Page 57 of Legacy of Thorns
“Gone.” Barlowe didn’t even pretend to sound grieved. “It was the most marvelous and fortunate coincidence that I stumbled on the story. The elderly lady for whom I was companion once knew the father. He was a royal of some description, but an eccentric who lived alone on his estate until a late marriage and a solitary daughter. The wife passed away, so when the girl fell prey to the enchanted sleep, he set off alone for the capital. He intended to find a prince to rescue her, but unfortunately he did not survive the trip. And so the girl has lain there for decades, both her and the castle forgotten by the kingdom.”
“Even if she doesn’t have a family,” Daphne insisted, “when she wakes, the castle will be hers.”
“Precisely.” Barlowe gave an unpleasant smile. “Another reason why I must liberate the property and its sleeping beauty without delay. I, myself, am only advancing in years.”
“You can’t mean to marry her,” Finley exclaimed, revolted. “If she fell prey to a Legacy sleep, she’s likely only just turned sixteen.”
“Oh relax, there’s no need for all this outrage,” Barlowe said. “My interest in the girl is purely for her possessions. Naturally we will remain betrothed until she reaches eighteen.”
“That doesn’t make it better!” Daphne cried. “And besides, if Fin or Archer wake her up, they’ll be the ones she fancies, not you. And either of them would make a more appropriate object for her infatuation than you!”
“Finley will wake her with a kiss somewhere unobtrusive—he can kiss her foot for all I care,” Barlowe said, undeterred. “But it will be my face waiting over hers. The first thing she sees when she awakes will be me—her rescuer.”
“I’m not sure the Legacy works like that.” Daphne sounded uneasy.
“I believe I have studied it more extensively than you have done, young lady,” Barlowe said. “My plan will work, and then my position in society will be secure. I can even turn my sights to the capital.”
“The entire plan is utterly despicable.” Daphne’s voice dripped with ice.
Barlowe merely smiled. “Is it? You will find me unmoved by your outraged virtue. I care far more for my own comfort than for your useless scruples. And surely the girl is better off awake and mistress of her own castle than sleeping for all eternity? It’s not as if I intend to assassinate her.” He turned his eyes on Finley. “So what do you say? Come with me, open some brambles, wake a girl from her sleep, and our business will be complete.”
“That’s really all you want from me?” Finley asked carefully, as Daphne stiffened beside him. “If that’s all, why didn’t you just ask me to help in the first place? You could have offered to pay me.”
Barlowe raised a brow. “And would you have agreed? I don’t like to take chances when a certainty can be achieved instead. That option would also have required me to reveal myself—something I had no intention of doing. But since you have proved more elusive than I expected, and have even succeeded in unmasking my identity, the rules of the game have shifted. A new approach is needed. You will find I am an eminently adaptable man.”
“You can’t do it, Fin,” Daphne whispered, her voice distressed.
But he already knew that. There was zero chance he was going anywhere with Barlowe when it would mean leaving Daphne alone.
But when he spoke, he said, “I really think we should consider it, Daphne.”
“Fin, no!” she exclaimed.
Finley glanced at Barlowe and drew Daphne aside, pulling her to the other side of the room for some semblance of privacy.
“If I go with him now, this will all be over,” he said, watching Barlowe from the corner of his eye. “I have to think of you and Archie.”
Barlowe watched them with a small smile, as if he thought the game was already won.
“You can’t be serious, Fin!” Daphne hissed, and Finley smiled at her, pulling her into an embrace.
“Of course I’m not serious,” he breathed in her ear. “And I’m very sorry in advance.”
“What?” She pulled back, but he had already launched into movement.
Unlatching the window at his elbow, he thrust it open, scooped Daphne into his arms and threw her through the opening.
Chapter 19
Daphne
Daphne flew through the air, tucking her elbows as the night sky flashed across her vision, replacing the lamplit warmth of the manor house. She landed in a clump of bushes, the foliage breaking her fall, even as it scratched her arms and tore off her mask.
Above her, Finley grabbed the windowsill and vaulted after her, his leap taking him clear of the bushes that held her. Daphne struggled free of the clinging branches as Finley landed in a crouch, his whole body jarring from the impact.
He spun, looking for her, but she was already running toward him, stuffing the mask into a concealed pocket. When she reached him, she seized his hand and kept running, tugging him along behind her. Glancing back, she saw a smile spreading over his face, but beyond him, Barlowe stood in the open window, watching them flee. His back was to the light, making his face impossible to read.
Finley’s longer legs overtook Daphne, and he shifted the grip of their hands so that he was the one pulling her along. Together they raced past the abandoned barn and into the trees beyond.
