Fallen Grace (The Death Dealer Book 1) (21 page)

Ridley left the room in a huff and Jack moved out of the way; letting her slam the door in her fit. The anger lingered for a moment in her absence. “She doesn’t want to lose a friend.”

“This is folly. I should stay here. Marcus could use me as bait to draw Mac out.”

“
Is he going to have to crack your skull and break every bone in your body before you realize Mac is too strong for you? Don’t be stupid.”

Grace knew she was weak against Mac, but she didn’t like being reminded or being told she was stupid.

“Don’t tell me I am stupid!”

“
Then stop being so foolish!” Jack’s voice was getting louder, so he closed his eyes and took a deep breath. When he composed himself, he looked carefully at Grace.

Grace retorted, “I am trying to help Marcus. You wouldn’t understand that sort of loyalty. Go back to your table and climb into your pint like you always do.”

Jack threw his hands in the air. His composure didn’t last long. “I will
not
take advice from a girl who has disgraced herself and who will put herself in danger to draw out a murderer and a thief –
all
for her own foolish stubbornness.”

“
And why should
I
listen to a former stable boy who does nothing but hide from everyone? No doubt you were removed from King Frederick’s stables due to your uselessness and hatred.”

“
Don’t
ever
speak to me about my former life, you stupid harlot! In fact, stay here and get yourself killed –
then
see who mourns you!” Like Ridley, Jack stormed out. Only when he slammed the door, it was with enough force to shake her tiny room.

Grace lay down on her bed and ignored the door when Ridley returned. She only called out that she needed to sleep.

~*~*~

In the morning, Mayhew informed Grace that Marcus had left her a roan colored mare named Olwen. He also told her Marcus’s right hand man, Thom, would escort her for three days to wherever they thought was safe. The old stable master was angry, but a few threats from Marcus eased his tongue somewhat. With Thom by her side, Grace took the southern road from Glenbard and didn’t look back toward the city. Her pride still hurt from Jack’s words and from the fact Marcus didn’t want her around to help him.

Eleven

Grace,

I admire your courage and fortitude. It is rare to see a heart that beats with the bravery yours does. Though King Frederick and many others wish to punish such daring, I think it should be rewarded. You beat a prince in the sword ring and you did it fairly. Do not think for a moment that I believe those silly claims of witchcraft. I have no doubts your cousin made sure you know you are welcomed in Arganis, but allow me to extend my home to you as well. The barony of Egona is ever open to you, regardless of your title or place in this world.

Your friend and ally in these troubled times,

Henry

On her first night on the road, Grace read Henry’s letter from the day she was sent into exile. She then resolved to make for his castle in Egona, which was a four-day journey from the city of Glenbard. Thom did as promised and rode with her for the first three days to make sure no danger followed them outside of Glenbard.

Now here she was. The path she was on led straight to Henry’s grounds. The sun was beginning to set, and at the steady walking pace Olwen was moving, Grace wouldn’t make it before the sun went down and the gates were closed for the night.

“
Come on, girl. You know you want warm mash tonight, and I would rather not sleep on a tree root.” Grace gently kicked Olwen’s sides and the horse began to trot. Grace nudged her on into a canter and then finally into a gallop.

The two flew through the gates and Grace pulled her horse to a stop. Olwen panted underneath her and Grace patted her lovingly on the neck. A servant from the stables came out and eyed Grace with suspicion.

“Who are you?”

“
My name is Grace. I have come to see Lord Henry.”

The servant looked over Grace and her attire. She was dressed in the travel-stained breeches she had worn on her journey from Frederick’s castle in Ursana. “I will see if the master of this house is with anyone at present.”

Grace was left alone in the courtyard. She slipped off of Olwen and dug for a lump of sugar in her pockets. Olwen gladly accepted it and nibbled at Grace’s pockets, looking for more. The sun was failing fast. Finally, the doors to the castle opened and the portly figure of Henry emerged.

He moved as fast as he could and lifted Grace up into a great hug. “What a wonderful surprise!”

“Henry, it is so wonderful to see you again!”

“
Someone take the lady’s horse and stable it.”

A stable boy, barely thirteen years of age, rushed from the stables and took Olwen by the reins. He bowed to Grace and Henry. “Yes, my lord.”

“Oh, I can take care of my horse myself, Henry.”

“
Nonsense. You are a guest in this house and you will be treated as such. Now, you must be tired and hungry. I shall see what supper is available to you, and then I will have a bath drawn.”

“
And it will be off to bed with me, I am afraid.”

“
As you wish, Grace. We here at Egona will make you welcome and comfortable.”

~*~*~

The next morning Grace wrote a lengthy letter to Calvin and Cassandra, and one of Henry’s messengers was sent to Arganis to deliver it. Then she composed one for Ridley and Marcus, letting them know she went to Egona and was staying with the count there. As instructed, she did not say outright where she was, though she guessed Thom would tell them.

She learned a great deal from Henry about the tournament after she left. Calvin was offered the chance to enter the sword ring against Prince Drake, but due to his injury he forfeited and withdrew from the rest of the tournament. Many gossiped about Grace after the incident, and Calvin, Henry, and even Drake were her main defenders. No one could ever get Drake to say why he supported her, but most believed Grace practiced witchcraft and had beguiled him. Tristan spoke out against her the most, and it still hurt a great deal when Grace heard it. Hypocrisy, feigned love and infatuation were things she did not enjoy.

Grace told Henry she had been holed up in Glenbard working as a stable girl, but she avoided telling him why she felt the need to run off from that life. She simply said she left unexpectedly to get away and Henry never pried. He figured she would tell him when she was ready. She gladly told him about Ridley, but she left out the ‘Princess of Thieves’ title.

Over a week passed and Grace had plenty of time to grieve; both over her lost life at court, as well as her lost friends such as Calvin and Cassandra. Upon entering Glenbard, she found herself too busy to really think of her loss, although of course she still found time to feel horrible about what happened between herself and Tristan. She also thought about how she was forced out of Glenbard for her safety and realized she was somewhat relieved to be gone. That had to do with Jack as well as the threat from Mac. She wanted to confront Mac again, but she wanted to beat him the next time. She couldn’t beat him if every few days she encountered him and never had a chance to improve her skills. And Jack…well, Jack simply hurt her pride by thinking she was incapable of anything because she had once been a member of the King’s court. She hoped she’d never have to face Jack again. He was just one big pain in her side.

The week of Grace’s arrival the weather was fair. Henry took her out riding and hunting, and even showed her some sword and knife play she could use to protect herself. But at the start of her second week with Henry, the rain came down in buckets and lightning streaked across the sky. Grace felt gloomy and the weight of all her mistakes of the last few months pressed down on her. Her mood felt much like the weather outside. Henry was sitting across from her, eating breakfast and being his usual jovial self, when Grace felt compelled to ask him a question.

“
Are you content with your life here, Henry?” she blurted out between one of her bites of porridge.

Henry was startled by Grace’s question. She always avoided talking about her own life’s contentment and stuck to facts when she told Henry about how she was faring these days. To Henry’s credit, he knew she just wasn’t ready to say how she really felt.

“Content? I daresay I am. I have seen wars and I have been a knight for many long years. I have sailed to different countries and fought to protect this land. I was lucky enough to be married to a wonderful woman, and though my dear wife has passed on, I am happy to have married and loved her for so long. I would say that qualifies as contentment.” Grace nodded and forced a weak smile. “The question is, are you?”

“
I am not sure these days. I was happy for a while in Glenbard, but it was short-lived. A few of the people there hate me now that they know I am a noble in exile, and they wish to see my head on a pike as a warning to other nobles who dare to hang around with commoners like they belong. And there are people who constantly cause me trouble, even when they are trying to help. It can be such a dangerous and unforgiving place.”

“
I see, but it will pass, Grace. If you like living in Glenbard, you should return some day. I would love for you to stay here with me, but I don’t think that is what you want.”

“
Henry, you have been a good friend to me despite everything, and although I wish I could stay, I know one day before long I should head back. I am not sure how my return is going to be taken. I was driven out for a time because of...” she thought for a moment, “unpleasantries. I wonder how long I can survive in such a place.”

“
It sounds like Marcus, Ridley and Jim would like to see you come back and would keep you from harm.”

“
But there is someone else, and I don’t think he will be so happy. He alone provides plenty of reasons for me not to return. He is a bitter, resentful man who used to be a stable boy for King Frederick. Perhaps you know him? He says he was the best one the King ever had, though somehow I doubt it.” Henry raised an eyebrow and waited for Grace to give him a name. “Do you know Jack Anders?”

Any sign of a smile washed away from Henry’s face. He stared at Grace with his mouth gaping open like a newly caught fish. “You said Jack Anders?” Grace nodded slowly, not sure what the name could possibly mean to Henry. He was a lord, while Jack was merely a stable boy. “He told you he was the King’s best stable boy?”

“He said he was the best thing that ever happened to the court.”

“
Jack certainly wasn’t lying about that. But he really told you he was a stable boy? Oh, Jack.” Henry shook his head and groaned a little.

“
He wasn’t a stable boy, then?”

“
Jack was no stable boy, though I am not surprised that he lied to you or that you could not tell who he really was. He is nothing like his father or his brother, but I had no idea he was still around Glenbard. I would have gone to see him if I had known.” Henry was now talking more to himself than Grace.

“
Henry?”

       “
Grace, Jack Anders is Tristan of Escion’s older brother.”

~*~*~

As summer moved along, the people across Cesernan gathered in the temples of Ciro to bid the Sun King to continue his good fortune and not speed winter along. A week-long festival was held in his honor, and now the last day of the festival drew to a close.

Ridley sat next to Marcus in the temple of Ciro and listened to the priest drone on. She could not have cared less; she was only thinking of what to say to Jack, who was seated in front of her.

The Princess of Thieves was still angry at Jack for making Grace cross before she left. Whenever Jack was in earshot she bemoaned that Grace was the only girl close to her age to hang around the Angel in many years, and now she was gone. Jack just ignored her whining.

“
You should be ashamed of yourself,” Ridley hissed in Jack’s ear.

He turned his head a bit so she could catch his profile, and then he rolled his eyes. “Will you let it die already? Grace is gone and you harping on me is not going to bring her back.”

“You could go to Egona and apologize. You know where she’s at; her note implied as much. You were a stable boy for the King! Surely you know this Henry fellow and can get in to see Grace.”

“
You want me to ride to Egona and apologize? You want me to take the time and energy to go there? Certainly you can wait until Marcus deems it safe for her to come back.”

The sun priest finished speaking for the day and dismissed those in attendance; bidding them to be careful at the festival. The people herded themselves out to fill their bellies with festival food and enjoy the crooked games the traveling merchants set up. Ridley moved fast to leave Jack’s presence, but Marcus made sure to get close to him. Marcus’s man, Thom, hung back a few steps as the men moved out into the streets.

No merchants were allowed to peddle their goods in the temple district, but they could be heard all the way from the marketplace. Some merchants were able to survive for a whole year on the profits they made during the festival to Ciro, so they called loudly and frequently to passersby.