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Pellus scowled out the window of the carriage as they pulled up at the palace. “So, are we supposed to call him ‘your majesty’ now, or what?”
The diplomatic legate, who had invited them to ride with him for the first time ever, gave Pellus and Lily a contemptuous look. “Did you not read the memorandum I sent over this morning? Baron Broderick has been acclaimed king by his troops, in the manner of our first emperor. However, he still maintains that a Gemot will meet and officially grant him the title under Myrcian law.”
“Some of the nobles are insisting on it,” said Lily. She had practically memorized the legate’s note. “Maybe we should talk to them, Pellus, dear.”
“Yes, maybe you should,” said the legate.
He left them at the Palm Court and headed to the throne room, where a formal diplomatic reception was being held. According to his letter, no country had yet recognized Broderick as King of Myrcia, but all of the foreign ambassadors in town were eager to get on his good side.
Meanwhile, Lily tried to find a place where she could safely leave Pellus. “Oh, look. There are some card tables in the library. Looks like it’s mostly wives of diplomats, but I’m sure someone needs a fourth.”
“Oh, lovely. More foreigners. I don’t have to talk to them, do I?”
“Not any more than you usually do, dear.”
When she had him seated at a little table with the husband of the Krigadamite military attaché and the wives of the ambassadors of Tartu and Odeland, Lily made her way through the crowd to the southeast stairs. At the first landing, though, she was stopped by Colonel Rath.
“Are you not enjoying the party, Miss Serrana?” he asked.
“It’s very nice, of course. But I was hoping to see Princess Elwyn today. Is she around?”
“Wouldn’t you rather stay down here?” Rath folded his arms over his chest.
“I wouldn’t be able to enjoy the festivities while I was worried about her royal highness’s health.” Lily gave him a girlish pout that seemed to have no effect. Then, recalling how Rath had solicited a bribe from her and Pellus when they first arrived in the city, she said, “I’d be happy to offer a small honorarium to show how much we in the diplomatic community appreciate everything you’re doing to protect the royal family.”
Rath threw up his hands. “No, thank you. Princess Elwyn can see whoever she wants. You’ll have more fun here, but go on up if you want your head bitten off.”
When Lily arrived at Elwyn’s apartment, the front parlor was full of at least a dozen ladies in black, many of whom were crying. Several housemaids circulated about, pouring wine and dispensing spare handkerchiefs, and in the corner a pair of nuns intoned prayers in low voices. The women near the door noticed Lily and glared at her, teary-eyed, like she was an interloper at a funeral.
“I’m so sorry to intrude,” said Lily, curtsying, “but I was wondering if her royal highness was here.”
More faces turned toward her, the expressions hardening.
Phoebe Simons, Elwyn’s lady’s maid, came to Lily’s rescue, slipping through the crowd and escorting her to the back parlor. The princess was there, sprawled on the settee with a damp towel over her face. Lily couldn’t help noticing that she had on that same black velvet mourning dress—the one that was so flattering to her. Elwyn pushed up a corner of the towel, looked out, and then sat up instantly when she saw Lily.
“Oh, thank Earstien. I thought you were Lady Goss coming back again. Thank you, Phoebe. More wine for my guests in the front parlor when you have a chance.”
When the lady’s maid was gone and the door was shut, Lily asked, “What’s going on out there?”
“They’re the widows of some of the knights who died fighting against Cousin Broderick. My mother wasn’t allowed to receive them, so I had to do it.” Elwyn rubbed her eyes. “Only they all think I’m a traitor now. Every blasted one of them had to give me a piece of her mind.”
“And of course you can’t tell them what’s really going on,” said Lily in a low voice.
“What’s really going on is that I’m betrothed to the enemy. If I try to get out of it now, my cousin will see to it that I’m personally destroyed. He basically told me as much.” The princess turned and vented her fury on a throw pillow, punching it and then hurling it across the room.
“Is there something I can do? I can try to help entertain them, if you’d like.”
Elwyn’s lip quivered; she looked almost pathetically grateful, but she said, “I can’t make you do that. This is my responsibility.”
“Yes, but I can still help you.”
They had a quick glass of wine to fortify themselves, and then they went out to visit with the widows. Lily’s presence turned out to be a great help, though not in the way she had intended. She served as a distraction for the women’s fury. Many of them seemed to completely forget their anger about Elwyn’s betrothal in their outrage at the news that the Immani Diplomatic Legate was meeting with Baron Broderick.
“This isn’t a formal recognition of his claim,” Lily assured them in her most soothing voice.
“Well, I should hope not,” said Lady Goss, widow of Sir Vernon Goss. “After Sigor men went north to serve in your legions for generations, I’d think they deserve a little loyalty.”
After an excruciating hour, the widows finally left, and Lily was alone with Elwyn, finishing the wine and almost too mentally exhausted to form another sentence.
“I can’t thank you enough,” sighed the princess. “I couldn’t have done it without you. Please tell me you’re coming back tomorrow.”
“Yes,” said Lily, with a sudden burst of inspiration, “but only if you agree to do something fun.”
“Fun? I don’t even remember what that is anymore.”
“That’s what I thought. You’re entitled to one day to yourself, no matter what your cousin and Colonel Rath have to say about it.”
As promised, she returned early the next day. It was a beautiful spring morning, easily the warmest day she’d seen in Myrcia so far, which was fortunate, as Lily intended to find out how long a leash the Gramirens were giving their captive princess.
“Why don’t we go riding?” she said, when Elwyn greeted her over coffee and scones. “I hear you’re quite the huntress, so you must know all sorts of lovely places around here.”
Elwyn, practically giddy at the very notion, quickly changed into a riding dress, and they went to see Colonel Rath. He was momentarily at a loss for words, but quickly rallied and said they could go anywhere they liked, provided Elwyn was back by suppertime, and provided they took an “escort” along with them. Lily anticipated a troop of glowering guardsmen, but instead their companions turned out to be Lord Kevin Halifax, one of Baron Broderick’s squires, and Lady Karlina Selberssen, one of Baroness Muriel’s lady’s maids.
Karlina was a distant Annenstruker cousin of Muriel and Duke Lukas, and she seemed bored by everything. Kevin was an earnest, though not terribly bright, young man who brought along his lute and spent the entire ride trying to impress Karlina with his singing. Neither of them showed the slightest interest in anything Elwyn and Lily had to say.
Elwyn took charge of the little expedition. “There’s a beautiful pond in the woods out near Rogate,” she said. “It’s off the main road, so hardly anyone ever goes there.”
Outside the east gate, they stopped at an inn, the Crown and Shield, where they bought a hamper of cheese and cold meat for lunch, along with a very large bottle of strong mead, which Karlina started drinking almost immediately.
“Do you get the feeling they’re daring us to gallop off without them?” Lily whispered to Elwyn.
The princess smiled ruefully. “If only Edwin and Alice were here. And Rohesia, too, I suppose.”
Lily pulled a smaller bottle from her bag, full of sweet Immani Argitis. “None of that. Not today. You’re going to enjoy yourself.”
“I suppose I’d better,” said Elwyn, taking the bottle. “I don’t know when I’ll have a chance to do it again.”
By the time they reached the woods and dismounted, Karlina could barely stand, and Kevin finished the mead while trying to compose a song in her honor. Elwyn tied up the horses, and then after they’d had some lunch, she asked Lily if she’d like to take a walk.
It was a beautiful spot, with long beams of sunlight peeking through the bright new spring leaves. Wide beds of daffodils spread down to the water, where they mingled with cattails and iris. Far away across the pond, a pair of swans floated, impassive and serene, among ducks and geese.
“I like fishing here,” said Elwyn. “And sometimes I hunt over in the fields beyond that hill. Mostly it’s a place I like to come and be alone.”
“It’s a good place for it,” said Lily.
They sat on the bank, working their way slowly through the bottle of pale wine, and for a while they talked about Elwyn’s trip to the Empire, five years earlier. She had seen all the major sights of Presidium and Vinopolis, and she had been to a great many theaters. But she had taken the trip in the company of her governess, and Lily fancied there was a note of repressed longing in the girl’s voice, as if there had been things she had left undone.
The sun was high now, and Lily was glad for the shade under the trees, but there was hardly any breeze. She could feel the sweat trickling down her back and between her breasts and puddling under her chest cloth. It looked as if she would be a mess by the time they got back to where Karlina and Kevin were waiting.
“I wish I’d worn one of my cotton dresses today,” she told Elwyn.
The princess nodded. “Me, too.” She held up a velvet sleeve. “I wore this one because it’s dark gray, you see, and it’s almost like I’m in mourning. It makes me feel like I’m doing a little to resist—”
“No, you’re not allowed to talk about that,” Lily reminded her. “Later, yes. But not now.”
“I know, I know. But my point is I wouldn’t have worn this thing if I’d known it would be this hot.” She looked at the water, glassy smooth and still. “Can I tell you a secret? Sometimes I go swimming here in the summer. Rohesia would die of apoplexy if she knew.”
Lily had a marvelously wicked idea. “We could go swimming now, if you’d like.”
“You’re joking.” Elwyn looked at her, then covered her mouth with a hand. “You’re not joking, are you? Oh, but I can’t.”
Lily kicked off her boots and undid a couple of toggles at the bodice of her dress, grinning. “Don’t mind me. I’m Immani. We socialize in public bathhouses. You’re not going to shock me.”
Elwyn bit her lip, gazing longingly at the water. “Oh, Earstien.... Oh, fuck it. But don’t look at me while I’m undressing.”
Lily gave her word, and dutifully stepped to the other side of a bank of ferns to take off her own clothes. But she couldn’t keep her eyes from drifting over, and several times she fancied she almost caught Elwyn staring back.
The princess ran for the water, hunched over and covering herself with her hands before crouching down in the lake up to her chin. Lily followed at a more leisurely pace, smiling as she saw Elwyn turn to watch her.
“You’re very confident,” said Elwyn, her face growing red. “I couldn’t do that.”
“It takes practice,” said Lily, walking over and splashing her.
Elwyn sputtered, wiping her eyes, and gasped, “You bitch! That was totally unprovoked!” She stood up, still covering her chest with one arm, and splashed Lily back.
They raced around in the shallows for a while, fighting a running battle where Lily always had the advantage, as Elwyn still insisted on trying to preserve her modesty. Fighting one-handed, she plucked a long willow switch from an overhanging branch and used it to fend Lily off. It stung where it lashed Lily on the hip, and with a sudden lunge, she caught Elwyn’s wrist.
They struggled in the waist-deep water, feet sliding in the thick mud of the lake bottom as they grappled for control of the little branch.
Then Elwyn’s grip slackened. “If I let go,” she said, lips only inches from Lily’s face, “are you going to splash me again?”
“Maybe,” said Lily. “Maybe not. You’ll have to do it to find out.”
Elwyn’s cheeks flushed, and she was shivering slightly, as if she were cold. She let the branch drop, and then, with tentative fingers, she reached for Lily’s face. Lily closed her eyes, waiting for that first touch.
Suddenly Karlina’s voice broke the stillness, calling out over the lake, “Princess Elwyn? Miss Serrana? Are you there?” In a lower, though still clearly audible tone, she said, “Wake up, Kevin. We’ve got to go look for them.”
Lily and Elwyn sprinted for the bank, nearly falling over themselves, giggling frantically, and they barely got themselves back into their riding dresses before their minders found them.