"Do you?" Javier said. "I wonder how the duties of a minor Lanyarchan noble compare to that of royalty."
Silent as the snow, Belinda let stillness settle into her bones. The act of Beatrice was too open; she let the stillness go too often in favour of thoughtless, appropriate reaction to the gentility whose class she'd joined. The part was easy to play, far more enjoyable than the serving girl role she was accustomed to taking on. Without the need to hide in plain sight or explain herself to her betters, she could taste a little of what she might have become, in a different world. Wealth and comfort were dangerous; they let her feel free. She hadn't known the cost of freedom was so high.
Fleetingly, she wondered what Javier would say, if she whispered the truth to him. That her blood was as royal as his, if on the wrong side of the bed. That her duties were as significant as his, all the more so because she might someday make a misstep, and when she was found out her royal mother would not reach out a hand to save her. Belinda couldn't easily name the emotion that lanced through her belly, could barely form words for the blur of wistfulness and might-have-been that she let herself imagine for a moment. There was no room in her life for daydreams or regret, so little room that she hardly recognized them.
"I think our duties lie heavy on us all at times, my lord. Forgive me. I didn't mean to cause you distress." Armoured by stillness, she smiled at the prince. His gaze softened and she lowered her eyes. Oh, yes. Freedom was dangerous. Belinda thought of the letter to her father, still half-finished, and let herself shiver as if with cold. "Forget freedom," she murmured, knowing she spoke aloud. "With duty, we know our places, my lord. Perhaps there is nothing more we can ask."
"Sound advice," Javier said. "Do you follow it yourself?"
"I try."
She heard the smile in his voice. "And with these new gifts, where do your duties now lie, Beatrice? Does it change with what you're able to do?"
Belinda spread her hands, looking at them. "A woman has only the power granted to her by men, my lord. At least...usually. No man has granted me this. Trained me in it," she conceded before he could take offense, "but not granted it to me. Perhaps it changes me. Perhaps it changes what I ought to do." She lifted her chin, looking out at the snow. "Although I command very little power, in truth. You...have more, my lord." Almost a lie. Javier had no walls in his mind, cutting him off from the source of his witchpower. For the moment, at least, he commanded greater power than Belinda could call up. And it flattered his ego, which was more useful than truth anyway.
Thusly flattered, the prince chuckled. "What, then, would you do if you wielded the gifts that I do?"
"Dangerous things, my lord," Belinda whispered. Javier's body against hers turned curious, hips tilting as he canted his head closer so she might answer even more softly.
"What things? Tell me." Command combined with desire in his voice; the thought of a powerful woman excited him. Belinda felt hairs lift on her arms anyway, reluctant to voice words treasonous to Aulun, even when those ideas were at the heart of the role she played. She wet her lips twice and swallowed before making herself speak.
"I would remove the Aulunian threat from Lanyarch, my lord. I would seek allies with Cordula's support and break the yoke of Reformationism that weighs down on island shoulders." Panic squirreled in her belly, spreading sharp claws of nausea up to wrap around her heart and tighten her throat. It trickled downward as well, pounding between her thighs and making her knees tremble. Belinda fought against banishing terror, knowing the calm of stillness would push it all away and leave her untouchable.
But the words she spoke were terribly dangerous, and Beatrice Irvine was no more than a minor noble who answered to Aulunian law. Beatrice could be put to death for the things she'd said, and it would be Belinda's head that rolled. Javier himself might betray her, offer her to Lorraine as a gift to soothe troubled waters between Gallin and Aulun, betwixt Ecumenics and Reformationists, more importantly. A public execution, carried out by the queen's men-Belinda Primrose would be no more. She doubted, in the core of her, that Lorraine would waste so valuable an asset; far more practical to behead some poor woman with similar features. Belinda herself would be safe to pursue the queen's wishes under cover of another identity, but she would no more be her beloved uncle's niece, no more be able to claim that thin line of heritage. Panic brought chills and sweat both at once, the air too thin to breathe. Why did he not speak speak? Belinda shuddered, afraid to move, afraid to speak, afraid to do anything but wait.
Javier's silence brought her frayed nerves to the shattering point before he inhaled and straightened. "And then?" Light tone, almost playful, but Belinda felt the undercurrent of intensity in it. Acute desire pushed through him, pricking at Belinda's skin, but she couldn't determine what what the man desired. She closed her eyes, wetting her lips again. the man desired. She closed her eyes, wetting her lips again.
"I named you true heir to the Aulunian throne the night I met you, my prince." Her voice quavered, so weak and small she barely recognized it. She swallowed again, trying to strengthen herself without lifting her voice so loudly that a spy might overhear. "The Aulunian queen is the child of an illegitimate marriage, and there are no other Walters to follow her father Henry. Moreover, your mother's first husband was heir to the Aulunian throne, and you, though no child of his, are a child of hers. He made her queen, and in doing so made you heir."
"Oh, but it's more complex than that, isn't it?" Javier's voice was as low as her own. "Henry Walter's first wife was my grandaunt, and if she was the only legitimate wife, then perhaps I can lay claim to the Aulunian throne through those means, too. But Gallin is mine already, and Uncle Rodrigo looks unlikely to wed, so Essandia is likely mine as well. Would you have me conquer all of Echon, Beatrice? Would you make yourself a king-maker?"
"I cannot make what God hath already wrought, your highness." The fervor in her voice was such that Belinda believed herself for a moment.
"You would get on well with my mother." Javier released her and Belinda's heart lurched as he stepped back into the warmth of his chambers. He had not before made mention of Sandalia in her presence, certainly not in such intimate terms as my mother. my mother. It offered the first glimmer that her approach to the Gallic court had been a good one; that the prince should say such a thing so easily and carelessly hinted that there was a chance Belinda would be introduced to Sandalia so such comparisons might be made. No triumph rose within her; it was far too early for that, but a hint that she'd taken the right slow road pushed down some of the nerves that had come over her as she'd whispered her daring thoughts. Patience, patience; to trap a queen was a long and dangerous path, but finally she felt herself on it, one stride closer to success. It offered the first glimmer that her approach to the Gallic court had been a good one; that the prince should say such a thing so easily and carelessly hinted that there was a chance Belinda would be introduced to Sandalia so such comparisons might be made. No triumph rose within her; it was far too early for that, but a hint that she'd taken the right slow road pushed down some of the nerves that had come over her as she'd whispered her daring thoughts. Patience, patience; to trap a queen was a long and dangerous path, but finally she felt herself on it, one stride closer to success.
Buoyed a little, Belinda turned to watch Javier as she waited on his indication that she should join him. He dropped into a chair by the fire, sprawling his legs out. Slender calves, well-muscled under his tights, backlit by the fire. Belinda let herself admire the lines of him, the graceful turn of his fingers as he pressed them against his forehead.
"My lord?" she ventured when silence drew out too long. Javier lifted his head and crooked his fingers, the dismissive acknowledgment he might call a dog with. It was the way of men, especially men of power. Belinda crossed to him, kneeling at his feet in a rustle of skirts. "Forgive me, my lord." Eyes lowered, she felt his touch on her cheek, drawing her gaze up, before she saw it.
"There's nothing to forgive. I did ask. Watch your tongue, though, Beatrice. You do speak of dangerous things."
"Yes, my lord." Belinda lowered her eyes again even as she lifted her chin, giving her throat to the prince. Javier chuckled and leaned forward, wrapping his hand behind her head. She came to her knees, breath gone short, and smiled up at him.
"Another man might be less lenient."
"Then I am fortunate to be wi-"
"Jav!" The door banged open, a feat in itself: the weight of oak and the woven rug it dragged across precluded such enthusiasm under nearly any circumstances. Asselin lurched in, his weight making the door bounce against the stone wall a second time, barely muffled by hanging tapestries. "Oh, bugger and bollocks, Jav, get rid of the tart, there's things to discuss." Asselin waved a flagon of wine around with more drama than care; red droplets flew and splattered across the walls and rugs. He focused on Belinda, blinking heavily, then sketched a bow so deep it bordered on ludicrous. "Forgive me, Irvine. I didn't see you there. Shite, Jav, why can't I I find a noble girl who'll go down on her knees for me?" find a noble girl who'll go down on her knees for me?"
Blood drained from Belinda's face, then rushed back in a pound of scarlet. She scrambled to her feet, knotting her hands in her skirt and staring fixedly at the floor. Stillness kept her a safe distance from laughter while she played out the part of Beatrice's mortification, trembling with humiliation and embarrassment. Javier climbed to his feet with languid poise, brushing his fingers across Belinda's crimson cheek in apology. "Sacha, you're a pig and a fool," he said mildly. "What the hell are you doing here?"
Asselin still watched Belinda. "Praying to God you're as free with your women as with your wine, old man. Look at her, Jav, blushing like a maiden. You're a widow, Irvine, and even if you weren't Jav here would've had your head a hundred times by now. Come on, Javier, can't we share a bit of a shag?"
Belinda jerked her eyes up, horrified on Beatrice's part and startled beyond belief on her own. Asselin waggled his eyebrows at her with such exaggeration she wanted to laugh. He sauntered over to her, leading with his hips and both hands held high, wine droplets spilling carelessly down his wrist. "Never dreamed of that, did you, Beatrice? A woman's got more than one hole, might as well put them all to good use." He took a few dancing steps around her, and came up against Javier. "Shite," he said into the prince's closed expression. He let his arms fall and shrugged liquidly. "You can't blame a man for trying, now, can you, Jav?"
Javier remained expressionless, staring his compatriot down. Asselin exhaled noisily and fell one step back. "My apologies, Lady Irvine. Drink has got me, and I take more pleasure in her than good sense might allow."
"It...it is-" Belinda cast a frantic look at Javier, expecting, and finding, his slight nod. "It is all right," she whispered. Heat still stained her cheeks, a flush that would be attributed to shame, not amusement or arousal. She locked her eyes on the floor, aware that she still held her hands clutched in her skirts, fig-leafing in a useless show of modesty. Everything in how she stood bespoke her embarrassment, but keeping her gaze down let her indulge in curious imagination without betraying herself.
"What's so damned important, Sacha?" Javier settled back into his chair, gesturing for Asselin to take the matching one opposite him. Asselin flung himself into it hard enough to knock it back a few inches, and leaned forward to bring the front legs down again.
"What about her?"
Javier's gaze flickered to Belinda. "Beatrice, there are wineglasses in the front chamber. Enough for all, please."
"My lord." Belinda bobbed a curtsey and took care not to stomp as she left the room. A woman was a serving maid no matter what her station, shy of being a queen. Carrying the rank of lady only made for better dresses to sweat in.
Asselin's drunk had passed by the time she returned. He sat forward in his chair, flagon dangling from his fingertips and voice low as he spoke earnestly to Javier. The prince remained leaning back, ankle cocked over his knee and one arm dangling over the side of the chair as he listened. They were, Belinda thought, very much man and servant, for all the friendship held between them. Asselin straightened as she came back in. Belinda bobbed another curtsey, murmuring, "My lords," and took the flagon from Asselin's fingertips to pour wine. There was no moment of shared thought, as she hoped there might be; the fingertip touch was too brief, or her skill too little. His emotions were clouded with lust, as frank and open as it had been the night she'd met him in a low-class pub; as they had been when he'd taken her in the park days earlier. He was a blunt man, dangerous like a hammer, and Belinda found herself liking him for it once more, despite the threat he posed to her. Threat, though, could be dealt with without mercy if necessary, and for everything Sacha Asselin thought he knew about Beatrice Irvine, he knew nothing at all of Belinda Primrose. So long as their ends lay down similar paths, she was content to leave him alive, but should the knowledge he carried become a burden to her, her only regret in his death would be the hurt it would cause Javier.
Faint surprise coiled through her at the thought; Javier's emotions were irrelevant to her goals. Sacha's death might pull him away from the desire to teach her more of the witchpower magic, though, and that was enough to feel a twinge of dismay over. Belinda dropped her gaze briefly, then offered Asselin a filled wine cup. His eyebrows shot up as he took it. "Daring, to give me the first cup and not Jav."
Nerves bunched in Belinda's stomach. As a serving girl, she never would have made the error of serving the lower-ranked man first. She poured a second glass, offering it to Javier. There was no tremble in the liquid that betrayed the quiver she felt inside. Javier lifted an eyebrow, as aware of the slight as Asselin had been, but he took the glass. Belinda poured herself a glass as well, setting the flagon aside and smiling with cool reserve at Asselin. "You brought the wine."
"And I," Javier said, "did not rescue you quickly enough, hm?" His other eyebrow elevated to match the first, challenging. Belinda, trusting social propriety over Beatrice's embarrassment, tilted her head.
"My lord? I am sure there was nothing I needed rescuing from. Lord Asselin is a gentleman, and you a prince. How could a woman fear in such company?"
"Oh, she's good," Asselin said past her, to Javier. The prince arched an eyebrow again, warning, and Asselin subsided. Belinda inclined her head and drew a footstool a little closer to the fire, smoothing her skirt as she sat down.
"Now that the matter of Beatrice is aside," Javier said, "to what do I owe this unexpected visit, Asselin? You may have guessed: I had plans." Neither man looked at Belinda. She felt the weight of their avoidance far more heavily than she might have felt a knowing smile or wink, and wished she dared roll her eyes. Instead she lowered her gaze and sipped her wine, demure, as Asselin launched into talk of inconsequentialities. Belinda felt Javier's impatience as if it were her own, the witchpower stirring in him as he sought a way to bring Asselin to the point. It was her presence that stayed the young lord's tongue; they all three knew it, and that Javier had waved her to stay was...interesting. Belinda pressed wine against her lips, feeling them wet, imagining colour staining them.
Golden witchlight spread through the back of her mind, tempered into darkness by the stillness. Belinda was grateful for that; without the stillness she thought the bright power might burst out of every crevasse of her body, blinding her and everything around her. She gathered the light around her as if it were the stillness, tucking it around the corners of her mind. It tingled and itched; she could not remember the same sensations a dozen years ago when she tried to hide in the shadows. But she had been less aware then, she reminded herself. More powerful, perhaps, but less aware. The prickle over her skin was bearable, even ignorable, but fascinating. She stopped herself from spreading her fingers to investigate, knowing she could try again another time when she would not call attention to herself with the action.
She took a slow breath, calmness washing through her as it suppressed the skin tickle that power had awakened. Excitement tasted of copper at the back of her throat and made her fingertips ache; the calm was so profound it had the weight of chains. She knew the sensation, like the frightening quiet at the heart of a storm. It held her prisoner and safe both at once, denying her the ability to break free even as it offered the consummate certainty that nothing could reach her. Belinda's lungs burned, heart pounding sickly in the cavity of her chest. She dragged in a shaking breath that only served to prove how little air there seemed to be around her. With the breath, tranquility stretched taut and snapped. In silence, it surrounded her, tucking her safely into the shadows. The wine in her glass darkened, no longer reflecting the warmth of firelight. Asselin's voice cut through, sudden and loud, amplified as if he stood in an echo chamber. Belinda lifted her head, confident in the shadows that held her, and watched the two men openly.
"It's Liz, Jav. You don't know-"
"Liz?" Javier glanced at where Belinda sat, clearly without seeing her there. "All this bother and dancing around the topic and it's Eliza? What could you not say about her in front of Beatrice, man?"
Asselin's silence fell almost as heavily as the solitude surrounding Belinda. "You are my prince," he said eventually. "My oldest friend and my brother, but my God, you're an idiot sometimes, Jav."
Javier turned a round-mouthed gape of astonishment on the stocky noble. "I beg your pardon?"
Asselin sighed. "Nothing. Suffice it to say that Liz would rather not be discussed in front of your lady Irvine."
"Liz," Javier pointed out, "would rather not be discussed behind her back at all."
Asselin waved a hand dismissively. "So would we all. But if she must be, let us not compound the injury by doing it in front of her ri-in front of Irvine."
"You don't like her." Javier sounded stiff, petulant. Belinda, safe in her shadows, allowed herself an open smile, and sipped her wine. Asselin let out a raspberry of exasperation.
"What's to like or not like? She's a pretty woman and she must be a good lay or you wouldn't keep bothering with her. It's not like you, though, Jav. We've been friends since boyhood, the four of us, and you're the one who's kept that sacrosanct. Now you invite this woman in without a hitch or hesitation?"
"Marius invited her." Belinda hadn't known the prince could be sulky. She smiled again, into her glass, and watched the men through her eyelashes. Years of long practise kept her from wriggling with amusement, or permitting herself the giggle that fought its way through her, but the grin she gave free rein to. Delight in success pounded through her like sexual arousal, thrills of excitement and interest making her overaware of her body. How easy it would be to carry out her missions, if she could sit unseen in a room with men who had moments ago been fully aware of her presence. If she could learn to walk within the shadows-she didn't dare try now-she might become the most successful and secret assassin Echon had ever known.
"Marius showed her to us," Asselin disagreed. "You invited her, Jav. You're the only one of us who can."
"Sacha, that's not true-"
"Yes, my prince." Asselin's voice softened, sympathy in it. "It is. It's why we're never more than four, Javi. We can only present outsiders. It's your will that takes them in or leaves them to the cold."
Javier slumped in his seat, expression unguarded and youthful. "You haven't called me that in a long time."
Asselin crooked a smile. "We haven't been boys in a long time, Javi. I don't like to use it around Marius and Liza." His grin went more sheepish. "We knew each other first. I think of it as my name for you, and if I used it, it would become theirs, too."
"Jealous lordling," Javier said, but he leaned forward to reach for Asselin's hand, grasping it a moment.
"Rarely." Asselin sat back with a sigh and kicked his heels out on the rug. "Which brings us, Jav, back to Eliza."
Javier lifted his eyebrows. "She's become a jealous lordling? Sacha-" The prince straightened, curious dismay wrinkling his forehead. "Is that why none of you have married? Because of me? Because you think you need my...approval?"
"Oh, God, Jav, don't tie the noose yet. There are moments when you're our only line to freedom. Marriage beds will come soon enough. They're political machinations, not full of love and romance. It won't make any difference if you like our wives. Hell, it won't make any difference if we we like our wives. A woman's got no strength to come between the four of us anyway. like our wives. A woman's got no strength to come between the four of us anyway. Which, Which," Asselin said, "brings us back to Eliza, Jav. Again."
"All right, all right! God in Heaven, Sacha. What's the problem?"
"Her father's found her out, Jav."
Javier's eyes shuttered, light in them turning black. "Then I'll protect her."
"She won't let you, Jav. She never has."
"Don't be absurd. She has rooms here-"
"She'll refuse them as long as Irvine is here."
Javier came up short. "Is she as jealous as that? Beatrice is-"
"A distraction? A toy? Easier to believe when she's not on your arm every evening and in your bed every night. Are you going to introduce her to your mother?"
"God," Javier said with feeling, then exhaled. "I'll have to, if I continue with her. Mother's absence has been-"
"A gift?"
"Not unwelcome." Javier glanced at the stool where Belinda sat, as if imagining her there. She caught her lower lip in her teeth, watching with interest. After a moment he shook his head and turned his attention back to Sacha. "But once she's returned, I'll have to make the introduction. I can't put Beatrice aside right now."
Fascinated horror lit Asselin's eyes. "Good God, man, you haven't gotten her pregnant, have you?"
Javier blanched and shuddered. "No. My God, no. It's-There are other things. Other reasons." He shrugged, making an end of it. Sacha sighed explosively.
"You're bewitched, Javi. Look, Liz won't come to my home, either, but if she goes home her father will likely-"
Javier lifted a hand. "I think I have a solution. One she won't like, but it may appeal. Sacha, don't tell her you were here talking about her, all right?"
"Do I look like a complete fool?" Asselin demanded. Javier gave him a slow grin and Sacha laughed. "Some friend you are. All right. All right, Jav, but make quick work of it, because she's got nowhere to go." He looked around. "What the hell happened to Irvine? I thought she was bringing more drink."
Belinda cocked an eyebrow curiously, then gathered her skirts and stood to slip through shadow in search of wine.
8
Dawn came on before Javier brought the subject around to Eliza and offered up his plan. Belinda sprawled across his bed, hair twisted over her shoulder into a mocking semblance of propriety. Javier stood at his window, watching the mist-coated palace grounds as sunlight struggled to break through the grey. "So your women will all be under one roof?" Belinda murmured. "Convenient, my lord."
He scowled over his shoulder. "It's not like that between Eliza and myself, Beatrice. I thought you knew that."
"I do. I was only teasing, my lord." She stood and crossed to him, putting her fingertips on his shoulders. "Then why?"
"Eliza's father doesn't like her friendship with me."
Belinda's eyebrows shot up. "Doesn't like a friendship with the prince prince?"
"He thinks I..." Javier turned his head, uncomfortable. "Abuse the friendship."
"Abuse. A powerful man, a beautiful woman." Belinda's eyebrows remained elevated. "Few would call it abuse."
"They are very poor." Javier's jaw set. "Poor enough that a father might only see his daughter as a victim in such a relationship."
Belinda stepped back, letting surprise stiffen her movements. "Poor...? She speaks so beautifully, my lord."
Disdain flashed through Javier's expression. "High-born tones can be learned. We've been friends a long time."
"Yes." Belinda stiffened further, flushing as she glanced down. "Of course, my lord." She knotted her fingers together in front of her belly, turning her palms up. "Another father might use such a relationship as leverage into a good marriage," she suggested. A glance at Javier through her eyelashes found him shaking his head.
"It might've if she wasn't as stubborn as the day is long. Her mother and three sisters died five years ago of a bad fever. Eliza was the only one who survived. She refuses to grow her hair back out and behave like a proper woman. Her father's hand...is growing heavy."
A shiver spilled down Belinda's spine, making the hairs on her arms stand up against the light fabric of the dressing gown she'd stolen from Javier. "Then why come to me, my lord? You must know..." She hesitated. "Eliza considers me a...rival." She chose her words with delicacy, watching the prince for his reactions. Javier let out a breath that bordered on laughter.
"I'm aware. But I can hardly place her with Sacha or Marius, can I? A woman at least has the gloss of appropriateness. Besides," he finally met her eyes again, "it would divert talk from our relationship."
"Or compound it, my lord."
Javier flashed a grin. "Which might do as well. Please, Bea. I don't ask favours that often."