Cheating Royalty (Chasing Royalty #2)

9

I stand, “Guards?” I fold the letter in half behind my back.

“Come with me,” The servant orders.

When she turns to lead us, I slip the letter back into my bodice. Grace does the same with hers. I expect the servant to guide us out into the hall, but instead she jogs to the back of the room.

“What are you doing?” I hiss.

“Florentine gave you this room for a reason.” She reaches the back wall of creamy white paneling. She presses a random panel in the middle of the room in the bottom corner. It swings open, back into another room.

“Hurry.”

I lift my skirts to climb into the small room. I have to do a difficult combination of ducking my shoulders down while lifting my knees. I hear a rip as my skirts catch on the corner of the wood, but I couldn’t care less about this dress.

I stumble inside and Grace pops in after me. The servant hurries to grab our bags from the corner of the room. She throws them in after us. “Don’t speak. Don’t move. Any noise and the guards will find you.”

She motions for us to close the panel back into the wall. I push it quietly closed and it snaps back into place with a click. If I put my eye up to the edge where the molding meets together, I can see a thin slice of the outside room.

Grace shifts besides me, bringing my attention to our current room. It’s only a few paces wide and long. Rough wood paneling for the walls and an uneven concrete floor. If I think about it too much, the walls close in claustrophobia. Two small cots sit on opposite sides of the room. A small table leans against the wall, a couple books sitting atop.

Footsteps echo from outside the room, and I quietly press my eye to the crack. My break catches in my throat. Four castle guards dressed in the royal uniform enter our bedroom.

Florentine and a servant, the same servant that ushered us into this room, follow the guards into the room.

“What is this room for?” A guard asks sternly.

Florentine responds calmly with a hint of exasperation, “This room is not currently used for anybody specifically. It serves as a guest room, when we have a surplus of guests. The set of two single beds is an uncommon need for most of my guests.”

“Why would you have the set of two beds if it wasn’t a common need?” The guard asks.

“Just because it is uncommon doesn’t mean it’s nonexistent. I wouldn’t want to make anyone uncomfortable. I’m simply prepared for any specific wants or needs someone might have.”

The guard doesn’t say anything more. He nods to the others. They begin searching the room. Looking under the beds. Ripping apart the sheets. Opening drawers. Paging through books.

I’m glad I slipped Augustine’s letter into my bodice. I’m afraid to think of what the guards would do if they found such a letter.

A guard holds up something in his hand. From my crack in the door, I can’t make out what the object is.

The guard answers my curiosity anyway, “Why is this shoe in here if it isn’t being used?”

I can make out the distinct black, ratty sole of the shoes that both Grace and I own. It must have fallen from our bags when we arrived or when the servant carried our bags in to this room. Grace and I have approximately the same sized foot, and we were able to pool our money together to get one extra pair of shoes. Although, after the guards are done, we may only have an extra shoe, instead of a set.

Florentine shrugs, “A visitor must have left it behind. It’s rather difficult to gather every single one of your belongs into your baggage.” There’s not a hint of her lie on her face.

The guard smiles arrogantly, “I find that rather hard to believe. This shoe is a little too ratty for any of your common guests to be wearing. However, if you were to take in two royal traitors who were living off the streets, this shoe just might fit their feet. Besides, the shoe is still wet. Do you have an explanation for that?”

Florentine looks to the servant, who had been standing silently this entire time.

The servant swallows and turns a shade of red. Her voice wavers, “I…Some of us servants occasionally keep our belongings in this room. For those of us who visit it outside of the city, we come in and place our possessions in here. Our dirty city shoes for our clean service shoes. We keep them in here to…to feel special.” She curtsies to Florentine’s, her eyes on the floor. “Please, forgive me. That shoe is mine. I wore it when I came to your house this morning. I put it in here. I know it’s against the rules and please,” She raises her eyes to Florentine’s, pleading, “Please don’t fire me.”

How did the servant come up with such a lie so quickly, and say it so convincingly?

Florentine runs a hand over her hair, as if she’s angry and disappointed with the servant. She turns to the guards, “May I please have a quick word with the servant? I’m afraid her actions are inexcusable.”

The guards hesitantly agree, and Florentine and servant disappear out into the hall. The guards eagerly take the chance to search the room even further. They spread out throughout the space, searching every square inch. I flinch as a guard passes inches from our hiding place.

Florentine and the servant reenter the room. The servant’s eyes are red, her cheeks glistening with tears. Did Florentine believe the servants lie? Surely she knew it was all an act.

If Florentine and this servant can lie so easily, should we question everything she says to us?

Florentine crosses her arms over her chest, “Are you done searching yet? If you plan on spending this much time in each room, you are going to be here for quite some time.”

“We will do our duty, and search for any traces of our convict.”

“Which convict is that?”

The guard takes three quick steps to tower over Florentine. His words are low and quiet, and I barely catch them, “You know perfectly well which convict it is. The Queen warned us that you would act like this. You know that harboring a criminal is punishable by death.”

“I believe that threatening a lady is also a rather severe punishment.”

The guard takes a step away from Florentine, “The Queen has given us permission to search every foot of this home. We can use force, if there is resistance.

“Ah, so it was the Queen who decided that I was guilty. I don’t know why you think I am suspicious. I’ve kept quiet. I’ve done what you’ve asked. There is no reason for you to be here.”

“We are interested in not so much you, but who is staying with you. We know that Augustine is here, staying with you. It’s not nearly as secret as you think.”

“Augustine and I are old friends. Our friendship is much older than either of our connections to the castle. He had nowhere to stay, and I had plenty of room. I was just being nice.”

“Where is Augustine?”

The other guards have stopped searching our room by now. The only trace of our existence was the single shoe. The other guards stand beside the main guard threatening Florentine, simply watching the show.

Florentine smiles, “He had business in the city. He won’t be back until late afternoon.”

“We will go to his study to wait.”

“I don’t know if he would appreciate that breach in his privacy.”

“We have the Queen’s permission to search any and every room within this house. That includes Augustine’s study. It shouldn’t be a problem, unless he has something to hide.”

Florentine nods, “It’s certainly a good thing that he has nothing to hide, then, isn’t it?”

She leads the guards out of our room to Augustine’s office. If Augustine had the letter talking about me in plain sight, what other papers are scattered across his desk? Back in the castle, I had no problem stealing his paper about the murders when he was in the same room. What will these guards find when he isn’t there to defend himself? He doesn’t have a chance to attempt to hide his things.

Once the last of the guards have left our room, I relax. I sit down on one of the cots and pick up one of the books. I try to read, but my mind shifts from worried questions to anxious thoughts. There are so many ways this could go wrong.

Was Florentine expecting a search of her house? She did mention that it was a possibility, but I certainly didn’t expect it to happen so fast.

At least this answers Grace’s suspicion as to whether guards were actually after us. I don’t think we need any more proof that we are in realistic danger. If we escaped this house, I don’t think we would get far without being stopped. Alexanne plans to recapture us. I know from the past that she will do whatever it takes to succeed.

●◊●◊●

The panel swings open. I flinch, and relax only after the servant’s face bobs into view. She says, “It’s safe to come out. They’ve finally left. We don’t know how long it will before they come back, but it won’t be anytime too soon.”

As I climb through the panels, I glace at the clock on the wall in my bedroom. Five o’clock. We’ve spent four hours in the cramped room.

Florentine waits in our bedroom, standing in the doorframe. She smiles weakly, “I’m sorry about how long that took. I’m afraid that it’s likely they’ll keep coming back, and for longer amounts of time. Different guards and commanders and investigators will promise Alexanne that they can find you. They’ll come, tear my home apart, and leave empty handed.”

She steps into the room, and the late afternoon sunlight spills from the window on to her face. She abruptly looks so much older, the stress and weight of the afternoon crushing her.

I say, “Thank you so much for everything you’ve done.” I nod to the servant. “Both of you, you saved my life. I would never expect so much from a servant.”

Florentine laughs, “She isn’t a servant. I just have her dress as one so she can stay by my side. I need her wits in every situation. This is my daughter, Cassandra.”

I smile, “Cassandra. Did you name her after Queen Cassandra, my mother?”

“Yes, she was born shortly after your mother past. Your mother asked me to name my daughter after herself.”

“You knew her personally?” I frown, thinking of the ripped letter.

Florentine won’t meet my eye, “Something like that.”