The False Prince (4 page)

C
onner lectured us about Carthya for nearly the entire ride to wherever we were going that morning. He faced backward in the wagon seat while Mott drove and Cregan did vigil duty from the rear.

He pointed out the various towns all over Carthya, gesturing their direction from us and describing in detail the qualities of the different large cities.

“Drylliad is that way,” he said, pointing to the south. “The capital of Carthya and home of the royal family. Have any of you ever been there?”

Tobias spoke up. “My father brought me there when I was very young, but I don’t remember it.”

“I’ve been there too, but it was some time ago,” I added. “Tried to steal a pigeon from the king’s dovecote. It didn’t work out so well.”

They laughed, which was odd since I hadn’t meant it as a joke. I’d been hungry at the time and barely escaped without being detected. Sprained my ankle in a fall as I ran that didn’t heal for a week.

I’d been to many of the towns he spoke of. It was clear that I was better traveled than either Roden or Tobias. Roden said he’d been born somewhere in southern Carthya and left on the steps of the orphanage in Benton. He had no idea who his parents were or anything about them. He’d never left Benton until Conner came for him.

Tobias said that he had been born in a town near Gelvins, but his mother died at birth and his father died of disease a few years later. His grandmother had taken over his care afterward, but after she died two years ago, he’d been sent to the orphanage.

“Who educated you?” Conner asked him.

“My grandmother. She worked for a man who had a vast library and let her borrow a different book each week to read to me. I miss the books almost as much as I miss her.”

“Do you read?” Conner asked Roden, who shook his head.

“I’ve always wanted to, though,” Roden said. “I’m good on my feet and thought maybe I’d join the king’s army. But to rise in rank, I’d be expected to read.”

“So you’re a patriot,” Conner said admiringly. “Then we shall have to teach you to read. What about you, Sage? Can you read?”

I shrugged. “Didn’t you already ask me that?”

“You chose to insult me last time rather than answer,” Conner said. “I don’t expect you’ve had much education.”

“My father said a person can be educated and still be stupid, and a wise man can have no education at all.”

“Your father was a worthless musician,” Conner said. “It sounds to me like he was both stupid and without education. And Mrs. Turbeldy told me your mother was a barmaid. I hate to think of the education she might have given you.”

I stared at my hands resting on my knees. “If you can give me anything worth reading, I’ll make my way through it.”

“Who amongst you rides a horse? In a gentleman’s style?”

Again, none of us answered. I’d ridden a horse several times before, but in all my recent experience, it was usually stolen and always in an attempt to escape the horse’s owner. That probably wasn’t a gentleman’s style.

“I hardly dare ask whether any of you have been taught your manners and other social graces.”

“I have, a little,” Tobias said.

Roden actually laughed at Conner’s question, though he quickly corrected himself. “Master Conner, make me into a gentleman. I’ll learn.”

“You will all learn,” Conner said. “And at the end of the next two weeks, I intend to make each of you into a gentleman, so flawless in your learning, you could pass as a noble before the king himself.”

“We’re going to see the king?” I asked.

Conner shook his head. “I didn’t say that. Only that you could stand in front of him and make him believe you are a noble.”

Roden looked over at me and smiled. I didn’t share his enthusiasm.

“Two weeks?” I asked. “What’s the hurry?”

Conner locked eyes with me. “Because that’s when the boy I choose will be tested.”

Tobias cleared his throat, and then asked, “What happens to the other two boys, sir? The two boys who you don’t choose?”

Conner looked at each one of us before answering. When he spoke, he only said, “Two weeks, boys. Pray you are the one I choose.”

Then he turned his back to us and we continued riding.

Tobias, Roden, and I looked at one another. Cregan read the unspoken conversation and chuckled. Roden seemed a little more pale again. Tobias lost any expression on his face whatsoever, as if he’d turned to stone. Undoubtedly, we were all remembering how casually Conner had ordered Latamer’s death, and then had quickly justified it based on the higher moral status of his plan.

He would choose his winner in two weeks, and most likely the other two boys would follow Latamer’s fate at the same time.

I
t was late afternoon when our wagon pulled up to a large estate several miles outside the town of Tithio. An engraved wooden sign at the entrance identified this as Conner’s home. It rose two stories above the ground with a partial third floor arching over the center of the house. The roof was nearly flat and bordered by a low parapet. I wondered if any stairways led up to the rooftop for what was certain to be an impressive view of Conner’s extensive grounds. The building was made of thick tan bricks and cut stone. This alone was impressive, since it didn’t look like there were any quarries in this region of Carthya, meaning the rocks would have had to come from some distance away. Veins of a thin ledge ran between the first and second floor. I counted nearly twenty windows just in the front of the house. The orphanage in Carchar didn’t have a single window.

Conner stood and gestured toward the estate. “Welcome to my home, boys. I call it Farthenwood. It was my father’s home and the home of my childhood. I know its every secret and dearly love to come here whenever I can get away from the king’s business in Drylliad. This will be your home as well for the next two weeks. I have arranged everything in advance of our arrival. I’m sure you have many questions, but we have other business first.”

A line of servants had assembled in front of the wagon. A few quickly took control of the horses and one helped Conner out of the wagon, bowing to him afterward as if
he
were a royal.

Cregan gestured to us to leave the wagon, and when we did, Conner presented us each with a servant. “Follow your man to a warm bath and a change of clean clothes.” He cast an eye on me. “Some of you require more scrubbing than usual, so stay in the bath as long as you must. Once you are presentable, you may join me for a hot supper that I suspect will be the finest meal any of you have ever eaten.”

Roden and Tobias followed their servants into the estate. I followed mine behind them as we entered Farthenwood. The entry was massive and well lit by windows and a large chandelier directly above us. The plaster walls were decorated with beautiful murals of countryside scenes. A tapestry hanging near me depicted dozens of names and faces. Probably Conner’s family tree.

“What’s your name?” I asked the servant.

He hesitated at first as if he wasn’t sure whether he should answer, and then said, “Errol, sir.” Errol looked like the kind of young man who might never grow enough facial hair to actually require a shave. He had boyish features and a bit of curl in his light blond hair. I suspected that if the fables about the existence of elves were true, Errol would turn out to be one of them.

“I’m Sage. My companions on this trip will assure you I am no ‘sir.’ Conner seems to think he owns me too, which makes me a servant much like you. So let’s keep everything on a first-name basis.”

“Forgive me, but I’ve been instructed to call you ‘sir,’” Errol said. “So you should get used to hearing it.”

I tugged on the rag that served as my shirt. My entire fist could easily have fit through a tear in the fabric near my hip. “With me dressed this way? How can you call me that without laughing?”

Errol glanced sideways at me and smiled crookedly. “It isn’t easy … sir.”

When I asked, Errol told me that the rooms off to the left were for a few of the choice servants, such as Mott and Cregan. They also housed a kitchen and other work areas. To the right were rooms for other servants, which several of them shared. I figured Errol’s was one of those rooms. A grand staircase rose up from the center of the entry. It was lined with tall beeswax candles and was carpeted in a weave so fine I bent down and ran my fingers over it.

Ahead of me, I heard Roden’s servant tell Roden that with my dirty hands, he’d have to scrub that area of carpet now. Out of spite, I made sure I left a mark there.

The second floor consisted of rooms on alternating sides of a long hallway.

“I think several of my orphanages could fit in here,” Roden said.

“Conner’s a rich man, that’s for sure,” Tobias added.

“Why does he need so many rooms?” I asked.

Errol smiled. “If he had fewer rooms, there wouldn’t be enough cleaning for all of us to do.”

I laughed loudly, which earned a glare from the other two servants. In a quieter voice, Errol continued, “Master Conner often has guests. He wishes to impress his wealth upon them, and usually does.”

“He said he’s a regent in the court. Has the king ever been here?”

“The king has not, but the queen came once when traveling with her courtiers.”

“I’ve heard she’s not very pretty,” I said.

Errol looked at me like I’d slapped him. “Whoever told you that was lying,” he said, as if personally offended. “Queen Erin is a strikingly beautiful woman. Master Conner himself has often commented on that.”

“Is Conner married?”

“No, sir. He loved a woman once, but that didn’t work out.”

“Do you know why we’ve been brought here?” I asked. “Conner said he has a plan.”

“If I knew, it wouldn’t be my place to say it.” Errol’s eyes darted around as he spoke.

“You don’t have to tell me,” I said quickly. The last thing I wanted was to make Errol afraid to talk to me. “I was just curious.”

“All we hear as servants are rumors and bits of the whole story,” Errol said. “You couldn’t trust the little I know anyway.”

“No,” I agreed, then changed the subject. “How long have you served Conner?”

“I came here when I was ten, sir, half my life ago.”

So he wasn’t much older than me. And yet he addressed me as sir.

“Are you working off a debt to him?”

“My family’s debts. Perhaps another ten years, then I’ll be free to go.”

“Do you like it here?”

Errol nodded. “If you do what Conner wants, he’s a good master.”

“What if you don’t do what he wants?”

“Conner sent a messenger ahead. I heard about you.” Errol smiled and added, “I fear you may find out the answer to that question for yourself.”

That made me smile as well. “He won’t get any more trouble from me. It’s becoming very clear what happens to those who cross him.”

“Yes, sir.” Errol stopped at a door. “You’ll share a bedroom with the other boys, but your bath will be in here.” He opened the door to reveal a nice-size room that looked as if it had been converted for use in bathing. The decorations here were soft and feminine, but it didn’t appear to be anyone’s current living quarters, so I assumed this was a guest room. I was tempted to throw myself down on the bed near a far wall for a nap, but given how dirty I was, they’d probably have to burn the bed afterward.

Errol tugged at my shirt to prompt me to undress for the bath, but I jumped away from him and said, “I bathe in private.”

Errol smiled again. “If you will pardon the observation, sir, it doesn’t appear that you bathe at all.”

I laughed. “Well, I won’t start by having my bath with company.”

“My instructions are to bring you to supper as clean as a nobleman’s son. I’ll wait outside if you wish, but when you come out, if you are not that clean, we’ll return to that bath again. I obey the master’s wishes, not yours.” This time, Errol was not smiling as he closed the door.

“You can relax out there,” I called to him. “I’ll be a while.”

I looked for a way to lock the door but found none. So I dragged a heavy chair to the door and braced it beneath the door handle.

The room had a window balcony at the back of the house. I tiptoed out onto it and looked around. A gardener was working below me, but his head was bent down to the flowers. Probably not a great risk of him looking up. The exterior of Conner’s home was built from rock, with a thin ledge marking each floor. It was a long fall to the ground, but there were a lot of ways to make sure I didn’t fall.

I swung my body onto the balustrade, balancing myself against the outside wall. Bracing my foot against the angled curve of a rock, I dug my fingers into the crevice of another rock and climbed.