He nudged his horse forwards. ‘Not about this we won’t.’
The last thing he saw was her determined face before she turned and headed for the house.
CHAPTER3
Queen Fayre did not indulge Eda. In fact, she would not even agree to see her to discuss it.
‘Yes, I delivered your letter to her personally,’ Lyndal assured her. ‘And as I’ve said three times now, she did not send a response.’
So Eda moved to plan B. Or rather she came up with a plan B, then moved to it. The next day, she implemented it. She was suspended forty feet from the ground on the royal borough wall when she started to doubt the plan. Her fingernails were bending backwards as she pressed herself flat against the stone, waiting for the footsteps to fade overhead. If the queen regent was not going to invite her in, then she was going to break in. Breaching the wall would give them some talking points.
Glancing once at the ground below, Eda drew a breath and continued her climb. Blake had made it over the wall once without falling, and she had been malnourished with half of Eda’s strength at the time.
Eda paused at the top, peering over the embrasure, arms and legs trembling. All was silent. She checked below her once more, ensuring no merchants or defenders on the ground had spotted her. Satisfied, she pulled herself up and over, looking both ways along the wall walk before dropping onto it. There was no time to waste. She ran straight to the other side, leaping up onto the embrasure so she was out of view. Peering down into the borough, she saw the ground was clear below. She had picked a spot away from the barracks to give herself the best chance of success.
How many times had she walked the grounds of the royal borough with her sister during their stay at Eldon Castle, imagining all the ways she could break in and out if she needed to? Now all that imaginative scheming was finally paying off.
Taking a few slow breaths, she lowered herself over the edge, feeling for uneven stone and crevices to anchor herself. She moved quickly, knowing every second she was on the wall increased her risk of being caught. When she was ten feet from the bottom, she let go and dropped to the ground. She landed with a soft thud, knees bent to ease the impact. She looked around, above, then tugged her hood up and stepped out from the shadows, heading to the main path that led to the castle. No one would question her so long as she looked confident, like she belonged there—until she reached the castle gate. Then the guard on duty would ask to see her papers. But that did not matter, because she was not going through the gate. She was going to enter via the secret entrance Roul had shown her the day she busted Lyndal out of her bedchamber.
The day King Borin had died.
Slightly less exciting than scaling a wall, but definitely the most sensible option.
She kept her head high as she walked, making eye contact with any defenders she passed along the way. Smiling. Saying good morning. They nodded back, assuming she was a maid or a cook on her way to work.
Eda turned off the path when the main gate came into sight, walking to the base of the wall and following the muddy path all the way to the small door located on the east wall. Roul had told her it was only used by defenders and those who knew of its existence. It was hidden beneath thick ivy that covered the lower half of the wall. The tread in the path is what gave away its location. Anyone with basic tracking skills could have found it.
She had just found the door’s latch when the sound of male voices on the other side made her freeze. There was nowhere for her to hide. She moved back, her mind racing. The door opened, and the men stepped through. They stopped talking when they spotted her.
‘What are you doing out here?’ asked the taller defender.
She glanced in the direction of the barracks. ‘Waiting like a fool for him to show up. It was all confessions of love in his bed last night but another matter in the sober light of day.’
The other defender grinned at the ground, but the man questioning her looked her up and down.
‘You work in the castle?’ he asked.
Eda nodded, praying he did not ask to see her papers. ‘In the kitchen.’ She reminded herself to breathe as she waited for his response.
‘What’s the defender’s name?’ he asked.
She hoped her face did not convey her panic. ‘You don’t really expect me to rat the man out, do you?’
He crossed his arms and waited.
Oh. She was never going to hear the end of this. ‘Roul Thornton. NowCommanderRoul Thornton.’
The defender’s face relaxed, his arms returning to his sides. ‘We’re heading to the barracks now. We’ll let him know you’re here. Name?’
There was no chance in hell she was giving them her real name. ‘Beatrice.’ She prayed to Belenus and any other listening god that Roul was nowhere to be found. He would lock her in the tower himself, and there would be a lot of angry family waiting for her when she got out.
The men continued on their way. The second they were out of sight, she ran to the door and pushed it open. Thankfully, no one was standing on the other side of it. She closed it behind her and moved quickly to the large tree in the middle of the lawn to collect herself and ensure the area was clear of defenders before proceeding.
She would enter the castle via the fountain court without drawing too much attention. From there she would climb the grand staircase to the terrace, where Queen Fayre would likely be playing chess with one of her ladies. Then she would share her daring plan to bring Prince Becket home.
Eda removed her cloak so as to better blend in, rolling it into a ball and tucking it at the base of the tree. She peered around the trunk, checking the area was clear before stepping out into the open once more. Walking quickly, she headed straight for the door ahead of her. She was ten feet from it when she heard a throat clear behind her. Sucking in a breath, she spun around. And there stood a slightly breathless Roul. His hands were tight fists, and she was sure she would melt beneath his coppery glare.
‘Hello, Beatrice,’ he said.
