“Of course,” I respond, watching her through the mirror, exchanging a look.
A knock at the door pulls her attention away and she goes to answer it. Taking in my reflection, I stand and straighten the skirts on my dark blue dress. The dress itself is quite plain, a simple style apart from the beautiful golden detailing on the band that cinches in my waist.
Hearing Wilson’s voice, I leave my room and see that his usual bright smile is tight, and standing just behind him in the doorway is Aileen. She looks beautiful in her blue and green dress, her auburn hair tumbling down her back, but her gaze is weary and I don’t miss the dark marks under her eyes that she’s tried to hide with makeup.
“Aileen, I hadn’t expected to see you here,” I greet with a confused smile. I don’t usually see her until we meet in the hall, so something must have happened for her to be here with Wilson.
“Yes, Wilson is going to escort both of us tonight. My father refused to come, we had a big fight.” For a second, I think she’s going to cry, but she shakes her head and takes a deep breath, smiling at me. “Do you mind?”
“Of course not!” Walking over to her, I reach out and take her hand, squeezing it in my own. I know how close she is with her father, and for him not to be here with her tonight must be hard. Giving me a grateful smile, she squeezes my hand back.
“Right, ladies, let’s get this over with,” Wilson announces, offering us each an arm, which we take before exiting the room with a quick goodbye to Jayne.
We walk in silence, and the closer we get to the hall, the tenser the atmosphere between us grows. As we leave the residential part of the castle, we come across a servant whose eyes widen when she sees me. Hurrying out of the way, she falls to her knees and bows her head.
“Beloved,” she murmurs reverently as we pass. This has been happening more frequently, and I don’t know where it has come from. What is Jayne telling them? They are treating me like royalty. I can feel the surprise of the others, but they hold their tongues until we pass the servant.
“What was that about?” Aileen asks quietly, her eyes wide.
“I did something to help a couple of servants, and now some of them do this,” I answer vaguely. It makes me uncomfortable, both what the servants are doing and that I can’t tell Wilson what’s going on. He knows something is happening, but I need him to be safe.
The look she gives me tells me she knows I’m not telling the whole truth, but she nods and faces forward again as we continue onward.
Entering the hall, I note that it looks the same as it has the last few nights, but the atmosphere is different. Everyone seems to be on edge, sipping wine as they gaze around nervously. We get quite a few looks as Wilson guides the two of us in and leads us over to one of the corners where we will have more privacy. We must be later than usual, because just as we start to look around, the steward bangs his cane and announces the king and the princes, Rhydian and Michael. Still no Jacob. I’ve not seen him in over a week now and it’s worrying me.
Once the royals are settled, the musicians start playing and couples drift into the centre of the room to dance.
The evening goes as all the others have, several lords I have met over the last few evenings come over to greet us, making small talk to fill the time. I’m sipping from my glass when Aileen’s eyes go wide and Wilson steps closer to me as a shadow falls over us.
“Your Highness,” Aileen says quickly, dipping into a curtsy. My breath catches in my chest as I turn to see who is behind me—Rhydian. Following Aileen’s example, I quickly drop into a curtsy.
“Prince Rhydian,” I greet, and as I stand, I keep my eyes low, but I can feel his amusement.
“Lady Clarissa, Lady Aileen,” he replies, his smile wide, before he turns to the mage at our side. “Wilson.”
Wilson stiffens, and I know he’s been insulted by the greeting, but he can’t say anything in return without putting us at risk. I’ve seen ladies being killed this week for smaller faux pas