Page 69 of Legacy of Thorns
“It has been a long time, I’m afraid. I don’t know how long exactly, but we believe it’s been decades.”
“Decades!” the woman said sharply. “Then the old lord...?”
Daphne gave a reluctant nod. “From what we understand, he left to seek help for his daughter but didn’t survive the trip. You’ve both been sleeping here ever since.”
“Oh, how awful!” The woman turned on Gabrielle again, wrapping the girl in a fresh embrace. “My poor dear!”
Gabrielle, who was now on her feet, protested loudly at being grabbed in a watery hug for a second time.
“Your poor Papa,” the woman said, her words catching Gabrielle’s attention as Daphne’s had not.
The girl tore her eyes from Archer—who had retreated even further from the bed—and frowned at her nanny. “What about Papa?”
“He’s dead, my lady,” the woman said. “Apparently we’ve been sleeping for decades.”
“Papa is dead?” the girl repeated blankly. “But…” She frowned. “But you are still here, Nanny.”
“You know I would never leave you,” the woman said, her voice firm. “I’ve been sleeping with you, as is right and proper.”
“Have I really been sleeping for years and years? How strange.” She looked around the entryway again. “And there isn’t even any dust. Are you sure?”
“I think that might be part of the enchantment.” Daphne tried not to sound impatient. After being afraid of the girl’s response to her news, it wasn’t fair to feel irritated with the girl for not reacting enough.
“The old lord was a kind man,” the nanny said in a quiet, almost apologetic aside to Daphne, “and he doted on his daughter. But he didn’t know much about children, let alone youth, and he was quite elderly. Lady Gabrielle fretted at being kept here without others her own age, and he never knew how to talk to her.”
“Has she no other family?” Daphne asked. “Is there no one we can contact on her behalf?”
The woman’s expression grew fierce. “I’m her family. Her mother passed birthing her, poor lady, and I raised Gabrielle with as much love as if she was my own. There’s no one who can take better care of her than me.”
“What of you, then, ma’am?” Daphne asked. “Do you have family for us to contact?”
“Call me Nanny, dear.” Nanny patted her on the hand. “Everyone does. But I’m afraid I have no one to send you to either. I was a serving maid here as a girl, and my husband was an undergardener, which is how we met. We never had children of our own, which might be why the old lord assigned me to the nursery after Lady Gabrielle was born. He was always good to us after that, seeing the way his daughter had attached to me. My husband rose all the way to head gardener before he passed. My family now is Lady Gabrielle, as I am hers.”
“There must have been other servants,” Daphne said. “Did they sleep as well? Are they somewhere inside the castle?”
“There were other servants, of course.” Nanny frowned around the entryway. “It’s a big place. But the others didn’t stay overnight. They weren’t caught in the enchantment, so I can only assume they moved on long ago.”
“I’ve never seen such beautiful eyes,” Gabrielle said, oblivious to their conversation. She gave a wistful sigh.
“What’s that, Pet?” Nanny sounded confused.
“You’re going to be embarrassed about this later,” Daphne murmured, although she hadn’t actually noticed any perceptible embarrassment in Archer since his infatuation had worn off.
“Oh, Nanny!” Gabrielle seized her nanny’s arm. “Isn’t he the most beautiful boy you ever saw?”
“Who?” Nanny looked so honestly bewildered that Daphne burst out laughing.
“But he is! He is!” Gabrielle’s voice rose, and Daphne was surprised she didn’t stamp her foot.
“Do you mean that young man over there?” Nanny began searching in one pocket after another until she finally located her glasses and placed them on her nose.
She frowned in Archer’s direction. “He’s quite pleasing looking, I suppose,” she declared after an extended examination.
“Pleasing looking!?”
“Do you not think so?” Nanny asked, even more confused.
“He’s far more than just pleasing!” Gabrielle declared. “I love him!” She hurried across the entryway toward Archer, who was backing away with a fresh look of alarm.
