‘I’m unarmed,’ she breathed. Then she felt the points of two swords in her back.
The queen regent sat stiff in her chair, staring. ‘Eda Suttone.’
‘Oh good,’ she puffed. ‘You remember me.’
Fayre looked past her to where Roul was now standing, telling the guards to take it easy. ‘Good morning, Commander.’
‘Your Majesty,’ Roul replied awkwardly.
Fayre’s eyes returned to Eda. ‘Can I trust you to behave if I tell my guards to sheathe their weapons?’
Eda kept her hands up. ‘Absolutely. I only came to talk.’
Queen Fayre nodded to her guards, and the pressure on Eda’s back eased.
‘I gather you were not aware of Ms Suttone’s plans to visit either, Commander?’ Fayre asked Roul.
‘No, Your Majesty. I’m happy to escort her out.’
Eda dared a glance back at him. His face was red and jaw clenched.
‘Leave us.’ Fayre looked to her stunned opponent, who was frozen in her chair. ‘I am afraid we shall need to finish our game later.’
Eda had forgotten there was someone else there. The woman rose from her chair, curtsied, then rushed off. The queen’s guards wandered to the far end of the terrace. Eda could feel Roul’s eyes on her as he turned and left. Only then did she lower her hands.
‘Forgive my interruption,’ Eda began.
‘I forgive nothing, Ms Suttone. Now, tell me how you got into the royal borough without an invitation from me. I gather from Commander Thornton’s face that he was not your ally.’
‘Quite the opposite.’ Eda was not invited to sit, so she remained standing. ‘I climbed over the wall.’
‘You climbed a forty-foot wall? With what?’
Eda held up her hands again. ‘With these.’
Fayre’s eyes moved over her bloodied fingernails. ‘Why?’
‘To follow up on the letter I sent you.’ She wet her lips. ‘I would very much like to go to Harlech Castle and bring your son home.’
Fayre leaned back in her chair, watching Eda. ‘So you said in your letter. There is a reason you received no response from me.’ She straightened one of the chess pieces on the board. ‘You see, I cannot in good conscience send you to your death.’
Disappointment sat heavy in Eda’s chest. ‘But I can do this. Who else will you send if not me? If you send soldiers, they’ll be slaughtered before they reach the castle. Or an advisor? If by some miracle they survive the journey, Prince Becket won’t receive them.’
‘And he will receive you?’
Eda nodded. ‘Just tell me who you want me to be. A merchant, a noble lady, a relative, a maid at the castle. I’ll be whatever you need me to be.’ She took a small step forwards. ‘I’ll find a way in.’
‘So that is what this little display is all about.’ She drew a tired breath. ‘Even if my son did not turn you away at the gate, there is the matter of the royal family. They have their own agenda and will not appreciate any interference.’
Eda only shrugged. ‘Welcomed or not, I promise you I’ll get inside. Give me a few minutes alone with the prince, and I’ll tell him exactly who I am and explain all the reasons he needs to return to Chadora.’
The queen regent looked her up and down. ‘Does your family know you are here?’
‘No. Though they won’t be too surprised to learn of it.’
Fayre was silent as she stared at Eda, then said, ‘The safest route would be via ship. However, if a Chadorian ship were to anchor in Gwynedd, it would likely be attacked before its occupants had a chance to disembark. That leaves horseback.’
‘Then you’re in luck, because I ride very well.’
