Page 54 of Tamed for Her Pleasure

Chapter Eighteen

Penelope

The plan is made. Although I do not like the thought of leaving Alfred, even for a moment, I understand it is a means to an end.

The doctor remains. Dick and Wendle stand guard upon his door. I leave his room, accompanied by my father and my maid. We make a noisy show of returning to my quarters, my father consoling me with encouraging words that Alfred is yet strong and will survive.

As soon as we enter my quarters. I head straight into my closet, where, with my maid’s assistance, I remove my gown and slip back into my leathers. My hair is swiftly braided before I hide it under a black scarf.

The clothing is familiar to me. These leathers were my preferred choice before Alfred came along. Now, I see my silk gowns in a whole new light.

My breath catches. I hate that he is alone now, vulnerable without me at his side.

When I step out, my father is waiting for me, his face a mask of concern. “Be careful, my love,” he says. “I want to find out who did this, but also...”

“I have got this,” I say. “This is what I have trained for. I will uncover who is behind this so that we might deal with them lest they dare to make another attempt.”

The doctor said Alfred was stable, or I would not do this much, but he has drifted in and out of consciousness all day. “He might be—” My breath catches again. My father puts his hand on my shoulder.

“I cannot bear to be apart from him. I must go.”

My father nods, kisses my forehead, and then steps back.

Pivoting on the spot, he strides for the door. With the door open, he announces, “Keep a close watch over my daughter, Sana. Ensure your princess gets some rest.”

And then he is gone, the door closing on him, and my maid turns to me for direction.

“Dim the lights,” I say. Sana has been my maid for many years and knows me and my ways well. She does not hesitate to go to the bedside lamp and turn it down very low.

I open the balcony doors, slip outside, and close them again. I scale the wall using familiar footholds, as I have done many times, until I reach the battlements. Waiting for the guards to pass, I slip over and drop noiselessly down. The guards continue on, and I turn and take the narrow stairs down and out.

I hide in the shadows as another pair of guards pass.

“Eh, sad business with Alfred,” one says.

“Heard it was poison,” says the other. “Thought he was good for the princess and the kingdom, too. Did you know he waded in when Poach got into a fight at the Blue Boar? Not many fancy lords would stand by a guard like that.”

They move off. Their praise of him brings a fresh surge of love to my heart.

My resolve hardens as I continue. I cannot bear the thought of whoever did this trying again at some distant, unknown time in the future, maybe even extending that threat to our children…

No, this will end tonight, if possible, andifthey show their hand.

It feels like forever before I drop onto his balcony in a low crouch.

The light has been turned low in his room so that the room is filled with shadows. Our doctor still sits at Alfred’s bedside attentively. Hearing my tap, his head lifts, and with a nod to me, he exits the room as planned.

I slip inside and creep over to his bed, listening for any sounds of distress that may have arisen in the short time I was gone. Taking his hand in mine, I find comfort in his steady breathing and that he rests.

Dick and Wendle will also be leaving their post now the doctor has gone, although they keep a discreet watch on the corridor.

I move to the corner of the room, where I sink into a crouch in the shadows.

Here I wait, comforted by the steady sound of Alfred’s breathing, reminding myself that I do this for his safety when all I want to do is hold his hand and be at his side.

A faint click alerts me, and my eyes train on the door as the handle slowly turns. The door edges open. A slight figure steps in and closes it softly again. The build tells me it is a woman, although her clothing is that of a boy.

The room is dark. I cannot see much in the shadows as she approaches the bed.

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