Cheating Royalty (Chasing Royalty #2)

6

Augustine sighs good-naturedly and sets his papers down on his desk. “Admira, I had hoped I had escaped you when you were killed for being a traitor, but you have always been persistent, haven’t you?”

I smile lightly, “It appears that both of us regret having met.”

“You know, I might ask you what you are doing in my study, but I’m afraid I know you too well. Perhaps you were looking for another piece of paper you could use against me?”

The grin threatens to take over my face and I realize how much I’ve missed Augustine. His snippy, but light-hearted comments and his belief that I can do anything that I put my mind to. We haven’t always gotten along, but he helped me discover the truth about Alexanne. Does he know how much I’ve missed him?

I shrug, “If it makes you feel any better, I was searching for something against Florentine, not you. We didn’t know that this was your study. We thought perhaps it would be Florentine’s. We will leave right away if you can tell us where it is located.”

Augustine laughs, “I’ve forgotten how foolish you think I am. If Florentine hasn’t told you the location of her study, I don’t think it is my responsibility to tell you where it is. Besides, couldn’t you always ask a servant? Or are you worried your questions might get back to Florentine?”

“I suppose we could find it on our own.”

I begin to walk towards the door, but Augustine says, “Wait, Admira, are you in need of more lessons? I don’t suppose you’ve kept up with any lessons since you left the castle.”

I think of my tiny pile of stolen books in my bag. “I’ve tried, but we didn’t have the extra money to spend.”

Grace mutters beneath her breath, “That didn’t stop her from getting her hands on the books.”

Augustine smiles, as if he already knows the answer, “Really? How did you read the books without the money?”

“I stole them, if you want me to be honest. But the books were as necessary to my survival as food and water.”

Grace rolls her eyes, but Augustine’s face glows with my words. He murmurs, “Perhaps I haven’t completely failed in teaching you.” Then, louder he says, “Perhaps, if you have any free time, you could come by my study and we could try to continue your lessons where we left off. Anytime you want to come, I’ll be ready to teach you.”

“You must go home sometime. When will you be here?”

Augustine shakes his head, “I’ve also forgotten how incredibly unobservant you can be. Look around this office, Admira, does it look like I ever leave?”

“You live in Florentine’s house? Why?”

How high is Florentine’s social status, that Augustine, a castle tutor, would know her? Even after Florentine has explained some of her lies, I still find myself questioning how much was truthful. But, if Augustine trusts Florentine, surely I can trust her?

Augustine fiddles with the papers on his desk, not meeting my eye, “When you were kicked out of the kingdom, I was out of a job. Alexanne didn’t want me around anymore, most likely because we were close. She told me I had exactly one week to remove any trace of my existence from the castle, or she would accuse me of working with the traitors. It was a pretty bold move, but I think she was feeling pretty confident at the time. While I was still cleaning out my study, Florentine approached me. She said there was a place I could stay for free. She also mentioned how she knew the truth about Alexanne. I didn’t have any place better to go, so I came here.”

I’m not sure if it is sarcasm or bitterness that tints his voice. In a wave of guilt, I realize that I never thought about the way other people were affected when I was forced from the castle. In my selfishness and self-pity, I never thought about Augustine, my tutor, or my maids or the extra kitchen staff or all the other countless jobs that were no longer needed once I was gone. Alexanne’s murders and betrayals have affected several more people than just me.

Does she realize how many people’s lives she’s changed for the worse?

Augustine seems to notice the concern in my expression, but he waves it away with his hand, “Oh, you don’t have to worry about me. I would have found a way to care for myself. This old brain can go back to school and teach more students yet.”

I force a laugh, but it’s loud and awkward.

“Please,” he says, “there’s no need to worry about me. You are what matters. I don’t suppose that Florentine has told you her great plan.”

I lie, “Yes, of course she has. I think it’s rather brilliant, honestly. What do you think of it?”

Augustine stares hard at me for a second and snorts, “I see you also haven’t gotten any better at lying, have you? I know what you were trying to do. Trying to prompt me into giving you the details of the plan by saying you know everything already. Good effort, I suppose.”

“Please, Augustine, I don’t know whether I should trust Florentine or her plan. I don’t know enough information to form any type of opinion. If you could just give me some details…?”

“I’ve sworn quite too many oaths to give away Florentine’s secrets that quickly. And I feel like it’s my duty to warn you to not search for those secrets in Florentine’s study either. You won’t find anything, but Florentine will certainly find you. There’s not much Florentine dislikes more than people who believe they are private investigators.” Augustine gives me a pointed look.

“If you won’t tell us the answers and we can’t search through her study, how are we supposed to find any more information?”

“You could always ask.” The voice floats from the doorway. My head snaps to see who it is, and something sinks in my stomach.

Florentine stands in the doorway with her lips pursed.

Augustine offers her a nod, “Florentine, how lovely to see you.”

Florentine strolls into the room, “Indeed, lovely to see you as well. I’m afraid I was coming by to announce that our princess has finally arrived. However, I see that you’ve already run into each other. How, I’m not exactly sure.”

Augustine stacks his pile of papers on his desk, not meeting Florentine’s eyes, “We ran into each other in the halls. I invited them inside to catch up on the last two months. They’ve had to be quite resourceful to survive.”

Florentine addresses Grace and me, “We would have helped you sooner, but you’ve hidden your identity incredibly well. We weren’t sure of your location, except we figured you would attend the coronation.”

Were we that predictable? Is that why Alexanne has the guards searching the city? She herself surely couldn’t have seen us. We would have never left that courtyard alive.

Why did Alexanne choose to suddenly have the guards searching for us? What changed from two months ago?

Florentine frowns, “Wait…if you met each other in the hall…What were you two doing out of your room? I had a servant direct you to your room. Did you not reach it? I see you know longer have your possessions.”

I stiffen, “No, the servant brought us to our room. I had to use the bathroom rather badly, but the servant had already left. We couldn’t find any staff, so we decided to wander until we found a bathroom or a servant who could help us.”

“And you made it from your room, all the way down the hall, to Augustine’s study, without seeing a single person of my staff? Excuse my arrogance, but I pride myself in having a large staff.”

I shrug, “Perhaps it was between changing shifts.”

Florentine laughs, “You realize this is no longer your castle, correct? My servants aren’t like the guards, changing on shifts. They are assigned to certain areas for certain times Since this isn’t your castle and you don’t know the layout of my home, I’ve commanded any servants to guide you to where you need to go if you ever stray from your room.”

Is that a threat to stay in our rooms?

“Yet another difference between my home and your castle is that here, you aren’t in charge. Understand?”

I nod quickly, shocked by her firm words behind a tight smile.

“Good. Augustine and I need to discuss something privately for a little while. You may go back to your rooms and stay in them until I come to get you. If you need to use the bathroom, you’ll have to find a servant to come with you. I’m sorry if that seems like a lot of rules, but you are in a lot of danger. If Alexanne’s guards were to attack this house, we would want you to be with someone who can take care of you, right?”

I hesitantly nod as Florentine clearly dismisses us.

Florentine holds up her finger, “There’s just one more rule, or guideline that I would like to place.” She pauses to make sure she has our attention. “Don’t lie to me again. I thought you were above lying, but I suppose not.”

I nod yet again, and hurry from the room before Florentine can order me around anymore. I don’t know what happened to the charming lady of before, but my head spins with her firm rules and hidden threats.