The Lady and the Prince

Physician Fenton went over the prince in the morning, but found no more glass. He swabbed Nick with the stinging solution again, but the wounds were mostly scabbed, and it didn’t hurt much. Fenton announced he could return to his own suite.

Winkershime was waiting, and when the physician was finished, the valet helped Nick wiggle into a pair of shorts while still lying on his stomach. Nick considered rolling over and sitting up, but decided that was a bad idea, and instead shifted his legs off of the table, got his feet on the floor, and levered himself sort of upright with his arms. It was still unpleasant; all of his back muscles, buttocks, and back-of-his-leg muscles hurt at least a little when he used them.

Winkershime helped him on with his robe and slippers, and Nick cooperated as fully as he could. He remembered the crunch of glass under the valet’s feet when he had come into Nick’s bedroom and doubted he would feel comfortable walking around barefoot for some time no matter how well his suite had been cleaned.

Nick and his valet walked to his rooms very slowly; the stairs were particularly difficult. He thought about getting someone to carry him, but having someone grip him across his back and under his legs or being carried while sitting in a chair would hurt too. He just kept going, one step at a time, and eventually got there.

His bedroom was still a shambles; quite a few people were going in and out. At least they were mostly carrying things in now, cleaned rugs, new bedding, and a completely new window, frame and all. Nick wasn’t surprised at that; large panes of clear glass were expensive and not always readily available, so it was quicker and easier to completely replace the old window with a new one that held smaller panes. And if one small pane was broken there would be less glass flying about.

His valet had set up the couch for him with lots of pillows and a blanket. Nick tried sitting down on a large soft pillow and leaning back on another, but immediately shifted so he was more on his side. He eventually found a position where his weight was mostly on undamaged areas and settled in to watch the parade of people working to repair his bedroom.

Anne came to see him. She sat down in a chair where they could see each other easily and said, “Good morning, sleepyhead. I was wondering when you were going to get up.”

“Not my fault, I was drugged.”

“I know, I was just teasing. Nick, what happened?”

“I don’t know exactly. Did they find whatever broke the window?” He knew they hadn’t, but it seemed a reasonable question to ask.

“No, that’s what is so peculiar. And the sky was clear, it wasn’t lightning or hail or anything like that.”

“Maybe the missile was made out of glass, or maybe it was a book. In my room, how would anyone know?”

He got the expected smile in response. “Well, you can look for an out-of-place book when you go in. As far as someone throwing glass, I suppose it’s possible, but it just seems so odd that anyone would do that. We would never be able to tell if that were true, especially since all the glass has gone to the midden. Who could have done it? You can’t possibly have any enemies that would want to kill you.”

Nick hadn’t had time to think about that yet, but now he did. “Is the Earl of Ulle around?”

“No, he went home a week ago. You think Lord Lawrence would want to kill you? Why?”

“No, no, I wanted to ask him about his wool production,” Nick lied. Ulle was the only sorcerer he knew of, but if he wasn’t around, then someone else put that rune on his window. He wished he knew if it had been done from the outside or inside, that might provide a clue depending on who may have had access to his rooms. Winkershime had been out helping him with his romantic evening, and a lot of people had known about it ahead of time, so perhaps that wouldn’t help narrow it down much either.

“This is no time to be thinking about Commerce, Nicky. Isn’t there anyone you might have angered lately?”

Nick shook his head carefully; at least that didn’t hurt. “Maybe it has nothing to do with me. Maybe my window was just a random choice. Or maybe it was a crazy person, or maybe no one did it, it was just some weird combination of heat and cold that stressed the window and made it break. I don’t know, Anne, I really don’t.” Lies, lies, lies.

“The king has doubled the hall guards and put one under your window as well. He has a scribe with the guards to write down the names of everyone who comes into the residence halls who doesn’t live or work here. So I think we’re all safe for now, whatever happened, and we’ll know who has access to our rooms.”

Anne stood up and added, “Personally, I think you’re a prime suspect yourself. Anything to get out of classes, right?”

Nick gave her the expected chuckle at the old joke between them. She gave his hand a squeeze and left as Winkershime came in with a breakfast cart. Nick hadn’t been feeling hungry until the smell of sausages hit him, and then he was suddenly ravenous.

It was awkward eating half lying down, but he managed without making a mess. Winkershime radiated approval—whether at his appetite or neatness, he didn’t know.

He was surprised when Elizabeth visited next. “Aren’t you supposed to be in class?” he asked and then amended with, “Not that I’m not glad to see you, but you shouldn’t skip class unless you have to.”

“You’re right, but I had to come and see for myself that you’re really all right. Besides, Lady Hornswaggle thought it my duty to come and nurse my betrothed. Do you need anything?”

“No, just relief from boredom, and you’re providing that already.”

“You will be well in time for the ball, won’t you?”

“Don’t worry. We’ll dance the night away.”

“I wasn’t worried so much about that, but we’re to begin our Progress right after, and I am looking forward to it and to seeing my family again.”

“Well a few cuts won’t hold up the schedule, I promise.”

Elizabeth nodded and said, “I’m really very glad you’re not badly hurt. Are you in much pain?”

“No, it’s bearable. Most of the cuts are hardly more than scratches, so I should be fine in a few days. You still look worried.”

“Eugenie said that there might be trouble with Franck and that their king is calling up their army.”

“War is not likely. Louis is probably just posturing to impress his people and exert control over his nobles.” And I wish that were true, but it’s not. I am getting to be quite a good liar though. That thought disturbed him a little. He didn’t like lying to everyone, but as Spymaster he would have to lie quite a bit, so he might as well accept it.

Elizabeth sat with him for a while and lunched with him when the time came. Then he said he was tired and she left, and Winkershime helped him into his reconstructed bedroom.

He did nap some, but he also made it over to the bookcase on his own and got his little book of magic to study. He needed to reread the section on runes that he had just skimmed before, and he wanted to try creating a shield as soon as he could.

Unfortunately the book said very little about runes other than the fact of their existence and the difficulty in drawing and empowering them. It said nothing about how to do that other than it was explained in another more advanced book, which he didn’t have. It showed examples of all the basic runes that stored different types of energy. The one on his window had looked very much like a simple Unshaped Force rune. The triggering mechanism could have been movement, light, or even his body heat.

He read about personal shields too. There were two kinds—one to deflect matter and the other energy. There was also an advanced shield that combined the two that again was explained in another book. The matter one was very similar to his trip line made into a flat surface just turned up on edge in front of him, but it was supposed to be curved and have a buffer whatever that meant. He didn’t understand the directions for the energy deflector, so he practiced with his matter deflector through the afternoon until he got tired.

Nick found he could curve it and also stretch it out in various directions to make it large enough to cover him entirely, and even more. He didn’t know if enlarging it would weaken it or not; he didn’t have a good way to test it. Alone in his bedroom he had no way to generate much force against it.

He didn’t understand about the buffer until he tried testing his shield by walking slowly at the corner of the desk. When the shield encountered the corner, it spread the pressure out, but also pressed back into him as he pushed forward. If he angled the shield, it pushed him sideways out of the way. That alone would be useful against a single arrow or flying glass, if he could get a light missile to just slide past him. But if someone tried to hit him with a broadsword or mace or something, a direct blow could hurt him even with the shield just because of the large amount of force. That must be what the buffer was supposed to prevent, but he didn’t know how to make one.

When dinner time neared, the prince put the book away, got a couple others out of his bookcase, and took them to bed with him so Winkerhime would think he had spent the afternoon reading them. Another lie, of sorts. He wished he could tell someone about his magic and get some help with things like testing shields, but who could he tell? No one in his family, surely; they were likely to have him arrested and executed. And he had no idea how Winkershime or Elizabeth would react, so he was just going to have to do as much on his own as he could.

After dinner Arthur stopped by and gave him a pep talk to keep his spirits up. Nick played along, and Arthur left, feeling he’d helped his little brother. Going along was a lie of sorts too, but a kind one. Nick had to admit that it had been amusing, and it did make him feel better knowing how much Arthur cared, even if he had no clue about how to actually talk to Nick.

By the time Elizabeth came to see him again, he really was tired. Since they were in his bedroom, Winkershime stayed in view, so she just gave him a little peck and told him to feel better and that she would see him tomorrow. Nick gave his valet a bit of a glare when had left, which had no apparent effect on the man. Winkershime put Nick’s books on the desk and doused the light.

Over the next few days, Prince Nick improved rapidly, taking up his usual schedule after three days except for Arms, which he begged off for a couple more days. He wanted to practice magic in the cave as much as he could, and he resumed as soon as he could ride easily again.

But three days in the next week he escorted Elizabeth to dinner and spent the evening with her. In the following week, one afternoon and again one evening he took her to Londinum under heavy guard to the theater, and twice they went to dinner at a restaurant. He regretted losing the practice time, but he was glad he spent some time with her. Such simple things made her so happy.

Nick didn’t like doing it, but he dropped his math class and his Production Trade and Money class. He just needed to have less on his schedule if he was going to spend time with Elizabeth and practice magic too. He couldn’t actually drop Arms until he was knighted, but he skipped it whenever he had something else to do with his fiancée. Master Connidian wasn’t happy with him, but Nick knew it didn’t matter how much he practiced; he was never going to be any good with a sword. Winkershime didn’t understand either, and Nick could tell he worried a little when the prince went off for hours with no explanation.

He did invite Master Orwell to some of his Commerce meetings, and if he needed advice the PT&M instructor was available to explain anything his clerks couldn’t. And having some afternoons completely free meant he could spend hours experimenting in the cave.

The prince gained excellent control of his light. He could produce anything from a bright pinprick to a large diffuse light that lit up the whole cave and scared a few bats very high up on the ceiling. Nick couldn’t shield the light though. If he ever figured out how to create a defensive shield against energy that might work, but the instructions in the book just didn’t make sense to him yet.

He became very good with fire as well, but as he improved his control and his channels and ejectors acclimated, the cave just became too small to stretch his abilities. Working with his matter shield improved his ability to toss rocks around as well since both things were adaptations of his trip line, and the size of the cave became a constraint there too. He could produce lightning at will, but he still didn’t know how to make it go where he wanted it to.

Elizabeth started suggesting outings for them. Her riding was improving, and she looked comfortable on a horse, moving with the animal instead of bouncing. Nick had suggested she try riding more than just the palomino, and she found learning to manage different animals gave her confidence and a better feel for their quirks and personalities.

One day she took Nick shopping with her. The prince had no idea what to do with himself in a dress shop. He tried to not look at the petticoats and lacey underthings at all, which left him mostly looking at the floor until Elizabeth came out in a dress and asked him what he thought. To her exasperation, he seemed to like everything she put on.

“Nick, I want you to like the way I look. I want you to be proud of me. But you’re not helping when you don’t give me your real opinion. That’s why I brought you along, after all.”

The prince said, “I am proud of you. You’re beautiful no matter what you wear.” Then he leaned in close to her and said in a low voice only she could hear, “The problem is, I keep imagining what you would look like with each dress off, so of course I like them all.”

Elizabeth went a little pink, slapped his arm, and replied, “You, sir, are no help at all.”

Nick just shrugged and gave her a smug grin. If he was lucky, she would never take him dress shopping again. But wandering the stores with her window shopping was enjoyable, and he learned more about her taste in just about everything.

The week before the ball, he showed up at her GPE class. Lady Hornswaggle taught them both a couple of new dances from Telesia that were all the rage. They practiced the classic dances too, so they were ready for everything the musicians might play at the Midsummer festivities. The king was supposed to choose the music, but Nick was sure he would leave it to Queen Isabella. Being much younger than her husband, she was far more interested in dancing than he was.

Nearly every woman attending would have a new dress, and the princesses and Elizabeth were no exceptions. Elizabeth had ordered a deep blue dress with gold trim that matched her new necklace. Sylvie had just sighed when she went with blue again, but Elizabeth liked blue and she knew she looked good in it, regardless of the fact she had a dressing room full of blue dresses.

Prince Nick wore a dark blue suit with a swirl of gold thread through the jacket, white shirt with gold lace, and a dark blue scarf with a gold and sapphire stick pin so he would match her and really look like a couple. He also had slightly thickened heels on his shoes so the two of them appeared to be the same height, although Elizabeth’s elaborate hairdo topped him anyway.

When the guests had arrived, the royalty paraded in in reverse rank order. They were announced formally as Prince Henry Nicholas and Lady Elizabeth Mary, and they entered to minor bowing and curtsying. Next came Prince Arthur Louis with Princess Anne Catherine to receive about the same level of obeisance, except as Warleader Arthur received salutes instead of bows from the men in uniform. Giselle had begged off, not feeling right about dancing when Richard couldn’t.

Crown Prince Edward William and Princess Eugenie Rose received greater homage from those present. For King William IV and Queen Isabella, the men bowed very low, and the women curtsied nearly to the floor. But once they had mounted the dais at the far end of the ballroom, everyone rose, the king signaled, and the ball began.

Waiters came out with sparkling wines, trays of finger foods, pastries, and glasses of punch that were circulated through the guests, and everything was also placed on tables along one wall for everyone to help themselves. After a few minutes the music started, and everyone cleared the center of the floor.

Nick was surprised when the king himself led his queen out on the floor. He had expected the first dance to be delegated to Edward. William wasn’t that fond of dancing, but Isabella loved it, and the first tune was a slow and stately one that wasn’t very taxing on the dancers. After one solo circuit of the floor, the rest of the royal family joined in for a second circuit, and then others took up partners and entered the dance area as well with no particular regard to rank.

After the first dance, Arthur dropped out. He had done his duty and passed Anne to the waiting arm of Lord Alistair, son of the Earl of Landsford. The way that Anne smiled at the young man made Elizabeth think that Alistair was definitely in the running for Anne’s hand in marriage. Arthur made up a full plate for himself, took some punch, and departed.

Elizabeth and Nick danced on and off, but he also took her around and introduced her to earls and dukes and their spouses, ambassadors, generals and admirals, and several people of lesser rank who held key government positions. Nick took his turn dancing with Isabella, Eugenie, and Anne, and Alistair and Edward partnered with Elizabeth. In between, they grazed the food and drink tables.

During one such pause for sparkling wine, Elizabeth said, “You know, I will never remember all of these people you are introducing me to.”

“It doesn’t matter. They have had the honor of meeting you personally, and they will remember you. You will get to know quite a few of them soon anyway. We’ll be staying with a lot of them on our Progress.”

“You’ll remind me who’s who before we arrive at each place, won’t you?”

“Of course. Oh, there’s the Incelian ambassador. You said you wanted to meet him.”

The ambassador was very tall and thin and dressed richly but in an odd style. The collar of his black coat stood up and was long and pointed, and the coat itself flared out from his hips nearly to the floor. He was standing with a younger man dressed in a similar fashion and was making no attempt to speak to anyone around him.

Prince Nick led Elizabeth over. “Lord Dragomance, may I present my fiancée, Lady Elizabeth Stratton. Elizabeth, this is Lord Dragomance, Ambassador from Incelia, and his associate, Mr. Cursity.”

Elizabeth did a small curtsy appropriate for a foreign ambassador, and the ambassador and Mr. Cursity both bowed precisely and correctly in return for being introduced to a princess, even though she wasn’t quite one yet.

The ambassador’s face held no warmth as he said stiffly with his eyes on her necklace, “We are honored, Lady Elizabeth Mary Stratton, to be introduced to you by Prince Henry Nicholas.”

An odd way to put it, thought Elizabeth as she murmured appropriate phrases in response. Nick asked, “Mr. Ambassador, has Incelia any response to the Anglian trade proposal?”

“Not at this time. Please excuse us,” Lord Dragomance replied. Both Incelians bowed and withdrew, only to stop twenty feet away and resume standing by themselves.

“Well that was rather rude,” Elizabeth commented.

“For them, that was being sociable. Since I’m half-Incelian they will actually talk to me, but my Anglian half puts them off somewhat. Lord Dragomance speaking a sentence to you was practically gushing, for him.”

“I think he liked my necklace. What was that about the trade proposal?”

“Just the usual, Incelia doesn’t produce much grain, so they geneally buy grain and flour from us each fall. We’ve proposed the same annual agreement, and I’m sure they’ll accept it, but they never do until later in the year. I just asked him to see if I could annoy him.”

“Why?”

“Because he considers the marriage of my mother to my father the waste of a perfectly good Incelian princess and me just a waste of space.” It was the first time she had ever heard such bitterness in his voice.

“Nick, do you hate him?”

He downed the rest of his sparkling wine. “No, but someday I would like to get a reaction from any Incelian besides cold disdain. Let’s dance.”

They danced three dances in a row, and then Nick took Elizabeth out on the terrace. The ballroom was getting hot with hundreds of candles burning and all the people in close quarters.

The terrace was cool, but there were others out enjoying the air, so they were far from alone. Nick said, “Gardens?” and Elizabeth nodded. They went down the three broad steps onto a stone path that led away into darkness.

As her eyes adjusted, Elizabeth could see there really was enough light from the windows of the blazing ballroom to see where she was going. Nick took her hand and led her very purposefully beyond a knot of bushes and flowers to a bench, concealed from view unless one was standing directly in front of it.

They sat, the prince put his arm around her, and they kissed.

“I’ve missed being alone with you,” Nick murmured.

“Me too,” Elizabeth replied, and they kissed again, this time longer and more deeply.

They could hear soft footsteps approaching rapidly, and Anne arrived in front of them.

“I thought I might find you here,” she said. “I’m sorry to interrupt, but we need you both inside. Duchess Hannah of Haas has lost her necklace, and so has Duke Hubert’s daughter. And Elizabeth, weren’t you wearing one?”

Elizabeth put her hand up to her throat—her beautiful gift from her prince was gone! She looked at Nick, who just shook his head in denial at first but then looked angry.

Anne continued, “We don’t want to alarm the guests or offend anyone, so we need everyone inside to try to spot the thief. The guards have been alerted, but there’s little they can do except watch. We certainly can’t search all the High Lords of Anglia and foreign dignitaries.”

Nick said, “We can’t?” like he definitely did not believe it.

Elizabeth protested, “But if the ball ends and we still don’t know who it is, how will we get our jewelry back?”

Anne just shook her head. “I’m sorry, but no one in there is poor. Everyone can replace their jewelry. Personally, I’d much rather catch the thief before then. Come on, you two, and help.”

Nick’s mother’s jewelry isn’t exactly replaceable, Elizabeth thought as she followed Anne. How could she have not noticed that it had been taken? She should have felt it being removed. It was her fault it was gone as much as the thief’s—would Nick think that?

Nick was determined to get Elizabeth’s necklace back no matter what he had to do. He had so few mementos of Ariella, and it was the only thing he had that was suitable to be given to his betrothed as a simple heartfelt gift. And why would some wealthy person steal jewelry when they could buy all they wanted?

The three of them walked quickly back to the ballroom. Anne explained that Edward, Eugenie, the Duke and Duchess of Haas, and the Duke of Sothalia and his daughter were spread out through the crowd, trying to spot a theft in progress. The guards were restricted to standing stiffly at attention at various points around the walls and were probably useless since no one would be so foolish as to commit a theft directly in front of one of them.

They split up and circulated, avoiding conversations and watching, watching, watching. After an hour, Elizabeth was about to give up when she noticed a pretty young woman in green standing apart from a small group but looking at them very intently. Elizabeth wished she knew who the woman was, but she didn’t recall being introduced to her.

Elizabeth started walking slowly around to get behind the young woman, watching her with her peripheral vision. The woman in green looked around, and then Elizabeth saw something flash through the air and looked fully, but didn’t quite believe what she saw.

A ruby necklace landed neatly in the woman’s small clutch purse. She shut it and turned away, walking over to a young couple and greeting them. Elizabeth stared after her, open-mouthed. Then she looked around to find someone who could identify the woman for her and possibly explain the impossible thing she had just seen.

Elizabeth spotted Nick and gave him a small frantic wave. He slid through the crowd and joined her. “Nick, that woman over there in the green dress, who is she?”

“Lady Alice, daughter of Duke Victor of Montexter. Why?”

“I just saw her steal a ruby necklace, but Nick, she didn’t touch it. It just flew through the air to her and landed in her purse.”

“That’s not possi…” He didn’t finish his sentence. It was perfectly possible with a very small amount of magic. “Elizabeth, get Edward and a couple of guards to the terrace. I’ll get her out there, although it may take me a few minutes without making her suspicious. Also, please forgive me for what I’m about to do. I don’t mean any of it, I promise.”

He left her and went over to the small group that included Lady Alice. He bowed deeply to her. “Lady Alice, would you honor me with a dance?”

Alice, a petite brunette, hesitated in her reply.

Nick said, “I really would like to talk to you. It’s important.”

That piqued her curiosity enough that she agreed to the dance. Nick led her out on the floor and kept talking.

“I know you were one of the candidates to be my bride, but the Council picked Elizabeth Stratton. She was my choice too, but now that I’ve gotten to know her, I realize what a terrible mistake I’ve made.”

They whirled in time with the music. Nick could see Lady Alice was interested and looking hopeful, so he continued. “It’s not too late. We’re not married yet. I realize now that I love you, not her, so there must be some way of—”

“Oh, yes, yes, I love you too, Prince Henry—I mean, Prince Nicholas, um, Nick. I’m sure we could find a way.”

Nick didn’t like the intensity with which Lady Alice spoke that last sentence. If Elizabeth was right she was a sorceress, and Alice was extremely dangerous. He looked around, but didn’t see Elizabeth anywhere. That was good; at least, Alice had no immediate target. But he’d sent his fiancée out to the terrace where he was going to confront the witch, so he had to be ready to defend her from any kind of attack.

And how were they going to be able to arrest the woman? The guards weren’t going to be of much help, and he had to be very careful in using his magic in public. He kept dancing and, when the music ended, asked for the next dance as well. He needed time to think and to figure out if Elizabeth had actually seen what she thought she had.

He had to get Alice alone and get her to talk. “Alice? I’d like to be alone with you. Would you walk with me in the gardens?”

“Of course, my prince.” She was looking at him almost worshipfully. It scared Nick a little. He escorted her out to the terrace, spotted Elizabeth, and gave her a small shake of the head as he hurried Alice down the same path he had so recently shared with his fiancée. He was sure the sorceress hadn’t seen Elizabeth or the guards; her gaze was fixed on him and her footing.

He stopped near the bench and turned to her. “Alice, I gave my mother’s necklace to Elizabeth, and now I regret it. I wish I had given it to you instead.”

Her face lit up. “But that’s exactly what I thought! And see, I fixed it,” she said as she opened her small purse, rooted around and pulled out the gold, sapphire, and diamond necklace.

Nick could see other necklaces in her purse. “What are those?”

“Oh, I just took them so no one would know that this is the only one that matters. We can give the others back. All we have to do is just bend the catches a little and say we found them on the floor. Everyone will believe us, you’re a prince after all.”

“Alice, do you know anything about what happened to my window?” Nick kept his tone neutral. He didn’t want her to think he was accusing her of anything, even though he was.

The happy look left her face. “I…I was angry. You seemed…you and that woman…I didn’t really mean it, I didn’t want to hurt you, but it wasn’t right for her to have you. The men I hired to kill her failed, and then she was here, bothering you, distracting you, making you do things with her. I’m sorry, I was wrong, but it just made me so mad to see you kiss her. You shouldn’t have kissed her, Nick, you shouldn’t have.”

Nick gently took his mother’s necklace from Alice’s hand and put it in his pocket. The woman was unstable, that much was obvious, but what was he going to do with her? She seemed to suddenly realize what he had done. “That’s mine, Nick, isn’t it? Or do you want to present it to me in front of everyone, is that it?”

“No, Alice, I don’t want to present it to you. I’m going to give it back to Elizabeth and return all the rest of the jewelry you took too.”

Her eyes opened wide as she realized that he was rejecting her in favor of Elizabeth. Furious, she cried. “How dare you! You’re making a mistake, a horrible mistake. Don’t you know who I am, what I am? I’m powerful, Nick, very powerful. With me by your side, you could be king. He said so!”

“Who said so?”

“It doesn’t matter, it’s a secret anyway. But you will marry me. If you don’t, I’ll take care of you just like I took care of your brother, just like he told me to.”

“You? You hurt Richard and killed Albert? Just like who told you to?”

“Yes. Me, a weak little woman, I disabled the famous Warleader. That’s how powerful I am. Now tell me you love me, that you’ll marry me, and give me the necklace. Please, Nick, I love you. I don’t want to have to kill you too.”

Nick felt the flow of energy into the small woman in front of him—lots and lots of energy. He opened his aperture and started pulling power too and then stopped. What was he doing? He couldn’t have a sorcerous duel in the palace grounds with a big crowd of people just on the other side of a few trees and bushes.

What an idiot he was. He stepped forward as she raised her hands and punched her in the face as hard as he could. She went down, flickering light and fire flowing out of her hands, undirected. Nick backed up as fast as he could and bumped into someone.

It was Edward behind him with a half a dozen guards. Nick’s head whipped around to identify his brother and then pushed him back a few steps. “Stay back until that’s done. I think she’s unconscious, but that doesn’t mean she can’t do damage.”

Elizabeth came to his side. “Nick, are you all right? Did she hurt you? We heard everything.”

“I’m fine,” he said, shaking his hand a little. He really had hit her very hard, maybe harder than he should have, but he’d been scared. No, not harder than he should have—the witch killed Albert, and she deserved a lot more than just a punch in the face.

They waited until the visible stream of energy ended, and then Edward motioned the guards forward. Alice was indeed out, the side of her face starting to swell and a little blood trickling at the corner of her mouth. Nick had been taught to never strike a woman, but he wasn’t sorry one bit, and he was very glad she was unconscious.

He turned to Edward. “Edward, she’s a sorceress. Do you know how to…I mean, she’s dangerous. How do we keep her from using magic?”

“Very simple, Nicholas, thanks to your well-delivered blow. We clap her in irons. Iron manacles on all her limbs will make it impossible for her to do more than rant. And she won’t be in them long, I’m quite sure. The only question is how do we execute her? Do we burn her as a witch, hang her, or decapitate her for Albert’s murder? Personally, I wish we could find a way to do all three. Well, the king will decide. I’ll inform him when I’ve seen the witch safely in the dungeon.”

The guards had picked up Alice and carried her through the gardens toward the smithy, avoiding the ball still going on. The musicians were playing and people were dancing, oblivious to the events in the garden. Edward handed the stolen necklaces to Nick and asked him to return them to their rightful owners. He then followed the guards to ensure the placement of manacles on Alice was done promptly and properly.

Nick and Elizabeth were left alone in the garden. He took her necklace out of his pocket and gently fastened it back around her neck.

Elizabeth said, “That was very brave of you to confront her like that. I was scared half to death for you.”

“It had to be done.” Nick gave her a little grin. “I was scared half to death for me too.”

Elizabeth stepped in close to him. “That’s what courage is, Nick. Being scared and doing what needs to be done anyway. I’m very proud of you.”

Nick could see she was asking to be kissed, so he complied, several times. Then he stepped back and said, “I need to return these other necklaces before the ball is over. Let’s go make three other women happy.”

Nick and Elizabeth went in and returned the other necklaces discreetly. They even had time for a few more dances before the ball ended. When it did, he escorted her back to her suite.

At her door, Elizabeth paused and said, “Nick, I’ve been thinking. What was Alice talking about when she kept referring to ‘he’?”

“I think she was saying there was someone else involved, and it sounded to me like he’s the one in charge. Whoever he is, I think he was using her for his own ends but couldn’t quite control her. She had her own plans too.”

Elizabeth shuddered a little. “There’s another sorcerer out there?”

“Not necessarily. Someone manipulated that woman, and I have no idea who or why, but he doesn’t have to be a sorcerer. It could be almost anyone.”

“Cheery thought.”

“No, but there’s nothing we can do about it. In two days, we’ll be starting on our Progress. We’ll be together all day and see the kingdom. Put your mind on that and forget about whoever-it-is. We took his greatest weapon away from him this evening; he may just slink back into the shadows and never be heard from again.”

“I hope you’re right. Maybe I will get some sleep tonight after all.”

Nick kissed her good night once again and then went back to his own suite. It was late and he was tired. Tomorrow, he would update Winkershime and start looking through spy reports and try to find whoever-it-was. He owed him for his cousin’s death and his brother’s injury, and he wasn’t going to stop looking until he found the bastard.