Page 15 of Always
Even so, I dared not enter through the castle’s main entrance. Instead, I found a side doorway that water carriers used when lugging buckets inside the castle from the well. As the door closed behind me, eerie darkness and stillness greeted me.
Was I too late? Had someone already taken the Princess Constance away?
I raced through the corridors, praying I wouldn’t get lost in the maze of passageways. Everywhere I went, the hallways were silent and rooms deserted. My heart sank lower with the realization the courtiers were gone, likely taking the guards with them.
When I reached the nursery chambers, I burst through the doors and stopped short at the sight of a stout old woman standing in front of the hearth, a long knife in her hands.
“Don’t take one step closer,” she said, pointing the weapon at me. I recognized the aged plump face framed with a curly mop of gray hair. This was Dot, the princess’s nursemaid. Although I hadn’t interacted with her often as she kept mainly to the nursery, I’d seen her on occasion, always pleasant and kind. Now angry almost vicious lines creased her forehead and turned down her eyebrows and mouth.
I held up my hands in a motion of surrender. “I seek Princess Constance.”
Dot thrust the knife forward menacingly. “If you try to take her, I’ll slice you up, that I will.”
Only then did I see the tiny figure behind the old woman, plastered to her skirt, her fingers clutching the linen, a pale face peeking out.
At the sight of the familiar delicate features with silky blond curls falling in ringlets to dainty shoulders, I knelt and bowed my head. “Your Royal Highness.” My relief at finding the princess was so overwhelming I blinked back tears.
At rapid footsteps behind me, I rose, but not in time. The sharp point of a blade pricked through my garments into my spine. “You’d best be on your way, missy,” came a younger woman’s voice, followed by another painful jab into my skin.
My mind raced even as I kept my body motionless. What had I expected? To be able to walk into the nursery and carry Princess Constance off without anyone questioning me? Even if I explained to Dot who I was and even if she happened to remember me from among the many noblewomen who surrounded the queen, why would she give me the princess?
Lance had cautioned me, had told me I needed a better plan for getting through the castle, and I hadn’t listened to him.
“Please.” I attempted to keep the anxiety out of my voice. “The queen sent me to take Princess Constance to safety. I must be on my way before the city gates close.”
The older woman scrutinized me, taking in my peasant attire. I wanted to remove my veil and fully identify myself, but I dared not budge with the knife biting my flesh. Instead, I tried to think of a new solution, a way to convince them both to hand the princess over.
“You are Dot, the princess’s nursemaid,” I said. “Why are you still here? Why are you not making efforts to leave like everyone else?”
At my knowledge of her name, surprise flickered through her eyes. “Who are you?”
“It is best for you not to know,” I replied. “But I can tell you that I gave the queen my solemn word to come for Connie.” I purposefully used the queen’s nickname for the little girl.
Upon hearing her mother’s pet name, the princess circled around the front of her nursemaid, her big blue eyes wide and full of questions. “Go to Mommy?” the little girl asked, stepping toward me.
Dot reached for Constance to stop her, but the princess slipped easily from her grasp. The nursemaid took a wobbling step after the girl, then halted and grimaced at the pain the movement caused her.
Her foot was wrapped in bandages, but from the oozing and swelling, I could see she was ailing from gout or perhaps an injury that wasn’t healing. Though she might be able to take a step or two, she certainly couldn’t manage the long passageways and numerous staircases. In her condition, she couldn’t leave the castle, even if she wanted to flee with Princess Constance.
“Why have you not made arrangements for someone else to take the princess?” I asked. “With so many others departing, surely you could have found guards to protect her?”
Dot pulled herself up and glared at me. “I hid the princess while the others left, letting everyone believe she was gone.”
“Why would you do such a thing?”
“Who can I trust? No telling which nobles might want to take the princess directly to King Ethelwulf in order to save themselves.” Dot looked at me pointedly as if that’s exactly why I was there.
“I have no intention of turning the princess over to King Ethelwulf.”
“I tried to convince my daughter to take the princess and go on without me, that I did.” Dot waved to the woman behind me who still pressed the blade into my back. “But she refuses to leave me here alone after we heard the news.”
“What news?”
“A few hours ago, we received word that King Ethelwulf is sending a contingent of mercenaries north to Everly. They’ll be here by nightfall.”
A contingent was on its way? Already? I’d hoped for more time to make a safe getaway. Now a new sense of urgency burned through me. “No doubt the first place they will search is the royal residence and the nursery.”
“I was planning to hide the princess again.”
