He didn’t pause for breakfast, heading straight for the prince’s rooms. He knew what it was like to be on the night shift and wait for your replacement to come.
“Morning,” Peter said to Jerrico as he approached. “You’re prompt.”
“Ain’t I always?” Jerrico asked with a grin.
Peter heaved himself out of his chair. “I’m getting too old for this,” Tony, the other guard, said, but it was with a good natured smile. “He’s up, by the way. I heard him moving around.”
“Excellent,” Jerrico replied. “It’s Tuesday and he never eats the hot cakes they send up on Tuesdays.”
“Has anyone ever told you that you are treasonous, Jerrico?” Peter asked, but Jerrico just shrugged.
“We wouldn’t want good food to go to waste, would we?”
“No,” Tony sighed. “No we wouldn’t. Peasants are starving, ya know. I have to get going. Between the prince and the Lady Nora, I have my hands full.”
“The three of you have Lady Nora's case this week, right?” Jerrico said, remembering the Marchioness from Calais with the fire scars across her face. “Ricardo seems to be taking a liking to her.”
“Have you ever heard of a lady Ricardo hasn't taken a liking to? Oh, by the way, leftovers from the feast will be in the kitchen tonight. Race you there?”
“Can't wait,” Jerrico said, making a mental note to sneak Loyalty and Nathan something from the kitchens tonight.
George was awake inside, already sitting at his desk and writing. When he turned around, he smiled. “Jerrico,” he said. “Just who I wanted to see.”
“Do you need me to eat your hot cakes?” Jerrico blurted out and the prince chuckled.
“They aren’t even here yet, but you can when they are. Have a seat for a moment.”
“Uh oh,” Jerrico said, but obeyed. “What have I done?”
“Nothing, unless there’s something I should be worried about?” George cocked his head, and Jerrico pretended to think.
“Well, there was that window I broke last week. It was, of course, in your majesty’s defense,” he grinned. “I think.”
“Right...” George gave him a funny look. “I actually wanted to ask you if you knew Nathan Rambles. He’s a military intelligence officer, usually serves on the HMS Adventure?”
“Yes, I know Nathan,” Jerrico replied. “He’s one of my best friends.”
“So you can vouch for him?” George raised an eyebrow.
“Why, what’s Nathan done? He didn’t break the window,” Jerrico said and the prince shook his head.
“Nothing. He’s just requested some information about a...job I have him on. But I don’t make it a habit to see officers that lowly ranked, especially if I don’t know them.”
“Oh,” Jerrico replied. “I know what that’s about. I can ask you his questions.”
“Oh really?” George raised his eyebrow. “You aren’t supposed to know about that yet.”
“Telepathy?” Jerrico replied and the prince rolled his eyes.
“Don’t tell me who told you,” George replied, leaning back in his chair.
“Wasn’t Nathan,” Jerrico said, so quickly that George laughed.
“You always find a way to make me laugh, even when the world is collapsing.”
Jerrico fell silent at that. He imagined that it was hard watching your father slip into madness. He couldn’t imagine being in George’s position, or any prince’s position. Basically knowing that your destiny, your greatest moment, came with your parent’s death must be agonizing. However, all the princes he had met around the palace seemed to carry it with an air of dignity and grace; they were born into it. In addition, being born into it was the only way that Jerrico could imagine doing it; by not knowing any other way of life. Still, he thought George was handling it with a great deal of dignity and grace, which was more than he could say about many people he’d encountered as a guard. “Well, Majesty,” he said. “I could perform a circus act off this chair, but I prefer to save it and ask you Nathan’s questions.”
George waved his hand with a smile. “Alright, go ahead.”
“He wants to know,” Jerrico said, recalling carefully what Nathan had said. “If you can remember any more details about the children they are seeking. He says anything can help, no matter how trivial it was. The color of the leaves on the tree, a bird chirping nearby, someone’s coat, anything.”
“I’ve told them all I remember,” George said and kept his voice low.
“With all due respect, Majesty,” Jerrico answered. “You have told them all you thought was important. However, you haven’t told them all you know. I know you, you cut to the chase. The things that you don’t think are important, you leave out. But Nathan truly needs to know everything.”
George took a deep breath, closing his eyes. “The mothers are dead,” he said.
“I know,” Jerrico replied. “But you saw the children.”
“Very briefly,” he replied. “I knew that it might come to this one day. A throne is always a dangerous thing to protect. I didn’t want to get attached to them, because I knew I would miss them. The truth is, Jerrico, bastards or not, they were still my children. And if I got too close to them, I wouldn’t be able to keep my distance and keep them safe. Do you have children, Jerrico?”
“No,” the guard replied. “Maybe someday. There’s a girl.”
“Are you married?”
“Same answer,” Jerrico smiled. “Anything else?”
“The boy had golden hair and blue eyes, but they all do at birth,” George’s eyes were closed as he pulled on his memory banks. “There was...there was a woman waiting by the gates when they took away my first. A beggar woman who had eyes like fire. I came to the front with Descartes, and she looked right into my soul.”
Jerrico paused at that. “Wait. Her eyes?”
“Bloodshot red. But not from spirits, not of anything I’ve ever seen. It was if she was born that way.”
“I know that woman,” Jerrico replied. “She still begs outside from time to time. But she’s in the market these days. I think they call her Sylvie or Sophie.”
“Mmmm, I doubt she’ll remember,” George replied. “It was a cold night. I think it was raining.”
“Worth a shot,” Jerrico replied. “You’d be surprised at what people remember when they have to.”
“I think she’s crazy though,” George said.
There was a knock at the door then, and both men stopped talking. Jerrico put his hand on his hip, reaching for his sword. “Who is it?”
“Cook, sir,” came a voice through the door and Jerrico dropped his guard with a smile.
“Come in” he cried, and the wafting smell of hot cakes and eggs hit his nostrils.
They waited until the cook had left the room before they resumed talking. Jerrico stood, pacing as the prince dug into his breakfast.
“Okay, so I’m going to ask the crazy homeless woman, maybe she remembers something. Or followed Descartes.”
“Why would she do that?” George asked through a mouthful of eggs.
Jerrico shrugged. “Because. She’s crazy. That’s a great help.”
“There was...one more thing...” George said, watching the guard. “I told them about the oldest girl...but I don’t know that she lived.”
“Oh?” Jerrico cocked his head. “So you think they are literally on a wild goose chase regarding that?”
“Descartes said that when she was born that she was sickly, and such a child would be hard to hide.”
“But sickly children are technically the easiest to hide,” Jerrico protested. “I mean, they stay in the house all day in bed. I would know.”
“Oh?” George asked and Jerrico realized that he had gotten too comfortable.
“Nothing,” he said, but George’s eyes were serious.
“Jerrico, what is it?”
“I was um...sickly as a child,” Jerrico finally admitted, knowing no way out of it.
“
Oh,” George replied. “But obviously you’re better now. Do you still want these hot cakes?”
“Yes, please,” Jerrico stepped forward to take them off his plate, glad for a topic change. If he had kept talking, he might have revealed his secret and ended his career there and then. “Thank you.”
“I think they are gross,” George stood, stretching. He was a handsome man, although it was fading in his middle age. His father had been the same way, a handsome young prince overtaken by the stresses of a king.
George had barely been regent a few days and he already knew the hell his father went through. He had made it look easy; smooth almost. However, being king meant looking over one’s shoulder every day. It meant constantly worrying that every bit of food was poisoned. It meant that losing your very own child, your only child, was more than just a blow to your heart. It was a blow to a nation, suddenly without an heir to secure the line. Losing Charlotte meant he had to share his grief with the whole country.
“Are you ready for the day then, sir?” Jerrico asked once he had finished cramming the hot cakes in his mouth. He was half wondering what Nathan and Loyalty were doing back at the house. They were probably still asleep, snuggled in each other’s arms.
He envied them for their everlasting romance. His romance with a peasant named Sora, the only woman he had ever loved, was so on-again off-again that it made his head spin. Loyalty made love look easy, simple, even when he knew it was not.
“There’s one more thing,” George said as Jerrico helped him dress. “The oldest girl. She had a wine colored birthmark over half her face. Nevertheless, like I said, I assume she died. Yet another one of my daughters to pass away.” He sighed, so he didn’t notice Jerrico’s expression.
A wine colored birthmark over half her face. Adopted by a printer. Just like Loyalty.
6
CHAPTER SIX
“I have to finish this laundry before Jerrico gets here,” Loyalty said when Nathan pulled her back to bed at 7am. “The two of you have thrown off my schedule, so stop.”
“One day,” he promised her, covering her face with kisses. “One day you won’t have to work anymore.”
“Have you ever considered that I enjoy it?” she teased him as she threw off the covers. “Or at least, I don’t mind.”
“That has actually never crossed my mind,” Nathan sat up, yawning. “How can you enjoy it?”
She shrugged. “It’s what my mother did. Whenever I work, it makes me feel closer to her.”
“That I can understand,” Nathan replied as he propped up the pillows. He was supposed to report to headquarters at 8am, which gave him at least 45 minutes more to lounge in bed before he took off like a bullet through the streets. “Listen, I have good news and I have bad news from our meeting yesterday.”
“What?” she turned around. “And you couldn’t tell me yesterday?”
“Yesterday we were enjoying ourselves,” he protested. “Weren’t we?”
His eyes twinkled and she blushed. “You know, Nathan, the people who say you’re shy and quiet baffle me. They clearly don’t see you with me.”
He smiled at that. “You give me courage, my dear. And you give me strength.”
“So why exactly are we still living in sin?” she said and mentioned the elephant in the room. “There’s never going to be a perfect time, Nathan. There’s always going to be something in our way; some excuse.”
He sighed. “Loyalty, listen. One promotion, that’s all I need. Then everything will be fine, I can support you, there will be benefits if something happens to me, everything. And,” he cocked his head. “If I can figure out where any of these bastard royal children are, this promotion could happen sooner than we think.”
She came to sit back on the bed. “Really?”
“Of course,” he answered. “Let’s hope Jerrico is doing his duty right now.”
Loyalty sighed. “What was your news?
“Right,” he had gotten so distracted that he had forgotten the whole reason for this conversation. “I likely won’t be headed back to the ship for this round.”
“What?” her eyes lit up with joy. “Really?”
“Really,” Nathan smiled. “But it’s because I’ve been assigned to this case. So once we exhaust the local resources, I will have to start searching other towns.”
“Oh,” her hope was dashed. “Right.”
“It won’t be as bad as a deployment, my love,” he replied, reaching up to touch her face. Nathan was one of the only people in the world who didn’t make her feel self conscious about the birthmark on her face. He always made her feel beautiful, loved and wanted, no matter what the situation. When he looked at her, he always looked into her eyes, rather than at her face or other parts of her body. Loyalty knew that she was very lucky to have such a love as him. Nathan was strong, tall, handsome, classically admired.
She knew other people like her that had a life in the shadows; a life in hiding. She had been very lucky in her life to be born into such a position, such a place where everything fit together perfectly. Loyalty knew that just one thing removed from her life could cause everything to come tumbling down. “Sure,” she said, with a smile. “And that’s fine. But do you really think you’ll find them?”
“I don’t know,” he replied. “But they are willing to pour money into it, and I’m willing to try.”
“Right,” she got up again, heading to the pot where she was boiling water for laundry. “Well, you should get ready for work, in any case.”
“I’m sorry that I have to work while I’m home with you,” Nathan said, as he threw off the covers. “It’s not usually the case.”
“It’s alright,” she said. “I always felt blessed when you were home and not working. It felt like we were living on borrowed time. Like any minute your commander would come and take you away.”
“I love you,” he said as he searched for his clothes.
“I love you too,” she answered, dumping some of the laundry into the pot of water. “Your necktie is under the bed, by the way.”
“How....never mind,” he shook his head with a grin as he retrieved it. “I was lying awake last night, thinking of your mother.”
“Uh...” She spun around and he shook his head.
“Obviously not like that. But I was just thinking that she would be proud of you. She would have approved, I think. From what I knew of your mother, I think she’d be happy that we are trying to maintain this little place she and your father built.”
Loyalty smiled at him. “Well, maybe. She always wanted more for me.”
“What more could she have wanted than running your own business and marrying an officer on the up and up?” he teased with a raised eyebrow. “Does she want you to marry a prince?”
“Yes, my mother dreamed of me being queen someday,” Loyalty laughed. “She used to make up stories at bedtime about how I would be queen and rule with a gentle heart, like Sir Richard the Lionhearted. Or like Robin Hood.”
“Steal from the rich and give to the poor?” Nathan questioned and Loyalty shrugged.
“Well, in her dreams, I think I studied everything princess-like my whole life, so that when it came time to take the throne, I would be ready. They would show up, the Royal Guards, and sweep me away.”
“Ah, is this why we’re friends with Jerrico?” Nathan asked and she smirked.
“Absolutely. Nothing to do with the fact that he constantly provides me with employment.”
“Nothing at all,” Nathan agreed as he finished getting dressed. Loyalty was one of the only people he could banter with like this. She made him feel comfortable; made him feel safe. He didn’t worry that something stupid was going to come out of his mouth or that he would be judged for the words he said. He knew that they were joking, and that she would always find him funny.
It didn’t take long before he was ready to go. Kissing her on the top of the head, and promising to be back for supper, he stepped out into the cool morning air, headi
ng toward headquarters.
Even though it was early, the streets were already bustling with people. The market had been set up for an hour; people were headed to work. The children were laughing before school and the wives were sweeping the front porches. It felt like a normal day. He was glad to be home, to be in this environment. He did dream, on occasion, of one day never returning to the ship. A desk job with his beautiful wife and children running at his feet would not be the worst thing in the world. It was true, the sea provided adventure, leadership skills and a constantly changing environment. However, Nathan felt like he’d had his fill of change over the last few years. Now, all he wanted to do was settle down.
Headquarters was even more raucous than the street itself. With a few more ships in port, and this special mission in place, it seemed that everyone who’d ever worked at headquarters was there today. A fellow intelligence officer named Harold, a friend of his, was leaning against a doorway, poring over the record books. When he looked up, it was with a half scowl. “Rambles,” he said. “I hear that you are the reason we have to drag these dusty records out of the basement and look them over line by line.”
“Don’t shoot the messenger,” Nathan replied. “It’s not a particularly solid theory, but it’s the best theory we have right now.”
“Sure,” Harold shrugged. “But this royal branch will be long since gone before we get through everything, no heresy intended.”
“Is that how I reach your rank?” Nathan grinned. “By complaining all the time.”
“Absolutely,” Harold rolled his eyes. “How are you? Did you just come from your mistress’ house?”
“My intended,” Nathan replied. “Yes. Shouldn’t you be at home dealing with your twins?”
“My wife would prefer I wasn’t ever home,” Harold answered. “That’s the way it is when you are married for a while. You’ll see soon enough.”
“Uh, I don’t think so,” Nathan wiggled his eyebrows. “She isn’t the type to kick me out, if you know what I mean.”
Revealing A Marchioness's Heart (The Chronicles of Loyalty) Page 4
