Page 16 of Beguiled
“I have seen the beautiful woman you are on the inside. And that is truly what matters most.”
He’d misunderstood me. He assumed I was deformed and that’s why I hated my name. Should I tell him I had no blemish and didn’t belong on the island any more than he did?
“Thank you, Mikkel.” Uncertainty welled within me. Irontooth wouldn’t want me to reveal it. As a condition for remaining on the island, he’d insisted I wear the veil at all times and let everyone assume I was deformed. If the other outcasts learned I had no blemish—was in fact known for my beauty—they’d despise me, perhaps even harm me.
“I mean it.” His whisper was warm against my temple.
I curled closer into his side.
At the gentle pressure of his lips against my head, I stilled, my whole body tingling with awareness of this man, of his strength, determination, intelligence, and sweetness. I couldn’t deny any longer that my attraction to him had been steadily growing. His kiss might be purely platonic, and he might not have any desire for me beyond friendship, but I liked him... much more than I ought to.
“You can tell me what happened to your face,” he said softly. “It won’t change how I see you.”
“Yes, it will.”
“I vow it won’t.”
I paused. Maybe I couldn’t take off my veil and show him my fairness, but I could tell him who I really was, couldn’t I? If I did so, would he finally share who he was? “Mikkel?”
“Hmmm...?”
“I am—a princess.”
Chapter
7
Mikkel
I froze. Pearlwas a princess?
“My mother is Queen Margery of Warwick.” She whispered the queen’s name as if speaking of a deadly plague.
“Truly?”
She nodded, tightening her fingers within mine, but not before I caught the tremor that told me far more than her words—telling me about her background made her feel vulnerable and frightened.
But why?
I scrambled to remember all I knew about Queen Margery and her children. Though I’d never had the opportunity to meet Warwick’s queen and family, I made a point of keeping abreast of Scania’s relationships with the surrounding nations. And nothing I’d heard about Warwick and Queen Margery had been pleasant.
Early in her reign of Warwick, she’d been obsessed with hunting down her niece, Queen Aurora, who was heir to Mercia’s throne. Because of Margery’s determination to eliminate the young queen, Aurora had been hidden away, and her father was serving as regent until she reached an age when she could reign in her own right.
After years of searching, Margery seemed to have given up her aspirations of taking the throne from her niece. I guessed the time was soon coming when Aurora would come out of hiding and that perhaps Margery would attempt to destroy her niece again.
Several years ago, we’d learned that Margery’s husband had died. And last summer, hadn’t we received news that her oldest daughter had perished? In a hunting accident?
Ethelbard was the name of the queen’s son. That I knew because he would someday be a rival king. But I hadn’t paid attention to the names of Margery’s daughters. Something to do with jewels? Perhaps Pearl had been one of them.
“Margery’s oldest daughter died,” I said. “So you are her youngest child?”
“No, I am her firstborn. Though she tried to kill me during a hunting expedition, one of the huntsmen helped me escape. I ran away and have been living here ever since.”
If an illness or accident had compromised Pearl’s beauty, then she would no longer be a valuable asset to the queen in brokering an advantageous marriage. In fact, maybe Pearl had posed an embarrassment and burden, one the queen wished to eliminate.
“I have heard of Margery’s cruelty. But I didn’t think she was so evil that she would kill her own daughter.”
Pearl started to pull away. “You do not believe me?”
