The Frog Prince by Jenni James Read Free Book Online Page B

large man carrying a bag of flour. “What vagabonds could you possibly come here to meet? And how often do you do this?”
    “Hush. You will see in a moment.” She stopped and said a brief hello to one of the shoppers before rounding a corner with baskets of vegetables stacked upon a table. “Now be quiet. How will I explain a talking frog to the villagers? You will soon understand all.”
    “Very well,” he grumbled while his mind tried to sort through what mischief the girl had gotten herself into. Many of the villagers appeared to know her as one of their own. No one seemed to bat an eyelash at the girl. But what was she doing?
    “Goodness,” she mumbled as she made her way into a clothing shop. “There they are. I was beginning to get worried.”
    Caspian looked beyond the ready-made dresses for sale and a few shirts and trousers for men. As she continued to walk toward the back of the room, he finally saw who she was speaking about. Children!
    There were about eight grubby-looking boys and girls all huddled in the back of the store near the boots. They remained as noiseless as possible as she approached.
    “Hello there,” she mouthed and then put her finger to her lips.
    The children all smiled in return. One adorable little girl in braids was missing her two front teeth.
    What was the princess thinking, meeting with such children?
    Blythe turned without a sound and began to walk out of the building. She paused a moment at the door and then beckoned the lot to follow her on a pathway where they headed beyond the village altogether. The little row of children slipped around thick underbrush and down a hidden trail right into the forest. They walked silently for about five minutes until they came to a beautiful clearing and then finally the princess turned and smiled.
    “Well, we made it!”
    “Yay!” the group cheered as they rushed forward and sat several feet away. They had obviously done this many times—it was as if they had special places in the grassy meadow.
    “Now will you tell me what is going on?” Nolan asked.
    “I think I will show you to the children,” she said, clearly ignoring his question. “I bet they would love to meet a talking frog.” She began to pull him from her pocket.
    “Halt!” he commanded sternly. “Unless you inform me of what mischief this is and why all the secrecy, I will not speak one word to those children and you will look a fool.”
    She sighed. “Can you not go along and figure it out for yourself?”
    “Certainly not.” He had to remain firm to protect them both. “Blythe, if you are breaking some law with these boys and girls, I will have no part in it.”
    She giggled and then glanced toward the patient children sitting in a semicircle about thirty feet away. “Just a moment,” she called to them. “I have a surprise for you.” Turning her back to the group, she pulled him out and held him in front of her. “Very well.”
    He looked into those brown eyes—the intensity in them shook his core. He realized she was about to tell him something she had never told anyone before. “What is it?”
    She shook her head and then smiled ruefully. “It is not something grand or even wonderful. The school mistress died a few years back. My father had orchestrated the schooling to begin with against the wishes of his queen. The teacher passed about a year after my father, and my mother, who had always disagreed with the education of lower-class citizens, just simply never hired on another school mistress. It was still another year or so before I knew of the issue. After overhearing the maids gossiping, I have been fulfilling the role of teacher for the past eighteen months.”
    “Indeed!” It felt as if his heart were expanding. “You honestly care for these children? Mere villagers?”
    “Of course! How could I not?”
    He would never have thought of his own subjects like this, not nearly enough to devote a year and a half to the cause of their education.