The Wisdom of Madness: The Ministry of Curiosities, Book #10

by C. J. Archer

  "And I missed you." Seth brought Eva's hand to his lips and stared into her eyes.

  She stared back, still trapped. "I missed you too," she murmured.

  He touched her cheek, skimming his knuckles down to her jaw, and his smile turned sad, wistful.

  Eva's heart flipped over. Oh, he was good. He was very, very good.

  She tugged her hand free to break the contact. It was too risky being so close to him. He might see too much in her eyes. She stared at his ear instead.

  Lady Oxana cleared her throat. "Are you styled Lady Vickers?" She believed them. Eva almost laughed from relief.

  "She is," Seth answered when Eva didn't respond.

  "Why didn't you tell me when you arrived?"

  "We didn't want to overwhelm you. Our arrival was unexpected and it must have been difficult enough getting the rooms ready in time. Since Eva wanted to accompany Alice, we thought it wouldn't matter if you didn't know. We're sorry if it upsets you. We should have mentioned it."

  Lady Oxana sniffed. "Pretty words, sir. I just hope there is some substance to them as well."

  David's door opened and he scowled upon seeing Eva so close to Seth. "Eva, what are you doing?" he snapped.

  Seth didn't seem to move yet he was suddenly a few inches further away from Eva.

  Lady Oxana noticed. She folded her arms and cocked her head to the side, challenging. "Is there a problem?" she asked David.

  "My sister is—"

  "Your sister missed her husband last night," Eva said, tilting her chin up. Seth looked back at her with a slightly bemused expression. She looped her hands around his neck and ruffled the back of his hair. Then she stood on her toes and kissed him.

  It was gentle and sweet and everything she expected it to be for a first kiss between a fake husband and wife in front of witnesses. She liked it, but it certainly wasn't enough. Perhaps she ought to deepen it.

  "I do hope you spoke the truth," came Lady Oxana's voice, as brittle as dry leaves. "I rather like your head, Seth, and your body. It'll be a shame to see them parted."

  Seth drew away and it took Eva a moment to realize Gus was behind him, clearing his throat.

  "What?" Seth growled.

  Gus jerked his head for Seth to join him inside. Seth let Eva's hands go and tossed her a smile and a wink before following Gus.

  "That was uncalled for." David's voice was harsh in Eva's ear.

  Lady Oxana was gone. The only sign that she'd been there was the lingering scent of her floral perfume and her threat.

  "It was necessary," Eva said. "We had to convince her."

  "That's the only reason I didn't say anything. I don't want her going to Quellery. It's bad enough that Alice is about to turn down his proposal, we don't want to make things more tense."

  Eva tuned him out. She watched Seth and Gus, both staring out the window. Her seer's senses picked up their anxiety.

  "What is it?" she asked, joining them.

  "Take a look," Seth said darkly. "They're surrounding the castle."

  Outside, hundreds of men dressed in dark green spread out along the banks of the castle moat. The drawbridge was down, but they did not cross. They simply stood there, weapons sheathed. Waiting for orders, Eva realized.

  "Who are they?" David asked.

  Gus pointed to one of the soldiers at the front holding a green banner with a black crow's wing. "That's Quellery's crest. It's his army."

  Seth swore. "We need to find Alice and Markell. Now."

  Chapter 10

  Alice

  Alice thought the knock on her door might be Eva returning, warning her before she entered in case Alice was at her toilette. But it was Markell. At least she wouldn't have to go in search of him.

  "I'm glad you're here," she said. "I have something to ask you."

  "I have something to ask you too. But you first."

  She stepped aside and he brushed past her. He was fully dressed and even wore a sword strapped to his hip. It didn't bode well. She closed the door and leaned against it. This wasn't going to be easy, but she had to ask. His answer would help make up her mind and shape her next move.

  "Don't consider it," he said darkly before she spoke. "I can see that you are, Alice, and I want you to put the thought from your mind. You are not marrying Quellery."

  How had he guessed? "Wonderland will continue to suffer under the Queen of Hearts if we don't accept help from Quellery's army, and the only way to do that is if I marry him."

  He sliced his hand through the air. "No! I won't let you." He clutched the back of a chair and lowered his head. "I can't let you."

  The pain in his voice gave her hope. She dared touch his shoulder. The muscles tensed then relaxed. He straightened and looked at her with that direct, honest gaze of his. She wanted to stare into those eyes forever, get lost in them. The thought of being with him struck her like a blow, shaking her to her core. Falling in love wasn't supposed to happen this quickly.

  "When you were speaking with Lord Quellery about me last night," she said, "I overheard you call me all manner of things."

  His brow lifted and for a moment, he looked like the young man she'd first met in London, without this heavy weight of leadership and his father's death on his shoulders. "I think I told him you were clever and kind. Why?"

  "Did you mean it?"

  He frowned. "Of course."

  She breathed deeply. "When people describe me, those are not the first words they use."

  "England might be a different realm than Wonderland, but I can't imagine anyone in any realm thinking you stupid or cruel."

  She smiled. "That's not what I meant. I mean my looks are usually the first thing people note."

  "I see."

  Did he? "So why didn't you?"

  He shrugged. "I'm not sure. Is it a problem?"

  "Not at all. I like that you consider kindness and cleverness more important than beauty, and that you think I possess both."

  "Beauty?" He tapped a finger against his lower lip and circled her, making a great show of inspecting her. "Hmmm. I suppose you are reasonably pretty."

  "Reasonably?" she echoed, playing along. "You're too kind, sir."

  "But I'm sorry to disappoint you, since you are a princess, but this is Wonderland. We have different standards of beauty to the English." He bowed ever so deeply. "Please forgive my impertinence and please don't chop off my head when you become queen. It would only disappoint the ladies."

  She laughed. "Is that so?"

  "Enough about me, let's talk about you. You're a little too short to be considered beautiful."

  "Short? I'm the tallest woman I know."

  "And you have big feet."

  She looked down at her feet. "I do not!" When she looked up, he was trying very hard not to laugh.

  She thumped him lightly on the arm. He caught her hand and did not let go.

  "What is this about, Alice?" he asked gently, all seriousness again.

  "I…I wanted to know if you really do consider cleverness and kindness more important than beauty."

  "I do." He inched closer, her hand still trapped in his. "And you possess both, in spades."

  She swallowed.

  "It's why I…" He shook his head, looked away.

  She cupped his jaw and gently forced him to look at her again. "Why you what?"

  His gaze locked with hers. "Why I admire you so much."

  She had to know. Had to hear him say it. "Admire me as a future queen? Or as a woman?"

  "Both," he murmured.

  She grazed her thumb over his cheek. "What about as someone more…intimate?"

  She felt rather than saw him tense. "Alice…I don't want to influence your decision to stay or go, and I don't want to start something we can't stop."

  Nor did she. She admired him for his clear thinking, his careful consideration and thoughtfulness. But it was hellish on her nerves and her heart. It pained her to see the sadness in his eyes when all she wanted to do was hold him. She clos
ed her eyes.

  "Damnation," he muttered. "Forget what I just said."

  He was kissing her before she had the chance to open her eyes. He dragged her close, crushing her body against his, her mouth too. The kiss was hungry and fierce, thunder and lightning. It brimmed with wild, abandoned emotion that Alice couldn't contain. It poured out of her into that kiss and he captured it with ease and served it back to her ten-fold. This man might be a careful tactician, but there was nothing safe about the kiss, nothing planned, just heart, soul and passion.

  Markell pulled away all too soon. He stepped back, raked both hands through his hair and struggled to catch his breath. Alice clutched the back of the chair, feeling like the earth had tilted beneath her. "We have to stop," he said. "If we go on…" His gaze shifted to the bed. He wiped the back of his hand across his mouth.

  She nodded, not trusting her voice yet, but she understood. Their first time would not be in a cold chamber in Quellery Castle.

  "Your question," he said. "Did I answer it?"

  She smiled. "Yes."

  He smiled too. "Good."

  "Now it's your turn," she said.

  "My question is, have you decided what you want?" he asked.

  "Aside from you?"

  He grinned, elevating his looks from handsome to magnificent. "What else?"

  "Well, I don't want to marry Quellery."

  He grunted. "That was never an option."

  "As to the rest…I want to be where you are, Markell. And you want to be here."

  He took both her hands. "What I want is for you to be safe."

  That meant going back to England, but she didn't think that's where he really wanted to live. He was passionate about overthrowing the Queen of Hearts, and Alice wanted to be by his side, helping him. If his home was in Wonderland, then her home would be too. But how to oust the queen without an army?

  "All is not yet over," she told him. "There must be something we can do. What of the other renegades?"

  "That's what I came here to tell you. I sent Lord Blaine off with a message for the other cells. Between us, we knew the names of four other leaders, and they in turn will know more. He'll find those leaders and assess whether their cells are in a position to combine and fight."

  "Will there be enough?"

  "Perhaps."

  "How long will it take?"

  "Months."

  She groaned. She could live like this for months, but it wasn't fair on her friends. This wasn't their cause to fight.

  A fist pounded on the door. Alice opened it to see Lord Quellery standing there, panting a little from exertion. "Good morning, Your Highness," he said. "Did you sleep well?"

  "Well enough considering the difficult circumstances," she said stiffly.

  Quellery's gaze shifted and his face darkened. "Ironside," he growled. "I should have known you'd be here."

  "The princess knows about your proposal," Markell said.

  Quellery's jowls trembled as he fought, and failed, to control his dislike of Markell. "And what has she decided?"

  "Kindly address your question to me, and not my advisor," Alice said.

  Quellery stiffened. "Apologies."

  Alice forced herself to soften and smile. They needed this man on-side. "I want to thank you for your proposal of marriage, sir. I'm humbled and honored that you would consider ending your bachelorhood to wed me. I'm in no doubt that you would make a fine consort, with your experience and resources, but I'm afraid I have to decline."

  He showed no surprise. His cool gaze merely shifted back to Markell.

  "You see," Alice tried, "where I come from, one doesn't marry for fortune or status. One marries for companionship and love." Queen Victoria and her ilk would have laughing fits if they heard her. Not even Alice's middle class parents wanted her to choose her own husband. It was why she was so determined to do so now that she was free to follow her heart.

  "You're Wonderland's rightful queen," Lord Quellery said. "You need a strong, respected and experienced husband beside you to help you navigate the treacherous waters you'll face when you ascend to the throne."

  "I completely agree. I feel very fortunate that my heart has chosen a man who is all of that and more."

  Quellery's jowls shook violently. "May I speak with you alone, Highness? I should like to put forward my numerous positive attributes for your consideration."

  "I'm afraid you cannot sway me, my lord. The heart wants what it wants. I am sorry, but there's nothing to be done on that score. I do hope you understand and won't think ill of me."

  "I could never think ill of you." It was a barb directed straight at Markell. Markell didn't so much as blink.

  Alice hoped that Quellery's jealousy of Markell wouldn't override his good sense. "I am so relieved to hear it," she said. "Now, let's discuss our next moves. I hear your army is highly trained and very skillful. They'll be invaluable to us. Will you come in and discuss strategy?"

  "Of course, of course. Allow me to fetch my general and a map."

  Alice felt a weight lift from her shoulders. Crisis averted. "Thank you, my lord. Your loyalty will be repaid when I am queen."

  He smiled and bowed out.

  She shut the door and turned to Markell. "He took it graciously enough."

  Markell's eyes blazed bright green. "I don't think I can teach you anything about diplomacy. You're already an expert. Tell me, Your Highness, this man chosen by your heart…do I know him?"

  She circled her arms around his waist, and he rested his hands on her hips. It felt so good to be with him like this, so natural and unforced. She'd never felt so comfortable with a man before. He seemed comfortable with her too, not self-conscious as Seth could be. "You might," she teased. "He's everything I told Quellery, yet so much more too."

  "Perhaps you should list his qualities for me so I can judge if he's worthy of you."

  "Do you mean worthy of a future queen?"

  "No." He nuzzled her throat, his lips skimming along the throbbing vein in delicious agony. "I mean worthy of Alice, the woman I've fallen in love with."

  Her breath hitched. Her blood pounded in her ears so loudly that she didn't hear the knock on the door until Markell pulled away with a regretful sigh.

  He opened the door to a man dressed in dark green. The black crow's wing on his sleeve marked him as one of Quellery's men. This must be the general, come for their meeting. He cradled a large wooden box.

  He handed the box to Markell. "Lord Quellery would like you to have a gift."

  "Thank you, "Alice said.

  She lifted the lid and screamed.

  Inside, the vacant eyes of Lord Blaine stared back at her. Blood from his severed head pooled at the corners of the box. She turned away and covered her mouth and nose, trying to block out the stench of death.

  She heard the whine of metal as swords were drawn. Markell pulled her back from the door, barking orders she hardly heard. The box had already been tossed aside and the head…oh God, the head had rolled out.

  Alice threw up in the bedpan.

  The clash and clang of metal against metal forced her to focus. Markell! He'd been pushed back into the room by two men dressed in green livery. He held them at bay, but only just.

  Another four armed soldiers surged into the room. Alice rummaged through her pack for the knife she'd stashed there the day before. "Seth!" she shouted. "Gus!" She hoped they could hear her. She hoped they hadn't been set upon by Quellery's men too.

  "Alice, the window!" Markell barked. "Jump into the moat!"

  The moat! It was so far down and she couldn't swim. Nor could she leave him.

  Two of the new soldiers engaged in the fight against Markell while the other two came for her, advancing cautiously as if she were a frightened bird that would fly through the window at any moment.

  Markell backed up. Blood dripped from a cut on his sword hand and sweat dampened his forehead. He could not continue to fight all these soldiers alone.

  Alice peered out t
he window and her stomach rolled. But it wasn't the moat that sickened her, it was the sight of an army on its banks. Quellery's army, dressed in the same dark green as their attackers.

  They were trapped.

  Seth and Gus rushed into the room, brandishing swords. They quickly felled a man each and engaged the ones fighting Markell, freeing him to grab Alice's hand. He spotted the army on the bank and swore.

  "I can't swim," she said.

  "We can't go that way anyway," he said.

  "Eva!" Seth shouted as he pulled his sword from an opponent's stomach. "David! Now!"

  Eva appeared at the door and beckoned to Alice. Markell hustled her past the fight and into Eva's arms then rejoined Seth and Gus. One of the renegades joined him and another three stood with Eva and David. Alice took Eva's hand and they followed David along the corridor. The sounds of the fight receded, yet her stomach heaved again. She had nothing left to throw up.

  Moments later, Seth, Gus, Markell and the fourth renegade joined them.

  "Where are we going?" Markell demanded.

  "There's a secret passage this way," Eva said. "When we heard Alice scream, Gus and Seth went to help you while David and I looked for a way out. I found a maid who told us about the hidden stairs."

  David pulled on an unlit wall torch. A soft click sounded but nothing happened. Seth and Markell pushed past him and put their shoulders to the wall. The stones parted, revealing a passageway. David hesitated so Gus grabbed the torch and went in first. He lit the rushes using a box of matches fished out of his inside jacket pocket and led the way along the dark corridor.

  It reminded Alice of their escape from the queen's castle. That had been successful. She only hoped this one would be too. "Where does it go?" she asked.

  "The maid said it leads to the forest," Eva said.

  "What if the army is in the forest?"

  No one answered her. Markell's hand found hers in the semi-darkness and squeezed. He was alive, thank God. They both were. They would get through this.

  They traveled the length of the tunnel quickly. As with their escape from the queen's palace, light filtered in through the cracks around the exit. Gus and Seth pushed the door open just enough to peer through and check the vicinity.