“You didn’t include enough iron fittings,” John said, jabbing a finger toward my parchment.
“I have that on the next list,” I answered, turning the page to show him.
He leaned closer, trying again to find fault, and the maid passed behind him to dust the bookcase. She moved too quickly, likely anxious to finish and be gone. Her cloth swept across the shelf, and a small cloud of dust drifted down from above.
Some of it landed on Prince John’s hair and shoulder and he immediately exploded. He shot to his feet, his chair scraping against the floor, and struck the maid across the face. The sound cracked through the room as she cried out and stumbled backward, one hand flying to her cheek as she began apologizing over and over, but apologies did nothing to cool him. He advanced on her, shouting foul names and oaths as he struck again, at wherever he could reach.
I rose at once, intending to put myself between them, but before I could reach her, John stopped. His chest rose and fell with sharp breaths, and his face was flushed with fury.
“Out,” he shouted. “Get out!”
She didn’t need to be told again. The maid held both arms up near her face, where the red mark of his hand was already visible. She fled for the door, still apologizing through her tears.
“Never come back,” he bellowed after her, then slammed the door shut.
For a few seconds, Prince John did nothing but breathe hard and brush at the dust on his shoulders. I forced myself not to look toward the door or follow the maid and most of all, I didn’t let any of my disgust for John show.
After a few more angry huffs, John smoothed a hand over his hair and turned toward me. There was no remorse in his expression. There wasn’t a shred of guilt or embarrassment over what he had done. Instead, there was an unspoken challenge in his eyes, and I understood his intention almost immediately.
He wanted to see how I would react. He wanted to know whether I would object, or whether I was truly the sort of man my father had raised. He needed to know if I was the sort of man John could trust to carry out his will without flinching. The sort of man who saw violence against the powerless as discipline instead of cowardice. John would never confide in me unless he thought he could trust me implicitly.
My stomach turned over, but I smirked. “Serves her right,” I said. The words came out with sickening ease. “No one should ever treat you with anything less than the dignity you deserve. Anyone who does otherwise deserves to be beaten and dismissed immediately. I had to confine a servant girl to the pillory because she slighted Duke Leopold’s son recently.”
Prince John’s face twisted into a cruel smile. “I’m glad to see we agree, Sheriff. I trust you will carry out punishing the maid for her impudence?”
I bowed my head. “Of course, Your Majesty.”
He returned to the table as though nothing of consequence had happened. “Good. You can take care of that now.”
I inclined my head and walked out of his quarters with the same controlled stride I had used to enter. I wasn’t sure how much longer I could sit still and watch the cruelty in front of me. Any outrage on my part would only expose me and Laurel too soon.
The maid had vanished and no one lingered nearby, though I caught sight of two servants peeking from the end of the hall before they quickly vanished. Good. Let them hide. Let them fear me, if fear kept them away from John’s temper.
I sighed. I’d have to punish the maid before ordering the housekeeper to dismiss her—that was unavoidable. It pained me to know that her wages likely were a large contributor to her family’s financial security, and now they would struggle.
When I’d first begun working for my father, I’d dreamed of becoming just like him and serving Prince John, but now I despised every second. And I hated most of all, that Prince John had smiled at me as if we were the same. I was earning his trust, but at what cost?
LAUREL
The morning bell rang, and I jerked upright immediately.
After years of sleeping lightly and always ready for a fight at a moment’s notice, I couldn’t get used to that infernal bell. Each clang vibrated through my head and set my nerves on edge before I was even fully awake. Around me, the other girls barely stirred. Some remained dead asleep despite the noise, while others merely covered their exposed ears and burrowed deeper into their blankets, as if ignoring the bell would make the morning go away.
I got out of bed, pulled my blankets tight, and dressed quickly. Agnes was already walking the aisles, whipping blankets off girls, cracking her wooden spoon against bedposts and the occasional foot, and barking at everyone to wake up. Her eyes swept over my tidy sleeping area, and she gave an approving nod. “Well done, Isabella. Glad I can depend on someone to do things right.”
She began to move on, but I stepped forward before she could disappear down the row. “Beg your pardon, Agnes, but I heard a rumor that Gwendolyn left yesterday?”
Agnes’s mouth tightened. “Word travels too fast around here.”
I pressed on before she could dismiss me. “I’d be happy to help with her duties until you can find a permanent replacement.”
Agnes looked at me as though I had just offered to lick every floor in the castle clean. “Why? No one ever wants more work.”
I shrugged modestly and dropped my gaze to my shoes, trying to look more like a desperate, grateful servant girl. “I’m just worried I may oversleep one day and I want to be in your good graces if that ever happens. I really appreciate having this job, you know. I don’t want to lose it. My family needs the money I send back home.”
Agnes’s suspicion softened. That was one thing I had learned quickly among servants. Nearly everyone had someone somewhere depending on them, and the fear of losing wages was something Agnes understood too well to question. She smiled, and for once her expression was almost gentle. “You’re a good girl, Isabella, and yes, it would be very helpful if you took over Gwendolyn’s work. Tidy up in the dining hall after meals and clean the royal apartments in between. Just don’t annoy His Majesty. He has some volatile moods. That’s why Gwendolyn was dismissed.”
I bobbed a curtsy. “I won’t bother him.”
