The Secret Princess by Rachelle McCalla Read Free Book Online Page A

going hungry—unless he was plotting against them, in which case he didn’t deserve their hospitality.
    Perhaps Garren had no intention of letting the prince survive this time. It could be he’d learned his lesson after she’d brought the prince back from the brink of death at Bern.
    The only good thing to come of the day was a clean dress and a bath. King Garren didn’t believe in bathing—hefeared the water might wash away a person’s soul—but Evelyn had grown up taking baths in the Holy Roman Empire. Here she and the serving girls had worked out a system, guarding each other while they dipped themselves in the warm washing water before they started the laundry. And since Cook had retired to her room exhausted from serving lunch to a prince and still put out by her scare with thebearskin, Evelyn took the time to wash her hair, then to comb out all the tangles until it shimmered like pale gold in the orange glow of the fire.
    Night had fallen by the time she got a moment to herself. She grabbed the two bread rolls she’d set aside earlier and filled a skin flask with tea, the herbal liquid a fortifying mixture that would give Luke strength even if she wasn’t able toreach him again for some time. Whatever her grandfather’s plans, or the prince’s, she wasn’t about to refuse hospitality to a man who’d brought them a gift. Besides, she hoped to learn more about his intentions.
    She made her way stealthily down the halls to the spiraling stairs that led to the highest tower. The guard at the base of the stairs sat slumped against the wall, snoring. Evelyncrept past him without a sound. When she reached the top, she tried the door and found to her surprise that it swung open easily.
    Moonlight poured through the open eaves, illuminating the bare stones of the austere space.
    It was empty.
     

Chapter Four
    L uke found the narrow pathway between the stables and the rear wall. The pale-haired woman—he cringed to think of her as Biddy— had led him that way when she’d tried to help him escape that morning. If he’d known what he’d soon be up against, he’d have learned more about her intended route then, but he’d misjudged King Garren’s animosity.
    The pale-haired womanhad been right about Garren’s intentions. Given her warning, Luke had suspected he was walking into a trap when Garren had offered to show him the view from the tower. He’d gone along, partly out of curiosity to see if the king would really imprison him and partly because, assuming the king was bold enough to imprison him, the aggression against his person would constitute a violation of the termsof the peace accord.
    By allowing himself to be locked away, Luke had achieved an advantage for Lydia.
    Now he needed to pass along word of what he’d discovered to his brother King John of Lydia. Thus far they’d assumed Garren was willing to abide by the peace treaty. They’d clearly overestimated Garren’s wisdom on those matters.
    Horses nickered in the stables behind him, and Lukefroze. Someone was in the stables. The pale-haired boy, Biddy’s brother, who’d visited him in the tower? If he could find the boy, Luke could leave a message for her with him.
    It was dangerous to tarry. Luke needed to report what he’d learned to his brother. And yet at the thought of the woman, he found his feet turning back a few steps toward the nearest stable door. He’d been intriguedby her since she’d saved his life. Finding her here in such a low position increased his curiosity. What was she doing in this place? Her skill with the needle and knowledge of healing meant she’d obviously had specialized training in far finer arts than rumor told him were practiced in Garren’s household. Her brother claimed to be from the Holy Roman Empire. So how, then, had they come here?
    What could he do to keep his promise to free her and her brother? Could he buy their freedom? He couldn’t leave them behind, not when he was this close already, not