The Lady and the Prince

Prince Nick rolled over, and his bed crackled. That wasn’t right. He made a weak magical light and saw papers strewn all over. He got up and gathered them, putting them in a jumbled pile on his desk. He realized he had never changed for bed, so he stripped down to his underwear, left his clothes on the floor, and crawled under his covers. Then he got up again and opened the drapes covering his window. He needed to get up early so he could finish reading the Franck analyses, and the morning light should help.

It did help. When he awoke, the suite was quiet, and there was no smell of breakfast yet. He rose and sorted through his papers, taking those he hadn’t read over to a comfortable chair by the window. By the time he finished, he could hear Winkershime clinking around in the sitting room. He grabbed his robe and went out barefooted to breakfast.

Winkershime stared disapprovingly at his feet, but gave him eggs and muffins, which Nick devoured. Winkershime casually commented, “Your lock picks will be ready tomorrow, Your Highness.”

Nick had his mouth full, so he just nodded. The lock picks were likely going to be a sore point for some time. He swallowed and changed the subject. “Anything special today?”

“No, Your Highness. Your meeting with Commerce as usual, and then we will address the Franck situation, if that is acceptable.”

“Good.” But there was something special about today…what was it? Oh yes, it was Elizabeth’s birthday. “Winkershime, today is my fiancée’s birthday, and I’d like to do something romantic, something she would like. Any suggestions?”

Winkershime didn’t know what to say. Of course he could think of romantic things his young prince could do, but how meaningful would it be if it was his idea rather than Nick’s? “I’m sorry, Your Highness, but I doubt my advice would be helpful in this situation, not knowing Lady Elizabeth well myself.”

“Come on, you can give me some advice surely. What kinds of things do girls…women like?”

“They like things that show someone has thought about them, who they are and what they personally enjoy.”

“So if they like jewelry, you get them jewelry, right?”

The valet sighed. Young men could be so dense sometimes, even princes. “A bit, but more than that. They want you to pay attention to them, care about them. Is Lady Elizabeth important to you, Your Highness?”

“Of course, she’s going to be my wife.”

“And yet you rarely have time for her. Your work and your classes seem to be more important to you than she does, for you spend your time with your clerks, your tutors, and with me.”

“Oh.” Nick ate in silence for a little while.

Winkershime wasn’t sure he had understood, but it wasn’t his place to teach the prince how to behave with his betrothed, even though he just had a little bit. Still, the Prince Nicholas had asked him, and he wasn’t just the prince’s valet, he was also his spy tutor, so perhaps their relationship could be a little more personal without being out-of-bounds.

Nick finished eating and stood up. “If I come up with a plan, will you help me execute it?”

“Of course, whatever Your Highness wishes.”

Nick went to do his morning routine, smiling a little to himself. Winkershime wasn’t thinking about lock picks now or his bare feet. And he knew exactly what he wanted to do for Elizabeth’s birthday, assuming the weather cooperated. He had been stingy with his time, and he could correct that—at least, for today.

After his stint in his Commerce office, Nick told Winkershime what he wanted him to do for Elizabeth’s special day, and then they went to work on the Franck situation.

The valet produced a map of Franck and showed Nick where his agents were located and explained what they were doing. “Everyone will be watching the roads and identifying the movement of Franck’s troops by unit, so we will know what we will face in terms of archers, foot soldiers, knights, and mounted lancers.”

“That’s good, but they need to give us counts for each unit as well.”

“Franck’s units are standardized. Counting won’t tell us anything, and taking that long a look could endanger our people,” Winkershime objected.

“Franck surely knows we have spies in their country, don’t they?” His valet nodded, and the prince continued, “So they could try to fool us about their numbers by staffing up each unit instead of creating additional units.”

Winkershime said slowly, “I suppose that’s possible, but it’s unlikely Your Highness.”

“Look, I don’t want to put our people at risk, and we don’t need every unit counted every time it’s spotted, but if the agent isn’t being observed and can do a head count, have them do it. The occasional spot check will at least give us some confidence that our assumptions about their strength are correct. If we get counts that are higher than normal, then the additional risk of more counts would be worth it. Will that work?”

“It will, Your Highness,” Winkershime responded, pleasantly surprised at Nick’s contribution.

“Watching troop movements is fine, but the Warleader wants a two-week warning on an invasion, so I want projections on the date of their readiness starting now. By the way, how do we get reports from Franck so fast?”

“Trained birds. We have both short range that go from anywhere in Franck to the coast or from Franck across the channel to Anglia, and long range that go from Parisia to Londinum.”

“They’re reliable?”

“About nine out of ten arrive safely. We lose a few to hawks, falcons, and storms.”

Nick nodded his understanding. “When we get closer to the day we think Franck is going to attack, say, within a week, we need to put watchers on the sorcerers. We may be able to estimate the time of the attack by their preparations, and they will probably move just before the army is ready to move. Also, it’s critical we know how many are coming.”

“Yes, Your Highness, I had planned to do that. However, the fact that you saw this for yourself is excellent.” The boy might make a decent Spymaster in a year or two after all.

“Lunch?” Nick asked.

“I’ll fetch it now, Your Highness.” Assuming he has time to develop into one between the long meals he eats. Well, he is a teenage boy after all.

Elizabeth didn’t expect anything for her birthday. The only person she had told was Nick, and that had been some time ago. She doubted her young prince even remembered her mentioning it. It was just as well, there was no point in emphasizing the difference in their ages. With her turning nineteen, it would seem like she was four years older than Nick, even though it was really only a little less than three and a half years.

She had a good day at arms practice, actually hitting the target with most of her arrows and getting a couple of bull’s-eyes. Connidian himself fenced with her, and she held him off for nearly a full minute. He was very pleased and showed her a couple of advanced moves with her sword.

Lady Hornswaggle gave her a lesson in Anglian holidays. Elizabeth knew much of it, but some of the practices in the capital and other parts of the country varied from what she was used to, and there were holidays in some remote areas that she had never heard of.

When she went to Giselle’s suite for her lesson in Franckish, she was surprised to see Anne and Eugenie already there, smiling broadly. They called out, “Happy birthday!” as she came in.

“How did you know that it’s my birthday?” she asked as she got hugs all around.

Anne replied, “The Royal Record Keeper, of course. He can give you a list of everyone’s birthdays and anniversaries.” Elizabeth made a mental note to track him down and get that list. Even though they were royalty, the Warwicks really weren’t that much different from a lot of other families. If they made birthdays a special occasion, then she needed to be able to join in.

Instead of her usual lesson, Giselle brought out some games that they played, chatting in Franckish, of course. At lunchtime there were platters of special treats and a cake with heavy cream poured across each piece. Then received gifts wrapped in pretty papers and ribbons.

Giselle gave her a set of very fine Franckish embroidery needles and colorfast threads. Anne gave her a slim sword that was twice as long as her dagger but still short enough for her to wear in a thigh sheath beneath her petticoats. Eugenie’s gift was a book about the queens and princesses of Anglia and their accomplishments. Elizabeth was surprised there was such a book. Most of the histories she had read focused on men with only minor mentions of women as their wives and mothers.

Arthur had sent his gift with Anne, who admitted she had wrapped it for him. Elizabeth wondered a bit why he hadn’t just waited and given it to her himself later at dinner, but she found a beautiful Ibarran lace shawl in the package and resolved to thank him when she saw him.

Eugenie said, “I’m afraid you won’t get a gift from the king this year. It wouldn’t be proper until you’re actually married to Prince Nicholas. The rest of us, however, don’t give a fig for that since we like you just as you are.”

“That’s very kind of you all. Thank you so much. It means a great deal to me to have you as friends. When I first came here, I knew no one and was quite lonely, but now I feel like I belong,” Elizabeth replied in nearly perfect Franckish.

They spent most of the afternoon together, but as dinner time neared, Giselle leaned over and whispered, “You should dress exceptionally nicely for dinner tonight.”

Elizabeth gave her a questioning look, but Giselle just smiled, and that was all she could get out of Anne and Eugenie as well. She hadn’t gotten a gift from Nick, and something was definitely going on—something very nice, she suspected.

After the party, she went back to her suite and found Sylvie had laid out a very dressy pale blue evening gown for her; so her maid was in on whatever was being plotted. Elizabeth bathed with the scented soap provided, and then Sylvie went to work on her hair.

The usual dinner time came and went, but Sylvie didn’t seem concerned or in a hurry. When Lady Elizabeth’s hair was curled and pinned up in an elaborate style, Sylvie helped her dress. Elizabeth wondered if she would be loaned Anne’s sapphires again to go with the dress, but no jewelry was provided beyond her own simple gold earrings.

When she was finished dressing, Sylvie went to the hallway door, opened it, and waved her arm out, and then closed it again. Elizabeth nearly laughed, but restrained herself to a smile. Sylvie was practically bouncing in anticipation.

A minute later there was a polite rap on the door, and Sylvie opened it, curtsied, and admitted Prince Nick, also very dressed up in an expensive black suit, white shirt trimmed with lace, and black scarf with a diamond pin. He bowed a little to Elizabeth, held out his arm and said, “Lady Elizabeth, may I escort you to dinner?”

“Of course, Your Highness. But aren’t we a bit late?” Elizabeth asked, matching Nick’s formality.

“Not at all.” He escorted her down the hall, but they didn’t head for the usual dining room. Instead, he took her to a tower and up some steps. She gave him a questioning look, but he just smiled at her.

They entered an empty chamber of the tower. There was a door in the far side, and Winkershime opened it for them as they approached. Nick took her out onto a portion of the castle’s roof. It was large and had a crenellated waist-high wall around the edge with unlit torches set at intervals.

There was a table with white linen, unlit candles, and a maze of glassware and utensils. A group of musicians began playing softly as they came out of the door.

“Nick, this is lovely,” Elizabeth said as he walked her around the roof a bit. The view was wonderful; the roof was high enough to provide a view over the outer walls, and she could see Londinum and much of the countryside. He took her back to the table and seated her before seating himself.

“I’m glad you like it. I was hoping you hadn’t been up here yet so I would be the first to share it with you.”

Elizabeth was mildly surprised by his statement. Her teenage boy was acting much more polished this evening.

Dinner was served by a battery of very correct waiters who moved food in and finished plates out and filled various glasses with drinks to complement each course. The amount of food offered in each was small, but Elizabeth counted seven—a fruit and vegetable appetizer, spiced chicken broth, poached fish in a light sauce, thinly sliced venison with onions and mushrooms, crispy brown quail, roast beef with new potatoes and gravy, and a variety of pies and cheeses.

They ate and chatted and watched the sun sink toward the horizon. The candles and torches were lit by the time they finished, and they moved to a bench where they could watch the sun go down while the table and chairs were removed behind them.

After they had rested a while, Nick asked, “Would you like to dance? The Midsummer ball is coming up, and everyone will be watching us. I haven’t danced in a long time and I need the practice.”

Elizabeth could hardly refuse, and she certainly didn’t want to. She had learned a number of dances in her GPE class, but hadn’t had the chance to actually do them, and she needed the practice too. Besides, she wanted to dance with Nick.

They stood up. The musicians began playing a tune she had learned one of the dances to, so it was easy for her to do the steps. With the big skirts currently in fashion, they were mostly at arm’s length, either touching hands or her hand on his shoulder and his on her waist. They couldn’t get too close, and besides the musicians were there, so it wasn’t in the least improper. Elizabeth somewhat regretted that. Nick was just concentrating on the steps; he’d known them a long time, but had almost never really used them.

Over the next few dances they both made the occasional mistake, but they just laughed it off, corrected themselves, and continued. By the time they were tiring, they were moving together smoothly, and it was very dark except for the light of the torches.

Nick took her back to sit together on the bench and reached into an inside pocket of his jacket and extracted a small flat case.

“Elizabeth, I don’t have very many things from my mother. A few trinkets and some jewelry is all.” And a healthy dose of magical ability. “I only know what she looked like from her portrait in the hall of kings and queens.”

“I haven’t been there yet. Will you take me some time and show it to me?”

“Of course. In the portrait, she’s wearing a necklace that she brought with her from Incelia, and that is one of the things that I do have. And now I want you to have it.” He passed her the case, handling it reverently.

Elizabeth took it gently and opened it. Inside was a filigreed gold necklace studded with small diamonds and sapphires of extraordinary workmanship. It was delicate and very beautiful.

“Oh, Nick. Are you sure you want to give this to me?”

“Absolutely. And someday, I hope you pass it on to our daughter.” Nick helped her put it on. “Happy birthday, Elizabeth.”

She just hugged him. She noticed the torches were being extinguished until only two by the tower door remained lit. Without the light around them, she could see the stars and the lights far off in Londinum.

The servants had all left the roof. The door to the tower was open. Winkershime stood in the doorway for a moment, but then retreated inside, leaving them alone.

Nick put an arm around her, and she cuddled in close to him, holding his hand. It was very quiet and still, and they just sat and enjoyed the view. She realized he was looking at her and turned toward him, and he kissed her.

It was a far better kiss than the one behind the trees; this time they both participated. When they parted, they looked at each other for only a moment, and then Elizabeth put her arms around him under his unbuttoned jacket, and he pulled her in tight, and they kissed again passionately.

Elizabeth enjoyed the feel of Nick’s strong lean body through his shirt. One of his hands was on her back and the other was at her waist and sliding down. She captured his straying hand and pulled back from him a little.

Softly, she said, “Nick, we can’t. We have to wait.”

“You are so beautiful. I don’t think I’ve told you that before. How incredibly stupid of me.”

“And you are a very fine-looking man. But after we are married, I shall have to fatten you up a bit. You are just too thin.”

Nick grinned and growled, “After we are married, I can think of some things I want to do with you too, but none of them involve food.”

“Prince Nick!” exclaimed Elizabeth in mock outrage. “I think it best we go in now.”

“Really? Are you mad at me?”

“Not a bit.” She proved it by taking his face in her hands and giving him a brief kiss. “But it is getting late and a little chilly, and I’m sure you have to work in the morning, and I have classes.” Elizabeth got up, and Nick followed her, offering his arm to escort her back in.

He had expected Winkershime to be lingering in the tower as a sort of chaperone, but there was no one there. Nick asked, “Do you want to take the long way and see my mother’s portrait?”

“If it won’t take too long, I would love to see it.”

Nick led her down to the ground floor and around near the front of the castle. A long hall had a series of portraits, some quite old. He named them off as they passed down the corridor; some of the names she knew, others were new to her. Apparently she needed to brush up on her Anglian history as well.

The portrait of Nick’s mother was second to last. The most recent was of young Queen Isabella, and King William was there as well, but much younger. Ariella had long auburn hair in loose curls, very pale skin, and Nick’s pale blue eyes. His hair wasn’t quite as reddish as hers in the painting though.

“You do look like her a bit,” Elizabeth commented, looking up at the painting.

“Yes, the eyes, of course, and the mouth a little. The rest of me, well, who knows, I don’t look like any of the Warwicks either.”

“Haven’t you ever met any of your mother’s family?”

“Nope. None of them have ever come here. Incelians aren’t very sociable, I guess.”

“Why did your mother come?”

“Treaty, and the king needed a new wife after Queen Margarite died. Some Incelian ships had gotten into some squabbles with Anglian ones, and the Anglian ships kept winning. We do have a terrific navy, you know.”

“So I’ve heard.”

“Nobody else has a treaty with Incelia, just us. Both nations being islands, our navies and sea traffic are important to us, so it made sense to agree to at least ignore each other on the ocean and render assistance in distress.”

“I suppose it was hard for her, coming to a foreign land alone.”

Nick suppressed a yawn and said, “Probably. It was just her and her maid, although after the treaty was signed, the Incelians established an embassy here. The ambassador will probably come to the Midsummer ball. I’ll introduce you if you like.”

“Fine, but now it’s past my bedtime.”

“Mine too,” he said, moving in closer and giving her a suggestive look.

Elizabeth just snorted and shook her head with a smile. She turned and started walking back the way they came, and Nick hurried to catch up with her. He walked her back to her suite and headed back to his own.

His sitting room was empty, but there was a note on the table telling him to check his case with a circle—no, an oval—around the word case. So it was his spy case, not his Commerce case. He went into his bedroom to fetch it, closing the door behind him as he always did when he was going to read something secret.

An odd thing happened at the bedroom window. A pattern glittered across it, one that Nick recognized from his magic book. He didn’t remember what it meant exactly, but whatever it was, it wasn’t good. The glass bulged. He didn’t have time to get out of the room, so he threw himself on the floor facedown and covered his head as the window shattered.

Shards of glass flew with a great deal of force across the room, thudding into the paneling on the far side. Nick caught just the edge of it, glass slicing his legs, back, and arms.

Then it was quiet, the cool night air blowing in through the empty window frame. There was an urgent knocking on the door and Winkershime called, “Your Highness, are you all right?”

“No. Bring a light, there’s glass.” The single lamp that had been burning had been broken as well, and Nick just hoped the room wasn’t about to burst into flames. He could smell the spilled oil.

He heard the door open, and there was light. He heard Winkershime say, “Good Lord, what happened?” as he crunched glass underfoot. Nick tried to lift his head to look at him, but a sharp stabbing sensation in his back stopped him.

The lamp stayed, but he heard Winkershime leave, calling out for help, for the guards to fetch the physician, for a stretcher. Then his valet was back, bending over him and swearing softly. Nick was rather surprised the very correct Winkershime even knew such words and was actually using them.

There were others in the room jostling for position. The stretcher was next to him, and he felt hands lifting him as he passed out.

Prince Nick woke up in a very bright room, lying on his belly on a hard surface. Fenton, the palace physician, told him to hold as still as he could. Nick could feel him removing the glass piece by piece and swabbing each wound with something that stung. But he held still, aside from the occasional wince.

“It’s not too bad, Your Highness,” Fenton said. “Most of it missed you. Your clothes protected you from a lot of the tiny slivers, and none of it seems to have penetrated too deeply. Hurts a bit though, I imagine.”

Nick just grunted. It hurt a lot. Plus, he was getting chilled without any clothes on. “I’m cold. Can you at least cover the part you’re done with?”

It was Fenton’s turn to grunt, but he flipped a light cloth over most of Nick’s body, just leaving his legs bare while he worked on them. “You’ve lost a bit of blood too. I think we’ll keep you here overnight just to keep an eye on you. I understand your quarters aren’t really habitable anyway. There, I think that’s the last of it. Do you feel any sharply painful spots?”

Nick indicated a couple of places on his back, and Fenton went over him again, pulling out five more slivers. The physician sighed and said, “There may be more. I’ll take another look in the morning. I’ll give you some pillows and blankets, try to sleep as you are on your stomach. Believe me, you’re not going to like rolling over just now.”

Fenton settled Nick as best he could and then went out, but left a light burning. Winkershime came in and closed the door after himself.

“Your Highness, what happened?”

“I don’t know, I guess someone tried to kill me. Did they throw something through the window?” Nick knew perfectly well it was magic, but he didn’t want to start any witch hunts. He doubted anyone in the palace except himself, Ulle if he was around, and whoever did this knew anything about how to accurately identify a sorcerer, and he didn’t want innocent people executed just because they were odd or not well-liked.

“I don’t know, Prince Nicholas. Servants are gathering all the glass and any foreign objects from your room now, but I didn’t see anything obvious. I did secure your case from your desk before I let them in, so you need have no worry on that score. A report has been made to the king and Prince Arthur, since as Warleader he is responsible for palace security.”

“Thanks, Winkershime. Tell everybody I’m all right, will you? I’m just going to be sore for a few days.”

“Of course, Your Highness. I’ve cancelled your classes for tomorrow and your Commerce meeting. Your clerks will bring anything urgent to me, and I will bring it to you, but likely everything can wait a day or two.”

Fenton brought in something for Nick to drink to help him sleep and then left again. Winkershime was going to leave too, but Nick said, “Winkershime, would you stay until I fall asleep? I know it’s stupid, but I feel safer with someone here.”

“Of course, Your Highness, and it’s not at all stupid.”

“Hey, what’s your name anyway? You must have a name. Your mother didn’t name you Winkershime Winkershime when you were born.”

“Ralph, Your Highness, but I prefer Winkershime.”

“Uh-huh.” Nick was feeling oddly relaxed, but not too sleepy yet. “Are you married? Children?”

Winkershime pulled up a chair and sat down. He wasn’t being a valet now; he was being a friend, distracting the prince from his discomfort. He made sure the doctor wasn’t anywhere nearby, and they were quite alone.

“I was married. It’s why I quit the spy business and became a valet. We were together twelve years, and she gave me two daughters, but I lost her in childbirth with our son, who did not survive either. But my daughters are grown now. One is married to a jeweler and is likely going to make me a grandfather one of these days. The other runs a dress shop. It’s quite successful, the princesses buy there.”

He could see Nick was starting to drift off, so he continued, “Once my girls were grown and out of the house, I went back to spying for a few years, but it really is a younger man’s game. Then Prince Richard asked me to work for him, doing a little analysis and brushing up my valet skills in preparation for your coming of age. But after that things happened so quickly, and suddenly here I am.”

Prince Nick’s eyes were closed, and his breathing had slowed and deepened. He was asleep, and Winkershime quietly stood up.

“If he had lived, my son would have been about your age, Nick. Sleep well, my prince. Tomorrow there is more to be done, and the day after and the day after that. But you’ll manage, and I’ll be by your side helping you all I can. Good night, my boy.”