The manager of the King’s palace had the good grace to look nonplussed for the briefest second. Then he turned to his second and said, ‘Make sure that the royal guest quarters are readied at once!’
The speed with which that official took off convinced Hal that in the time it took Stephane and Gabriella to walk to the guest accommodations set aside for visiting royalty, windows would be opened, fruit and chilled wine placed upon the table, candles lit, and bedding freshened, as if they had been expecting her all along.
Ty whispered to Hal, ‘I think if Sung the White showed up-,’ he meant the Goddess of Purity, ‘-he’d have her room ready.’
The entire party was ushered into a receiving area where a party of government officials were waiting. Standing in the middle of the group was a gentleman of middle years wearing a well-tailored dark green coat of simple cut. He bowed to Stephane and said, ‘Highness, allow me to present myself. I am Sir William Alcorn, the King’s Chancellor. I can only say this is a most welcome and wonderful surprise. His Majesty will of course expect you to dine with him tonight.’ He turned to the Duke and said, ‘Your Grace,’ then he greeted the Duchess, and returning to the Duke said, ‘Many of the Congress have gathered to discuss the coming peace with Kesh. An informal dinner has been arranged for that purpose, if you’d care to attend.’
‘Yes, of course,’ answered Duke Chadwick.
Turning to the two young men, Sir William said, ‘Young Lord Henry, we anticipate your father’s arrival with the other western lords in the company of Prince Edward soon. Until then please be our guest.’ To Ty he added, ‘And you, Master Hawkins, are welcome as well.’
Stephane turned to Hal, her expression fixed in a smile, but her face almost devoid of colour. ‘Would you be so kind as to call upon me once you’ve settled into your quarters, Lord Henry? You as well, Master Hawkins?’
For the briefest moment, Sir William’s expression flickered as if he was thinking of a reason to object, but finding none he merely smiled and said, ‘Ask any servant and you will be shown the way. Now, if you excuse me, I must attend to the business of the day.’ He bowed and moved away, whispering to a subordinate, and various servants immediate began escorting guests to different parts of the palace.
The King’s palace was set atop the highest hill overlooking the harbour at the northern end of the Island of Rillanon, birthplace of the Kingdom of the Isles. Buried below the foundations of this city were the ruins of earlier settlements and villages. History began where lore ended, and tales of great heroes sung by bards were transcribed and gathered and thus was the history of nations fashioned.
Hal walked past a garden, remembering that Dannis, the first island monarch to set his standard on the mainland, had made a conquest from this calm sanctuary but rather from a torch-lit stone tor a hundred feet below this palace, covered by centuries of detritus, a single tower that had been raised over a thatch-roofed village of daub-and-waddle huts protected by a log palisade. The mighty Kingdom fleet had comprised a dozen long barques with single masts with less than thirty warriors per boat, and Bas-Tyra had been a rival village on the mainland with its own single tor overlooking log walls.
Still, thought Hal as they reached the apartment he’d be sharing with Ty, thinking of the past with more glory and beauty than it deserved was a common failing of conquerors, and it provided goals for dealing with the dark and murderous reality of today.
Rillanon might be the most beautiful city on the planet, but conquest and murder, betrayal and mayhem had made it that way.
Ty and Hal followed a servant to the Princess’s quarters where they were quickly admitted by Gabriella. Both young men were wearing clothing that had been provided by the palace: to their amazement it fitted well, right down to highly polished boots.
The Princess rose and said, ‘Please, come into the garden.’
Ty and Hal exchanged glances: in the late afternoon the garden would be quite hot.
Gabriella moved quickly around the perimeter of the garden, obviously looking for eavesdroppers. The garden presented one open side to the city and harbour below, perfect for watching the sunrise should one be up that early, and two low walls, behind which no one lurked.
Softly the Princess said to both Hal and Ty, ‘That man who greeted us?’
‘Yes?’
‘That’s Lord John Worthington.’
Both Hal and Ty looked at one another then back at the Princess.
‘I know you’ll think me mad, but you did meet Lord John at the reception after the Masters’ Championship. Don’t you remember?’
Ty and Hal again exchanged glances, but neither could conjure up a good memory of Lord John Worthington. Finally, colour rising in his cheeks, Hal said, ‘If I’m to be honest, Stephane, I remember little except being in a bit of pain; and seeing you for the first time.’
Stephane’s eyes widened slightly and a slight smile passed over her lips, but then her expression became serious once more. ‘I’m not jesting with you. If that’s not Lord John Worthington who greeted us, it’s his twin.’
Ty said, ‘I vaguely remember Lord John, but truth to tell, I was in much the same position as Hal …. without the pain, of course.’ He smiled.
Stephane didn’t. She looked at Gabriella.
Lady Gabriella said, ‘They are like twins, gentlemen. I’ve been the Princess’s companion for five years now, and I’ve encountered Lord John on dozens of occasions over the last three. They could be the same man.’
‘If they are twins,’ said Hal, ‘that begs many questions.’
‘Worthington is an Isles name,’ said Ty. ‘Cousins perhaps?’
‘More than that, I am certain of it,’ said Stephane. With a slight inclination of her head she instructed Gabrielle to take Ty to the far side of the garden so that she could have a moment alone with Hal. When they were as far removed from the other couple as possible, she said, ‘I wanted to thank you for everything.’
Hal found himself suddenly speechless, as flummoxed as he had been the first time he had met her. Now, as then, she was dressed in court finery, and although her hair was not set in some grand fashion, it was freshly washed and framed her face in natural waves. Her wide blue eyes stared at him in a way that made him feel amazed and disconcerted at one and the same time. ‘Ah,’ he began, ‘no need. I was only …’ He couldn’t speak.
She looked up into his dark brown eyes and stepped close. Putting her cheek against his, she said, ‘I know. I see how you look at me. I treasure that love.’
Hal’s mouth was dry.
Stephane whispered, ‘Until I return home safely, please do not leave my side.’
Trying to still his pounding heart, Hal spoke quietly. ‘I am your obedient servant, Your Highness. I will be but a call away from now until you are with your father.’
‘Thank you.’ Standing on her toes, she kissed him on the cheek. With her lips next to his ear she whispered, ‘I have never met your like, and I will hold you in my heart until death.’ Then she turned away, saving Hal further awkwardness.
So many things had happened since that first night Hal had seen her. His feelings were a jumble, and he was desperate to say more to her, but he knew that he never would. She would marry someone important to the Kingdom and he was, at best, years away from becoming a rural duke in the far west. Title and land he would possess, along with responsibility and obligation, but the sort of political influences needed to make him a suitor for the hand of the Princess of Roldem would be but an idle dream. The possibility that she might look upon him as something more than a loyal friend at one and the same time buoyed and sank his heart. He pushed down the ache that was growing and reminded himself that he had been raised to do his duty to king and country.
His reverie was interrupted by the arrival of a page who said, ‘Lord Henry of Crydee?’
Hal turned. ‘Yes?’
‘The King is asking for you now, sir.’
Hal glanced at the Princess, and she indicated with a tilt of her chin that he should go at once; she’d be fine in the company of Ty and Gabriella.
Hal hurried after the page who led him through a series of corridors so that they approached the King’s royal apartment though a side door, out of sight of the throng of courtiers waiting in the main hall of the palace for their chance to speak with the King.
Hal stepped through the door held open by the page and was surprised by how sparsely decorated the room
