Deck of Cards (15 page)

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Caleb had left Noel in charger of the search for Matthew. Though he desperately wanted to look for his brother himself, he knew he was needed back at Castle Caine.  He needed to check the progress of his guest, oversee the restocking of supplies of his troops, which were currently holding Castle Blackthorn, regrouping, and determining what to do next. He had not lost many men in this campaign, but fighting Philip was very different than taking on Leopold and he knew that, if they were to do battle, which he assumed they would soon, he would need fresh recruits.  He was certain he could call upon the citizens of both Arteria and Zurconia to provide them but he would need to get them armed and trained as quickly as possible.

He also wanted to survey the civilian prisoners they had captured. Noel had mentioned finding a girl in Philip’s bed. There was a possibility that she may know something about Matthew.  He also wanted to see if any of these young ladies might be the elusive “Angel” Matthew had written about.

Caleb wasn’t used to operating without Noel.  While another high-ranking officer, Dale, had stepped in to take Noel’s place, Caleb could immediately tell that things were different. He had arrived back at the castle an hour or so before the prison wagons started rolling in.  He had checked on his patient and was relieved to see she was continuing to recover nicely.  He visited with Cook for a few moments,
who was very distraught that Matthew had not been brought home.  He checked on a few other situations and then returned to the courtyard in time to oversee the operations there.              

The captured dignitaries were taken straight away to Palace
Evanlil, a summer home his parents had built in the far southeast region of the kingdom. Situated on a peninsula, it was almost entirely surrounded by water and made an ideal location for housing people who could not be trusted.  He had requested that these members of the aristocracy be interviewed and all of them said they had no idea where Matthew had been kept, nor did they have any idea how he could have escaped or where he might be now. One older gentleman was certain he had seen Matthew in a passageway with Philip just before the bombardment but no one could verify his story and Caleb dismissed it as misinformation. 

No one had any idea who Angel might be either. They said they had never heard of such a person and, if Matthew were being held in one of the cells in the tower, as they had all assumed he would be, members of the King’s Guard would have been called upon to bring him food once a day. Occasionally, a servant boy from the kitchen would be used if no one else could be found.  None of them had seen him or heard his name mentioned since Philip ceremoniously brought him into the castle last
spring and locked him in the tower for “safe keeping.”

As far Princess Katherine, many of them swore they had seen her being escorted out of the castle and placed in one of the prison wagons
, though not their own. One shrill-voiced woman even attempted to convince the soldier standing guard at their wagon that he needed to have “that redheaded girl” removed from the other wagon and placed in their own. In all of the confusion and chaos, she had not been moved and, therefore, was not in the wagon headed toward Evanlil.

Upon hearing this report, Caleb was actually a bit thankful. If he truly had Princess Katherine as his prisoner, he wanted her in Castle Caine with him, where he could best assess how she could be of use to him.  Whether he determined he could use her to his advantage against Philip and Leopold or if it would be best to return her to Placidia and proclaim his gesture one of rescue, he needed her close-by in order to play his cards correctly.

Once she was dressed, Katey had fallen back in to a deep sleep. Perhaps it was the lulling motion of the wagon, or maybe it was knowing she was safe from Philip’s grasp but she had slept better that night than any she could remember.  She was still desperately worried about Joan and Matthew but she felt reassured that she was safe and that her new friend Rose would help her explain to King Caleb who she was and that she wished to stay at Castle Caine until Matthew’s safe return.

They had been sitting inside of the prison wagon in the courtyard for about an hour.  Even though it was a warm morning and everyone was
tired of being in the cramped confinement, no one complained. The expressions on the other women’s faces were more of concern than fear, except for one younger girl who was sobbing, her head buried in her hands.

Katey heard a small commotion behind her and to her right. Glancing around Rose’s head, she could see a group of soldiers, officers, huddling together in conversation, their gestured indicating they were delegating tasks and creating a plan. She wasn’t sure but she thought that the man with the light-brown hair who seemed to be doing most of the talking might just be the king.  He had his back to her so she could not see his face just yet. She was curious to know whether or not Caleb looked like Matthew.  Though she hadn’t ever seen Matthew’s entire face, she would recognize his eyes anywhere, those warm-brown eyes,
the kindest eyes she had ever seen. As if he felt her heavy gaze on the back of his head, he turned around just then, not looking at her but in her general direction.  She gasped, an audible gasp that caught Rose’s attention next to her.  She also turned her head to see what had caused Katey to make an utterance.  And Rose did a little gasping herself.

He had only just glanced over his shoulder, just a brief turn of his head, and yet Katey knew immediately that he was the most handsome man she had ever seen.  She sat back against the wall, practically hiding behind Rose, trying to keep the warm red sensation that was creeping up her neck at bay. He did not have the same eyes as Matthew, in fact, quite the opposite. 
His eyes were blue, icy blue, penetrating and solicitous.  The rest of his face was equally as breath-taking, perfectly proportioned features, with light tan skin and an air of elegance fit only for nobility. He had been smiling when he turned and she found the way he crinkled his right eye and raised the right corner of his mouth as he did so both charming and intoxicating. She closed her eyes tightly, remembering that he was Matthew’s brother. Matthew whom she had prayed for, whom she had longed for.  She was able to regain her composure for now, but she was determined not to look directly at King Caleb again if she could help it.

“So, that’s him,” Rose was saying beside her, turning back to face her. “Oh, sure, he looks like he just flew down from heaven, but, well, I’m sure you’ve heard the stories.”

Katey had heard the stories, lots of them, in fact, personal ones, from Matthew. But she was confused.  The expression on her face must have told Rose she didn’t know what stories she was talking about so she continued.

“Oh, he’s dreadful!”
Rose said, leaning in and whispering so as not to alarm the other ladies in the wagon. “The way he treats aristocrats from other kingdoms.  I’ve heard some pretty awful stories.  Thank God he doesn’t know who you are.  If you think Matthew suffered being locked up in the tower prison for all of those months, well, that’s nothing compared to what would become of you here.”

Her plan seemed to be working.  Though Katey looked more confused than scared at this point, Rose knew that she was making progress. “Thank goodness there’s no way for him to know that you are royalty. No one here seems to know except for me.” Katey peered up at her with questioning eyes. “Don’t worry. I won’t say anything.”  Then, Rose feigned a startled gasp, “Wait! Your ring! He can’t see that,” she said gesturing at Katey’s hand.

She held her ring up to look at it.  She had worn it for as long as she could remember. Would she dare take it off and risk losing it? She was having so much difficulty imagining that Caleb could be so evil. Matthew had described him much differently. But then, he was speaking of his brother, his best friend, and someone he hadn’t seen for a very long time. What if Rose was correct and Caleb threw her in a tower or prison, or worse an oubliette? At least, if he just thought she was a servant girl, she would be safe until Matthew arrived. Then, perhaps, Rose would help her relay a message to him.  Assuming that Rose was still at-hand. If Caleb was truly so malicious, who knew what he might do with King Philip’s paramour. 

“You know, I could hold on to it for you,” Rose whispered assuredly. “If I had it, he would never suspect you were the true princess.  And I could just keep it until the timing was right. I’ll just slide it into my, uh, Philip’s pocket.”

Katey did not like the idea of pretending she was someone else. She wanted to be honest with Caleb, to seek his assistance, but she was also fearful that Rose might be correct. After all, this woman had access to lots of private conversations amongst royalty and other members of the nobility.  There was a good chance she knew what she was talking about. And she had been so helpful. Katey was certain that she could trust her. However, she was worried about Rose’s safety. What if she was caught with the ring and Caleb took his anger out on her? She was wearing Philip’s robe after all. Just as she was about to indicate to Rose that she would be keeping her ring, there was movement behind her.  Caleb and his men were coming over.

“Quick, give it to me!” Rose demanded, practically ripping the ring off of Katey’s finger. Though Katey wanted to protest, she also did not want to cause a scene. She acquiesced to Rose’s plan, at least for now.  As soon as they were out of sight of the king and his men, she would be getting her ring back.

“Ladies, can I have your attention, please,” one of the officers was saying. The group of men had walked around to the front of the wagon and most of the women were crowding together, trying to get a glimpse of the king and to hear what was being said.

Dale continued, his accent a bit difficult for most to understand, “We will be opening the gate in a moment. Please step out carefully and spread out.  We have some questions for you and we will be giv
ing you some information.  Welcome to Arteria.”

The gates opened and the women took their time climbing out, most of them stiff from such a long journey. The guards were standing near the exit, helping them down as necessary.  They formed a few pseudo lines in front of the wagon. Katey was one of the last ones out, Rose behind her.

She would quickly learn not to turn her back on Rose ever again.

“Now, ladies,” Dale began but he was interrupted by a voice from the back of the group of women.

“Your Majesty,” the pretty woman with fiery red hair yelled over the crowd, “I am Princess Katherine of Placidia. I request amnesty and a private audience with you so that I may relay to you information I have obtained from the former king, Philip of Clovington.”

Katey was startled; in fact, everyone seemed shocked, including Caleb. The only person who seemed confident that she truly was Princess Katherine of Placidia was Rose herself.  But that was all that seemed to matter. Katey looked on, feeling betrayed and befuddled, not sure what she could possibly do.  She did not have her ring to prove her identity and, in fact, Rose was now holding it out in front of her as she made her way to the front of the crowd, who parted for her, some of them curtsying out of respect for the alleged princess.

Caleb looked at Dale and his other officers. She seemed to be telling the truth.  They had heard that Katherine was a beautiful redheaded girl and she certainly fit that description.  It appeared as if she were wearing King Philip’s robe and that would make sense since she was his betrothed if not yet his wife.  It appeared as if she were holding out a ring of some sort.  Rather than stepping forward to check it himself, Caleb signaled for another man to do so. He nodded his head, yes; it appeared as if this ring had the Royal Seal of Placidia.  “Well, then, Princess Katherine, we will grant you amnesty and I will meet with you shortly to determine how we should proceed.”

Rose smiled broadly. Her plan was working.  And not a sound from that dumb girl in the back row. “Thank you, Your Highness.  I am very much looking forward to meeting with you,” she said curtseying and looking up at him through her eyelashes, coyly.

Her tone did not go unnoticed and Caleb thought it was a bit odd under the circumstances but he dismissed it. He did have one more question for her, however, “Princess Katherine, did you, by any chance, see my brother, King Matthew, while you were at Castle Blackthorn?”

Rising back to her full height, Rose shook her head, “Oh, no, Your Majesty. King Matthew was kept locked away somewhere, in a tower. No one ever saw him. No one.” She stressed those last two words with great intent, which made Caleb raise his eyebrow with skepticism.

“No one?” he repeated.

“Well,” she explained, “No one except for the guards or perhaps the servant boys.  We, the members of the
nobility, were certainly never allowed to see him.”

He nodded in understanding, taking a step back, glancing at his officers, and sighing in frustration. He had been hopeful that Katherine would have some information for him. “Very well,” he replied. Then, turning to the crowd, he asked, “Did any of you
see my brother, King Matthew? Or hear anything about his location? Anything at all?”

The women were silent, most standing perfectly still, looking at the ground. No, they had not seen or heard of Matthew. Some of them didn’t even know he was being held at the castle.

Just when Rose thought her plan was going perfectly, there was a shuffling noise in the back of the group.  She turned to see Katey stepping forward, her hand up, signaling to the king.