Page 70 of Legacy of Glass
Olivia tensed but didn’t speak her dismay, and he continued.
“They would almost certainly forbid us from directly approaching Markus again.”
“And if they don’t believe there’s any connection, they may even tell him not to pursue the matter.” Olivia heard the defeat in her own voice.
Julius gave her an encouraging smile. “We have no need to tell them at this stage, anyway. We already have the crown’s best man on the case. If he tracks anything down about Marigold specifically, or any tangible proof of the other kidnappings, we can go to my father at that point.”
Olivia nodded, unable to fault his logic. Visiting Markus and waiting on news wasn’t much, but she was loath to have even that taken from her.
“Very well,” she said. “We wait, and we visit the market again as soon as we can.”
Julius gave her another smile, clearly hoping to cheer her up. “And we celebrate the one bit of good news.”
Olivia stared at him, unable to think of anything good.
“All those girls were returned unharmed, remember. So we have good reason to hope that if the same villains have Marigold, they won’t be harming her either.”
Olivia finally smiled. That was one piece of good news, and she would cling to it through her protocol-filled days like a lifeline.
Chapter23
Julius
Julius walked through the market with Olivia on one side and Cade on the other. Some of the stallholders called greetings, and Olivia waved back to each of them with a sunny smile. He met Cade’s wondering look over her head, shrugging his shoulders.
“They love her.”
He breathed in the cooler, crisper air. Autumn had arrived, and with it, the court had shifted from its social summer season into a different rhythm. According to his mother, that meant a whole new round of lessons for Olivia, and for him it had meant an endless series of meetings.
Had it really been a whole week since he had stepped outside the palace? That was far too long. He much preferred the weeks when he and Olivia managed to escape not only on market day but on other days as well—sometimes visiting Markus’s permanent stall, but sometimes going to the sea or paying a visit to her family in Manor Row.
The only shadow on their stolen hours was the lack of any word about Marigold. He had watched the toll it took on Olivia each time Markus reported no news. The man had managed to uncover two more stories of past abductions in the weeks since their first conversation, but there had been no whisper of Marigold.
He had seen Cade’s eyes also lingering on the lines of worry on Olivia’s brow, and he suspected those lines were the reason his friend had decided to join them. And from Olivia’s glad welcome, he assumed she had taken Julius up on his permission to keep Cade informed of their search. He just hoped his father never found out that both Olivia and Cade knew about Markus.
Well—he hoped other things as well, but he kept a tight lid on those thoughts.
Olivia wove through the marketgoers, stopping first at their favorite food stall before heading to Markus to wash the food down with tankards of cider. Julius prepared to introduce Cade, but Markus spoke before he could.
“Lord Cade! How lovely to see you again. My clientele has become quite highbrow these days. Maybe soon I’ll be able to afford a stall in the center of the market instead of tucked back here.”
Julius snorted softly, knowing it wasn’t a lack of customers that had led Markus to choose the secluded position of his stall. But as he sat, he looked with dismay between Cade and Markus.
Cade had been to visit Markus before? Had he come with Olivia? She was sometimes free when Julius was not, but he hadn’t realized she was visiting the market on those days, nor that she had done so in Cade’s company. It had never occurred to him to ask her if she had gone into the city without him.
He looked down at his tankard, his hands gripping it until his knuckles turned white. Something burned down his throat although he hadn’t yet taken a drink. It shouldn’t have mattered, and yet it changed everything to know that the market trips weren’t something special between them but something she shared with others as well. Did she prefer to travel with a non-royal escort? Did she gather more information that way?
Markus produced an extra stool, joking comfortably with Olivia and Cade as they sat down. Julius, however, remained silent, wrestling down his unwelcome emotions.
“Heard a new one this morning,” Markus said quietly, jolting Julius from his own head. “The Larkins’ girl has gone missing, and her parents are sure she’s been abducted.”
“She’s currently missing?” Julius asked, his attention fully captured. “Has there been a ransom demand?”
Markus shrugged. “That’s all I’ve heard.”
Olivia leaped to her feet. “We have to go see them. Do you know where they live?”
“Sit down, lass, and finish your cider.” Markus said the words with a chuckle, but the expression in his eyes was commanding.
