Page 55 of A Tale of Ice and Ash
There was a glint in her eye, as if she knew he hadn’t spent all of it alone. Had she seen Snow leave his chambers? Had– had she recognised her? If she mentioned anything to his mother–
His stomach churned. “Very well, thank you,” he said breezily. “Yourself?”
“Your beds are just as comfortable as when we used to use them to build forts.”
“Forts?” he frowned. “We?”
Marie grinned. A memory trickled back; she was a friend of Eirwen’s. Did she know she was still alive? Had she helped her slip away last night?
“You’re–”
“Delighted to be back in court, after such a long time away. I may prolong my visit, things might finally be getting… interesting.”She added yet more food to her plate. “You know, I think I’m going to take this up to the library. I started a fantastic book last night. Feel free to join me after breakfast, if you wish.”
∞∞∞
Cole did not join Marie Von Transinberg after breakfast. In fact, he avoided her for several days. For all he knew, she was a spy sent by his mother. He was desperate for news of Snow –so desperate he considered riding out to meet her several times– but he wasn’t about to risk his or her safety by approaching this relative stranger.
Once she and the other guests left at the end of the week, he could ride out into the woods alone. It would be poor etiquette to do so before then, not to mention suspicious.
One morning, a servant slipped him a note as he passed him in the corridor.
Meet me in the orangery at noon, in the blue rose grove.
It was signed with a picture of a snowdrop, nothing more.
He was as jittery as a damp log on a fire, waiting for the moment to come. He had no idea what he wanted to say to her, what he wanted to do or ask. Was it even safe for her to come?
But Snow did not appear. Marie Von Transinberg did.
“You,” he said.
“Me,” she grinned. “Dramatic, right?”
“You… you sent the note?”
“I did.”
“But you signed it with–”
“Indeed. I wasn’t sure you’d come otherwise. You’ve been doing a wonderful job of avoiding me.”
“Why… why do you want to talk to me?”
“Our mutual friend wanted me to speak to you. She spoke to me before she left, you see.”
“You… helped her get out?”
“I helped her getin.”
Cole frowned. It seemed plausible. She would have needed someone’s help getting into the castle through the front door.
“You and she were friends.”
“We still are, although I’m not sure I’vequiteforgiven her for disappearing on me for all those years.”
Silly as it was, Cole found he shared that sentiment. Yes, she had good reason not to tell anyone, least of all him, but he would have liked to have known she wasn’t dead.
“What did she want you to tell me?”
