Page 118 of Arrows and Gems
“But the council—”
“The council will have to live with my decision.” Flipping the lid off her quiver, she gave him a sly smile as she fingeredthe arrows. “I should think they know by now that I’m difficult to corral.”
Aunt Chloe’s hand settled on her shoulder. “Helena, can you not at least visit our home?” Turning, Helena saw her aunt eyeing the quiver. “I would like to hear how you’ve fared the last few months.”
Feeling self-conscious, Helena lowered her hand. She hadn’t meant to copy Cap’s mannerism. While speaking of choosing for herself.
“A visit would be nice,” she agreed with a glowing smile. “It’s been a very long time since we had a chat.”
“More than thirteen years.” One side of Aunt Chloe’s mouth rose, casting a sad expression over her face.
Another nail pounded into the coffin of Helena’s old mental refrain. Aunt Chloe wanted her. Uncle Felix, too, if the way he dropped his eyes was any indication.
The memory of Cap expressing sorrow over her “kidnapping” nudged her. He had seemed perfectly sincere while puzzling out her history, which he should have already known if he truly knew who she was. But his face had been hidden for weeks. Maybe he’d adjusted to the pretense by the time she saw it. Or maybe she was less skilled at reading people than she thought.
Or maybe…maybe the General was wrong.
“Perhaps I can accompany you,” General Valentin offered, joining them. He draped an arm across Helena’s shoulders again. “I would enjoy listening to stories from your youth.”
Luther’s face twisted into the expression he wore when Axel and Katy were flirting, but Helena ignored him. His presence was the whole reason for the fake relationship. Although the General could be less enthusiastic about it.
“But you’re so busy,” Aunt Chloe protested, something about the furrow between her eyes suggesting it wasn’t concernforthe General that prompted her. “What with shaking the very branches at our nobles’ estates as you hunt for my nephew and lay traps for Le Capuchon.”
“I have hamstrung Le Capuchon,” the General replied smugly. “Those were his followers in the carts. I can finally focus my resources on bringing justice for your brother.”
“I would like nothing more,” Aunt Chloe replied with an arch to one eyebrow. “Yet as I have told you before, I do not believe you are searching in the correct direction if that is your goal.”
His eyes softened, and compassion tinged his smile. “I am well aware, Princess Chloe. Unfortunately, I know what I saw. I wish it were otherwise.”
“Perhaps we should head inside,” Uncle Felix inserted quietly. “It is not so warm today that a discussion in the courtyard is pleasant.”
“Yes, please,” Helena agreed, giving a dramatic shiver. “I am practically frozen from riding in this weather all day.”
She received odd looks from her aunt and uncle, but General Valentin only smiled fondly. Luther frowned, but he was probably annoyed that she took the General’s proffered arm.
“So how did you win this post, Luther?” Helena asked casually as they passed through the front doors. “Were you pining away without me?”
He turned earnest eyes on her. “You have no idea, Princess. Every scrap of light in my world disappeared along with you, and I cannot express how pleased I am to see you safe. It must be the favor of the heavens that I was chosen for Amitié.”
His eyes darted sideways to the General, and Helena withheld her sigh. This might be worse than letting him believe she was still unattached.Persistence is not a virtue in this case, Luther.
“What about my good friend Tobias?” she asked lightly. “Where did he end up?”
“Daraigh,” Luther replied after a short pause. He gave her a forced smile. “He insisted on taking his cat with him, if you believe it. Perhaps he hopes it will do his work for him.”
Helena’s brow furrowed. “A cat? I didn’t know he had a cat.”
“A new acquisition, I believe.” He shrugged carelessly. “It’s a pretty thing, all black except for its brown feet and a white sunburst on its left shoulder. But the man is clearly daft, because he treats it like a daughter. I’ve only seen old women dote over a feline the way he does that pet of his.”
The General stopped in front of a door, motioning for Helena to precede him through. Inside sat older versions of the youngest two subjects of the General’s painting. Next to Princess Daphne sat a young man with shoulder-length black hair tied back with a strip of leather, much like Tucker’s. But this man was clearly a noble. Since his hand rested on Princess Daphne’s back, Helena assumed that this was Lord Raoul, the princess’s betrothed.
“It’s all here, Daphne!” Prince Cedric said excitedly, digging through a wooden crate at his feet. “Even the latest book, the one that isn’t supposed to be out for another two months.”
The princess’s face was cautiously optimistic. “But you said the publisher is slow with shipping between kingdoms. How could he already—”
“Perhaps he’s in Daraigh,” the prince said excitedly. “It’s not like your betrothal has been kept secret. Maybe Michael helped him arrange—”
He broke off when Helena stepped into their line of sight. Glancing behind her, he hurriedly slid the lid back into place.
