice made Katherine’s smile widen. She nodded, not sure if he could see, attempting to let him know she was aware of who he was.
“Thank you so very much for the gifts you brought yesterday. Your gesture was greatly appreciated, especially the food. I hope that you didn’t get in any sort of trouble on my account.”
Katherine shook her head and heard him sigh in relief.
“Good, good! I’m so glad that you’ve come back today!”
Again, Katherine signaled back with a nod. She realized he was probably hungry, so she opened the basket she’d brought and lifted it for him to see before sliding the first thinly sliced piece of apple through the slot.
Matthew accepted it graciously, taking every piece she offered. “Thank you so much!” he exclaimed. “Apples are my favorite!” He placed the first slice directly into his mouth. The sweet juice rolled down his chin, and he giggled like a little boy. Katherine joined in his laughter as she continued to hand him her gifts.
The princess had been able to procure some salted ham from the morning meal preparations, as well as a loaf of bread and even a spot of jam. She slipped the bounty through the slot as carefully as possible, and Matthew made a little pile next to the door. Next, she handed through some blank paper, thinking he might want to get his thoughts down or that he might want to try to send a letter to his brother. She would have to find someone she could trust to serve as courier—and that would be extremely risky. She knew she would not be able to pass an ink well through the tiny slot, so she had brought some charcoal from the fire, thinking he could use that to write with. Lastly, she had brought some fresh water. This part was going to be the trickiest. She was not exactly sure how to get it to him or if he even had a container to put it in, but she wanted to try. Katherine held the canteen up to the slot, hoping he could see what it was.
“Water?” he asked, his voice rising with excitement. “Oh, my! The boys who bring my gruel carry a small plate of water to refill this tiny cup once every few days, but it is often putrid, as if it had been used to wash dishes. Of course, I drink it because I am constantly thirsty.” He was still eating and paused to swallow. Katherine watching him intently. “On a rainy day, I’ll often stick the cup out the window, or even my tongue, for that matter, hoping to catch a drop or two.”
Unable to imagine what it must be like to go that long without clean water, Katherine only stared at him for a moment, her mouth slightly open, before she realized what she was doing and closed it abruptly.
“Let me see,” Matthew said, grabbing the cup from the floor next to his bed. She could see dirty dishes as well. “If we had some way of making a channel for it to flow through....” He looked around the room, but she imagined he wouldn’t find anything.
It wasn’t necessary. Katherine had brought something she hoped would work; a thick stem from a ginger plant. Pulling a knife from the basket, she cut the stem in half, forming a flat surface with rounded sides to pour the water through the slit.
Matthew laughed. “You’re a genius!” He eagerly held the small silver cup up to the end of the stem as Katherine carefully poured fresh water down the makeshift canal and into the container. Once it was filled, Matthew gulped it down, careful not to spill a drop. Katherine refilled it several times until the canteen was empty.
The king made a small noise in his throat when she indicated the water was gone. “This is the first time I can remember my tongue not being stuck to the roof of my mouth.” She smiled and made a mental note to bring even more water next time.
Katherine felt more comfortable with her decision to continue to pay Matthew daily visits. She’d been sitting there for nearly an hour, and no one had opened the door at the bottom of the steps. If someone should come up, she had noticed a small alcove on the other side of the railing next to the stairs where she should be able to hunker down undetected.
There were no windows in the hallway, but the arrow slits in Matthew’s chamber would allow him to see King Philip returning to the castle. It might be difficult to let Matthew know that he needed to be mindful of the king’s return, but she thought she could stay for a while longer, though it would help if he knew to warn her of Philip’s arrival. Matthew clearly liked having someone to chat with, and she wanted to stay for as long as possible. He was fascinating, almost like a character out of one of her books. There had to be some way to let him know to warn her if Philip came back.
“Well, now,” Matthew said, settling down next to the door and sliding a piece of charcoal into the slot to hold the flap open so that he would not have to. “If you won't tell me your name, perhaps I could guess it.”
Katherine smiled, doubting he would be able to.
“No? You don’t think that I am capable of guessing your name?”
She shook her head.
“I see! I’ve been challenged.” Chewing on a piece of ham, he stroked his chin thoughtfully. “This is delicious, by the way. Would you like some?”
Katherine shook her head. How kind was he to offer his food when he was starving, and she was free to eat as much as she liked whenever she liked?
“All right then. You have lovely blue eyes. What color is your hair?” Katherine held a loose lock of hair up to the slot so that he could see. “Oh, red, I see. How beautiful!” Her cheeks lit on fire, and she dropped her hand, brushing her hair back over her shoulder. “Hmmm, perhaps your name is... Scarlet?”
Katherine shook her head, laughing. It was a decent guess, though.
“Not Scarlet. Anything to do with having red hair?” Again, the answer was no. “All right. Well, it’s probably not Bluey, so I’m assuming it has nothing to do with having blue eyes either then?”
The princess giggled, covering her mouth with her hand. He had an odd sense of humor, but she appreciated the fact that he could be light-hearted under the circumstances.
“No? Not related to your eye color? Well, then, I shall guess names until I am correct. How about Myrtle?” Katherine’s body vibrated with laughter. “No? Something less hideous then? Perhaps your name is Grace or Mary?” Again, she shook her head. “Nothing biblical?” He sighed. “Perhaps you are correct. Perhaps I’m not skilled at guessing names. I suppose I’ll just have to give you a new name then. How about….” He paused in thought, and then his eyes lit up as it came to him. “How about Angel?”
Her lips curled into a smile. What a lovely compliment—he thought of her as if she were an angel. She nodded enthusiastically.
“Angel it is then!” he proclaimed. “Now, my sweet Angel, shall I try to guess your station?”
Her eyes bulged, the smile fading. Frantically, she shook her head back and forth.
“No? You don’t want me to discover that you are the Queen of Clovington?”
Katherine felt her breath catch in her throat. How did he know? What had given her away?
Matthew leaned back, tipping his head to the ceiling. “No, Queen-Mother Agnes is likely too old and frail to climb the stairs.”
Again, Katherine laughed, sighing in relief that he hadn’t truly figured her out. Philip’s mother was bed-ridden, stashed away in a room somewhere on the other side of the castle. She kept to herself, and the king hardly mentioned her. Agnes was no longer the queen since her husband had passed, but many people still referred to her as Queen Agnes as a sign of respect. Katherine had met her only once, and her disposition was almost as nasty as her son’s.
Matthew continued. Leaning forward again, he peered through the slit. “I can discern by your gown that you are not a chambermaid or a serving wench. I am certain you are nobility. Perhaps someday you will tell me all about your adventures and what it is like to live on the other side of this door.”
Again, Katherine looked down at her hands, twirling her ring around her finger. Perhaps someday she would be able to tell him. But not today, and not in the near future. The thought of speaking had crossed her mind from time to time over the years, but she had always suppressed it. There was no way to un-speak the last utterance that had come out of her mouth, and she was unable to bear the thought of ever causing such devastation again. The likelihood of Katherine ever speaking another word was almost as minuscule as the possibility that King Matthew would someday walk out of his prison cell a free man.
“You know, I wasn’t always the dashing rogue you see before you.” Matthew’s voice brought her mind out of the past. He seemed jovial to have someone to talk to, even if she could not talk back. “Oh, no, before I became the ruler of this lavish villa, I lived a completely different life.” Katherine could hear the longing in his voice as he reflected on his home in Zurconia. She imagined he wanted his freedom, to see his friends and family, more than anything. If he wished to talk about it, she would gladly listen.
“I once had a beautiful wife.” He caressed her memory for a moment, lingered in the presence of her existence; Katherine could see it in his eyes. Matthew moved so that he was leaning back against the door. She could no longer see him, which seemed to allow his words to flow more freely. She closed her eyes and listened to the sound of his voice.
“Her name was Margaret, but I called her Maggie. And she was gorgeous. Green eyes—the most beautiful green eyes you can imagine. She had this way of laughing so quietly, it could hardly be detected. Similar to your laugh, actually,” he teased, “but so pleasant, like the pitter-patter of rain gently rolling off of the window. That is, if your windows have panes.” He laughed, despite his circumstances. “Oh, how I miss her. While I am here….” He paused, as if he wasn’t sure if he should actually give voice to the ideas in his head. “While I am here, I often pretend that she is back home, back in Zurconia, doing the things we loved to do together. Or working on her embroidery. She loved to embroider. Do you like to embroider?” He paused in his story, so Katherine opened her eyes and saw he’d turned to look at her. She nodded.
“Yes, I’m sure you do. You are a lady, definitely a lady.” He turned back around, facing away from her. “At any rate, Maggie was a wonderful seamstress. Whenever I’d get a rip or a tear of any sort, she’d patch it up herself. Can you imagine? The queen doing her own patchwork? Or a king bothering with patchwork for that matter. But she enjoyed it. She enjoyed taking care of me, being my wife. I was so fortunate.” He paused again, likely reflecting on all that he had lost. “So very fortunate indeed.”
He was quiet for a moment, and Katherine felt sorrow building up inside of her. Tears threatened to spill down her cheeks, but she didn’t want him to see her cry on his behalf, so she held them back.
“Well, enough of that depressing story!” he proclaimed swiveling back to face her. “What about you, Angel, do you have a husband?”
Katherine’s eyes widened, and she hesitated, not exactly sure how to answer. She glanced down at her hand again. No wedding ring, that was true. She shook her head. For the time being, she was not wed.
“A beau then?”
Again, she had to shake her head "no." After the horrendous events of the night before, she certainly could not consider Philip a beau.
“Is that so? A sweet, little fairy like you with no suitors?”
Katherine felt her cheeks redden again at the compliment, but shrugged. She couldn’t say that she didn’t have any suitors, just no husband and no beau.
“Well, then, I guess Castle Blackthorn is an even stranger place than I thought. Letting beautiful little angels flitter around the castle, unwed and unspoken for. Interesting!” A chuckle fought its way free, though it was still silent. She found herself drawn to him; his sense of humor, even under such horrific circumstances, was astounding, as was his kindness and the way he loved his wife, evident by the way he spoke of her.
“Tell me, love, do you know anything of the advance of the Arterian Army?”
All the color drained from her face. She hadn’t been expecting such a question. He’d caught her off guard. She couldn’t blame him from asking, though. Should she disclose what she knew or let him know of Caleb’s progress? While she didn’t want to give Matthew false hope, he might need to prepare for what was to come. She imagined it would go one of two ways. Either he would be rescued--or executed in advance of his brother’s arrival. In fear of the latter, Katherine decided to indicate to Matthew that she did have some information. Slowly, her head tipped back and forth
The king sighed in relief. “Wonderful. King Caleb, he’s close, isn’t he?” Again, Katherine affirmed his belief. Matthew grinned. “Any idea how far away?”
Katherine didn’t know exactly how far away the Arterians were, but she knew they’d fought through Glendor and were somewhere near the Lowetian Forest. Since Nadoria was on the western side of the kingdom, far from Arteria on Clovington’s east, she wasn’t familiar with the area, but from Philip’s reaction, she guessed they were close.
“Is Caleb advancing quickly? Is Philip anticipating his arrival at Blackthorn? Is that why he rode out so early this morning, to inspect the army?” Katherine nodded quickly with each question, trying to keep up. “What are they thinking? A week? Two weeks?” At this, Katherine shrugged. She had heard estimates of time from both Philip and Edward, but there were so many factors that could impede Caleb’s progress, she didn’t know how to answer Matthew.
“All right then.” Matthew nodded confidently. “This all seems promising. One way or another, I’ll be out of this tower soon.”
The princess imagined he’d thought of the two scenarios she’d come up with and watched his face shift as he considered both. It broke her heart to think Philip might execute him before Caleb arrived. If there was anything Katherine could do to prevent such an event from happening, she would do so.
Matthew remained quiet for a few moments, reflecting on the information he had just received. Katherine would need to leave soon. She readjusted on the floor, thinking she needed to pack up the few items she’d be taking back with her. “I apologize,” Matthew said, as if he suddenly remembered he wasn’t alone. “I shouldn’t be bombarding you with so many questions.”
Katherine hoped he could read her expression as she shook her head; it was fine. She wanted him to feel comfortable enough to ask her anything. However, as much as she was enjoying spending time with King Matthew, she knew the day grew long, and she should probably get back down to her room before Joan started looking for her or the king arrived back from his inspection. She wasn’t sure how to indicate to Matthew that she needed to go, so she began to slowly gather her things, thinking he would catch on.
“Must you take leave?” he asked, his tone indicating displeasure. “It isn’t because I asked too many questions is it?”
Again, she shook her head no. She wished she knew how to indicate it was due to the time, but no easy way of signaling that came to mind. Katherine noticed the arrows slits behind him and gestured at them with her head.
Matthew glanced over his shoulder, but she could tell by the furrow in his brow that he was lost. “I’m sorry I don’t understand.”
Trying again, she pointed at the openings and the sky. “Oh, the window, uh, arrow slit? Hmm? What could that mean?” He stroked his chin. “Are you saying that it’s getting late?” She nodded. “The king? You need to get back before you’re discovered?”
Katherine nodded along with each question, confirming what he was saying.
“I see. I understand.” He was clearly disappointed she’d be taking her leave, which made Katherine’s heart heavy, though she hated to admit it also made her a little happy to hear he’d miss her.
Matthew pressed his face up to the opening so that his brown eyes were looking intently at her face. “Will you come back tomorrow?”
Yes, of course I will, Katherine nodded.
“Good! Good.” He sat back a bit, happier, but still reluctant. “Well, thank you for coming. Thank you for listening to me and for all of your gifts. You’re truly a heaven-sent angel, my Angel.” The king slid his fingers through the slit as far as they would budge.
Katherine wasn’t sure exactly what he meant for her to do. He must be longing for human contact, gentle human contact. She lifted her hand to his and wrapped her fingers around his. As soon as their hands met, a spark of some sort seemed to electrify her skin, traveling up her arm to her heart. In that moment, she realized just how starved for affection she was herself.
She couldn’t tarry any longer, so with a sigh, she let go, gathered her belongings, and turned to leave.
Katherine had gone several steps down the stairs when shouted, “Angel, wait!”
Pausing about six steps from the top of the stairwell, Katherine felt her heart skip a beat. Swallowing hard, she turned and hurried back up the stairs. Bending down next to the slot, she waited to see what he needed.
“Do you think that knife will fit through the slot?” he asked.
Puzzled, Katherine dug through the basket for the little knife she had used to cut open the stem. The blade was small and thin, but the handle was a little thicker. Still, she thought it might go through with a little coaxing. She stuck the blade through first, and it went easily enough. Then, she wiggled the handle back and forth. If it had been against the wood, it would have been easier, but the metal frame was holding it up. Finally, after several seconds of pushing and prying, she was able to get it to slide through.
“Yes!” Matthew proclaimed, catching it by the handle before it hit the ground. “Oh, thank you so much! I can’t tell you how much I appreciate this!”
Katherine wondered what in the world he intended to do with the knife and hoped he wasn’t planning to stab Edward and make an escape. He would never make it out of the castle alive. Since she had no way of asking him, and she was genuinely starting to worry about the time, she descended the stairs once more, glancing back over her shoulder to see Matthew’s smiling eyes peering through the slot, watching her walk away. For the first time in a long time, Katherine had a reason to smile.