Esther stared at the child in silence. She had Albert's eyes and hair. There was more of Leila that reminded Esther of her brother, pride and stubbornness among them. They may be siblings, but she did not practically grow up together with Albert. As the crown prince, he was raised differently. And as a woman, she was mostly separated from his trainings, including Emory's. It was only when they were older and had little more freedom that they reunited as brothers and sister who wanted fun with people their age. But even when they did, Albert was always busy. More particularly when he took over as High Priestess. He also hid many secrets. Apparently, this child was one of them.
"You were born here?" she asked Leila.
Leila shook her head. "I was saved from a sinking ship," she said, blue eyes studying her carefully. She tilted her head to the left. "Do you know Arielle hates you?"
Esther smiled. "Of course, she does. The feeling is mutual."
Leila turned away, walked to the window, and looked down. "I think she intends to kill us."
The hairs on her arms stood. To hear a child as young as Leila talk about murder was surreal. When she was her age, Esther thought naught of anything but dreams of being free so she could escape her guards and party with Caroline and their friends.
"Not if we let her."
The child turned to her, face unreadable, sending another chill up Esther's spine. She could not be afraid of this child! She was small and powerless, believing a false power that was stripped from her. Like everyone else in Belcourt, Leila believed a lie. She must think she was amidst a war between her and a traitor and conqueror and she was supposed to be its princess savior, or the princess the people would fight for. "Are you thinking that we should work together?"
Esther shrugged. Leila walked to one corner of the room where her doll house stood.
"If we work together and succeed, you will only do the same as Arielle. You will lock me here because I'm your brother's bastard. Just like your mother did to Arielle because she's your father's bastard."
"Or we can negotiate. You can think about it for a day or two," she said with a smile, finally moving to kneel before the doll house. They stared at the little rooms inside. "They never open the door fully, do they?"
"No," Leila replied. "The only time they did was when they took you in." Esther knew that. For one week, the Soldiers only opened the smaller door at the foot of the main door to deliver them food. The buckets for their bath were also delivered in the same manner. Their wastes were deposited in a bucket and placed at the same door to be collected when their food arrived.
She reached out to drag a miniature bed to the door. "If they can't open the smaller door, it will force them to open the larger door."
Leila looked over her shoulder at their beds, then at her. "You are crazy. They'll kill us."
"You're right," she said, feigning ignorance. She returned the miniature bed against the wall. Looking at their actual door and the smaller door at the bottom, Esther murmured, "It's too big for me."
Leila's eyes followed hers. And as she hoped, the child understood what she meant. "You're suggesting I squeeze myself through that door." When Esther only remained mysteriously quiet, Leila frowned. "It's impossible. It locks from the outside."
Esther's eyes inspected the larger door. And then she smiled. "You're right," she said. Smiling, a genuine idea coming to her. "Locks are complications, aren't they? But if we can't make them work, we can work around them." She stood and walked over to the wall beside the door. "Or we can walk through them."
*****
Ruby found that she was not so free outside Belcourt anymore. Her maids were replaced which meant her every move was being watched. But one night, as she stayed up alone in the parlor by the fire, reading a book, she found a familiar face outside the window. With a frown, she walked out into the hall and rushed to the front doors. Slipping out, she found the woman standing at the foot of the driveway.
She looked unkempt, as if it had been weeks since she met a bath. The woman was one of the maids she frequently encountered in the Village back in Belcourt. She was amongst those who left Belcourt months ago.
"My lady," the woman said, eyes filled with self-pity. "If it's not too much to ask, I would like to get your help."
Ruby frowned and looked around. The street was empty and freezing. "Would you like to come in?" she asked. "It's cold out here."
Whatever pride left of the woman was no longer apparent as she eagerly nodded. Moments later, Ruby watched her gobble the bread and tea, barely looking up to take a breath. When her plate was empty, Ruby offered more food, which she accepted without shame. It took another serving before the woman's pace slowed and she finished her food with the practiced grace of a Belcourt lady.
Shame, even for this woman, came after. She could not look Ruby in the eyes as she wiped her hands on her skirts, eyes filled with guilt as she stared at her empty plate.
"What help do you need?" she asked, breaking the silence.
"I..." The lady looked around Ruby's pristine kitchen. "I left Belcourt filled with hope, but it's not... It has not been easy, my lady." Ruby could only stare. What was she to say? The offer to leave Belcourt must have been very tempting for them, most particularly the women in the Village. They had been doing nothing but serve everyone but themselves. And when they did the latter, they were met with disappointments because out here, serving yourself depended on how much money you had. "I have not found any employment," the woman sobbed. "The moment they learn I'm from Belcourt, they turn me away." Her eyes were filled with tears when she finally looked into Ruby's. "They all think I'm out to get their husbands and sons, that I'm... I'm a wench."
"Katie," Ruby gently said, "you know I can't offer you employment. I have my own servants."
Katie sniffed and wiped her nose with the back of her hand. "I know, my lady. The other Belles said the same thing. Their servants... well, they hate us. They say I should have known better before I left Belcourt." She let out a shaky breath. "That we'll always be unwanted."
Ruby quietly stood. She grabbed a basket and began to fill it with food as she asked Katie where she was staying.
"At an abandoned house she found with other ladies from Belcourt."
"Some of us are sick, my lady," Katie said. "Fall is coming soon and I'm afraid we won't make it until winter. We do our best. Those who found work try to feed us," she added, stealing a glance at her empty plate again. The guilt in her eyes almost crushed Ruby's heart. No one should ever feel guilty over satisfying a basic need.
She added more bread into the basket. Then she stilled, closing her eyes to fight the tears before she covered the basket with a clean cloth and turned to face Katie. "I'm sorry, Katie, but this is all I can do."
The woman's eyes went to the basket, and her shoulders fell. But she nodded anyway. "I understand, my lady. It was our choice to leave."
At the corner of her eye, Ruby could see a shadow outside the kitchen doorway. Her maid was spying on her again. She carried the basket to Katie and told the woman she could not stay long or she would be in trouble. The shadow disappeared before she guided Katie back into the hall and to the door. Once outside, Ruby hastily whispered, "I'll try to find help."
The woman nodded, but it was clear that she had little hope. How many Belles had she approached for help? How many had given her promises and forgot about them?
Ruby still had those questions and more the next day when she greeted her flower, Aaron Stanway, Earl of Emsworth, her friend and confidante. Also enemy. With his blond hair and charming smile, he could light up a room. And he did that afternoon of his visit. She gave him a hug and a peck because she genuinely missed him. He had the power to make her forget the realities of Belcourt and take her into a world void of spying and politics and drama.
But his father was loyal to the kingdom. And he was loyal to his father. They were members of the House of Lords, and they were also amongst the larger group who blindly followed Belcourt and the Vandenbergs. Aaron often joked about ruling the kingdom with the other lords because the king could not do so. "He's a puppet, love," he would say.
"Ah, I missed you, my dearest Ruby," Aaron said, dropping in the chaise with a sigh. He loosened his cravat, smiling at her. "I'm here to take you away for a week of torment. I hope you won't mind."
The maid walked in with fresh tea as Ruby asked, "Hmm. Torment. Which one?"
"My father, of course."
Ruby smiled. She had hoped he would invite her. Perfect. "Oh, I would love to be tormented."
"By the by, I saw Summer three days ago. She was with one of her former flowers—and I say former because Ridgemonton is no longer a flower after Summer left Belcourt."
"And how is Summer fairing?"
"Fits right into society like the Belle that she is."
"Was," she corrected. She was not surprised Summer left. The lady knew she could survive the outside world, and she proving that to be true.
"Well, she is still a Belle in the eyes of many," Aaron said with a shrug. "Now that we have my father's ball out of the way, why don't we talk about other things? I've been down lately, what with some of my favorite friends leaving Belcourt, Belles and flowers combined."
And so they talked about books, the play he recently saw without her, the friends he hated, and his plans to find a wife. They were never sexual. Aaron always respected her as a lady and a friend. And most days, Ruby did, too. But unlike before, with him siding with Arielle and working behind the king's back for the French, Ruby had to make her dearest friend her foe.
By the time Aaron left, a Soldier arrived as if she had been waiting for him to leave all this time.
"Your Mistress sent you a new mission," the Soldier said with a smile, eyes flicking toward the table with the empty teacups and crumbs of biscuits. Satisfied to find nothing suspicious, she added, "We heard that a deserter came by to ask for your help."
Deserter. Someone who failed to uphold an obligation, one who abandoned home. Was that what Belcourt called those who wanted freedom?
Ruby felt the chill travel through her spine and down her arms. "Yes."
The Soldier nodded. "Gather all the other deserters you can find. Find out where they're staying and report to us immediately."
Ruby frowned. "Why?"
Annoyance flashed the Soldier's face. "You can't question why. Just do it."
*****
Gabrielle had not seen Rider Fairborne in weeks. She spent that time to think about her situation and what her brother said to her. It was inconceivable to think about working with the Royal Circus. But so was the thought of working for the Vandenbergs who were just like the other monsters who left their children outside Belcourt's gates.
For years, she had always believed she was meant to be in Belcourt. When her parents came for a visit in the Common Court and explained that her purpose was to protect their family by staying inside, she believed them. It seemed pathetic now that she once pitied her brother for growing up with no one to play with while she was surrounded by children her age, with a Mistress who showered them love and care. She grew up thinking that parents were just... they just bear you into the world.
Unlike the other children in Belcourt, she was not an orphan, her parents said. She was... purpose. By staying, by serving the High Priestess, she was saving Belcourt and its children. That's her purpose. To serve. To protect.
But the truth found the opportunity to sneak in, to awaken questions that she ignored for years because they did not fit in her purpose.
Or the answers scared her.
Lead her astray.
Betray Belcourt, the children who were abandoned, the women who were unwanted.
She was absently looking at nothing, thinking of naught but her fate, her purpose, when the door opened and Rider Fairborne walked in. All glory and pride. He did not smile, nor asked how she was doing. He simply stepped aside to let Ellise St. Vincent into the room.
Gabrielle never knew the woman could be a problem when she first knew of her. How wrong she had been. The woman reverberated power. One that did not move mountains, but one that could send an avalanche down one and ruin the villages at its feet.
"Hello, Gabrielle," Ellise St. Vincent greeted with a stoic face. "I'm here to take you away."
Surprised, Gabrielle frowned. Her eyes flew to Rider Fairborne. "Take me where?"
This time, he spoke. "A ball."