"Have I?"
Her father nodded gravely. Their eyes met. He was doing what he always did, teasing her, playing games with her. Quite suddenly she couldn"t bear it anymore, the plotting, the stupid game.
She stood, furious.
"All right! It was me who broke into your study."
She faced him, her face hot with anger.
"You know that, you"ve known it since you went in there, so why are we pretending! I wanted to see inside, and you never let me. You never let me in. So I broke in. I"m sorry, all right? I"m sorry!"
He stared at her. Was he shaken? She couldn"t tell. But she was shaking, all the pent-up fear and rage of years bursting out, the fury that he made her life so false, and Jared"s too.
He held up a hand hastily.
"Claudia, please! Of course I knew. I"m not angry. Rather, I admire your ingenuity. It will come in useful in your life at the Palace."
She stared. For a moment he had been startled. More than that. Dismayed. And he had not mentioned the Key. The breeze rippled the rosebush, bringing a waft of its cloying scent, a silent surprise that he had revealed so much.
When he spoke again his voice had its normal acid tone. "I hope you and Jared enjoyed the challenge."
He stood abruptly."The Earl is waiting."
She scowled."I don"t want to see him."
"You have no choice."
He bowed and strode toward the gap in the hedge, and she swung around and glared at his back.
Then she said,"Why are there no pictures of my mother in the house?"
She had no idea she was going to say it. It came out in a harsh demand quite unlike her own voice.
He stopped dead.
Her heart thudded; she was appalled at herself. She didn"t want him to turn, to answer, didn"t want to see his face.
Because if he showed weakness, she would be terrified; his controlled poise was hateful and yet if it broke, she had no idea what might be underneath.
But he spoke without turning.
"Don"t go too far, Claudia. Don"t try my patience."
WHEN HE was gone she found she was sitting on the bench in a huddle, the muscles of her back and shoulders tight with tension, her hands clenched on the silk of her skirt. She made herself take a slow breath. Then another. Her lips were salty with sweat.
Why had she asked him that? Where had it come from? Her mother was someone she never thought of, never even imagined. It was as if she had never existed. Even when she"d been small, looking at the other girls at Court with their fussing mamas, she had had no curiosity about her own.
She gnawed the bitten nails on her fingers. It had been a deadly mistake. She should never, never have said that.
"Claudia!" A loud, demanding voice. She closed her eyes.
"Claudia, it"s no good hiding in all these hedges."
Branches swished and cracked.
"Talk to me! I can"t find the right way!"
She sighed."So you"ve finally arrived. And how is my husband-to-be?"
"Hot and irritable. Not that you care. Look, there are five paths here at a meeting point. Which do I take?"
His voice was close; she could smell the expensive cologne he used. Not splashed on, like Evian, but just enough.
"The one that looks least likely," she said. "Toward the house."
The peevish mutter became more distant. "Like our engagement, many would say. Claudia, get me out of here!"
She scowled. He was worse than she remembered.
Yew thrashed and snapped. She stood quickly, brushing down her dress, hoping her face was not as pale as she felt. On her left the hedge shuddered. A sword came through and hacked an opening, and his big silent bodyguard, Fax, stepped through, looked quickly around, then held open the branches. Through them came a thin youth, his mouth sour with dissatisfaction.
He glared at her crossly.
"Look at my clothes, Claudia. They"re ruined. Quite ruined." He kissed her coldly on one cheek. "Anyone would think you were avoiding me."
"So you"ve been expelled," she said calmly.
"I left." He shrugged. "Too boring. My mother sends you this."
It was a note, on white thick paper, sealed with the Queen"s white rose. Claudia opened it and read.
My Dear, You will have heard the good news that your wedding is imminent. After waiting all these years, am sure yours excitement is as intense as my own! Caspar insisted on coming to escort you here-such a romantic. What a handsome couple you will make. From now on, my dear you must think of me as your loving mother.
Sia Regina.
Claudia folded it.
"Did you insist?"
"No. She sent me." He kicked the astrolabe. "What a bore getting married is going to be, Claudia. Don"t you think?"
She nodded, silent.
12.