The Beautiful Pretender (A Medieval Fairy Tale #2)(37)

“Lady Dorothea,” he said, looking past Magdalen. “You told me you would not be going on the hunt. Was it because you do not shoot a bow?”

“It was because I do not ride well.” She had told him that her first day in Thornbeck.

“Perhaps it is because you were thrown as a child?” He raised his brows.

“No, I—” She stopped herself before saying it was because she had never owned a horse. “I’ve just never had a liking for horses.”

He stared at her, as if thinking of something else. Then he turned back to Magdalen. “Do you like horses, Lady Magdalen?”

“Oh yes, I like animals of all kinds. I had a pet dog as a child. When he died, I couldn’t bear to get another one.”

Avelina pretended great interest in her food as she listened to their conversation. But when Lord Thornbeck leaned toward Magdalen and said something low in her ear, too low for Avelina to hear, her heart thumped harder.

When the meal was over, Lord Thornbeck bid them a good day. As soon as Avelina and Magdalen stood and left the table, several other ladies, including Fronicka, crowded around Lord Thornbeck. One young lady actually asked his opinion about her dress.

Avelina hurried Magdalen away. As soon as they were in the wide foyer at the junction of the stairs and the grand ballroom, Avelina whispered, “What did Lord Thornbeck say?”

“When?”

“You know! When he leaned and whispered in your ear.”

“He did not exactly whisper. He—” Magdalen leaned over to look past Avelina’s shoulder. That’s when she heard a woman’s footsteps swishing toward them on the marble floor.

Fronicka was coming, alone. “There is something strange about you, Lady Dorothea.” She clasped her hands behind her back, as if to look demure. “You don’t know how to dance, you don’t ride well and therefore could not go on the hunt with us, and your servant said she had never been a lady’s maidservant before she came on this trip with you. Sometimes I wonder if you’re even a lady at all.”

Avelina’s breath seemed to leave her, and her heart pounded as Fronicka looked down at her through half-closed eyes. Her nose pointed high as she turned away and went back into the Great Hall.

“She’s more of a lady than you will ever be,” Magdalen said under her breath, but Fronicka was already too far away to hear.

But Fronicka was right. Did she even know how right she was? Avelina’s heart gradually slowed. Surely Fronicka had not discovered the truth. If she had, she wouldn’t hesitate to tell everyone.

“Oh, so what Lord Thornbeck said . . .” Magdalen started up the stairs and Avelina hurried after her.

“What? What?”

“He said . . .” Magdalen drew out the words dramatically, then she whispered in Avelina’s ear, “he wants us to meet him in the rose garden just beyond the south side of the castle in the morning.”

“Oh. But surely he meant only for you to come.”

“No, he specifically said for me to bring you with me. And I shall not go at all if you do not come.”

“Oh, but you must! He wants to talk to you.”

“He wants to talk to you too. He said so.”

If Lord Thornbeck was taken with Magdalen, as he obviously was, he would surely want to get to know her better, and having Avelina around would be uncomfortable. However, he might fear it would be improper for Magdalen to be alone with him, so for that reason, Avelina would go along with her.



Avelina heard the soft knock at her door and quickly opened it. Magdalen stood there smiling. “Are you ready?”

“Let me put on my shoes.” The old pair of Dorothea’s slippers were so thin they nearly had a hole worn in them. She only needed them to hold up for seven more days.

They slipped out the door, not speaking until they had made their way down the stairs and out through a side door that led to the kitchen.

The morning air was crisp and cool and Avelina wrapped her shoulders in Dorothea’s old velvet cloak. “How did you sneak away from Hegatha? Did she allow you to go without her?”

“She was out, so I left her a note.”

“Won’t she be angry?”

“Probably.” Magdalen’s frown turned into a grin. “It will be worth the guilt she will heap on me to sneak away to meet the margrave with you.”

“Are you falling in love with him, then?” Avelina held her breath, waiting for her answer.

Magdalen’s half grin turned into a half frown. “I am still hoping you will fall in love and decide to marry him.”

“Magdalen! You know he favors you now.”

Her brows shot up. “I do not think he fancies a wife as young as I am. You are closer to his own age. But we shall not argue about it. We shall simply enjoy his company. Agreed?”

“Very well.”

The air was misty with fog as they entered the small rose garden. Vines clung to the stone wall, and there were only a few roses, one here and there, that were still in bloom so late in autumn.

Lord Thornbeck suddenly appeared in the mist ahead, standing next to the family mausoleum. He came toward them and cleared his throat. Avelina got the idea that he was trying to think of something to say. Perhaps one reason he was so gruff sometimes was because he had not spent much time with ladies and did not know how to make polite conversation. And this morning he did not have Odette to help prompt conversation.