I cleared my throat. “I hear Mage Warison defeated the foreign wizard and no other wizards are now in danger.”
She arched a doubtful eyebrow at me. “And do you believe that to be true?”
“I do, ma’am.”
She hmphed, still unhappy. “Lord Clement is dead. Supposedly in an assassination attempt.” Her tone implied she believed I may have been wielding the implement of his death shortly beforehand.
I whispered, “I’d nothing to do with that.” Perhaps in the details, this wasn’t accurate. My joining the wizard council prevented King Leofric’s death and caused Clement’s.
Lady Edith swiveled in her seat and lowered her voice. “When I agreed to take you to court, I assumed flirting, coquettish behavior, and a good deal of spying would transpire.” Her hand fluttered upward. “Perhaps even a small theft or two. But I’d no idea blood would be rolling through the hallways. It’s become positively harrowing to wake up each morning and find out who else met their demise during the night. Are the lot of you trying to see us all hanged?”
I stared guiltily at my hands. We’d involved her in far too much danger. “I’m sorry, ma’am.”
“As you should be. Tell whoever is in charge of this assignment that as compensation, I expect repairs to Paxworth’s kitchen to be done forthwith.”
My head snapped up. “What?” That’s what concerned her? Greater compensation?
“It’s not too much to ask.” She sniffed and turned around to face the mirror again. “I’m sure I won’t have a peaceful night’s rest for weeks. Such commotion. Wizards and lords keeling over left and right.”
Joanne said nothing during all of this. She never had an opinion about Lady Edith’s affairs unless asked to produce one.
Despite Lady Edith’s complete lack of motherly affection, I would miss her. She had such firm practicality mixed withher prim propriety. “You’ll have to send your request through Alaric,” I said. “I appreciate all you’ve done for me, but I won’t be returning to Paxworth with you.”
She dabbed at a piece of hair that was trying to escape her headdress. “Yes, I’d heard that congratulations were in order.”
“Congratulations?”
“Lady Petronia, the queen’s head lady-in-waiting, came to my room earlier to tell me that her highness has chosen you to be one of her attendants.”
“Oh.” This must be the solution to keep me close by. I hadn’t the background or breeding to be chosen on my own merits. To be a queen’s attendant was an honor. I shouldn’t immediately worry I’d be stuck all day with a pampered monarch, deferring to her every whim. But I’d led a life of independence for the last two years, and the thought of losing that freedom made my chest feel uncomfortably tight.
I was not one to simper. Fawning was also not my forte. The queen would expect both.
Had Ronan gotten me the position because he didn’t want to let people know he loved me? Perhaps he was having second thoughts on the matter himself. We’d professed our feelings to each other after combat and with the fear of death still coloring our words. In the calm light of morning among court ladies who were swishing around their silks, brocades, and doweries, my coarseness, poverty, and life of crime must be far less appealing.
He might regret accepting the kisses I’d showered on him last night.
I wanted to go to Ronan right then and ask him what he planned for us, but I knew I wouldn’t find him. If he wasn’t still busy with the king’s advisors or wizards, he’d be catching up on the sleep he lost last night.
“Didn’t you know about your appointment?” Lady Edith asked.
I shrugged vaguely. “Mage Warison mentioned something about me staying.”
“Mage Warison? When did you talk to him?”
“Last night after supper.” It was true that we talked then, though that conversation seemed to have happened ages ago.
“It’s peculiar that one of the king’s wizards would know the queen’s appointments. Although I suppose he had his reasons.” She waved off Joanne’s attempts to straighten her veil, stood, and swept over to me. She gave me a long, knowing look. “Wizards are men of the world. Insist on an official engagement before you so much as let him kiss you. Otherwise, you may easily find yourself ruined. You’re pretty, my dear, but not wealthy enough to tempt him into marriage.”
Her expression softened with something close to care. “I wasn’t born with the Thornton name, but I’ve become attached to it and would rather you didn’t sully it. The last thing I want is for you to show up at Paxworth with your life in shambles and a reputation that’s preceded you.” She lifted a finger reconsidering. “Well, perhaps not thelastthing. Don’t go and get yourself hanged, either.”
I nodded obediently. She hadn’t said she would turn me away if my life were in shambles, which I found touching. “I’ll do my utmost to uphold the honor of your name.” She would be shocked to know I’d already kissed Ronan. Excessively. Still, she was right that I needed to be careful of my reputation at court.
Lady Edith glided past me. “You’d best enquire with Lady Petronia to see if there’s anything the queen requires of you today.”
I bade Lady Edith goodbye and made my way to the stairs to go to Queen Marita’s chambers. The guard there stopped me, asked my business, and escorted me to the queen’s chamberlain.
“That doesn’t seem likely,” the man said when the guard told him why I wanted to see Lady Petronia. “The queen hasn’t chosen her new attendants yet.”