Foremost (The Lost Princesses Book 2) Read online

  The cool silence of the cavern room descended around us. I didn’t understand all of what Sister Katherine had explained. In fact, more and more questions formulated within my mind, questions that demanded answers. But I had the feeling Sister Katherine had told me everything she knew, and now my curiosity would only be sated by seeking out the answers for myself.

  Chapter

  4

  Edmund

  I’m tasking you with the job of delivering the Princess Maribel safely to her sister, Queen Adelaide Constance, in Norland.

  From my pallet on the forge floor, I stared at the glowing embers inside the open stone oven. Sister Katherine’s words hadn’t stopped echoing in my head since she’d spoken them to me hours ago.

  I’d been surprised when Colette had rushed into the forge earlier and told me the abbess and Sister Katherine wanted to speak to me. I couldn’t remember ever being called to visit the abbess, and I assumed she planned to give me my due punishment for endangering the convent and Maribel on our escapade down the mountain.

  As I’d followed Colette to the abbess’s chamber, I hadn’t believed her whispered declarations—that Maribel was one of the lost princesses, that Sister Katherine had even addressed her as “Your Highness,” and that the abbess had asked for Sister Agnes’s personal items to be brought to her in order to prove to Maribel she was the princess.

  I’d waited outside the abbess’s chamber door for some time before Maribel finally emerged. Her odd expression as she’d passed by me should have been enough to confirm everything Colette had already spoken. But it wasn’t until I was called inside and stood before the abbess and Sister Katherine that the truth hit me like an avalanche.

  Maribel was a princess. I’d been able to sense it in Sister Katherine’s demeanor and face even before she uttered a word. And I’d realized that’s why the nun had come.

  She wasted no time getting to the point of my summons. I’m tasking you with the job of delivering the Princess Maribel safely to her sister, Queen Adelaide Constance, in Norland. You must be gone in two days and never come back.

  I flipped onto my back and expelled a sigh. Why had Sister Katherine given the job to me? Wade was the warrior. He was more capable of protecting Maribel and seeing her to safety than I was.

  Wade’s familiar, heavy breathing came from the opposite side of the room. He hadn’t missed a beat of his hammer when I’d explained to him that Maribel was the princess. He’d accepted the news almost as if he’d already guessed the truth about her identity long ago. Maybe he’d always known. After all, he’d served King Francis and Queen Dierdal. Maybe he’d noticed the family resemblance in Maribel’s features. Or perhaps Sister Agnes had confided in him about Maribel’s identity.

  I lifted to one elbow and watched the rise and fall of Wade’s brawny torso under his coverlet, the wide chest that had protected me beneath his cloak when he’d carried me through the crowds, away from Delsworth, away from the lifeless bodies of my family swaying from the gallows.

  Once he’d delivered me to the convent all those years ago, he’d had no reason to stay. He could have continued on to Norland where so many other elite guards had escaped. The nuns would have raised me regardless of his presence. Had he decided to remain because of Maribel? To be her protector?

  I flopped back to my pallet. Sister Katherine should have asked the fierce elite guard to accompany Maribel to Norland. Not me.

  Whatever the case, I hadn’t been able to refuse the nun, not when she’d looked into my eyes as if she could see inside my soul. Her gleam had told me she’d guessed how much I cared about Maribel and would do anything for her, including laying down my life if need be.

  Yes, I desperately wanted to go with her. Yes, I couldn’t bear the thought of her departing without me. And yes, I’d do anything for her. But her safety mattered more than my desires.

  Two soft scratches at the bottom of the forge door sent my pulse sputtering forward. The sound was part of the mouse communication I’d taught Maribel and Colette when we’d been younger. Back then, we’d used the secret language as a way to converse with each other when we were supposed to observe the rules of silence. In recent years, Maribel had taken to using the scratches when she wanted me to sneak out of my room and meet her in the chapel.

  Wade was normally a light sleeper, trained to listen for every noise even in slumber. But the mouse scratches didn’t rouse him. And most of the time my stealthy exits from the room didn’t wake him either.

  Within minutes, I was creeping through the dark passageway, my heart thudding with every step. I was more than ready to talk to Maribel and discover how she was feeling after learning about her identity. Knowing her as I did, I expected her to be excited but confused.

  Had she heard that Sister Katherine had asked me to accompany her to Norland?

  I rounded the bend, and faint light ahead guided my steps the last distance. We’d chosen the chapel as our rendezvous point because one of the candles on the altar was always lit. And Maribel said we could offer extra prayers in between our talking. She’d decided the sisters couldn’t condemn us for that.

  When I entered, Maribel was already kneeling on a prayer cushion at the front. Silently, I lowered myself next to her.

  Her eyes were closed, and her lips moving in prayer. For a moment, I relished watching her without her realizing I was doing so. In the faint candle glow, her profile was almost angelic. Her veil had slipped off her shoulder, leaving more of her visible than usual. From her high cheekbones to her perfectly rounded chin, to her long neck, she was so graceful and beautiful she nearly stole the breath from my lungs.

  She opened an eye and peeked sideways at me, as though she’d felt my attention upon her. “Are you as shocked as I am?”

  “Quite.”

  “Then wait until you see what else I have.” She lifted her hand out of the long, wide mouth of her sleeve and opened her palm to reveal a large, golden key. “Sister Agnes had it among her belongings.”

  I’d taken part in the education Sister Agnes had insisted on giving us orphans. From our history lessons, I knew as well as Maribel what she was holding: one of the three keys belonging to royalty who’d been charged with their keeping. Keys that could supposedly unlock an ancient treasure.

  While I’d assumed the lessons about the treasure and keys were more fable than truth, Sister Agnes had always insisted she had proof.

  Now I knew why…

  “I need your help in figuring out how this key is a clue to the treasure.” She pressed the metal object into my hand. I wasn’t sure I should touch it. But she released it to me, and I had no choice but to take it.

  “You are the smartest person I know,” she continued. “If anyone can decipher the meaning of the key, you can.”

  “I’m the smartest person you know only because you don’t know many people.”

  She smiled and nudged me with her elbow. “Even if I knew everyone in the kingdom, you would still be one of the smartest.”

  I loved her confidence in me. She’d always believed in me and trusted me. I just hoped I wouldn’t let her down.

  I lifted the key and inspected it from the oval bow at the top to the bit at the end. I noted everything about it—its weight, length, and pattern. The engraving of a tree of life and healing certainly had great meaning. But I suspected there was something else about the key we needed to know first before we could understand the symbol.

  “The weight of a solid, pure-gold key should be heavier.” I examined the point where a thin band separated the shank from the collar. “Thus the key must be hollow.”

  Maribel bent her head closer to mine, and I caught the exotic scent of herbs that surrounded her all the time. I breathed her in and was tempted to lean even nearer. But I forced myself to focus on the key.

  “Can you locate the hollow place?” she asked.

  “My guess is that it’s in the shank.” I twisted at the thin band, but it didn’t budge. It was likely tight from dis
use. Or perhaps it had a secret catch somewhere inside that had to be pressed in order to open. Either way, I had to pry deeper.

  After a minute of winding a piece of thread from my shirt into the band, it clicked and the shank loosened.

  Maribel clapped softly. “You did it.”

  I guessed if anything remained in the shank, it would be wedged far inside to mask its presence—yet not so far it was unreachable. Whoever had designed the keys had made the hiding place difficult to find but not impossible. “We need a needle or a pin to poke up into the shank.”

  Maribel was on her feet and out the door before I could stop her. I guessed she was going a few doors down to the weaving room. She returned a few minutes later beaming and holding a needle.

  It took me no time to pry loose a tiny piece of parchment. I unraveled it and squinted to see the faded print. “S.C. Abbey.”

  “S.C. Abbey,” Maribel repeated.

  We both sat in silence, staring at the scrap of paper. Until . . .

  “St. Cuthbert’s Abbey,” we whispered in unison. A thrill shot through me. And when I met her gaze, I could see an excitement that matched mine. Our smiles broke free at the same moment.

  “You did it.” She gave a soft, jubilant laugh and then threw her arms around me.

  I was used to Maribel’s occasional bursts of emotion, but it had been awhile since she’d hugged me. My head told me I needed to remain brotherly in return—keep her slightly at bay and end with a quick pat on the back.

  However, my arms betrayed me and slipped around her entirely, pulling her tight so our bodies connected, and the side of her head brushed against the side of mine. I closed my eyes and basked in the pleasure of holding her near.

  I realized I’d hugged her a moment too long when she wiggled to loosen herself. Reluctantly, I released her and tried to make my expression passive so she wouldn’t see just how much her embrace had affected me.

  I shouldn’t have worried about her noticing my attraction. She never did. In fact, she reached for my hand and grasped it in hers, clearly not understanding how her merest touch sent fire into my limbs. “Let us go to St. Cuthbert’s.”

  “Sister Katherine has charged me with escorting you to Norland.”

  “Then we shall go to St. Cuthbert’s first.” She accepted the news of my going with her as if it was a foregone conclusion.

  “But it’s the opposite direction.”

  “Not overly so.”

  “Anyway, don’t you think Wade should be the one to accompany you?” She shook her head, but before she could say anything, I rushed forward. “He’s the trained warrior. He’ll be able to protect you and get you to Norland much better than I could.”

  “We shall be fine,” she said with her usual confidence. “I would rather be with you than anyone else.”

  At her words, warmth seeped through my chest.

  “Let us set out at once,” she said. “If we depart without delay, we shall arrive at St. Cuthbert’s tomorrow morning.”

  The abandoned abbey was a full day’s ride in daylight and good weather. But in the dark of night in winter? “We ought to wait, Maribel. We’d be safer traveling by daylight. Besides, we should say farewell to everyone, should we not?”

  “We shall return before going to Norland,” she said. “And we shall say our good-byes then.”

  Past experience had taught me she’d do whatever she planned whether I supported her or not. If I decided against accompanying her, she’d go without me. And I couldn’t let her do that.

  She turned her face up, her blue eyes sparkling and wide with anticipation. “How can you wait? We have a clue that could lead us to the treasure. Sister Katherine will understand the urgency. After all, she is the one who said we must have the treasure before we can defeat King Ethelwulf’s evil. If I am able to ride into Norland with my part of the treasure, then we shall bring something worthwhile to my sister.”

  “If she is as good and wise as people claim, then she will value you for who you are and not for what you bring.”

  Maribel made quick work of putting the key back together and tucking it into a pouch tied to her belt. “Can you not feel the adventure waiting for us, Eddie? We shall embark on a hunt for real treasure this time, not just for my herbs.”

  I hated when she called me Eddie. It was a childhood nickname I’d long outgrown. Thankfully, she didn’t use it often, but when she did, I felt as though she saw me as a young boy and not the man I’d become.

  She stood and straightened her veil. The gray fabric did nothing to mute or detract from her loveliness. In contrast, she only seemed all the more vibrant and alive. Certainly not the type of woman destined to become a nun. Perhaps now that she knew she was a princess, she would put the idea of being a nun out of her mind.

  “Say you will come with me,” she pleaded softly, looking down at where I still knelt on my prayer cushion. “Please.”

  I had the strangest longing to reach for her hand, bring it to my lips, and kiss her delicate fingers. Instead, I swallowed the unexpected desire and gave her the answer she wanted. “You know I will.”

  She smiled, and her eyes danced before she spun around and started to cross the chapel. “I shall meet you by the stables in ten minutes.”

  “Dress as warmly as you can,” I whispered after her. She waved her answer and disappeared, leaving a mixture of longing and frustration swirling in my chest.

  I wasted no time in returning to the forge, gathering my clothes and weapons. Wade’s heavy breathing told me he still slept, and I prayed he would until we were well on our way to St. Cuthbert’s. I doubted he’d approve of me giving in to Maribel’s whim, especially to set off in the dark.

  With all I needed in hand, I started to open the door, careful not to make a sound.

  “Take Sheba.” His whisper stopped me.

  I spun to find his gaze upon me. I wanted to shake my head in denial but then thought better of it. After all, how could I explain why I had my weapons and every stitch of clothing I owned?

  “Keep to the high paths until you reach the tunnels at the eastern end of the Iron Hills.” His instructions told me he knew the details of our plans to go to St. Cuthbert’s and search for the treasure. Had he pretended to be asleep only to follow me to the chapel? How many times had he done so in the past?

  Embarrassed heat slid up my neck into my face.

  “Do you remember the underground route that will take you into the ruins?” he asked.

  I nodded. I’d traveled with Wade into the vicinity of St. Cuthbert’s on several occasions, and he’d done his best to teach me all he knew about the various hiding places set into the Iron Hills and Highlands.

  “Stay out of sight during the day and travel at night.”

  My shoulders dropped. “Maybe you should come with us.”

  Wade expelled a breath and closed his eyes. “No. She wants you.”

  If he’d listened to us in the chapel, then he would have heard Maribel’s declaration that she desired me to accompany her and not Wade. How must he feel after sacrificing so many years of his life to stay near her and protect her only to have her choose me instead of him?

  “I’m sorry, Wade.”

  “No, lad. It’s as it should be. You’re the one to go with her. Even Sister Katherine knows it.”

  “I’ll take care of her.”

  “I know you will.” Although not quite words of praise, it was the closest he’d come to acknowledging perhaps I wasn’t a complete failure at all his training efforts.

  “And we’ll be back before dawn on the second day.”

  “It would be for the best if you can convince the princess to leave directly for Norland. She won’t be safe here anymore.” The way he said “princess” left no doubt he’d guessed her identity long ago.

  “Do you think King Ethelwulf’s men will discover Sister Katherine’s trail?”

  “It’s not a matter of if, but when.”

  Danger awaited everyone who remaine
d. Was that another reason Wade wasn’t protesting my going with Maribel, so that he could stay and defend those left behind? “I’ll do my best to keep Maribel away, but she is strong-willed and not easily persuaded.”

  Wade nodded his agreement, then rolled to his back and closed his eyes. It was his silent method of communicating that our conversation was over and I needed to be on my way.

  I reached for the door.

  “She doesn’t see you the same way you see her.”

  Wade’s comment twined around my gut and cinched tight. I didn’t have to ask him what he meant. He was finishing the conversation we’d started much earlier in the day—the one about Colette and Maribel and marriage.

  I wanted to be angry at him for pointing out something I’d already known about Maribel, something I hadn’t wanted to acknowledge. That Maribel wasn’t attracted to me as a man. In fact, half the time she considered me nothing more than a childhood playmate—even though we were both fully grown.

  But instead of retorting, I swallowed my anger, which was really directed more at myself than at Wade.

  “I just don’t want to see you get hurt, lad,” he said softly.

  “I know.”

  “Colette loves you already and won’t break your heart.”

  The problem was I didn’t love Colette. How could I, not when I loved Maribel? I couldn’t deny the truth any longer. I’d always loved Maribel and would forever. And if she never felt the same in return, I’d rather be by her side as her friend and companion than not at all.

  “Go on, now, lad,” Wade said, “and don’t forget anything I taught you.”

  “I won’t.” As I exited, I had the awful premonition I might not see Wade again, that I wouldn’t have the chance to thank him for everything he’d done for me—for rescuing me as a frightened boy alone on the street, for bringing me to safety, for taking the time and effort year after year to shape me into a warrior. For modeling hard work, sacrifice, and courage.

  Maybe he hadn’t loved me as my own father would have. But he’d loved me in his own way. And I would always be grateful to him.