Still, Sir Quentin said, with a sigh, at least you will not be alone in this.
Rupert stopped at that, staring at the other man.
Forgive me, Sir Quentin, Rupert said, pinching the bridge of his nose to stave off a headache, but why exactly are you here?
Sir Quentin turned to him. Im sorry, your highness, I should have said. My own position has become somewhat precarious at the moment.
Meaning that youre scared of my mothers anger if Im not around? Rupert said.
Wouldnt you be? Sir Quentin asked, breaking free from the carefully considered phrases of the politician for a moment. The way I see it, I can wait around for her to find an excuse to execute me, or I can pursue my familys business interests in the Near Colonies for a while.
He made it sound so simple: go to the Near Colonies, release Sebastian, wait for the furor to subside, and come back again looking suitably chastened. The trouble with that was simple: Rupert couldnt bring himself to do it.
He couldnt pretend to be sorry for something that had clearly been the right decision. He couldnt release his brother to take what was his. His brother didnt deserve to be free when hed all but executed a coup against Rupert, using some ruse or trick with their mother to persuade her to give him the throne.
I cant do it, Rupert said. I wont do it.
Your highness, Sir Quentin said, in that stupidly reasonable tone he had. Your mother will have sent word to the governor of the Near Colonies. He will be expecting your arrival, and will send back word if you are not there. Even if you were to run, your mother will send soldiers, not least to find out where Prince Sebastian is.
Rupert barely, barely, restrained himself from hitting the other man. It wasnt a good idea to strike your allies, at least while they were still useful.
And Rupert had thought of a way that Sir Quentin could be very useful. He looked around the accompanying group of officers until he found one with blond hair who seemed to be around the right size.
You, what is your name?
Aubry Chomley, your highness, the man said. His uniform had a captains insignia.
Well, Chomley, Rupert said, how loyal are you?
Completely, the other man said. I saw what you did against the New Army. You saved our kingdom, and you are the rightful heir to the throne.
Good man, Rupert said. Your loyalty does you credit, but now, I have a test of that loyalty.
Name it, the other man said.
I need you to swap clothes with me.
Your highness? The soldier and Sir Quentin managed to say it almost in unison.
Rupert managed not to sigh. Its simple. Chomley here will go with you to the boat. He will pretend to be me, and go with you to the Near Colonies.
The soldier looked as nervous at that as if Rupert had commanded him to charge a horde of the enemy.
Wont wont people notice? the man said. Wont the governor notice?
Why would he? Rupert asked. Ive never met the man, and Sir Quentin here will vouch for you. Wont you, Sir Quentin?
Sir Quentin looked back and forth from Rupert to the soldier, obviously trying to calculate the course of action most likely to keep him his head.
This time, Rupert did sigh. Look, its simple. You go to the Near Colonies. You vouch for Chomley as me. Since Im still here, that gives us a chance to get together the support we need. Support that could bring you back far quicker than if you start waiting for my mother to forget a slight.
That part seemed to catch the other mans attention. He nodded. Very well, Sir Quentin said. Ill do it.
And you, Captain? Rupert asked. Or should I say General?
It took a moment for that to sink in. He saw Chomley swallow.
Anything you require, your highness, the man said.
It took a matter of minutes to find an empty building among the warehouses and the boat sheds, changing clothes with the captain so that now Chomley looked well, frankly, nothing like a prince of the realm, but with Sir Quentins recommendation it should be enough.
Go, Rupert commanded them, and they went, accompanied by about half of the soldiers to make it seem more authentic. He looked around at the others, considering what he would do next.
There was no question of leaving Ashton, but he would have to move carefully now until he was ready. Sebastian was safe enough where he was for the time being. The palace was big enough that he would be able to keep away from his mother for a while at least. He knew he had support. It was time to find out how much, and how much power it could buy him.
Come on, he told the others. Its time to work out how we take what should be mine.
CHAPTER SIX
I am Lady Emmeline Constance Ysalt DAngelica, Marchioness of Sowerd and Lady of the Order of the Sash! Angelica shouted out, hoping that someone would hear her. Hoping that her full name would demand attention if nothing else did. I am being taken to be killed against my will!
The guard dragging her didnt look concerned by it, which said to Angelica that there was no real chance of anyone hearing her. No one who would help, at least. In a place with as many cruelties as the palace, the servants were long used to ignoring cries for help, to being blind and deaf unless their betters told them not to be.
I will not let you do this, Angelica said, trying to dig in her heels and hold her ground. The guard simply pulled her along anyway, the size difference too great. She struck out at him instead, and connected hard enough that her hand stung with it. For a moment the guards grip relaxed, and Angelica turned to run.
The guard was on her in moments, grabbing at her and striking her so that Angelicas head rang with it.
You cant you cant strike me, she said. People will know. You want to make this look like an accident!
He slapped her again, and Angelica had the feeling that he did it simply because he could.
After youve fallen from a building, no one will notice a bruise, he said. He snatched her up then, carrying her over his shoulder as easily as if she were a wayward child. Angelica had never felt as helpless as she did in that moment.
Scream again, he warned, and Ill hit you again.
Angelica didnt, if only because it didnt seem likely to make any difference. She hadnt seen anyone on the way here, either because everyone was still busy with the wedding that hadnt happened or because the Dowager had carefully kept them out of the way in preparation for this. Angelica wouldnt put that past her. The old woman planned as patiently and as cruelly as a cat waiting outside a mouse hole.
You dont have to do this, Angelica said.
The guard replied with just a shrug that jostled her in her place on his shoulder. They went up through the palace, along winding staircases that narrowed more the further up they went. At one point, the guard had to set Angelica down just to get through, but he kept a cruel hold on her hair, dragging her along with a sharpness that made Angelica cry out in pain.
You could just let me go, Angelica said. No one would know.
The guard snorted at that. No one would notice when you just popped back up at court, or in your familys home? The Dowagers spies wouldnt know you were alive?
I could leave, Angelica tried. The truth was that she would probably have to leave if she was going to live. The Dowager wouldnt stop at just this attempt on her life. My family has interests so far across the sea that theres hardly ever news. I could disappear.
I could leave, Angelica tried. The truth was that she would probably have to leave if she was going to live. The Dowager wouldnt stop at just this attempt on her life. My family has interests so far across the sea that theres hardly ever news. I could disappear.
The guard didnt seem any more impressed by that idea than the last. And when some spy mentions you? No, I reckon Ill do my duty.
I could give you money, Angelica said. They were getting higher now. So high that, looking out of the slender windows, she could see the city arranged like some childs toy below. Maybe that was how the Dowager saw it: as a toy to be arranged for her amusement.
It meant that they must be almost at the roof, too.
Dont you want money? Angelica demanded. A man like you cant earn much. I could give you enough wealth that youd be a rich man.
Cant give me anything if youre dead, the guard pointed out. And I cant spend it if I am.
There was a small door ahead, iron bound, with a simple latch. Angelica thought that the route to her death should have more drama to it, somehow. Even so, just the sight of it made her fear rise again, making her pull back even while the guard dragged her forward.
If Angelica had possessed a dagger, she would have used it while he unlatched the door and opened it to let the cold air beyond rip at them. If shed had so much as a sharp eating knife, she would have at least tried to cut his throat with it, but she didnt. In her wedding dress, she didnt. The most she had were a couple of powders designed to refresh her makeup, a sedative snuff that was supposed to be there for the threat of nerves, and that was it. That was all she had. Everything else was below somewhere, tucked away against the conclusion of her wedding.
Please, she begged, and there didnt have to be much acting to it to look helpless, if money wont do it, then what about decency? Im just a young woman, caught up in a game I didnt want. Please help me.
The guard pulled her out onto the roof. It was flat, with crenulations that had nothing to do with real defense. The wind whipped at Angelicas hair.
Do you expect me to believe any of that? the guard asked. That youre just some innocent little thing? You know the stories they tell about you around the palace, milady?
Angelica knew most of them. She made a point of knowing what people said about her so that she could have revenge for the slight later.
They say that youre vain and youre cruel. That youve ruined people just for speaking to you in the wrong tone, and arranged for rivals to be shipped off with a mark of indenture tattooed on them where it wasnt before. You think you deserve mercy?
Those are lies, Angelica said. Theyre
I dont much care either way. He pulled her over toward the parapet. The Dowager has given me my orders.
And what will she do when youve fulfilled them? Angelica demanded. Do you think shell let you live? If the Assembly were to find out that she murdered a noblewoman, shed be deposed.
The big man shrugged. Ive killed for her before.
He said it as though it was nothing, and Angelica knew then that she was going to die. Whatever she said, whatever she tried, this man was going to murder her. By the look of it, he was going to enjoy it as well.
He pushed Angelica back toward the edge, and she knew it would just be moments before she fell. Inexplicably, she found herself thinking about Sebastian, and the thoughts werent the hate-filled ones they should have been, given the way hed abandoned her. Angelica couldnt understand why that would be the case, when he was nothing but the man shed targeted as a husband to further her position, a man shed been prepared to lure into bed with a sleeping powder
An idea came to her. It was a desperate one, but right then, everything was desperate.
I could offer you something more valuable than money, Angelica said. Something better.
The guard laughed, but even so, he paused. What?
Angelica reached down to her belt, drawing out the small snuff box of sedative, lifting it as if it were the most precious thing in the world. The guard let her, staring almost entranced as he tried to work out what it was. Very delicately, Angelica opened the box.
What is it? the guard demanded. It looks like
Angelica blew sharply, sending a scattering of powder into his face as he gasped. She cut left as he grabbed for her, hoping to dodge past while he was still dealing with the powder in his eyes. One meaty hand clamped on her arm, and the two of them pressed back toward the edge of the palaces roof.
Angelica didnt know what effect the sedative would have. It had worked quickly whenever shed used it, but it was normally a thing of small doses and minor effects. How much would such a large dose do to a man that size, and would she have enough time before it happened? Already, Angelica could feel the edge of the roof against her back, the sky visible as the big man pushed at her.
Ill kill you! the guard bellowed, and the best Angelica could say about it was that his words came out slightly slurred. Was his grip weakening? Was the pressure pushing her back any less?
She was tilted back so much now that she could see the ground below her, and a scattering of servants and nobles. Another second, and she would be falling, to crash to the cobbles of the courtyard and smash as surely as a dropped goblet.
In that second, Angelica felt the guards grip weaken. Not much, but enough for her to twist and slip by him, putting him with his back to the empty sky.
You should have taken the money, she said, and charged forward, shoving with all her might. The guard teetered on the edge for a second, then toppled back, his arms flailing at the air.
Not just the air. One managed to catch at her, and Angelica found herself jerked forward, to the edge and over it. She screamed, grabbing for anything she could find. Her fingers found a piece of stonework, lost their grip, and then found it again while the guard continued to tumble below her. Angelica looked down just long enough to follow his fall to the ground. She felt a brief moment of satisfaction as he hit, quickly replaced by the terror that came from hanging from the side of the castle.
Angelica scrabbled for handholds, trying to find something more to hold onto. Her feet hung in thin air for a moment, then managed to find purchase on the rough sides of a stone-wrought heraldic shield. Angelica noted with faint amusement that it was the royal crest, but also couldnt help feeling relief at the fact it was there. Without it, she would undoubtedly now be as dead as the Dowager wished her to be.
The climb back up onto the roof seemed to take forever, Angelicas muscles burning with the unexpected effort. Below, she could hear screams now, as people started to gather around the fallen guard. No doubt, some of them would be looking up, seeing her as she made it back onto the roof, toppling over and lying there, breathing hard.
Get up, she told herself. Youre dead if you stay here. Get up.
She forced herself to her feet, trying to think. The Dowager had tried to kill her. The obvious thing to do was run, because who could stand up to the Dowager? She needed to find a way out of the palace, perhaps make it to the docks and set off for her familys lands overseas. That or sneak out through one of the citys smaller routes, avoiding any watchers that had been set and making it out into the country. Her family was powerful, with the kind of friends who could raise questions in the Assembly of Nobles over this, who would