Page 79 of The Abandoned Princess

Lori nodded, eyes wide, and Celeste smiled at her. “A lady-in-waiting with loyalty like yours no doubt shares all your mistress’s secrets.”

“Of course she does,” I said fiercely. “But is that man, Rivers, really one of your agents?”

“He was Arcadian originally, but he followed me to Lanover after our first meeting. When he insisted on following me again after my marriage to William, he proved as adept at inserting himself into the Northhelmian court as he had been into the Lanoverian one. That’s when I knew I had to recruit him.”

“Your husband doesn’t mind him following you around the kingdoms?” Lori asked.

“Of course not,” Rafe said. “Rivers considers Celeste’s beauty to be a gift from the godmothers—a gift not just to her but to all the kingdoms. He believes it’s only natural that he should want to gaze upon their marvelous work. He’s not interested in Celeste as a person.”

“Not romantically interested anyway,” Cordelia hurried to add. “He’s proved to be very loyal to his spymaster.”

“Rivers wants a queen to adore, not a woman to love,” Celeste said crisply, “so the arrangement works to everyone’s advantage. So since we can trust that he will uncover the children and deliver them here, can we please hear the story?”

Xander and I looked at Lori who held up her hands and took a step back.

“Don’t both go looking at me!” she exclaimed. “Just because you can’t see Daisy doesn’t mean I have to tell the story. These Northhelmians can hear the both of you just fine.”

“Xander should tell it,” I said quickly.

“She wants you to do it,” Lori repeated, making Celeste narrow her eyes.

“I suppose whatever is happening here is part of the story?” she asked.

“I’m afraid so.” Xander sighed. “I’ll tell it as quickly as possible, but I’d better start at the beginning, or it won’t make any sense.”

He outlined everything that had happened since Charli first led him to my tower. Only as he reached the end of the tale did a dreadful thought occur to me.

“Where are King Richard and Prince William?” I asked. “They haven’t left for their private ceremony, have they?”

“I’m afraid they have,” Celeste replied, looking drawn and pale, but still more beautiful than I looked on my best day.

“I’m sure they’ll be all right,” Cordelia murmured, putting her hand on her sister’s arm. She didn’t seem certain of her own words, though.

The door opened, and I was so on edge that I jumped. But it was the children who came spilling into the room. Ben was first, followed by a younger boy who had to be his brother. The twins came after with Rivers following.

“Where’s Danielle?” Celeste asked sharply at the same moment as Xander spoke to Ben.

“You were supposed to tell your parents about Eulalie!”

“No,” he said with none of his usual boisterous cheer. “Dani was supposed to tell them. But she disappeared as soon as the greeting was over. We’ve been looking for her everywhere.” He turned to Celeste. “I’m sorry Aunt, but she isn’t in any of her usual haunts.”

Celeste’s face was frozen, her back rigid. “We need to alert the guard and send out—”

“No!” I said so loudly that she went silent. “I know what’s happened.”

I felt sick to my stomach, but I had to push on. “Eulalie’s first test subjects were adult men, and when they proved too difficult to handle, she chose a small girl for her next victim because a child would be easier to control. I should have realized that when she said that, she didn’t just mean for the test. We thought Eulalie must be looking for a way to keep the king and prince under control because it seemed unlikely she could keep two grown men safely chained to her side. It occurred to me earlier that it would make her task simpler if she killed King Richard and just kept one man, but I should have taken the extra step to realize the full truth. If she kills them both, then the next heir is an eleven-year-old girl who would be far easier to control than even one grown man.”

Cordelia let out a moan and sat down on the nearest chair. Marie rushed to her side and put an arm around her shoulders.

“She won’t find Dani easy to control,” Celeste said through her teeth.

“No,” I agreed. “From what I’ve seen, she has no idea who she’s dealing with. But she’s not going to realize that until it’s too late for the king and prince.”

“What’s Daisy saying?” Xander asked urgently and Lori began to murmur to him in the background.

“I’m afraid this is partially my fault,” I said miserably. “I never properly understood Eulalie’s test—not the full extent of it anyway. I always thought she didn’t know who I really was, but I think at some point in the five years she must have discovered my identity. And I fooled her into thinking that even a spirited princess, if taken young enough, can be cowed into docility and compliance. So now she thinks she can do the same thing with Princess Danielle.”

“We have to go after them at once!” Celeste said.

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