The ladies in waiting stopped beneath the balcony, batting their eyelashes at the guards. “I need my pipe,” the woman murmured, rubbing her temples. “I feel a headache coming on.” Valerie’s brows rose. “Regardless,” the woman continued, striding away, “I shall have to watch my back. I might even have to—”
CRASH!
The women screamed, the guards whirled with their crossbows pointed, and Valerie looked skyward as she retreated from the rail and into the shadows of the balcony doorway. The flowerpot had missed. This time.
The woman cursed so colorfully that Valerie clamped a hand over her mouth to keep from laughing. The servants cooed, wiping mud from the woman’s skirts and suede shoes. “Be quiet!” the woman hissed. The guards, wisely, didn’t let their amusement show. “Be quiet and let’s go
