Margaret was just as avid a storyteller as her husband, and Katherine listened contently as she reminisced about her days with Matthew in Castle Ringley. Her stories made Katherine miss Matthew even more. Nevertheless, she was so thankful that he would have Margaret to return to. Now, if she were to stay at Castle Caine and continue her budding relationship with Caleb, perhaps Matthew would become like a brother to her. Katherine missed James more than anyone else at Meadington. She could certainly use a brother at the moment.
A knock at the door prompted one of Margaret’s ladies, but Katherine was so entranced by Margaret’s storytelling, she didn’t even turn to see who had entered. By the time she realized it was Val from the kitchen, she must’ve said “Rose” a few times because her tone was slightly impatient. When she finally turned her head, Val continued, “Rose, I’ve been sent to fetch you for the evening meal.”
Katherine nodded. Of course, she would be happy to help with the evening meal. Perhaps Caleb had been sent for because he had unexpected guests, which would make it more difficult for Caroline and the others. Saying a hasty goodbye to Margaret, Katherine rushed down the stairs and into the hallway behind Val.
Val wasn’t walking toward the kitchen as Katherine expected; she was walking toward the king’s bedchamber. Confused, Katherine followed along, wondering what was happening.
One of the other servant girls was exiting as the two girls entered Caleb’s room. She gave a little curtsey in Katherine’s general direction, which seemed odd to her, but she nodded back, respectfully. “Here, we are,” Val said, gesturing at a beautiful gown hanging in a hook from the armoire. It was a light blue satin material, with several layers widening the skirt and a bodice encrusted in gemstones. Elsewhere in the room, she saw the proper undergarments for such a gown. Katherine surmised the other girl must have brought the items in. “I will help you get dressed.”
Still confused, Katherine stared at Val, mouth open. She looked around the room as if there may be some other noblewoman present who would need assistance. Val giggled. “You can’t have dinner with the king wearing that!”
Katherine glanced down at her attire. She was wearing her servant’s dress from her time in the kitchen earlier in the day. Even the dress she’d gotten from Rose would not have been suitable for dinner at the royal table. The gown hanging here was definitely fit for royalty, and she wondered if her identity had been found out. But then, no one had called her Princess Katherine, and she imagined, if Caleb had somehow discovered the truth, he would’ve wanted to speak to her immediately. She could only infer that he simply wanted her to dine with him—and look like a lady while doing so.
Katherine stepped forward, rubbing the soft blue fabric between her fingers. The bodice twinkled in the light from the lamps. It was certainly a gorgeous gown, one fit for a princess or a queen.
Val went about helping her into the appropriate undergarments before Katherine could protest, not that she had much of a mind to. Then, she slipped the gown over Katherine’s head, lacing it up in the back. Once she was dressed and slid her feet into satin slippers left for her on the floor, she crossed the room to a full-length mirror. Val stood behind her as Katherine recognized herself for the first time in several days.
“You look lovely,” Val said, joining her with pins and combs in her hands. “Like a true princess. Or a queen.”
Katherine only smiled, wishing she could tell the kind girl the truth. Deciding her fingers had healed well enough, she unwrapped the bandage, thinking it would spoil the look if she left it on. Val pinned her hair up and inserted the combs and then brought her a simple, but elegant, blue jeweled necklace with matching earrings to finish the look. For the first time since she arrived in Arteria, Katherine felt like she was indeed a princess again.
Caleb only invited Dale and Gordon to join them because the dining table was small, and with James and his three attendants there wasn’t much room for anyone else. The two officers were his most trusted with David gone, and their council should be sufficient. An empty chair on his right awaited Rose’s arrival. He imagined it may take her some time to get dressed since she likely wasn’t used to wearing the type of gown he’d provided. He could only imagine how radiant she would be in the blue gown Caroline had suggested when he’d spoken to her a few moments ago. Caroline said she’d kept it back for a special occasion, not letting any of the other visiting dignitaries borrow it whenever crises arose—like when Katherine had needed clothing. It didn’t surprise him at all to think the cook had instinctually known the gown would come in handy someday. He only hoped Rose would forgive him for putting her in a potentially uncomfortable position.
“Who else are we expecting?” James asked, nodding at the empty seat.
Avoiding the stares from his two officers who had their own thoughts on the matter, he cleared his throat and said, “Her name is Rose. She was instrumental in helping my brother escape, and she knows your sister, as well as King Philip. She’s very clever, and I thought she might be of some use to us.”
“I see,” James replied, his forehead creasing slightly though he accepted that explanation.
Caleb smiled, glad James didn’t balk at the idea of Rose joining them. This was Caleb’s castle, after all, and he could do as he pleased. A servant girl came in with a carafe of wine and filled all of their glasses while another brought in the first course. Caleb’s eyes searched the main entryway. He didn’t want to start without Rose, but he didn’t know how long she might be. “She should be joining us shortly.”
The gentlemen exchanged a few pleasantries, though none of them were in a pleasant mood, so Caleb got down to business. “The cavalry you saw was certainly Gradenian and not from Clovington?” he asked.
James shook his head and swallowed before saying, “Their uniforms were certainly Gradenian.”
Caleb nodded, pausing to reflect on the implications once more. “It seems very odd to me that Leopold would risk bringing Nadoria into this conflict.”
“Indeed,” James remarked. “I felt the same way. It is impossible to guess at the logic behind the moves of a mad man, though. My only hope is that Katherine is safe.”
“Certainly,” Caleb agreed. Thinking back to the way the woman cried in the library right before she left, Caleb’s forehead wrinkled. She’d made up lies to avoid being sent home. “It’s as if she knew something terrible was about to happen.”
James rested his utensil on his plate. “What do you mean?” He stared at Caleb intently, begging for elaboration.
Being that Katherine had spoken poorly of James, Caleb knew he must be careful not to offend. “When I informed her that we were sending her home, back to Nadoria, she didn’t want to go. She pleaded with me to let her stay.”
James looked confused. “Pleaded with you? How do you mean?”
“She begged me not to make her go. She said she wanted to stay here.”
The prince cocked his head to the side, his eyes narrow. “She begged you? She said she didn’t want to go?” Caleb nodded, not sure where the disconnect was.
James looked at his associates, all of which looked as baffled as he seemed to be. After staring at his plate for a moment, the prince said, “But, that’s impossible.” He was shaking his head as he met Caleb’s eyes again.
Caleb reflected the confused look, at a loss for what he had said that was unfounded. “Whatever do you mean?” he asked. A door squeaked open behind James, but he didn’t look away from the prince, not yet.
“My sister couldn’t have said anything to you,” James replied emphatically.
Before the prince even finished his thought, a flicker of realization exploded in Caleb’s mind as all the pieces to a puzzle he hadn’t realized he’d been trying to solve flew together all at once.
The Prince of Nadoria didn’t get to finish his sentence, however. The sound of glass shattering on the stone floor, the rush of water splashing free of its container, had all of them turning their heads toward the servants’ entrance. Both king and prince stared wide eyed in disbelief at the woman one of them never expected to see standing before him and the other was truly seeing for the first time.
Katherine had stopped by the kitchen on her way to the dining room because Caroline had told Val she wanted to see her in the gown. After several minutes of doting, she told Katherine to go on to dinner, though she was now even later than she had been before. Caroline was also running behind, and Katherine had insisted on helping by carrying the water pitcher to the table. Despite Caroline’s protests, she had taken it anyway.
Her hands were shaking, and the glass was slippery. The idea that she’d be dining next to the king, dressed in this gown, had her stomach twisting in knots. Even though she knew her true station would allow her to be there, the other guests would have no idea that this was the case. She didn’t know who else might be present and just how harshly they might judge her. Not to mention simply being in Caleb’s presence made her nervous enough.
She came through the servants’ entrance simply because it was the easiest way for her to arrive from the kitchen, and she was, after all, carrying a pitcher of water. Her eyes immediately went to Caleb. He was sitting in his usual chair, in deep conversation with the man to his left who had his back to her. Despite his concerned expression, he was as handsome as always, the light from the chandelier making his blue eyes twinkle. He hadn’t noticed her yet, and watching him without her realizing she was there made her nerves calm just a bit.
Then, she looked at the man he was speaking to.
Shocked, Katherine gasped, and her already shaking hands slipped free of the pitcher’s handle. The glass fell, shattering all over the floor, drawing everyone’s immediate attention.
And then he saw her, too.
At first, it seemed he didn’t quite believe what he was seeing. He stared at her wide eyed, already getting to his feet before he said her name “Katherine!”
She had her hands over her mouth, trying to will the tears not to fall, but as her brother ran to her, his arms open, she could no longer hold them back. “You’re here?” James held her against his chest, squeezing her tightly. “How are you here and not in the hands of the Gradenians? They stole you. We saw the aftermath.”
James’s words were confusing, but at the moment, Katherine wasn’t looking at him. The moment her brother pushed her back at arms’ length to take her in, her eyes went immediately to Caleb.
He was standing next to his chair, staring at her like all of the others, but the recognition in his eyes was enough to make her heart wrench in two. She couldn’t say if he was angry or just wounded that she hadn’t told him the truth. He likely felt like a fool, having clearly told her brother that whatever fate had befallen the false Princes Katherine had happened to her instead.
Torn between the joy of seeing her brother again at last and the terror that coursed through her veins that she wouldn’t have the opportunity to explain to Caleb, Katherine looked from one of them to the other, not knowing what to do. Words would’ve been a wonderful tool to have at her disposal now, but without them, she could only shake her head, wishing she could explain all that had transpired to both of them.
“You look radiant,” James said, still holding her at a distance. “Gone is the little girl I used to give piggyback rides to, that’s for certain. I simply don’t understand....” His voice trailed off, and then, he too, was looking at Caleb, needing an explanation. “This is my sister—Katherine, Princess of Nadoria.”
Caleb cleared his throat, his eyes fixed on Katherine's. “So I see.”
The weight of his eyes made her breath catch in her throat as she managed a small curtsey without lowering her eyes.
“How?” James began, placing his hands on his hips. “How did this mistake, this error in identity, occur?”
Caleb shook his head, his eyes still on Katherine’s face. “I don’t know.” He didn’t say more.
“I mean... who was the other woman, the one you sent to me? There was one, wasn’t there?”
“Yes, there was. I suppose I don’t know that either.” Caleb finally looked away from her, scratching his head as he continued to shake it adamantly. “I’m such a fool,” he muttered.
Whether she was meant to hear that or not, Katherine stamped her foot to get his attention. When he was looking at her again, she shook her head, looking him in the eyes. She needed to find a way to make James understand this was her fault, not Caleb’s. It would be difficult to do since she could not use words to retell the story. Caleb had to give her a chance to explain the lies Rose had told, and James had to be persuaded not to take this out on Caleb. Grabbing both of James’s arms so that he would be forced to give her his attention, she pointed at herself, indicating it was her fault, not Caleb’s.
“Katherine, I thought you had been captured,” James explained. “I saw a carriage, one that I was told you were riding in, and then it was swept away by Gradenian soldiers. I thought I had lost you forever.”
Her hands flew to her mouth again. Poor Rose. As angry as her lies and schemes had made the princess, Katherine didn’t wish for anyone to suffer such a fate, not even Rose. She felt tears stinging her eyes again.
Caleb cleared his throat, and Katherine turned her head to watch him, shifting his weight uncomfortably. “James, why don’t you and, uh, Princess Katherine take some time to catch up. You can use the library.”
“Yes, I believe that’s a fine idea,” James said, taking hold of her arm.
Caleb was already headed to the door, his head down. Katherine desperately wanted to gain his attention, to make sure he understood she needed to speak to him, too, but he wouldn’t turn his head in her direction.
Two servants stepped forward, and Katherine realized they were there to escort her and James to the library, but she couldn’t make her feet move that direction. She wanted to run after Caleb.
James tugged lightly on her arm. “Come along, Princess. Let’s sort this out.”
Katherine followed Caleb out the door with her eyes and let go a remorseful sigh, praying he’d give her an opportunity later. Dale followed him, as did Gordon, but the dark-haired officer stopped short of the door and gave her a small, encouraging smile. Katherine wasn’t sure what he was trying to convey, but it made her feel slightly better to know he was still on her side, though he likely felt as duped as anyone else. With nothing else to do, she went along with James, headed toward the library, thankful to have her brother back but praying it wouldn’t cost her the man she loved.
Silas Renshaw was out of breath. His horse had dropped dead before he had reached Castle Meadington, and he had been forced to run the last four hundred yards. His lungs felt as if they might explode any second, sending him on his way to join his beloved steed, but Prince James had commanded him to bring the message to the queen as quickly as possible, so he intended to just that.
He hadn’t waited for a servant to lead him to the throne room. Once he was told that was where he could find the queen, he took off sprinting in that direction, not caring if his lungs burst out of his chest.
She turned her head, alarmed, when he flew through the door, but she recognized him, and then her face turned to marble as she waited for him to report. Her eyes pierced him like daggers as he drew in enough breath to relay his message. Finally, he was able to cast it out in spurts. “Princess… Katherine… kidnapped… Leopold.”
Eleanora’s eyes doubled in size as Silas slumped to the floor. She rose, and the train of her gown trailed across his face as she stepped over him, giving orders. “Prepare the army!” she shouted. “Leopold of Gradenia has committed an act of war, an act he will soon regret! I will have my sister safely returned--at any cost!”