by Emma Lea
“I don’t have very long today,” she said. Her cheeks were flushed from the cold and there was the usual sparkle in her eye that she got whenever she rode. I knew she was busy but I also knew how much she enjoyed riding.
She looked over her shoulder to the forest. We didn’t often ride through there. Ever since her father and brother were killed while hunting in the forest, she steered clear of it. Today I was glad. Now that I knew there was a secret hiding in the forest, I didn’t want her going in there and inadvertently finding out about it. And I couldn’t very well tell her not to go in there if she decided she wanted to.
I hated the position Savannah had put me in. I hated secrets and the complications they brought. But it wasn’t my secret to tell and I promised Savannah I wouldn’t say anything. Now I just had to hope that today wasn’t the day that the queen decided to explore the forest.
“We should head back,” she said, her voice weary. “Although I’d much rather stay out here and ride all day.”
“I’m sure your office chair is a whole lot more comfortable than a saddle,” I said, trying for levity.
“There is that,” she said, a smile lifting the corners of her lips. “And central heating, another bonus to being inside.”
She took a deep breath, closed her eyes and tipped her head back. I waited, Mistborn shifting moodily beneath me. He hated standing still.
“Why don’t we take the long way back,” I suggested.
The queen flashed me a relieved grin and turned Monty toward the lake. We walked side by side, the horses’ breaths puffing misty clouds into the cold air. The sky was clear and the ground only had a light dusting of snow, but the temperature was frigid. I didn’t want the queen to be out in this for too much longer but I also knew she needed to escape the responsibilities of her office in order to keep her sane.
We passed by the conservatory that was attached to the palace. I heard voices and turned to look. Savannah and her assistant were behind the glass and Savannah was gesticulating wildly at something on a large sketch pad. Her assistant was nodding along and asking questions. My eyes were drawn to Savannah and I couldn’t look away. Up until a few days ago, I hadn’t given her a second glance; she was just another palace staff member. Now she invaded my thoughts daily. I couldn’t deny gazing up at the palace in the hopes of catching a glimpse of her while I worked in the stable yards.
“So, Jed,” the queen said, causing me to snap my eyes away from the scene in the conservatory. I had been caught staring and I felt my cheeks flush with embarrassment.
“Yes ma’am?”
“Do you own a tuxedo?”
“Yes, ma’am, I do.”
“What are you doing Friday night?”
“Well…nothing that I am aware of,” I replied cautiously.
“Good,” she said with a mile-wide grin. “Then you are coming to dinner at the palace.”
“What?”
“I’m having a small get together and I need one more person to round out the numbers. I realised that you have been here for two years now and I haven’t once invited you to dine with us.”
“No, ma’am, I couldn’t.”
“Why on earth not?”
“I’m your horse trainer, not exactly someone who gets invited to dinner parties with the queen.”
“Stop it,” she said, “you know we’re not like that. I want you there. We ride together all the time but I don’t think I know very much about you at all. Come on. It’ll be fun.”
I gritted my teeth and nodded. I would try to get out of it if I could. The last thing I wanted was to be in a room full of people that knew me as the stable hand. I wasn’t ashamed of what I did, in fact I loved my job here in Merveille, but that didn’t mean I wanted to be judged for it. Surely Cliff would find a way to get me out of it. I could only hope.
“This came for you,” Cliff said, handing me a thick envelope.
I took it from him and turned it over in my hands. My name was written on the front in fancy calligraphy and just by the feel of the paper I knew what it was without opening it.
I sighed and slid my finger under the seal. The invitation inside was on the same high-quality stock as the envelope and the writing was again in fancy calligraphy that I suspected was inked by hand.
“How did she do this so fast?” I asked. It was a rhetorical question, but one I was intrigued to know the answer to. The queen had only just left the stables little more than an hour ago and already I was holding an invitation to her dinner party in my hand.
“Are you going to go?” Cliff asked.
I shrugged. “I don’t think I have a choice. The queen already made me agree to attend. I was hoping you might have a way for me to get out of it?”
Cliff laughed. The man barely smiled and I don’t think I had ever heard him laugh before. It was weird and uncomfortable.
“If Her Highness wants you there, no excuse is going to get you out of it.”
“I just don’t understand why she would even ask me,” I said, reading over the invitation again. “I’m just the horse trainer.”
“Most people would be thrilled about getting an invitation to one of her parties,” Cliff said, sobering. “Do you have a problem with her?”
“No. God, no, it’s nothing like that. I just…” I shook my head as I tried to find the words to explain how I felt without giving too much away. Cliff was the only person who knew where I had really come from and who I really was. I asked him to keep it under wraps because I needed an escape. I worried that by attending this dinner I would expose myself too much. The last thing I needed was questions about me or my family.
“The queen doesn’t stand on ceremony,” Cliff said. “She doesn’t know about the fancy horse farm you came from or the people you left behind. She isn’t inviting you because of that. This is just how she does things. It doesn’t matter if you’re the stable boy or the widow down the street, she has no qualms about inviting whoever she wants into the palace. I’m sure Von Bartham and Benjamin have a heart attack every time she does it, but it doesn’t stop her. If she invited you, it’s because she wanted to. There is no ulterior motive.”
I nodded my head. That was perhaps the longest speech Cliff had ever given me. I could tell by the affection in his voice that he was fond of the queen, but it seemed most people were. Even I knew that she wasn’t what people would typically expect a queen to be. I liked her as a person and from what I could tell she was doing a stellar job as Head of State. I huffed out a sigh.
“Fine. I’ll go.”
Cliff nodded. “You might want to send one of the boys to give the palace your RSVP. That young Archer is out the back with Mistborn again. Maybe he can run the errand for you.”
“Archer is here?”
Cliff nodded and then turned to walk away. “I don’t understand what he sees in that damn horse.”
I strode through the stables and out the back to where Mistborn was corralled. There was Archer, standing near the fence watching Mistborn. The horse was showing off, trotting around the enclosure with his tail held up and his steps high. Archer grinned and clapped and Mistborn tossed his head. I wouldn’t have believed it if I hadn’t seen it myself. As soon as Mistborn spotted me he snorted and turned his back giving me a perfect view of his rear end.
“Archer?” I said, coming closer. “What are you doing here?”
“I came to see Mistborn,” Archer said, turning his big smile up to me. “Do you think he would let me ride him?”
“Have you ever ridden a horse before?”
Archer turned back to look at Mistborn and shook his head. “No,” he said quietly.
I took a breath before speaking. I did not want to stomp all over this kid’s dreams, but he needed to know that riding a horse like Mistborn could be dangerous. The way we met was case in point.
“Well,” I said, “before you can ride a horse like Mistborn, you should probably learn to ride on a smaller horse first. Do you think your mother would let you
learn to ride?”
Archer’s shoulders slumped. “No,” he said. “She told me to stay away from the stables.”
“Where’s your grandpa?”
Archer shrugged. “Sleeping. He has these big, long naps in the morning. I’m supposed to nap too but I’m not tired. I like coming here. I like watching Mistborn.”
I turned to look at the horse who twitched his ears as if he had been listening to our entire conversation. The animal had more intelligence than some people I’d met but it made him a pain in my behind. He was pretty to look at though, especially when he was showing off.
“So your grandpa doesn’t know where you are?” I asked.
Archer shook his head and then frowned. “What time is it?”
I didn’t wear a watch so I couldn’t be sure but I knew it was getting on to lunch time. “Nearly time for lunch,” I said.
Archer’s eyes widened. “I need to go,” he said, and then took off before I could say anything else. I didn’t like that he was coming to the stable without anyone knowing where he was, but what could I do? His grandfather was supposed to be keeping an eye on him and the last thing I wanted to do was butt in where I knew I wasn’t wanted.
Chapter 5
Savannah
I checked each of the women as they left the room. I wasn’t procrastinating, I was doing my job. I had to make sure all the dresses fit correctly and that their hair and makeup were perfect. That was my job as the queen’s stylist and I took it seriously.
Alyssa had been tight lipped about who she asked to be Margaret’s date; she hadn’t even told Margaret as far as I knew. The girl was so nervous that she practically trembled with anxiety. I wanted to be with her when she met him, but that would also mean meeting my own date and I wanted to put that off as long as I could.
I took my time tidying the room after the others had left. I didn’t have to and Lord knows I never cleaned my own room, but I was prolonging the moment when I would eventually have to leave the room and meet Lord Martin Bower, Marquess of Astonbury and Jeanette’s brother.
“They’re waiting for you, m’lady,” Bridgette said as she shooed me from the room.
“They are?”
The queen’s lady’s maid nodded. I sighed. I hadn’t expected them to wait for me, but I should’ve known. We’d never walked into an event without all of us gathered. It was a tradition.
I left the room, smoothing the yellow chiffon of my dress and tucking a stray piece of hair behind my ear. I shouldn’t be nervous. It was just a date. As much as the queen hoped that Lord Martin and I would hit it off, I had no intention of getting involved with him or anyone else for that matter.
They were waiting in the small anteroom just off the dining room, each of the ladies in waiting paired up with their respective partners. I cast my eye over them all quickly before I came to screeching halt as my eyes connected with his. Jed. Jed was here and he was wearing a tux. Mon Dieu! He had no right to look like that.
I felt my skin flush as his eyes raked over me and I suppressed a shiver. The way he looked at me made me want to forget all my rules about dating and men. That’s when the reformed Savannah took control of my brain and redirected my gaze to Lord Martin who was standing at Jed’s side. The old Savannah would have melted into a puddle at Jed’s feet, but I had changed and the fact that I wanted to throw everything away for this man meant I needed to stay far away from him.
“Lord Martin,” I said, with a quick curtsey. “It’s good to see you again.”
“And you,” Martin said as he took my hand and raised it to his lips.
I could feel Jed’s eyes burning into the side of my head, but I refused to look at him. I knew if I did I would get lost in their blue depths.
“Oh good,” Alyssa said, “we’re all here.” She gave me a pointed look and I just shrugged one shoulder. I would probably get a stern talking to about my tardiness, but I didn’t care. Right now, it took all my brain power to concentrate on not being drawn into Jed’s vortex. I would take the queen’s scolding over that any day.
Martin offered his arm and I slid my hand through his elbow. I kept my eyes steadfastly to the front. I did not see the way Jed offered his arm to Margaret. Nor did I see the way she looked up at him in part terror and part adoration. I especially didn’t feel jealous that he was her date and not mine.
We walked into an already full dining room. It wasn’t the big one where the formal balls were held. This was a smaller, more intimate dining room that seated about fifty. This was the queen’s idea of a small, intimate dinner party. I would have much preferred to be back in my room working on the designs for the Winter Ball or in the cabin with Archer and my father. Normally I loved the parties and balls and festivities of living in the palace. I loved all the gowns and the chance to dress up. But tonight, my heart wasn’t in it and I refused to believe that it had anything to do with the six foot four man who was escorting Margaret to her table.
Martin pulled out a chair for me and I sat, gracing him with a tight smile. A server placed a napkin on my lap and I reached for my glass of water, my eyes once again clashing with Jed’s. He was seated directly across from me. I looked away and sipped my water, praying I didn’t spill it all over myself. My hand shook as I set the glass down and I turned to Martin and gave him a forced smile.
“How is your vineyard faring?” I asked.
He returned my smile, although his seemed far more genuine. “We’re very happy with it. Some of our wine is on the menu tonight.”
“I can’t wait to try it,” I said. I reached for my water glass again, not knowing what else to say.
“Meg? Is that you?”
I looked up to see Margaret’s face go bright red but a beautiful smile split her face as she stood and turned to the woman calling her name.
“Hadley?”
Margaret was engulfed in a hug and there may have even been a little squealing involved. It was all very improper, and people were staring but the two friends didn’t care.
Finally, they separated and Margaret turned to me. “Lady Savannah, I’d like to introduce you to my oldest and dearest friend. Lady Hadley Winchester.”
I smiled and nodded. “Nice to meet you,” I said, sizing her up. I would never have picked her for a friend of Margaret’s. Hadley was tall and willowy. Her olive skin glowed and big freckles were dusted across her nose and cheeks. Her eyes were big and brown and her lips were coated in cherry red gloss. She was the exact opposite of Margaret and I couldn’t reconcile how the two could ever have become friends. I was ashamed to admit I was jealous. I’d come to think of myself as Margaret’s only friend.
“I hope we can catch up soon,” Hadley said to Margaret, giving her one last hug.
“Me too,” Margaret said, and I could hear genuine affection in her voice. I scowled at my glass of water. I wish I’d made up some excuse not to be here tonight. I really wasn’t in the mood to be around people.
Jed
The food was delicious…or so I assumed. The taste barely registered with me as I watched Savannah on the other side of the table. I was being a terrible date for Lady Margaret, but I just couldn’t seem to focus on anything but Savannah.
She was having as hard a time as I was keeping her attention on her own date.
The thought made me smile—or it would have if her gaze wasn’t boring into me like a laser. Lady Savannah was not happy that I was there. I wasn’t much happier about it myself.
“Lady Margaret,” Savannah’s date said. I think his name was Martin, but I hadn’t been paying attention when he was introduced. I’d seen his hand take Savannah’s and my brain had short circuited, which was odd and irritating and nothing like me at all. My head swivelled to him and I could see his mouth moving but I couldn’t hear the words he was saying over the blood rushing in my ears. Why did this man’s presence upset me so much?
I felt Margaret shift beside me and turned to her. Her cheeks flushed as she dipped her head and a small, shy smile til
ted her lips. I really was being an incredibly rude date. I swallowed and tried to concentrate on the woman sitting next to me and not the one across the table.
“I work with Lady Savannah,” Margaret said in response to the question Martin asked but I didn’t hear. “I’m her assistant.”
“She’s much more than that,” Savannah said.
As much as I tried to fight it, I couldn’t stop the way my gaze returned to her. The light from the chandelier above us made her hair shine like gold and the small earrings she wore, sparkle. Her skin looked soft and I itched to run my finger across her cheek. Her yellow dress skimmed her shoulders, leaving them bare and accentuating the long smooth column of her neck. I forced my eyes down to the uneaten food in front of me. I needed to stop looking at her and thinking about the way she fit against me as we rode Mistborn back from the forest.
It was stupid, whatever this thing was that I had suddenly developed for her. She was nothing like Caroline, and yet I’d had a similar reaction when I first met her. Caroline was tall and curvy with dark hair and dark eyes. Savannah was shorter, more petite and all gold hair and blue eyes and yet the same tingles zipped under my skin when our eyes connected. I’d thought I was in love with Caroline. No, I had been in love with Caroline and I thought she was in love with me. She wasn’t, and that became all too clear when I discovered her with my best friend the night before our wedding.
The food I had eaten soured in my stomach. I tried to never think about that night or the fallout from it, but sitting opposite Savannah was bringing it all up again. Savannah was nothing like Caroline. Two women couldn’t be more different and yet when I looked at Savannah, all I could think about was Caroline.
It was a warning. My brain was telling my heart to walk away. It was the smart thing to do. I needed to be as far away from Savannah as I could. I never wanted to find myself as vulnerable and invested in another person as I had been with Caroline. I’d learned my lesson. The tingles I felt when I looked at Savannah were a warning to stay away. Now I just had to get the rest of my body on board.
