“William, miss,” he said. “Mr. Berwick said I was to escort you to the dining room. It’s awfully easy to get lost in this castle.”

“It’s big, isn’t it?”

“Huge,” William said feelingly. “The time it takes just to bring the linens round about, well, you wouldn’t countenance it.”

They made their way down some stairs, through the portrait gallery, down the main stairs. “Shouldn’t we be going down by the servants’ stairs?” she asked.

He glanced at her. “Not you, miss.”

Philippa didn’t know quite what to say to that, so she jiggled Jonas against her shoulder—which had no effect whatsoever on his wails—and followed William through the vast entrance hall to the dining room.

When she entered the room, she was very relieved to find that it wasn’t a cavernous formal space but a tidy little room with a table set for six. What’s more, Kate was the only person in it. She rose the moment the door opened and hurried toward them. “I wanted to come to the nursery, but my foolish husband forced me to wait for you here instead. How is he?”

“Just fine,” Philippa said. “He’s hungry, as you can hear, but I think he feels a little better.”

Kate cocked her head. “You can hear a difference?”

“Yes,” Philippa said, though in reality she wasn’t at all sure. Being a nursemaid was making her into a terrible fibber. “He’s saying he’s hungry, but not in pain.” She said it firmly, the way her father would say, England’s coast is undefended. A fact.

Kate reached out and took her baby. “There’s my sweetheart,” she cooed. “I’ll just take him to my sitting room and feed him.”

She left, and Philippa drew in a long breath and reached up to check her hair. She’d pinned it on the back of her head, but it felt as if it might all tumble down her back any moment.

Just then the door opened, and Mr. Berwick entered.

“William left me here,” she said, feeling foolishly out of place.

“Where’s Jonas?”

“The princess took him to her sitting room in order to feed him. She’ll bring him back in a moment, then I’ll go straight back to the nursery,” she promised.

“You won’t,” he said, walking around the table and straightening a napkin. “You are eating with the prince and princess tonight.”

“I really shouldn’t—”

“A place for you has already been set,” he said, cutting her off. “We’ll be joined by Princess Sophonisba, the prince’s great aunt, who will undoubtedly appear in an inebriated state, which is merely a hint at what will happen after she has had more to drink during supper.”