The Betrothed (The Betrothed #1) - Kiera Cass Page 0,19

stay when he came to visit.

Families with long Coroan bloodlines were next, living on the near sides of the East and West Wings, and then those with shorter lines but valuable ties and land on the outer edges. Then less important families, and if you got beyond a certain juncture in the hallways, well, it was clear most people didn’t care if you were present or not. High floors meant you could stay but weren’t necessarily expected to be seen, and the servants made their homes in the floors below the main level.

Beyond the back of the palace, along the high crest of the hill the castle claimed as its own, there were outbuildings, larders, and other spaces where the masses of people who kept the palace operating did the majority of their work. I hoped that was where I might find the seamstress.

“Oh!” I gasped as I rounded a corner a little too quickly.

The two young men I’d almost crashed into looked at me and then dropped into a deep bow. Their hair alone made them unmistakable; these were the boys from Isolte. They wore very loose shirts, the kind men in Coroa wore under their doublet, and they both carried leather bags with tools sticking out of them.

“Oh, please, there’s no need for that,” I insisted, urging them to stand.

The boy with the blinding blue eyes lifted his head. “Perhaps there is, Lady Brite.”

I smiled. “I see you’ve learned my name. But it is my mother who goes by Lady Brite. I am simply Hollis.”

He rose, eyes never breaking contact. “Hollis,” he said. We stood there for a moment, my name hanging between us, and, once again, I found myself having a difficult time looking away. “I’m Silas,” he finally added. “And this is my brother Sullivan.”

The brother merely tipped his head. Silas placed a hand on his shoulder. “Why don’t you go ahead and take those supplies to the outbuilding? I’ll follow along in just a moment.”

Wordlessly, Sullivan stumbled down into another bow before exiting quickly.

“Sorry about that,” Silas said, turning back to me. “Sullivan is very shy if he doesn’t know you. Actually, he’s shy even if he does.”

I giggled. “Well, you’ll have to apologize for me. I didn’t mean to startle you.”

“Since when do you have to apologize for anything, my lady? They say you are to be queen.”

My eyes widened.

“Is it not true? I didn’t mean to presume. It’s just, everyone says so when you pass.”

I looked down. “These people . . . do they sound happy when they say it?”

He nodded. “Plenty of them. If they happen to be around about our age, let’s just say the tone is a bit more envious than awed.”

I sighed. “Understood. Well, there is no ring on my finger, so no one can really say one way or the other.”

“Then if this all comes about, I hope that you two will be very happy. Isolte has a queen, but it is universally acknowledged that she lacks a level of strength and generosity one should expect from a leader. Your people will be fortunate to have you.”

I looked at my feet, feeling a blush coming on, and noticed the tools in his hands again.

“Forgive me, but why is it you’re still working now that you’re here? You’ve left Isolte—which, by the way, may be one of the smartest things a person could do—so why not start over and be a gentleman like your father? It would certainly be cleaner.”

He laughed. “I’m proud of what I can do. I’m best with swords and armor, but if Sullivan doesn’t mind working with me, I can make jewelry, too.” He shrugged, still looking quite pleased with himself. “After presenting that sword to your king, I—”

“Ah, but he is your king now, too,” I commented.

The boy—Silas—nodded. “Forgive me. We’re all still adjusting, and I’m a bit suspicious of kings at the present.”

He took a pause before returning to our conversation. “Since presenting our sword to the king, we’ve received several requests for more, and I think my mother even managed to talk someone into commissioning a necklace.”

I put my hands on my hips, staring at him, impressed. “And here I didn’t take Isoltens to be artists.” He smiled and shrugged. “That’s a rather handy skill. How did you learn it if you were a courtier yourself?”

“Our manor was close enough to the castle that we could come and go with ease, so most of our time was spent at home.” A whimsical