Twilight of a Queen by Susan Carroll Read Free Book Online

will be going soon?”
    “No, my cousin finds herself entirely unable to receive me.”
    “Oh!”
    Meg’s expression of delight appeared to escape her involuntarily. She colored, looking chagrined. “That is—I mean, oh, that is too bad. I am sorry if you are disappointed.
    “But I do so value your friendship. Next spring, Ariane intends to hold a council of the daughters of the earth. It is then that she will announce who the next Lady will be. I—I will be so nervous. It would be such a comfort if you were still here with me.”
    Jane stared at the girl, both surprised and touched. She had felt so lost, so discarded, so useless this past year. To discover that there was someone who needed her made her cousin’s rejection seem of less importance.
    “I’ll be here, Meg,” she said with a tremulous smile. “I believe I can safely promise you that.”
    Meg beamed and gave Jane a swift hug. But as she pulled back, the lines of the girl’s face set into Meg’s familiar somber expression.
    “Can you promise me something else? That you will never ever wander off alone again as you did tonight?”
    “I don’t make a habit of it, but Belle Haven is such apeaceful place and even the paths through the woods are well worn and safe—”
    “For others, maybe, but I don’t think they are for you.”
    When Jane regarded her in puzzlement, Meg shifted her feet, looking uncomfortable. “I have been consulting my scrying ball again.”
    Jane’s breath hitched. “Oh, Meg, you shouldn’t have. Even Ariane does not approve of you meddling with such disturbing magic. I thought you were going to get rid of your crystal.”
    “I have been meaning to. I use it very infrequently because some of my visions—” Meg broke off, that unsettling expression passing through her eyes again. She appeared to give herself a mental shake. “But the last time I consulted my glass, my vision was all about you.”
    “Me?” Jane took an uneasy step back from her.
    “The vision was not as clear as some others I have had, but you were lost in a jungle and being preyed upon by a large ferocious black cat.”
    Jane found Meg’s conjuring with her crystal every bit as alarming as the girl’s ability to force her way into Jane’s mind. But Meg looked so worried, Jane attempted to smile and make light of it.
    “There is no jungle on Faire Isle and the only black cat I have seen is the kitten in the barn, although it is rather a feisty little thing. When I attempted to pick it up, it hissed and scratched. But I thought we had made our peace when I offered it a saucer of milk.”
    Her words evoked no answering smile from Meg. “My visions don’t always make a great deal of sense. Just tell me you will be careful.
Promise me!”
    “Very well, I—I promise.”
    Meg appeared relieved, the tense set of her shoulders relaxing as she headed toward the house. As Jane followed her, her own mind was far less quiet. She could not help noting that Meg had avoided any pledge to dispose of her scrying ball.
    But even more disturbing was the thought: No matter how inexplicable Meg’s visions, they had a strange way of coming true.

Chapter Four
     
    Spring, 1588
    T HE SHIP CUT THROUGH THE MORNING MIST, APPEARING AS suddenly as though it had sprung from the depths of the sea itself. The sails billowed ghostlike against the pearly gray sky as the
Miribelle
bore down upon the Spanish merchant vessel.
    No alarm was raised upon the
San Felipe
at first sight of the
Miribelle
. The holy cross of Spain fluttered from the mast. Only when the pennant disappeared and the
Miribelle
sailed under no flag at all, did fear spread through the Spaniards.
    One seaman, more sharp-eyed than the rest, spied the carved figure adorning the prow, a snarling jungle cat ready to pounce.
    “Aiee! Corsairs! The Jaguar!” the seaman shrieked.Fear escalated into panic, the crew of the
San Felipe
diving for weapons and scrambling to load the cannons.
    Aboard the
Miribelle
, Xavier