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Chapters (46)
  1. ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
  2. PROLOGUE
  3. 1
  4. 2
  5. 3
  6. 4
  7. 5
  8. 6
  9. 7
  10. 8
  11. 9
  12. 10
  13. 11
  14. 12
  15. 13
  16. 14
  17. 15
  18. 16
  19. 17
  20. 18
  21. 19
  22. 20
  23. 21
  24. 22
  25. 23
  26. 24
  27. 25
  28. 26
  29. 27
  30. 28
  31. 29
  32. 30
  33. 31
  34. 32
  35. 33
  36. 34
  37. 35
  38. 36
  39. 37
  40. 38
  41. 39
  42. 40
  43. 41
  44. 42
  45. 43
  46. EPILOGUE

Evelina had stopped listening to the woman’s yammering. A rival! Evelina didn’t believe for one moment that this marriage had been arranged without Marcus’s knowledge. He knew! He’d used her! He’d made her fall in love with him! The wormwood in his wine was suddenly justified. Her fisherman lover faded conveniently from her mind. Marcus was a prince. He could do what he wanted. If he wanted to marry her, he had only to make it a royal decree or a royal edict or a papal bull or whatever and it would happen. Who would dare tell him no? It was this other woman. The thin, pasty-faced little slut. She was the reason he wouldn’t marry her.

All this flashed through Evelina’s mind in a second. The Queen was still talking, saying something about Marcus riding off to war, but that she would be safe in the castle. All the ladies of the court were remaining.

Evelina said, in a half-choked voice, “Including the Lady Izabelle?”

“Yes, but don’t worry. The castle is quite a large place. The two of you do not ever have to meet—”

“Oh, I would like to meet her, Your Majesty,” said Evelina softly.

The Queen departed. Axe-Face returned.

When Evelina told the woman, experimentally, that she would like to have some air, Axe-Face marched her up and down an empty corridor, never taking her eyes off her, not permitting her to speak to anyone, making certain no one spoke to her. Then Axe-Face returned Evelina to her room, shut the door, and locked it.

Evelina understood. While she was in the palace, she would be a prisoner. They would not let her talk to Marcus or even see him.

Evelina snuggled into her warm, dry bed that night and said to herself softly, “We’ll see about that.”

32

THE NEXT MORNING, MARCUS AND HIS FATHER AND A SMALL contingent of knights and footsoldiers left the city. They traveled light, marching swiftly for the border that separated Idylswylde from her neighbor Weinmauer and also from Dragonkeep. The nearest outpost was Aston Castle, home of Crown Prince Wilhelm, Marcus’s eldest half-brother. King Edward had sent the prince an urgent message, telling him as much of the truth as he thought his son likely to believe, commanding him to send his troops to the northwest, toward the hitherto unknown city of Dragonkeep, where the prince was to deploy his men as he saw fit.