Page 77 of Heart of Snow
“Felipe!” I pulled away, slapping him across the shoulder, then covered my mouth when I realized what I’d done. “I cry you mercy, Your Grace.”
He laughed and caught my wrists, tugging me back to lean against his chest. “Come, Margaretha. Don’t tell me you haven’t longed for more than this.” He lifted my chin with his fingers and bent down to kiss my mouth. “Or this.” He tugged the gloveoff my hand, then his lips trailed down my fingers until he kissed the insides of my wrists.
His kisses made me dizzy. I swallowed, trying to call my muddled thoughts to clarity. “I am human, Your Grace.”
His breathy laugh was warm against my skin. “I’ll rely upon that.”
Chapter 36
Friedrich
I pressed my cap tomy head as cold gusts slashed the caravan winding its way toward Coudenberg Palace. With summer now in retreat, all future court hunts were likely to be as cold and miserable as this one had been. At least the wind cleared out the foul stench of rotting garbage and human waste hovering around the palace like an invisible bog.
Cresting the hill, Margaretha and the prince led the train into the round enclosure of thePlace des Bailles, passing between the brass statues mounted on top of bright-blue columns. I jogged ahead of them through the tunneled ramp to the inner courtyard, then into the stables to get the horse’s stall ready. The building blocked out the winds, making me warm enough that my nose and cheeks tingled while they regained feeling.
Picking up the rake, I laid out fresh hay as a stealthy step sounded behind me. One trying to be silent but failing. I rounded to find the young page who’d taken my taler. “Ah, master of the dice. Have you something for me?”
“’Ave you somethin’ for me?” He held out his open palm, but I shook my head, falling into the comfortable pattern of our exchanges over the last few months.
“Letter first.”
He pulled two missives out of his jerkin and dangled them from pinched fingers, still offering his open palm. “It’ll be six talers now. I used the last two to bribe the guard.”
It was the same story he gave me every time he brought one of Samuel’s letters, but I studied him with narrowed eyes, trying not to show my surprise at being given a second missive. “Very shrewd.” Digging into my pocket, I pulled out six coins and stifled a smile as the page boy bit each one.
“Hope to do business with you again.” He touched his cap with his finger, then meandered out of the stables.
I couldn’t even wait for him to be gone before I ripped open the first letter, finding nothing more than the standard communications Count Samuel sent his father. But the second missive was different. Short and clearly not meant for the count, it was still written in Count Samuel’s shaky scrawl.
Glad you survived Mühlberg. My health is failing. Still worth it to escape the attentions of a certain lady.
The letter was not addressed to anyone, but I knew it was for me. Somehow he had guessed or learned that I was the courier of these messages. Despite my aloofness, or maybe because of it, the young count had always been friendly with me, leading me to form a sort of begrudging tolerance for him and his persistent jokes about going to war to escape the ladies. But the comment on his health made me uneasy. He wasn’t one to complain. Speaking about it at all was a clue to how much he was suffering.
Horses’ hooves clopped on the stones outside the stables, and I slid the letter into my jerkin just as the prince rode in on his charger. Margaretha wasn’t far behind, but I didn’t even have the chance to offer her my arm before the prince appeared beside me, taking her by the waist and setting her down in front of him.
“When will I see you again?” he asked.
She laughed. “I’m sure I shall see you at supper.”
“Too long from now. We could meet back together and ramble the Warande once we’ve changed from our riding clothes.”
I pretended to inspect the horse’s shoe as a reason to stay nearby and hear Margaretha’s answer.
“And what excuse would I give the queen?” she asked. “I must stay with the other ladies-of-honor.”
“They will assume you are with me.” The prince’s hands were still on her waist, and he pulled her closer to whisper, “As royal mistress, you have the freedom to move about as you please.”
My breath gusted out as if the horse had kicked me in the stomach. Did the prince really just call Margaretha his mistress?
“I amnotyour mistress.” Margaretha stepped out of his grasp. Her voice was cool and steely, unfriendly enough that the prince’s smile fell.
“Regardless, when everyone suspects you of it, you have the same privileges. Whenever you will it, I give you leave to come to me.”
The prince left on much less friendly terms than he’d entered, waiting for Margaretha’s parting bow before striding off with his attendants.
I gave Margaretha a few moments to recover before I handed her Count Samuel’s letter.
“What is this?” She threw me a curious look as she unfolded the paper. Reading the short note, her eyes met mine with wide excitement. “Is this—? How did you get it?”
