Chapter 268: Secrets Carried Back
Chapter 267:Secrets Carried Back
Lyria’s POV
I stood by the window, staring out at nothing in particular.
The maids had been dismissed for the night. Their rooms were not far from mine, close enough that they could reach me in case of an emergency, but far enough that I could have a moment of privacy.
I had not known there were such rooms prior to now. Sally and the others had not used them at all, so I had no idea they had been there.
But Elara had chosen to stay, waiting for Bridget to return. She sat in one of the chairs near the hearth, her hands folded in her lap, her gaze steady.
I could not stop thinking about Baron Frederick.
Something had unsettled me throughout the competition. His composure was so unlike what he had presented previously during the competition. This was entirely different.
"I do not trust him," Margery had said earlier, when we were discussing the competition. "The Baron was behaving strangely. There was something off about him."
I had agreed.
And then I had made a mistake.
I had said, without thinking, "If there were an opportunity, I should like to know what is wrong."
Bridget had perked up at that.
"I could help you find out," she had said.
I had hesitated. I had told her it was too dangerous. But she had insisted. And eventually, reluctantly, I had let her go.
I had to trust her. That was what Duke Valenridge had told me. The maids were mine to use. Their loyalty was to me first, before the Queen. I was still sceptical—trust did not come easily to me, not after everything I had endured—but I had no other option. I could not investigate Baron Frederick myself. I could not leave my chambers without drawing attention.
So I had let Bridget go.
And now I was worried.
To keep myself busy, I had tried to read the letter Baron Redwick had given me. I had taken it from the drawer where I had placed it, unfolded it, and tried to focus on the words.
But my mind kept drifting back to Bridget, to the danger she might be in, to the risk I had taken by sending her.
I could not concentrate, so I folded the letter again and set it aside, deciding to read it at a later date.
I hoped she was safe.
I hoped the King or the Queen—or anyone else—had not found her.
I hoped she had not walked into something she could not escape from.
I really hoped...
The door opened then.
Bridget slipped inside, closing the door behind her with a soft click. She wore a dark cloak, the hood pulled up to shadow her face, and she removed it as she stepped further into the room.
I rushed toward her.
"A-are you a-all right?" I asked. "A-are you h-hurt?"
Bridget shook her head.
"I am fine, Your Highness," she said. "You need not worry. This is not the first time I have done something like this."
"E-even so," I said, "you must be careful. Things do n-not appear as t-they seem in t-the palace."
She smiled at that.
"That is true," she said. "You are quite right."
She paused, her expression growing serious.
"Your Highness, you were right about Baron Frederick. There is something going on with him. I could not learn everything—I will need more time for that—but I overheard him speaking to his guard and his valet."
I leaned forward.
"W-what did h-he say?"
"He told them they needed to leave," Bridget said. "He said they were not safe here. That all is not as it seems, which is the same thing you said."
I was quiet.
"And then he said there were things happening, things they did not know, things different from what they thought."
I frowned.
"D-did he say what h-had happened?"
She shook her head.
"No, Your Highness. He did not say. But I suspect he has become involved in something he was not meant to be involved in. And the risk is perhaps too much for him to handle, so he considers fleeing an option."
I was quiet for a long moment.
"T-the B-baron is not wrong," I said finally. "T-this palace is dangerous. H-he is not wrong to w-want to leave."
I paused.
"But t-the question is—what did he discover? W-what m-made him so a-afraid?"
She met my gaze.
"I can find out, Your Highness," she said. "Give me time, and I will learn what he knows."
I shook my head.
"It m-may be t-too dangerous. If h-he is a-afraid, if he is b-being w-watched—"
"I have had many run-ins with danger, Your Highness," she said. "I know how to be careful. I will get information for you."
Elara spoke then, her voice calm and measured.
"Your Highness, do you doubt her?"
I turned to look at her.
"No," I said. "T-that is not it. I am simply... w-worried. W-what if something h-happens to her? What if s-she is c-caught? What if—"
Elara shook her head.
"Your Highness, you must learn to trust. This is not the first time Bridget has done this. She knows what she is doing. All you need to do is trust her."
I frowned at her words.
Trust again.
Perhaps that was really all I needed to do.
"Get s-some rest tonight," I said. "But i-if you find y-yourself in any trouble—even the s-smallest amount—y-you must leave i-immediately and come back. We h-have time. T-there is no need t-to rush."
Bridget nodded.
"I understand, Your Highness."
I looked at her for a moment longer.
Then I turned to Elara.
"T-the b-both of y-you should get some sleep. It h-has been a l-long n-night after a-all."
They both bowed.
"Good night, Your Highness," they said.
Then they left the chamber.
I walked to my bed and sat down.
I wondered what was going on with Baron Frederick.
Perhaps there was even more going on than I had realised.
Perhaps it was connected to the King.
Perhaps he had discovered something about the King that he should not have.
I lay back against the pillows.
The thoughts swirled through my mind, restless and unresolved, as I drifted toward sleep.
