Page 20 of Pippa of Lauramore
“I don’t like the bells.” I sit up so I can glare at her more efficiently.
“Get up.”
I whip the covers back and drop my legs over the side of the bed.
“Are you to be my keeper today?” I growl, and then I remember Anna. Her headaches never last more than half a day or so, and I grow worried. “Is Anna all right?”
“She’s fine,” Leonora says, pulling me up. “She had something to do this morning, so she sent me.”
I raise an eyebrow. “You’re late.”
The statement hangs between us, and she cringes. Leonora hates to be late to anything.
“I know, I know. Percival couldn’t find a book he needed, and I spent half the morning helping him look for it.” She sticks her head out the door. “Girls, come in now.”
Ginna and another young girl join us.
“Find something for her to wear,” Leonora instructs the girl and then turns to Ginna. “You’ll do her hair once she’s dressed.”
They both bob their heads. Before I know it, they’ve stripped me of my nightclothes, and a pale yellowsummer gown passes over my head. Careful fingers cinch the front. The girls slide matching fabric bands up my arms, followed by cuffs at my wrists. Gossamer fabric falls from band to cuff. It’s probably beautiful, but it’s a nuisance.
I’ll be hanging up on things all day.
Leonora nods, pleased. “Tillie, please tell Master Draeger that Pippa won’t make her lesson today.”
Tillie leaves while Ginna ushers me to a chair and runs a brush through my hair.
“How about you send a message to Sir Kimble, and we call it a day?” I wince as the brush hits a snag. “The two of us will sneak to the stables, saddle our horses, and be out the back gate before they realize we’re gone.”
I’m only joking, but I’m surprised when she pauses for a minute as if she’s thinking about it. “Are you all right?”
Leonora sighs and lowers herself to the nearest chair. “The tournament has Percival on edge. Your mother is nearly hysterical with details, and you’re—well, you’re not really acting differently.”
“We’ll go for a picnic.” I like the idea now that it’s planted in my head. “You need to get away for a few hours.”
She shakes her head and sighs. “No, what I need is to get you to Prince Kimble so I can help your mother with the final events today.”
“Go on. I’ll go as soon as my hair is finished.” I wave her off.
She actually laughs at me.
I tap my foot, ready to be out of this chair. “I promise you. I’ll go straight to Sir Kimble.”
She leans forward. “Pippa, so help me, if you don’t show up?—”
“Go,” I say again, rolling my eyes.
“Thank you.” Leonora touches my shoulder as she brushes by. “Don’t make me regret it.”
“If you can’t trust me, who can you trust?” I call after her, a grin on my face.
Her laughter echoes down the hall.
Sir Kimble cranes his neck,looking past me, and peers in the hall. “Where’s Anna?”
I shrug. “Leonora said she had something to do this morning.”
“Where’s Leonora?”
