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The one thing Lily had been looking forward to at the party had been seeing Elwyn. It was maddening how they hadn’t seen each other alone after that moment in the lake. Lily had to admit she was secretly glad they’d been interrupted. That had almost gotten completely out of control. But a few minutes to talk to the lovely princess, to stand close and maybe touch her hand, would have been nice. No more than that, certainly. This was a mission and Moira was counting on her, so she had to stay professional.
Unfortunately, before Lily could find an opportunity to talk to Elwyn alone, Pellus had gotten into a drunken argument with some Gramiren supporters who wanted him to promise money and weapons for their cause. Sir William Aitken had come over, trying to keep the peace, and Pellus had threatened to fight him. Fortunately, Sir William hadn’t taken the threat seriously, and Lily was able to get the senator back to the inn before he did anything else stupid. But that meant missing out on seeing Elwyn.
Late the next morning, while Pellus snored his way through his hangover, she went back up to the castle, hoping for a few quiet minutes with the girl. But when she got up to Elwyn’s apartment, she discovered the princess was out.
Sir Robert Tynsdale, sitting by the stairwell, apparently on guard, gave her the news. “Baroness Muriel stopped by a few hours ago and said she was taking her royal highness to get new dresses.”
“Did she say exactly where they were going?” Lily already knew the addresses of most of the city’s best tailors and seamstresses.
“I’m sorry, but no. And after that, I think Muriel wanted to take the princess calling on some friends.”
Tynsdale grimaced, and Lily understood him to mean friends of the Gramirens, not friends of Elwyn. That poor girl. Lily would gladly have gone to find her and help her bear the burden, but Baroness Muriel would probably have found that rather strange, perhaps even rude.
“By the way,” Tynsdale continued, “I saw your senator friend having words with Sir William Aitken last night.”
“Yes,” sighed Lily. “Is Sir William around? I should probably see him and apologize on the senator’s behalf.”
Tynsdale leaned back and laughed. “I wouldn’t worry about hurting Sir William Aitken’s feelings. He’s far less sensitive than you might think. He’s quite dangerous. You might want to keep an eye on him. I must say your senator seems like a very odd choice for an envoy.”
“It’s true; he’s not very diplomatic.”
“You seem far more resourceful than him. I don’t suppose you happen to know Legate Faustinus, do you?”
Oh, gods. Were people already starting to figure out that she worked for Faustinus and Moira? Was she being that obvious? “I’ve met the man at parties here and there. Why do you ask?”
“No reason,” said Tynsdale with a smirk. “I was just wondering. Anyway, William Aitken is not at the castle today. I could tell you where he lives, though. He and his wife and son live in a little apartment on Shieldworten Street, over the forge of a man named Philip Rowley.”
“Thank you, that’s very helpful.”
Lily wasn’t quite sure why he was telling her this. She knew Tynsdale was of the queen’s party, and William was of Baron Broderick’s. It seemed Tynsdale was keeping a very close eye on William, but why Lily needed to know that was beyond her.
“Not at all. I thought it might be useful. If you found yourself having to protect the senator, I mean.”
She laughed uneasily. “The only thing I can do to protect him is to make sure he stays at the card tables in the future.”
“Oh, I think you could do a great deal more than that, if you wanted to,” said Tynsdale with a wink.
Lily curtsied to him and left, feeling thoroughly confused and flustered. She was nearly all the way back to her inn before it occurred to her that Tynsdale might be hoping she would have to fight William. Maybe even kill him. The callousness and duplicity of it shocked her, and she resolved to avoid Tynsdale as much as possible in the future.
At the inn, Pellus was awake and bathing furiously. “I got a message from the diplomatic legate. Apparently we’re supposed to go up to the castle and let Broderick know that the Empire still regards Edwin Sigor as the rightful king. I don’t know why I have to be there. I think the legate is too much of a coward to face Broderick alone.”
“That’s wonderful news!” said Lily. “Do you mind if I ride up with you?” Even if Elwyn wasn’t back from her visits with Muriel, Lily could still leave her a note to let her know that the Empire wasn’t going to abandon her brother. The poor girl needed some good news in her life.
Pellus frowned. “Weren’t you just there? Do you really find those people so fascinating that you can’t say goodbye? Oh well. You can ride with us if you want.” Then he pointed over to her trunk, where a small, sealed envelope was waiting. “By the way, the legate brought that for you.”
Lily raced over and tore open the message, which of course was from Moira. The first part repeated the wonderful news that the Empire would continue to back the Sigors, but the last section turned unexpectedly grim.
If you can’t find a way to make the queen regent again, you might want to consider getting out of the city. We could fall back to Terminium and regroup. Give Pellus any excuse you can think of, though I doubt he’ll need an excuse. Things are getting very dangerous here in Myrcia, and your safety is important to us.
Yours,
Prefect M
Lily shook her head violently. She couldn’t leave, no matter the danger. She couldn’t abandon Elwyn like that. Moira was very sweet to worry, but things surely weren’t as bad as that yet. No, the Prefect was being overly cautious. Lily tossed the letter in the fire and watched it burn.
“Not good news, I’m guessing,” observed Pellus.
“Some silliness from a friend of mine,” said Lily.
Even if she had been allowed to tell him what the letter had said, she wouldn’t have. Moira was probably right that he would have seized on any reason at all to leave Myrcia. Good thing he was too uninterested in other people’s lives to bother snooping through her mail.
She sat down and wrote a note to leave for Elwyn while Pellus dressed, but when she got back up to the castle, it turned out there was no need to leave a message. When she arrived at the royal apartments on the fourth floor, she heard female voices, one of which was now achingly familiar to her.
Sir Robert Tynsdale, still standing guard, smiled and ushered her in. “Good thing you came back,” he said.
Elwyn sat in her bedroom amid piles of bright dresses and shoe boxes tied up with silk ribbons. She was scowling at them, arms crossed, while her lady’s maid, Phoebe, bustled around, talking about where they could fit all the new clothes in Elwyn’s wardrobes. The moment Elwyn saw Lily, though, her whole face seemed to glow, and she jumped to her feet.
“Oh, I’m so glad you’re here,” she said. “Sir Robert said I’d missed you. I’ve had the most horrible morning, and the thought that I could have spent it with you, instead, was unbearable.” She rushed over and took Lily’s hand, running a thumb over the back of it.
“I have news, your royal highness,” said Lily, turning and glancing toward the lady’s maid.
“Phoebe, could you excuse us, please?” asked Elwyn. “And um...,” she blushed, “shut the door, if you could.”
When Phoebe was gone, Lily told the princess the news that Pellus and the diplomatic legate were presumably delivering to Baron Broderick at that very same moment. Elwyn was so happy she dropped Lily’s hand and did a little dance all around her room.
“Oh, thank you, thank you,” she said, eyes bright now with tears. “You’re such a good friend.”
“I’d like to take credit for this, but I really can’t.”
“Nonsense. You’re too modest. Oh, thank you so much.”
Elwyn rushed and wrapped her tight in her arms, pulling her close until Lily almost couldn’t breathe. After trying to resist, she put her hands on Elwyn’s back, on that warm, rich velvet and the long row of laces along that graceful curve leading down. Lily could barely stop herself from continuing lower.
Elwyn pushed back slightly. Her eyes were wide, her sharp cheekbones flushed. She was panting like she’d been running. Before Lily could say a word, the princess lunged forward again and kissed her, hard, on the mouth. Her lips parted, and she let out a tiny moan. Lily responded by slipping her tongue into the girl’s mouth and pulling her even closer. She didn’t bother trying to stop herself now from running her hands everywhere. And she felt Elwyn’s hands kneading at her. Lily knew in a second or two, she would completely lose control and try to drag the princess into bed.
Then Elwyn stepped away and slapped her hands over her mouth. “Oh, Earstien,” she whispered through her fingers. “Oh, Earstien, I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have done that. I’m sorry, I don’t know what I was thinking.”
“You don’t have to apologize,” said Lily. The two girls looked at each other, breath coming in heaving gasps, and then Lily took a step closer, reaching for the laces of the princess’s bodice.
There was a knock, and before Elwyn could ask who was there, the door burst open, revealing Princess Alice and Mrs. Ripley, the nurse. “New dresses, new dresses!” the little girl was chanting.
Elwyn’s face went white with terror for a second, then she let out a snort of stifled laughter. With a hand over her mouth, she whispered, “Oh, my word. I totally forgot I promised Alice I would show her my new dresses when I got back.”
Alice asked if “the pretty Immani lady” would be staying for the fashion show, but Lily expressed her regrets. “I should really get going,” she said, smiling and backing out the door. “Senator Pellus will be looking for me.”
Elwyn came after her and stopped her in the hall. “You’re not mad at me, are you?”
“Of course not,” she said, taking the girl’s hand and squeezing it. “But I really do have to go. I’ll see you again soon, I hope.”
She went back downstairs, still thinking of how the kiss had felt and wishing they had done more. But she was also starting to feel the first pangs of regret and embarrassment.
“Oh, gods. That was such a bad idea,” she thought. “This is going to make everything so much more difficult now.”