Page 32 of The Crownless Prince

Leena blinked, then a look of pity slipped over her features. “Your Highness—”

“No, it’s true!” She winced at her own exclamation and leaned closer, lowering her voice. “He’s here, in the castle. He survived, and Edwin faked Marcus’s death, and they traveled to Glenborough for me but heard I was about to be married, so they sought employment; but oh, Leena. You’ll never guess who hired them as servants. Lord Thorne!”

“What?” Leena shook her head. “That…that isn’t possible. Is it?”

Adriana nodded enthusiastically. “Marcus climbed the trellis last night and told me everything. Don’t look at me like that. I didn’t dream it.” She tugged Leena over to the window and reopened the shutters. “Look.”

With an unconvinced frown, Leena peered over the sill, then gasped and slammed the shutters closed, her eyes wide. “Something has been climbing on the trellis…it was really Prince Marcus? Truly?”

“Yes!” Adriana clapped a hand over her mouth.

“Although I suppose he isn’t strictly a prince anymore…and wait, you say he’s serving Lord Thorne?” Leena’s smile faded. “Oh. Oh, no; that is a mess.”

Adriana drifted over to her desk and slumped into the chair. “It is. Marcus and Edwin can’t even quit because of the unfair contract Lucien made them sign. So we can’t let anyone know who they are. If you see them, you don’t recognize them.”

Leena nodded dazedly.

“Second, we need to stop the wedding.”

“Even your brother couldn’t manage that.”

“I know.” Adriana nibbled at her lower lip. “I’m hoping Marcus and Edwin can find evidence that Lord Thorne isn’t a good man, but we should think about other options as well.”

As she went about stoking the fire back up, Leena asked, “Why don’t you just run away?”

“I’d like to.” With a sigh, Adriana rested her chin in her hand. “But neither of us have any money, and running away in the middle of winter with no long-term plan, nowhere to run to, and when Father and Lucien would both want to hunt us down…” There was a chance it would end with Marcus’s real death. “Not to mention it might destroy the peace Father fought for. It’s best we find another way.”

Leena opened the wardrobe, then peered over at Adriana. “Then…are you meeting with Lord Thorne as planned, Your Highness?”

Wincing, Adriana nodded. She rose from the table and joined Leena. “I’m thinking the green linen with the bronze belt. It’s plain enough that it doesn’t appear I’m eager to impress, but rich enough that Father won’t accuse me of purposefully looking too plain.”

“A wise choice.”

Leena helped Adriana don the gown. Made from thick, tightly knit linen, the dark-green dress was soft and decently warm. It was a simple style with a high, rounded neckline and long sleeves, embellished with a gold-embroidered violet ribbon that covered the sleeves’ seams and trimmed the collar and cuffs.

They added a belt of interlocking bronze circles over her hips, thenLeena gently ran a wide-toothed comb through Adriana’s hair. If she hadn’t thrashed about thinking she was being attacked last night—and then been kissed rather passionately—she would have simply undone the plait she’d woven before bed, but her hair was noticeably tangled. Unfortunately, despite how frequently Leena rewet the comb, Adriana’s curls were wild and frizzy by the time Leena was done.

She frowned at the mirror, then shrugged. “I don’t care about impressing Lucien, anyway.” Standing, she took a steadying breath. “Wish me luck. And remember, if you encounter Marcus or Edwin—”

“I’ve never seen them before.” Leena gave a small curtsy. “I hope today goes well, Your Highness. Or poorly, as the case may be.”

Adriana laughed. “True. Perhaps we should wish that today is so disastrous Father chases Lord Thorne out of the castle.”

An improbable hope, but when had she ever let that stop her from dreaming?

Breakfast, thankfully, was in the great hall. So while Adriana had to cope with sitting next to Lucien Thorne and politely listening to him talk about his wealth and lands—recently expanded by a grant from her father—and fighting and hunting, at least it was in a busy area. Lucien sat to Father’s left, with Jairus to Father’s right, and often Jairus and Father spoke to her betrothed so she didn’t have to. In fact, she suspected Jairus was purposefully asking questions to give her a reprieve from pretending to care.

She kept scanning the hall, looking for Marcus or Edwin. They didn’t appear, which made sense. The castle’s servants were busy serving theroyal family and the knights and their families, including the knights Lucien had brought with him. Lucien’s servants would only be in the way if they attempted to insert themselves into Faine Castle’s day-to-day life.

As Lucien leaned forward a little to peer around Father at Jairus, Adriana noted that he was wearing the silver hair stick again. Men’s hair sticks had fallen out of style in the last decade, and his wasn’t particularly notable other than being silver. Maybe he wore it because it was the closest a nonroyal was allowed to get to wearing a crown. He did give her the impression he liked to show off.

After breakfast, Jairus surprised her by standing and turning to Lucien. “Lord Lucien. I’d very much like to see this military prowess in person. I regret that my duties as my father’s heir and the defender of Faine Castle kept me away from the battlefield, so I missed the chance to observe you. Perhaps we could have a friendly competition? Archery and spear tosses, perhaps, as I’d hate to injure my sister’s groom days before her wedding.”

Father cast a dark look at Jairus. For her part, Adriana could have hugged her brother.

“That’s a wonderful idea!” Adriana smiled brightly and lightly touched the back of Lucien’s hand. “I’d love to observe you both. It sounds thrilling.” It sounded cold and boring, but it meant Lucien’s primary attention wouldn’t be on her for a while.

Her touch must have had the desired effect, because Lucien puffed out his chest and tossed his head, his brown hair sliding over his shoulders. “Of course. It would be my honor to practice with my crownprince, and if my wife wishes to see me in action, I can hardly refuse her.”

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