phantom knights 04 - deceit in delaware (47 page)

I rode behind the carriage, in a place of honor. Eric had made a request of me only a week past, one which would have made my father burst with pride. He wanted me to be the captain of his guards, as Lord Adamsen was being promoted to a seat upon the council. My agreement had been at once. It was the highest honor in the military, to be the head of the king’s guards, and I would not prove a disappointment.

****

A month after the coronation, a different ceremony took place, one which had humbled me. I was knighted.

It was due to my protection of their majesties, as well as Eleanora, when the bandits attacked. That I had not kept the king from harm had made me not want to accept a knighthood, but Eric was adamant. He said that I would be knighted and that I would accept my new position with a good grace, or he would have me publicly flogged. That last part he said with a teasing grin.

As the sword came down upon my shoulders, I felt a sense of unworthiness. Who was I? The son of a farmer. I did not deserve so much greatness to come upon me.

After the ceremony, I found Eleanora in the library, waiting for me.

“Do you feel like a great man? Lord Nielsen.” She had asked it with a smile, but to her I would speak the truth.

“I feel neither great nor worthy. The king bestows upon me more than I deserve.”

Walking around the large library, I heard her following me. “I was there, Willem. I saw how you tried to save the king. You saved us from that bandit who tried to pull the queen from the carriage.”

Smiling a little, for her speaking my name had not gone unnoticed, I turned to face her. “That was you, Eleanora.”

She shuddered. “Do not remind me, I pray.”

Moving forward, I rested my hand against her cheek. “Eleanora,” I said softly.

Her gaze flew up to mine. She did not move as I lowered my head toward hers. I could no longer deny that she consumed me. From the moment that she pressed her hand into mine, I had known. I would move mountains for her if she was to ask.

Becoming a knight had given me one thing that I did not before possess. Equality in rank with Eleanora. When I had been a guard, I could not speak, but now … now I could tell her what was in my heart and know that if she denied me it would not be due to rank.

Our lips were about to touch when the door opened. Eleanora gulped in a breath as she backed away from me.

“There you are, my dear,” Luther said as he came into the library. He had to have seen me hovering over her, for I was so much taller than she. “I was hoping that we could take that stroll. The hyacinth is in bloom.”

“Of course,” Eleanora whispered. She cleared her voice. “Allow me but moments to fetch my parasol and I shall join you.”

She walked out of the library without a glance toward me.

The moment she was out of the room, Luther rounded on me. “You presume to touch my lady? I should have you flogged for your daring.”

His lady? “Eleanora belongs to no man.” There was enough venom in my voice to assure Luther that where Eleanora was concerned, Luther would never enact his vile actions.

Luther’s thin lips turned up, a victorious smile upon his face. “Eleanora is it? Unfortunately for you, lowly guard, the lady Eleanora does belong to me. Permission granted by the king himself. She is to be my bride, and there is nothing that you can do to change that.” Luther looked at me from my boots to my gray court suit. “Why would she want you, when she can have a prince?”

My hands fisted at my sides but I did not move, even as his words burrowed into me.

“Yes,” he said, drawing the word out. “I can see how that makes you feel. The truth of your humble origins. That you will never be good enough for the woman of your heart, the woman who belongs to me.”

Breathing in and out through my nose, I stomped around Luther and out of the library, slamming the door behind me. Moving down the corridor, I kept my gaze on my boots, my mind fighting a battle. I wanted to go back and destroy Luther, but I could not. He was Eric’s brother and, no matter how much Eric cared for me, he could not stop the outcome that would befall me should I take his brother’s life.

Bumping into a body was what drew me from my thoughts. Hands pressed against my arms as my own hands shot out and surrounded the waist of the person. Looking up, my gaze met Marta’s startled one.

“Saints above, Willem, you were charging as if to war.”

When I released a sigh, Marta captured my hands. “Tell me what is bothering you.” She pulled me toward an alcove that had a bench. Tugging me down beside her, she held my hands in a firm clasp as she urged me to unburden my troubles.

I could not speak against Luther, even to one I had known as long as Marta. She worked in the palace now, as a kitchen maid, a position I had acquired for her. In the palace there were always listening ears around every corner. The maids heard more than anyone, and what they did not hear the guards did. Some knew how to keep their tongue between their teeth. Others did not. I had yet to discover where Marta stood on gossip.

Instead, we spoke of Marta’s month in the palace and how she was getting along with the other servants. She assured me that she was being well treated and that she was well liked. She had aspirations to rise from the kitchen to become a parlor maid, and perhaps one day a lady’s maid.

“One can become whatever they set their mind to, if they are willing to work and sacrifice for it,” she said. “You taught me that, Willem. Never did I expect that the boy that I worshiped would one day become a knight.” She looked down at our clasped hands and her lovely face reddened. “I should not be speaking so freely with someone so far above my station. Forgive me.” She made to release my hands, but I halted her with a tug on her hand. Placing my thumb beneath her chin, I lifted her face until she was looking into my eyes.

“You will never be beneath my notice, Marta.” Her expression brightened, until I went on. “We are childhood companions, after all.”

Her shoulders dropped a touch, but she recovered quickly, smiling. “That we are.”

We spoke for the next hour about the late king, and what he had been like, for she had never met him. And then we spoke of childhood memories, who she should avoid in the palace, and who she should befriend.

The grief of the people was great, and Marta had seen it all firsthand, for she had been living amongst them when news of the king’s death had spread. Every cottage door was decorated with a black ribbon or cloth. The conversations at the watering holes were all about the late king and his kindness, and how his son would be as the next king.

Marta whispered to me that everyone agreed. They were thankful that Eric was king and not Luther. Luther was not liked amongst the people. He had never done anything to try to get to know them. He had been away from Lutania for years, and, when he did return, he only traveled between the palace and the tavern.

After an hour, we rose. Marta could not be away from her duties any longer without losing her position, even if I did speak for her with the cooks. As we stood, Marta straightened my cravat.

Laughing, she gave my waistcoat a tug, and then stepped back. “We cannot have you looking as if you do not deserve your position, my lord.”

She was straightening my lapels when something beyond my shoulder captured her attention. It was only a fleeting glance before she rose upon the tips of her toes, tugged me down, and planted her lips firmly against mine. Her arms wrapped about my neck as she took a step back. I stumbled with her, planting my hands against the wall and trapping her against me.

It was only when I succeeded in pulling away did I notice the reason for her sudden display of affection.

Following her smiling gaze down the passage, my gaze met one filled with so much wrath that my gut lurched.

Eleanora tugged a smirking Luther away, but not before I saw the hurt that flashed in her eyes.

Turning toward Marta, she was smiling. “That should do it.” With that said, she sauntered off, humming a snatch of song decidedly off key.

Glancing from Marta’s retreating form to where Eleanora had been standing, I did not know what to think. But the truth was as clear as the wrath in Eleanora’s eyes. Marta had kissed me to annoy Eleanora, and annoy her she had. To what extent I was yet to discover.

CHAPTER 9

June 1794

After Eleanora caught me with Marta, she avoided me as best as she could. Every time I made an excuse to go to the queen’s salon, Eleanora was not present. What I did learn was that Eleanora and Luther were not formally betrothed, but they were spending time together. It burned within me to watch them walk amongst the flowers in the garden, or to spend an hour together in the library. They were always chaperoned, but I never let them from my sight when they were on one of their outings. After what happened with Ann, I was not willing to allow such a treacherous thing to be forced upon Eleanora.

Catching Eleanora alone in the library one day, I closed the door, blocking it with my body so that she could not escape me.

“Move,” she commanded.

“After I have my say, my lady.”

She huffed as she turned her back to me. Moving over to one of the many tables in the large library, she picked up a slim volume and began to peruse the pages.

“I want you to keep from Luther. He is not an honest man.” A despicable lout was what I wanted to call him.

Eleanora released a mirthless laugh. “Indeed? How do you know of this?”

“He has been known to act dastardly against the fairer sex when there is no one around to keep them from harm.” That was not too much information given, but enough to warn her that I spoke the truth.

She swirled around to face me, the volume clutched against her chest. “Someone like you?” One thin brow rose as she moved toward me with steps of a calculating creature. “I have seen you watching me … us. Shall I tell you what I see when I look at you?”

“All I require you to tell me is that you will keep away from Luther. Before you are harmed beyond repair.”

She scowled, gripping the edges of that book. “A pompous man of low birth who thinks himself so far above those who deserve his respect. Prince Luther has been nothing but a gentleman, a true man of good breeding.”

I willed her words not to affect me, but they stung all the same.

“Keep away from Luther. I will not warn you again.” Turning, I twisted the knob on the door.

Something hard struck my back and bounced off. Releasing the knob, I turned slowly, looking down at the floor. Her book lay upon the carpet. Glancing up, her fingers were covering her mouth, but I could detect her surprise. It shuttered as her gaze met mine.

“Keep your warnings for those who care what you have to say,” she hissed. “Though I cannot fathom who would heed a word that passes your lips.”

Smirking, I stepped closer to her. To my surprise, she did not retreat. “You cannot? I have been told that my words could soothe even the darkest of temperaments.”

“Someone has been spreading tales. Most probably one of your kitchen doxies.”

The moment the words passed her lips, she gasped. She had not meant to surrender so much knowledge. That she cared who I spoke with gave me renewed hope. I had not yet lost her.

Luther’s untimely entrance to the library cut short what I would have said to her.

When I discovered from Lars, one of the other guards, that my comings and goings were being secretly reported to Eleanora, I decided that I, too, could play her game. It had occurred to me while watching one of their sojourns in the library that Eleanora did not best like Luther. Indeed, she seemed to only tolerate his ridiculous attempts at a flirtation.

At the times when I knew Eleanora to be with the queen and not Luther, I spent time with Marta. The cooks and I had known each other from the time that I first arrived at the palace as a young boy. They did not mind my presence in the kitchens, and often offered me a sweet morsel as I snatched a few minutes with Marta. There had been a moment of guilt at first, but it quickly dissipated when I learned that one of the other guards had caught Marta’s eye. She had come right out and asked me why I was so suddenly visiting her often. After my confession, she laughingly agreed to assist me.

For a month, I juggled my time between my duties for Eric, following Luther and Eleanora, spending a few moments with Marta, and following Luther on the few nights that he left the palace. It was still my conviction that Luther was responsible for my father’s death, but I had no proof.

In the days that had followed the king’s death, we had investigated every shipping vessel, searching for the bandits, but we never found a sign of them. The conviction that they were none other than Luther’s lackeys was strong within me. Luther could not forever keep his men quiet. Sometime, somewhere, one of them was sure to utter the truth. All that was required of me was to wait for them to stumble.

After a month of courting, Luther was becoming anxious. According to his drunk rumblings in the tavern, he wanted the deed done. He was vexed with constantly having a chaperone. It was when he said that he would have her with or without her consent that I lost all sense or reason. If it had not been for the town drunk stumbling into my path, I would have charged across the taproom and struck Luther.

The following days after that night, I followed Luther constantly, going so far as to neglect all other duties. There were other guards to watch over Eric, and to me nothing mattered but keeping Eleanora safe.

In the middle of June, Luther was granted his wish. Eleanora agreed to accompany him on a picnic by the sea, a good distance from the safety of the palace walls. She was not to go alone, for it was said that Luther had arranged for a group of guards to accompany them, as well as Eleanora’s chaperone. When I had asked amongst the guards who Luther had attending him, none of them had been requested.

On my horse, I followed Luther’s open carriage at a good distance, until it halted beside Sordensen Forest. There was a path that could be taken on foot to reach a secluded area of beach beside the sea. Hiding myself and my horse in a copse of trees, I watched as Luther, his lackeys, Eleanora, and her chaperone descended from the carriage and their horses. Luther and Eleanora, speaking in companionable good nature, went on ahead of the others. Once they disappeared into the forest, Luther’s lackeys halted Eleanora’s chaperone. That was all the motivation that I required to reveal myself. When I reached the lackeys, they were fighting to keep control of the chaperone as she struck against them valiantly. She was screaming curses in Swedish, some of which I had learned, others I had not.