The Decoy Princess

by Dawn Cook

  Working in shadow, Thadd barred the door with his sword. Looking about, he shoved the heavy dress-up wardrobe in front of it. It wasn’t much, but I felt better. He strode to the largest window and opened the shutters. A chill wind shifted my hair. The moon would be up soon. “We can get to her from here?” he asked, leaning out.

  “Yes.” I set my pack on the too-short table and pulled out the knotted rope. Striding to the westernmost window, I opened the shutters and looked over. Down and to the left, the window of my sitting room beckoned with a bright square of light.

  “Good,” I whispered. Tight with tension, I went to the wooden hatch in the wall that opened to a hollow chimney leading to the servants’ kitchen. There was a box and pulley that I had once rode up and down in before Kavenlow found out and had it removed. I tucked the end of the rope behind the iron hook that latched it closed, drawing it through until one of the knots I had tied caught. I gave it a tug, and it bumped through. A frown crossed me. I hoped the knots wouldn’t be a problem. Usually I shimmied down a double length of rope, then pulled the one end back through once I reached my room. The knots might make that difficult. Giving Thadd a worried look, I drew the rest through, knotting the ends together before I lowered it over the sill.

  Thadd looked uncertain. “It will hold?” he said, and I nodded, giving it a tug. Unconvinced, he set his mallet down and took a long pull on the twin lengths as if he were trying to draw a net from the water.

  A rattle at the door pulled our heads up. Thadd’s hand went to his mallet. We stared at each other, afraid to speak. “Hey,” someone called faintly. “You need help in there?”

  “You go first,” Thadd whispered, then louder, “The door is stuck!”

  I bobbed my head and scrambled onto the sill. My sword smacked into my leg, and seeing as his was barring the door, I gave it to him. Excitement thrilled through me as I swung my legs over. There were lights at the rose patio and the mews. My breath caught when I thought I saw Jeck’s silhouette by a bonfire where the gardener’s shed once was. I started down, faster than usual because of the knots and Duncan’s trousers.

  “Hurry, Tess,” Thadd called in a whisper as he leaned out the window. “I don’t think they believe me that the door is stuck.”

  Swallowing, I turned back to the cold stone and shimmied down to the sill of my sitting room. No one was there. Not even a guard. Reassuring myself, I swung my leg over and dropped to the floor. Breath held, I listened. Nothing.

  I sat up as the rope slipped from the sill and back into the night to hang from the nursery window. I peered out to find Thadd already on his way. At least the guards hadn’t gained the nursery yet. A feminine sniff from my bedchamber brought my head up.

  “Contessa?” I whispered, shocked when instead of her, an old guard bolted out of my bedchamber with his sword drawn. We stared at each other for a heartbeat.

  I reached for my dart tube. He took a breath to call out. I darted his neck, hitting him perfectly. Backing to the window, I fitted Kavenlow’s last metal dart into the tube. I had nothing left. He would call for help before the venom took effect. I had failed.

  There was a dull thunk, and he groaned. Eyes rolling to the back of his head, the man started to topple. Behind him with a fireplace shovel raised high over her shoulder was Contessa, white-faced and frightened.

  I lunged forward to catch him. Any noise would bring more men in from the hallway. He was heavy, and I only managed to slow his fall. We went down together. My breath whooshed out as he pinned me to the floor, and I frantically tried to push him off. My dart tube rolled from my grasp, lost in the folds of the rug.

  “Tess!” the princess whispered, setting the shovel down and pulling on the guard. “Are you all right? What are you doing here? Garrett wants to kill you! He’s absolutely insane!”

  “Is this the only one?” I gasped, struggling to get out from under him and sit up.

  “The only one in here.” Her eyes were wide, and a flush was on her cheeks. “There are three others outside the door,” she said breathlessly. “Bird feathers! You’re dressed like a man!” Her hand went to her hair, an unspoken question in her eyes about the new color of mine.

  She gasped as her attention was drawn to the window and her face was lit by the sudden love in her eyes. Elation, hope, and desire all swirled together, making her look like her statue in the garden come to life. I knew without turning Thadd was at the window. Pain struck deep within me. I couldn’t love anyone. They would only be used against me.

  “Thadd!” she exclaimed in a hushed voice, rushing to him with a little sob. I was left to wiggle out from under the guard alone. I didn’t watch, telling myself it was so they could have a moment of privacy but knowing it was because it would hurt too much.

  “I thought I’d never see you again,” Thadd said, his voice muffled. “Did he touch you? Are you all right?”

  Trying to ignore her tear-strewn whispers, I crawled to the ends of the rope and struggled to get the knot out. I had to pull the rope through before the guards gained the nursery and followed it down.

  Seeing what I was doing, Thadd put his hands upon Contessa’s shoulders, firmly sitting her down upon my couch. As tears silently slid across her cheeks, he took his knife and sawed through the rope. It gave way with a snap. I backed up as Thadd pulled upon one end. It hesitated, then surged free. It caught again, and his muscles bunched.

  “The rope!” came a faint call. “Get the rope!”

  Frantic, I reached to help, but Thadd pulled as if heaven was on the other end, almost falling when the rope jerked free. It writhed past the window to hang to the ground.

  From the nursery, the guards redoubled their noise. It wouldn’t be long until they figured out what room we had entered and would be down here.

  Heart pounding, I leapt to my door and carefully set the lock. It eased into place with a well-greased silence. Jeck would have the key, but we had a few moments more.

  “Out the window, Contessa,” Thadd said, and tied the remaining end of the rope to the leg of the couch. His eyes were wide and his thick hands shook. “Just a short ways down.”

  “Tess first,” she demanded.

  “Go to the cellblock,” I told Thadd, ignoring her. “You’ll be safe there.”

  Thadd scooped her up and set her on the sill. Giving him a dark look, the princess pushed him away, moving his compact bulk with a single finger. “You’re coming, too,” she said tersely to me.

  I glanced at the door. Jeck was going to burst in at any moment. I knew it. “I said I was going to kill Garrett, and I will,” I said, handing her my knife. She needed something, and I had my dart—somewhere. “Take this, and get out.”

  Her jaw stiffened as she refused it. “You’re not going to kill that man, not even for our parents. It will start a war, and you know it. You’re going to come with us until we can free the outer garrisons and retake the palace.”

  “If I had wanted to involve our army, I would have freed them ten days ago,” I said sharply. “I can take back the palace with only one man’s death. Get out.”

  “Please, Contessa,” Thadd pleaded, his large hands opening and closing helplessly. “It was so hard to get to you. Please don’t ruin everything with your stubbornness.”

  Her eyes flashed, and red spots appeared on her cheeks. “I’m ordering you as your sovereign,” she said. “You will not try to retake the palace. You will escape with us.”

  I glared at her. Who was she to tell me what to do? Behind her, Thadd fidgeted. “Just say you will,” he mouthed, his expression pleading.

  Frustration fought with pride, and I drew my anger in. “I’ll follow you,” I said, and Thadd visibly relaxed. When I’m good and ready, I added silently.

  She frowned warily at me, weighing the validity of my words against my defiant look. The expression would have looked cross on me. On her, it looked charming.

  A soft conversation in the hall drew our attention. I recognized Garrett’s voice, and my sto
mach clenched.

  “Now, Contessa,” Thadd said as the knob rattled. “If not for you, then your kingdom.”

  I couldn’t have said it better myself. The princess’s protest shifted to fear when the rattle turned into a pounding. Her leg went over the sill and she looked toward the dark ground. She gave me a last look, then bowed her head and started down.

  “I’m not coming. Make sure she takes this,” I said as I pressed my knife into his hands.

  “Thank you,” Thadd said. Then he was gone.

  I anxiously watched them descend, going jittery when I thought I saw Jeck running from the bonfire. He must have finally heard the guards at the nursery window.

  The conversation in the hall continued with terse answers to Garrett’s barked questions. The pale face of the princess was a spot of white as she looked up. Thadd reached the ground and took her arm and ran her away. I silently pulled the knot free from the sitting couch, and the rope slid from the room. I wasn’t going anywhere.

  Thirty-four

  The sound Of my lock turning pulled my head up. Garrett had the key? I wasn’t ready yet! For an instant I thought to jump out the window but knew I would nearly kill myself. I had lost my chance, and I panicked as the door opened to show a slice of lamp-lit hall and Garrett’s shoulder.

  “I tell you what to do, not that damned-fool captain,” he said caustically. He was framed by the open doorway, his back to me. “One of you in here with me is enough. Stay out.”

  He turned. Our eyes met. Surprise froze his fair features, then a slow, wicked smile curved over him. Chu pits, I thought, but Garrett said nothing to the unseen guards as he crossed the threshold and confidently pushed the door shut with a single hand. The latch clicked shut. He reached behind him and locked the door, slipping the thick key into his pocket.

  My fingers twitched to reach for my missing dart pipe. I didn’t dare even shift my eyes to look for it. My heart raced. This was not what I had planned.

  “Oh, this is nice,” he said, his eyes going to the guard upon my rug. “Is he dead?”

  “No.” I backed up a step. Where the devil was my pipe?

  “The princess?” he questioned, moving forward to keep the same distance between us.

  “Gone.”

  He nodded as if the news was neither unexpected nor bothering. “I like the red hair. And trousers?” He leered as if I was naked, and I felt as if I was. “I think I will dress you in them all the time. Such fun we will have, my play-pretty.”

  “You’ve lost, Garrett,” I said with a false boldness. “The princess is gone. You can’t marry me. The city knows the truth. Or at least part of it.”

  He shook his head, his dominating smile never faltering. “Why would I marry a whore’s get when I have a beautiful woman of royal blood? She won’t get far.”

  My legs turned to wet rags. Where was my pipe? I only had the one dart, but it was a metal one, carrying twice the venom; it would be enough for Garrett. I shifted backward to put more space between us as I fumbled at the knot holding my whip to me.

  “What to do? What to do?” Garrett said in a singsong voice, stepping forward until his toes nudged the fallen guard. “Call for help, or kill you myself?” His jaw clenched and he reached for his sword hilt. “Oh, I do believe I’ll kill you myself.”

  I thought of my taunts about his low worth, wishing I could take them all back. The sound of the metal sliding against the sheath paralyzed me. I froze where I stood. He had killed my parents. He could kill me just as easily. Where was my pipe?

  Garrett took a sideways step, making a show of placing his foot. The sound of splintering wood cut through me like a pain. My pipe. “Oh,” he said as he ground his heel. “Sorry. That was yours, wasn’t it.”

  He unexpectedly took a deep breath and raised his sword high over his head, bringing it down like a pike into the helpless guard.

  “No!” I shrieked, reaching out. Though unconscious, the man groaned as his belly was punctured. His eyes riveted to mine, Garrett twisted and pulled his sword free. I covered my mouth in horror as the guard’s life spilled onto my rug. The stink of bile rose strong, choking me.

  “Prince Garrett?” came a muffled inquiry from the hall.

  “Stay out!” Garrett shouted at the locked door. His eyes were wild, the blue of them vivid against his yellow hair. “I’ll kill the man who tries to get through that door!” He listened for a heartbeat, then flipped his hair back with a toss of his head. From the hall came a hushed argument. “Witnesses never remember things properly,” he said calmly.

  “No one deserves to die like that,” I said, my voice quavering.

  “I wouldn’t expect a commoner to understand.”

  His barbs at my low birth meant nothing. If he had hoped to anger me, it wasn’t working.

  Eyes never leaving mine, Garrett crouched to take the dead man’s sword. Flinging it into my bedchamber and out of my reach, he stepped over the guard. My heart pounded and I shook my whip out, the sliding hush as it coiled on the floor chilling me.

  He paused in thought. “You don’t know how to use that.”

  I licked my lips, trying to find enough spit to swallow. “Of course not.”

  His stance went casual, and he laughed. “Stupid woman. You’re already dead. I have everything. The princess is very malleable. I only need to threaten an innocent to get her to do what I want.” He smiled, licking his lips suggestively. “Anything.”

  Anger burned through my fear. “You won’t touch her.”

  “Oh, I’ll touch her,” he said, eying my trembling hand. “I’ll touch her all I want.”

  He lunged for me. Panicking, I flung my whip up and out, practice shifting me into a firmer stance. My muscles moved by rote. The crack shocked through me. I froze as Garrett cried out and lurched backward. He stumbled, never going completely down. Straightening, he touched his jaw, looking at his hand to find blood.

  “You little trull!” he cried out, anger turning him pale and ugly. “You hit me!”

  “I’m sorry,” I said, my voice high-pitched and frantic. It was the most foolish thing I’d ever said. I’d never struck anyone before. “Stay back! Don’t come any closer.”

  “No one hits me!” His hands clenched, and his teeth gritted. Blood dripping from his jawline, he took a step to me. Heart pounding, I extended my free hand, warning him to stop, but it was the rush of boots in the hall that stilled his feet.

  “She’s in there!” an approaching guard shouted.

  I held my breath to keep from passing out as Garrett looked to the door.

  “The false princess,” he cried again. “They roped down from the third floor. She’s in there.”

  “But Prince Garrett is in there!” the frightened guard gasped.

  Garrett frowned, irritation pulling his brow into furrows. “Stay out!” he shouted, his eyes never moving from mine. “There’s no one in here but me and . . . my love.”

  There was silence, followed by a buzz of intense, muted conversation.

  “Captain Jeck,” came a relieved cry from the hall, and Garrett’s beautiful face twisted with a black rage. “Thank the Almighty you’re here.”

  I locked gazes with Garrett as the sound of Jeck’s running boots was eclipsed by the captain’s shout, “Break it down! Now!”

  There was a thunderous boom, and the door shivered. The doorframe shifted with a cracking splinter. Garrett’s expression went furious. “Damn that farmer,” he snarled. Wiping the blood from his jaw, he shouted through the door, “The man who lets Captain Jeck into this room will be quartered. And all of your heads will be on the wall tomorrow. Kill him!”

  The hall went deadly silent. I imagined the exchange of nervous glances. It was eight of them by my reckoning to their captain’s one. Even a player couldn’t best eight men with swords. The silence ended with a fury-driven shout and the clang of blades.

  Garrett straightened and smiled confidently, the bloodied score mark red against his freckled skin. “My l
ate captain of the guard was never one to appreciate the precious time spent between a man and a woman,” he mocked, having to raise his voice above the noise of battle in the hall. “He’s always interrupting. Now, where were we? Ah, yes.”

  I backpedaled as he took three quick steps across the room. Again I sent my whip out. It scored on his arm, ripping his shirt. Jaw clenched, he swung his sword up into my next strike, and my whip coiled about his wrist.

  “That’s the bad thing about whips,” he snarled. “They only work on animals and cowards!” He grabbed my whip and gave a firm yank.

  A cry slipped from me. I dropped it lest he pull me into him. Red spots appeared on his cheeks, and he showed his teeth. “Come back here,” he said, throwing it into a corner, and I ran for the shattered ruin of my dart tube. I fell beside the dead guard, grasping for the feel of metal among the slivers. My breath came in what sounded like a sob.

  “Stand up so I can kill you properly.” Garrett gripped my shoulder and pulled me up.

  I twisted, trying to writhe away from him. Eyes fixed to his bloodied sword, I sent my free arm searching blindly behind me on my dressing table for anything. Bottles clattered and rolled. He drew back his sword arm, his eyes fervent.

  “Let go!” I shrieked. My fingers found a perfume bottle. Gripping it, I swung at him. My closed fist hit him in the face. He loosened his hold and backed away. His look shifted to an affronted surprise. I threw the bottle at him. He ducked. It shattered on the floor. The smell of lilac overwhelmed the guard’s blood and bile. Garrett felt his jaw, his expression growing murderous.

  “You slattern!” he shouted over the sound of booming at the door.

  Beyond him on the floor was the sheen of metal among my crushed dart pipe. I dove for it. My fingers fumbled in the splinters. My breath came in a gasp as I found the metal dart whole. Kneeling, I gripped it in my fist.