Canes of Divergence (33 page)

Marcus rubbed his arm one last time before pulling his sword out of its sheath.

He’d told William he could handle this, and he was
going
to, but the sight of Marcus’ sword made bile rise in Zander’s throat. Thomas, too, had his hand at his hilt.

“
The dog isn’t rabid yet, even if it was bitten,” he said. “It’s not dangerous. Let me go.”

Marcus was clearly unsure, but Thomas nodded at him, and he held his hand out toward the fence. “At the first sign of trouble, Zander…”

“I know.”

Before he was even to the gate, he found the
dog – or, rather, it found him. Digger came running up to the fence, wagging his tail excitedly as he waited for Zander to open the gate.

“What good are you, Digger?” he asked, letting himself in and kneeling down beside the dog. “They have to feed you, and you obviously don’t guard them against anyone.” Digger was smaller than he’d expected, maybe the size of a cocker spaniel, though he didn’t recognize the breed. He was dark gray all over, with short hair that curled to his sides.

And the fur on his left front leg was all matted together with blood. Another thick, sticky mess stretched across his muzzle.

“Can I see?” he asked, reaching for Digger’s leg.

The dog whined, but allowed him to take his paw. Zander looked at it as best he could, but he couldn’t see anything around the dried blood.

“You are going to be devastated if you get attached to that dog.” Thomas’ voice was suddenly beside him as he lifted Digger into his arms.

“I can’t help it. You should stay away, though, Thomas.”

“He’s not contagious. Besides, I’m going to ask William or Nathaniel to try out their new concoction on me, too.”

“Good luck with that.” He spotted what he was looking for – the bucket of water on the porch – and carried the dog up to it, setting him down and then coaxing him to let him dip the injured leg into the water. Washing out the cuts really made Digger whimper, but he didn’t pull away or get aggressive with Zander. He wouldn’t let Zander near the blood on his face, though – and Zander decided it wasn’t worth the fight that close to the dog’s teeth.

Thomas – apparently disregarding caution – gently
patted the animal’s back while Zander carefully scrubbed out the blood with his fingers until Digger’s leg was clean and he could get a look at the wound.

His heart sank a little lower when he saw that it definitely was a bite; he hadn’t realized just how much he’d been hoping that Bryce had been wrong about that and
that Digger had injured himself in a different way.

The wounds were small, though, whatever had bitten him had been smaller than him – the teeth marks were close together and forme
d the impression of a small jaw – the puncture wounds spoke to little teeth. There was so much blood only because Digger had been bitten multiple times. “What do you think did this?” he asked Thomas. “It’s too small to be a fox or a capiya.”

“Could be a raccoon,” Thomas said. “Or maybe something even smaller.” Washing the wounds had made them start bleeding again. Thomas pulled a handkerchief out of his back pocket and handed it to Zander.

As carefully as he could, Zander tied the white cloth snugly around the dog’s leg. Digger let out a single whimper, but again was patient.

When Zander stood to look around, though, Digger began whining in earnest, pushing his head against Zander’s leg.

“It’s still bad news, Zander,” Thomas said. “This is getting harder every second. Marcus will make it quick and painless.”

He knew. He knew what the possible consequences were, how bad it was, how important it was to stop every single case of rabies they possibly could, but still…

“What if it was one of the animals that’s too small to get rabies?”

“Those teeth marks weren’t
that
small, Zander. And look around. Do you see any dead squirrels? Digger might be tame, but he wouldn’t let something do
that
to him without inflicting some serious damage of his own.” Zander heard it – the way Thomas’ voice changed when he actually said the dog’s name.

“I’m going to look around.”

Three times around the house, though, revealed nothing. No small dead animals, or even injured ones. Just a missing piece in one of the pickets large enough for something to squeeze through – probably where the culprit had made its entrance and subsequent exit.

Sighing, trying to resign himself to the awful inevitable, he made one last loop around the house.

And that was when he spotted it. A tiny tuft of black, up under the edge of the wooden porch at the back of the house. A tuft of fur matted in blood.

“Thomas!” he called as he approached the porch, kneeling down next to the steps and l
ooking at the little bit of fur, then shifting his gaze underneath it. He could barely make it out through the small open spaces between the stairs, but there was something moving under there.

He heard Thomas’ footsteps behind him, and then his voice – “I wouldn’t do that if I were you” – as he stuck his hand back there, trying to reach whatever it was.

The animal hissed only a fraction of a second before its teeth clamped into Zander’s wrist and wouldn’t let go.

“It’s a cat!”

A chorus of soft mewling sounds corrected him immediately. “It’s cats. A mama cat and her kittens, I think.” He had to put his other hand down there to finally wrestle the cat’s jaw off his wrist, succeeding in loosening its teeth, but also in getting long scratches down both his forearms.

“Kittens? At this time of the cycle? That’s not normal.”

“Well, I don’t know if it’s normal or not, Thomas, but they’re here.” Blood was dripping down his arm now. He used the bottom of his shirt to wipe some of it off. “I think they’re feral.”

“The family said they don’t have any pets besides Digger. The only other animals they have are their horses.”

“Well, this is what got Digger,” he said, examining the bite marks on his wrist. “I’ll bet the blood on his nose is from a scratch.” He held up his arms, showing off his own injuries.

“Are you stupid, Zander? Sticking your hand in there like that? Why would you do that?”

“I don’t know. I just wanted to know what was under there.”

“That dog is not worth your
life
, Zander.”

“Well, I doubt that cat is rabid. I think Digger just messed with the wrong mama cat.”

“You might be right, but honestly, having had the rabies vaccine is not license to disregard your own safety here. Now we have to get you back to the clinic to get that bite looked at. And we need to get that cat and her kittens so we can decide what to do and see if
they’re
sick. I don’t know if you just solved a problem here or created five more.”

Zander didn’t care. All he heard was Thomas saying he
might be right. All he could think about was keeping Digger safe, on the porch on the other side of the house.

Rosewood Castle, Eirentheos

A
LTHOUGH QUINN HAD
been waiting all morning for Mia to stop by her room and see if she needed anything, she was nervous when she finally heard the quiet knock on the door.

Owen hopped up from the game of choice they’d been playing and went to answer it.
“Come in, Mia,” he said.

She wasn’t even all the way inside the room yet when Owen turned to Quinn. “I’m going to go and see if Alex and Emma are done with their lessons, okay?” He disappeared without even waiting for a response, demonstrating yet again that he somehow knew something he shouldn’t have – that Quinn needed to talk to Mia privately.

“Where’s the baby, milady?” Mia asked.

“He’s in the cradle. He just fell asleep about fifteen minutes ago.”

“I’m sorry. I could come back at a better time – unless there was anything else you needed.”

“Actually, I do need to have a word with you. Would you have a seat, please?” She almost regretted saying it when she saw the terrified look on Mia’s face. It was still hard – this part of learning to have people under her and command them
. Although she was getting better at it, it was especially difficult when she was dealing with someone like Mia, whom she considered to be a friend.

“Is everything all right,
milady? Have I done something to displease you?” Mia was fiddling nervously with the edge of her skirt, picking off an invisible piece of lint.

“No, Mia. Of course you haven’
t. In fact, quite the opposite. I asked you in here to tell you how grateful I am for all of the help you’ve been lately with the baby. You’ve made a challenging time much easier for me.”

“It isn’t a problem, Your Majesty. It’s my job.”

“No, actually it isn’t, and yet you’ve taken on the extra duties without complaint. I do appreciate it, thank you.”

“You’re very welcome.
I’m happy to do anything I can to help.”

“There is one thing you could do, Mia.”

“Yes, Your Majesty?”

“You could stop calling me that. Particularly when it’s just the two of us and we’re talking.”

Mia blushed – it wasn’t the first time Quinn had asked her that. “I’m sorry, m… Quinn.”

“That’s better.
Nothing changed when I had the baby, you know. We’re still friends, please?”

“All right,
Quinn
, I’m sorry.”

Quinn smiled.
“Anyway, my real reason for wanting to talk to you … I’m sure you’re aware that when we return to Philotheum with the baby, we will need a nurse for him.”

She
might have teased Mia about her deer-in-the-headlights look, if there were headlights in this world. She hadn’t learned an equivalent phrase here. And anyway, it was time to quit scaring her. “William and I were wondering if you might consider taking the position.”

“
Me
?”

“Yes.”

“In Philotheum?”

“Yes. It’s a big question, I know. It would require your moving to Philotheum with us.”

Mia swallowed, smoothing her skirt yet another time. The pink that had been starting to fade from her blush a moment ago flared now to a furious red. “Would it be impertinent of me to ask who I would be working under – who you would be hiring as Head Nurse?”

“For the time being, Mia,” Quinn said, smiling, “there will only be one child in the castle. I’m only in need of one nurse.
I’m offering you the position of Head Nurse.”

“
Head Nurse? I’m only seventeen, Your – Quinn. I’m barely an apprentice.”

“You’re more than that Mia. And regardless, it’s what I’m offering.”

“You’re actually offering it, to
me.
”

“Yes.”

“Head Nurse?”

“Yes. Th
at would be your official title; any future hires would report to you, although you would be the only nurse for now. You’d still have the same amount of time off, of course. With probably some help from Linnea, William and I would be able to cover your off days.”

“I don’t use most of the time I have off now, Your Majesty.”
Mia was clearly flustered, saying whatever came to her mind.

Quinn reached across the table and put her hand on Mia’s knee.
“I know. But it’s something you need to consider. In all honesty, you would have fewer duties in Philotheum, with only one child. But we’d also be taking you away from your family and your friends here – you wouldn’t have the same options on your days off as you have now.”

“Yes, I’ve thought about that.”

“You’ve thought about it a lot, haven’t you?”

Now Mia’s
face was flaming red. “It’s crossed my mind. I wanted to speak to you about it, but then I kept talking myself out of it. I never imagined you would think I was qualified for it, though. I only thought perhaps if you needed an assistant, then maybe… And I have no idea what Queen Charlotte and King Stephen’s reaction would be.”

“What did you think would happen if you never asked?”

She didn’t look up as she answered. “Then at least I wouldn’t anger them.”

“
Well, I’ve spoken to them, Mia. In fact, Charlotte was the one who brought up the idea with William. He and I agreed that you would be the best candidate we could hope for. But I think we’ve – all of us – been failing to communicate with one another about the big thoughts and ideas that are floating around here. I think it’s caused strain in more than one relationship.” She did her best to give Mia a pointed look.

“Thomas.”

“Yes, Mia. Have you talked to him at all about any of this? About what you might be wanting for your life?”

“I didn’t know how. I didn’t think he would understand my maybe wanting to move to another kingdom … and then if it was all only a silly dream anyway…
”

“Then what? It would all solve itself? You’d be happy to stay with Thomas and never talk to him about this thing that became important to you?”

Mia bit her lip, not answering.

“
Well now it’s happening … this is real. I’m offering you the job. You’re obviously not obligated to take it, and I don’t want an answer today. But because we’ve all been putting this off and not talking to one another and none of us – including me – has been saying what we’re thinking – time is short. We head to Philotheum a week from today. I know you were planning on traveling with Charlotte and Stephen there for the Naming Ceremony. William and I will be needing someone to begin full-time when Stephen and Charlotte return to Eirentheos.”

“I have to pack.” Mia said, standing and starting to pace in her anxiousness.

“I told you I don’t want an answer today.”

“What would my answer be besides yes,
milady? Another opportunity like this will never present itself to me. Head baby nurse at seventeen. The chance to stay with you and King William, and your son who I’ve grown attached to already. Perhaps even to be there to assist Linnea when she and Ben have a child… Of course I’ll accept.”

“It would be all of those things, Mia. But it isn’t all simple. The castle in Philotheum is a different place. There aren’t as many people there, especially close to our age, there’s Lady Sophia, the political issues…”

“If I might be so presumptuous – those are all more reasons for you to have a nurse who has grown up in a castle and has worked for a queen.”

“
I’ll need you to be more presumptuous – and more assertive. I’ll need a lot of help, and I’ll really need you to be able to take over with the baby, even if my grandmother makes it challenging – which she probably will.”

“What is the situation with Lady Sophia? After you and William were first married and Tolliver was arrested – she seemed so supportive. Has that changed?”

“Yes … no … I don’t know. When we first went to live in Philotheum, I thought it was going to be fine. She’d arranged the whole wedding, the whole coronation, everything. I didn’t mind most of that. I certainly didn’t know how to do it, and I wanted it to be right – for the first impressions my people had of me to be good ones. The only specific thing I asked of her was that the coronation, especially, include all of the elements it traditionally would, if it were a king being crowned as ruler.”

“Both ceremonies were very beautiful.”
There was a catch in Mia’s voice, though, and Quinn knew that she understood at least part of what she was saying.

“Yes. They were.
”

“But not quite what you asked for.”

“The changes were very subtle – just enough for everyone to notice, but not enough for me to really be able to say anything.”

“Like having you sitting for the entire ceremony.”

“See, you noticed.”

“You were pregnant, though.”

“Despite the fact that our families and close servants like you knew that, it was not public knowledge in Philotheum until – probably that very moment.”

“Oh.” Mia’s expression was becoming more and more understanding.

“Besides that, I was pregnant. Not ill or injured. Not incapable of standing up in front of my kingdom and saying my oath. Alvin, fortunately, pulled me up from the throne like the whole thing was planned that way, but still – it was obvious.”

“And I’m guessing you really couldn’t say anything to her about it without sounding like you didn’t care about the baby.”

“Or really complain about it to anyone, without them thinking I was just overreacting – or emotional about it because I was pregnant.”

“Even William?”

Quinn loved that Mia had finally dropped the formalities and was talking with her the way they’d done so many times – as a friend who, because of her unique position, sometimes understood more about the inner workings of life in a castle than even the princes and princesses.

“It isn’t that William didn’t believe me or didn’t support me. He did – at least to the extent that he understood it. But he was in a weird position. He
was
worried about me, and his biggest concern was making sure that I was comfortable and that both the baby and I were safe and healthy. I was fine with that about
him
– that was his place.”

“Not hers.”

“Exactly.” She’d been holding all of this inside for so long, that the relief of being able to talk about it with someone who understood made it just come pouring out. “And Will hates it so much that I don’t have family here – he wanted me to have a good relationship with Sophia, for her to be a grandmother to me. So, while he does listen, and he’s sincere, I think he
wanted
it to be true that I was just emotional, or taking things too seriously.”

“He didn’t
say
that to you, did he?”

Quinn chuckled at the shock in Mia’s voice. “No. Not in those words, anyway.
He didn’t know most of it. She – deliberately, I started to think – waited to do a lot of it when he wasn’t even there. One time we had this dinner with the head councilmen of some villages near the border – one of the places I’ve had the hardest time gaining full support – and William was busy talking with someone while I chatted with one of them, and she came up – right in the middle of our conversation and asked if I was keeping the dinner down all right, or if I needed someone to bring me something for my stomach.”

“Had you been sick?”

“Not for weeks. I was about four moons along then. That was the time I felt the best of my entire pregnancy – it wasn’t even affecting me at all. William and I had chosen that time specifically to arrange for meetings with some important people we needed to get to know.”

Mia rolled her eyes. “And of course
– how do you complain about her doing that?”

“Right? Sure, let’s go whine to my husband that my grandmother is asking after my health? What am I even supposed to say to that? It’s not a crime.”

“Except that it completely undermines you, and makes you look weak in front of someone who needs to see you as a competent ruler.”

Quinn’s relief came out in a huge sigh. “I’m not crazy.”

“I don’t think so. It sounds deliberate.”

“I wanted to be. Wanted it to be true that I was just emotional, or hormonal from being pregnant, but there were just more and more incidents like that. If I wanted to follow
tradition, then she found some way to make it just a little bit different. And then the one time I wanted to break tradition…”

Mia raised an eyebrow.

“The Cradle Reveal.”

“You didn’t want to have one?”

“Of course I did. I wouldn’t have taken that away from people. The gifts our guests filled it with are probably going to last us through
all
of our children, but the party was wonderful. What I didn’t want, though, was to have an entirely new cradle designed for him. I wanted to have the one that was used for my father refurbished.”