Cinderella Must Die, page 23
“I know now that it isn’t comfortable to have someone trying to push a kiss on you when you don’t want it,” he said. “And I don’t see why you’re so sharp about it, anyway! You’re the one who kissed me last!”
“I seem to remember that you kissed me back,” pointed out Jane. “And since unwanted kisses were the original subject—”
“Don’t worry, I won’t do it again!” Harvey said, but Jane was well aware that his eyes were on her lips, and if she wasn’t mistaken, his arms were tighter around her than they had been a moment ago. Before, they had been planted against the wall; now, they were actually around her. “I won’t keep bringing up old wounds, either,” he added angrily. “I’m sorry!”
“Once you’ve decided whether you hate me or like me, those assurances might hold more weight,” she said. “In the meantime, do you think we could avoid fraught embraces in the dark?”
“It wasn’t—it wasn’t meant to be a fraught embrace!” snapped Harvey, releasing her hurriedly. “I was just trying to stop you to say I was sorry and I slipped on the perishing scads of dust in here!”
Jane couldn’t help the laugh that slipped out of her, and that was enough to start Harvey coughing, then laughing, as he gave up the attempt to stifle it.
“I suppose we should keep on going, then,” she said, hiccoughing a trifle. “Oh, goodness! Aunt Philly and Charlie will be well settled by now!”
“So we’re going to listen to them, are we? I wondered about that.”
“I wouldn’t like to burden Charlie with having to remember to report everything.”
“You mean she’s got a mind like a sieve, and—”
“Charlie has many good qualities—shut up, Harvey—but her short-term memory isn’t one of them. There’s a good place further up near the lower parlour where we’ve been keeping up with Aunt Philly’s guests.”
“I always wondered how you two knew so much about what Ellen and I were up to, back then,” Harvey said moodily. “I should have expected this.”
“Good heavens,” said Jane, unoffended but amused. “As if we had nothing better to do than follow you around the house all day for the benefit of your conversation! And if you think that Ellen didn’t know exactly where all the secret passages and hidey-holes are, you’re very much mistaken. Anything we could have overheard from the two of you would have been exactly what she wanted us to overhear.”
“I suppose you’re going to say you just guessed everything that you knew, back then,” Harvey said. There was a momentary silence from his direction before he said, grudgingly, “I’d believe you if you said it.”
“We didn’t need to guess,” Jane said lightly. “She told us everything about you: I rather think she thought it would bother us. She thought I would be angry that she’d stolen you away from me. She didn’t understand that I was concerned about you, not possessive of you.”
Silence again, for a few moments, until they reached the common space where Jane and Charlie had set up their living quarters, then Harvey said a very quiet, “Oh.”
Jane let him ponder his thoughts in silence, merely adding, “Are you coming?” when it appeared that he would have stayed lost in thought for the next hour or so.
“No, I don’t think so,” said Harvey, and sat down on the cushions abruptly. “You go along. I have something I need to think about.”
Not unhappy with that decision, and rather pleased than disappointed to be by herself once again, Jane left him in the common space and made her way through the thinner areas of the wall space to the cross-section that led to the wall between parlours, trailing the few cobwebs that had been formed since last night.
Once comfortably behind the correct panel, she slid back the wooden partition, and at once Charlie’s voice could be heard; both women faintly visible through the netting, traced out by warm sunlight.
“—so I don’t know why you’d say that Brownrock can’t be sold. If it can’t be sold, you shouldn’t have been accepting offers.”
“Receiving offers and accepting offers are two very different things, Charlise. It’s true that I would never sell Brownrock, but there are no laws against receiving offers to buy it.”
“There are no laws against selling Brownrock, either,” pointed out Charlie. “Not unless you call the sheer stubbornness of New Papa’s birth family.”
“Kindly remember that you are speaking of my brother.”
“He was my father! He would have known exactly what I mean when I talk about him. He was as stubborn as they come, and he would never have sold the manor.”
“I was not planning on selling the manor,” Aunt Philomena said coldly. “I was, however, very interested in knowing who wanted to buy it so very badly—and why. I would also have liked to know why the princess thought it good to make me the Heir instead of herself. I can only think that she wanted it known that she wasn’t in possession of it for some reason.”
Jane saw the thoughts fluttering across Charlie’s face—distrust, curiosity, and confusion—and caught the faintest suspicion of fond annoyance in Aunt Philly’s eyes brought out by the combination.
“Why would you be interested in who wants the manor?” demanded Charlie. “And wouldn’t their name be on the offer of sale?”
“Let us say that it was the combination of names on the offers—and the distinct difference to one of those names—that left me curious,” said Aunt Philomena. “Do try to think, Charlise! Why would your sister turn over the manor to me? Once she’d done so, why should I start getting offers?”
“It’s more surprising that she turned it over to you than that you started getting offers,” Charlie said frankly. “What do you mean, the combination of names? Why was it strange? I think it’s strange enough that anyone wants the manor—I always wondered why the family was so very protective of the place. It’s not like it gives anyone who lives here extraordinary magical powers; magic doesn’t even work properly here, nine times out of ten.”
“I received five offers in total,” Aunt Philomena said repressively—no doubt at Charlie’s casual disrespect of the manor. “Of those five, four were from the most powerful families at court—including the de Wilde family.”
“Yes, I have questions that include the de Wilde family,” Charlie said. “Who was the last offer from?”
“I fancied you might,” said Aunt Philomena, with something of a glitter to her eye. “The final offer was from a nobody—in fact, their family tree wasn’t even in the public records. A very nervous little man came to deliver it, and I would be very much surprised if he had not been paid money to do so.”
Charlie shifted impatiently. “People usually pay other people money to deliver things for them, don’t they? The poor man was probably just making a living!”
“He was the head of the family who made the offer. He knew nothing of Brownrock and the surrounds, and he was frankly appalled to see the size of the place—overawed, I might have thought. I should have expected him to be aware of the dimensions and style of the property he sought to buy, at the very least.”
“You think someone else sent him here to buy the manor and gave him a lot of money to do so.”
Jane sank against the wall beam closest. Who would go to so much trouble to acquire the manor when they might just do as the other families had done and offer on Brownrock? More, why make an offer at all? It wasn’t uncommon for families nearby to attempt to grow their holdings by buying up the land and manor of less well-off families, but Brownrock was far from anyone except Harvey, and the disadvantages to owning it far outweighed the possible advantages.
“I do,” said Aunt Philomena, her voice as dark as Charlie’s. For a moment, they looked so alike that Jane couldn’t help smiling, despite her perturbation. “I would like very much to know what all these families know, that I do not.”
“Do you know what I’d like to know? I’d like to know why you haven’t called the soldiers back already,” said Charlie. “You could have done it any time on the way to the parlour, and don’t think I wasn’t watching you. You weren’t too keen to tell Candace de Wilde anything, either.”
“Candace is not a part of this family, nor do I think it proper to share details of the family with outsiders,” Aunt Philomena said stiffly. “And if you and your sister are to be staying here for any length of time, I suggest you exercise rather more caution in your excursions from now on. If the servants find you, I really will have no choice but to make your presence known to the prince.”
Charlie stared at her blankly. “You’re not going to rat us out?”
“Charlise, if you are going to use such dreadful expressions, I absolutely refuse to talk to you!”
“All right, all right!” Charlie said hastily. “I only meant that it’s very odd to me that you’re not trying to turn us over to the prince straight away. I wouldn’t have thought that you approved of having nieces on the run, even step ones.”
“I had assumed,” said Aunt Philomena, “that you were attempting to prove your innocence. Of course I approve.”
“Oh,” said Charlie. “Well. In that case, we’ll just be a bit more careful. Do let us know if anyone else makes an offer on Brownrock, won’t you? There’s something very odd there.”
“I’m aware. I’ve been aware since Ellen made me Inheritor instead of herself.”
Charlie observed her aunt for some time, and Jane was quite sure that the same thoughts were passing through her own mind. She was certain of it when Charlie said, “You’re a bit more suspicious of Ellen than I expected you to be.”
This time, Aunt Philomena seemed to pick her words more carefully. “Ellen seemed to be under the mistaken impression that because I found her more ladylike and publicly acceptable, I would wink at the kind of underhanded deals she was trying to make—and at the egregious outrage of public justice she committed.”
“Good grief!” said Charlie, staring. “What in heaven’s name did she do?”
“Handsome is as handsome does,” Aunt Philomena added, with great firmness. “And I’m sorry to say that Ellen is not at all handsome on the inside. I shudder to think what she’s up to in the castle, and I resent having ladies-in-waiting being sent to ransack the manor!”
“She hardly ransacked the place,” Charlie protested. “Candace is pretty awful, but she doesn’t go for ransacking—and about that coffee pot! Do you really not have it?”
“It is time for you to go, Charlise!” said Aunt Philomena, quite firmly. “I hear the soldiers coming back.”
“All right, there’s no need to push me!” came Charlie’s indignant voice, as Aunt Philomena herded her toward the door of the parlour.
“You might want to tell that sister of yours that the prince wishes to speak with her,” said Aunt Philomena’s voice, carrying through the walls with such breathtaking clarity that Jane was sure the words were meant to go directly to her. “Tomorrow, in the village—where you used to meet, was what he said. Quite shocking. He seemed to be of the opinion that telling me was the best way to succeed in meeting you, which is somewhat insulting, but one has a duty to the crown, after all.”
“Well, at least someone is willing to talk to Jane,” Charlie said from the doorway, with some bitterness.
“Don’t be snide with me, thank you very much,” said Aunt Philomena. She ushered Charlie out and shut the door on the now-empty room, but Jane heard her voice for just a moment longer. “And kindly confine yourselves to the walls where you won’t be seen by the servants or the soldiers from now on.”
Jane got back to their little lair just in time to meet the freshly-arrived Charlie, who asked breathlessly, “Did you hear all that, Jane?”
“Most of it,” said Jane, nodding. “I did hope that Aunt Philly might know why there’s such an interest in buying Brownrock, however. What a disappointment!”
Charlie grinned at her mischievously. “Yes, but at least you can take comfort in the fact that Alaric wants to meet you!”
“Someone wants to buy Brownrock?” Harvey said, sharp and shocked.
Jane, who had forgotten he was there thinking—or sulking—glanced around at him. “Yes, several people. I saw the offers myself.”
“No, they can’t do that! It has to be passed down in trust!”
“I don’t see why it can’t be sold,” Charlie said, matter-of-factly. “Estates do get sold, every day! I don’t see that it should be different just because it’s ours. I might not like it, but it isn’t like it’s the throne!”
“No, you don’t understand,” he said, staring at Jane and then Charlie. “You really don’t know, do you? Why didn’t they tell you?”
“If we don’t know what you’re talking about, why in heaven’s name would we know why we weren’t told?” Jane asked, with a flicker of temper. “Do you think you could stop being mysterious and speak plainly?”
“All right, but I think Aunt Philly should have told you,” Harvey said. “It’s her job to tell the family who don’t know.”
“That’ll be why we weren’t told,” Charlie interrupted. “I don’t think Aunt Philly feels like we are part of the family. We aren’t blood, at any rate.”
“Blood doesn’t matter to Brownrock: just magic.” Harvey hesitated, then added, “You must have noticed how the manor plays with magic—it’s not because of a problem with how the magic was set up when the manor was built, it’s in the land itself. It’s why the manor was built here.”
“Yes, even Alaric has trouble doing magic here.”
“Exactly,” Harvey said. “He’s meant to have trouble—they all are. The royals, I mean. Places like Brownrock are a natural defence against people who get too strong via magic. It’s probably why Ellen had to—had to—”
“Enlist a fairy godmother?” suggested Charlie. “Good heavens, I didn’t know that! Should a fairy godmother’s magic work here?”
Harvey hesitated. “It’s not so much people as the crown,” he said at last. “It’s specifically protection against royal bloodlines that are too magically powerful.”
“You think someone’s trying to take over the manor so that they can make a challenge to the throne?” Jane said, shocked.
Harvey shrugged. “It’s about the only way that someone could make a challenge to the throne; it’s the entire reason Brownrock exists—well, Brownrock and the other couple of estates with the same sort of magic in them. They’ve been around since our country became a country: by the people, for the people, that sort of thing. The royal family likes to say that they’re the last bastion against magical advances from the countries around us, but from what Father said, they exist so that the people have a line of defence against the royal family if they misuse their power.”
“It would have been more useful if it stopped things like fairy godmothers from working,” opined Charlie.
“It probably did,” Jane said. “Or at least, ameliorated it to the same extent it does with my magic, and everyone else’s. No wonder Alaric hasn’t brought in the Investigators! It wouldn’t do much good.”
Charlie sniffed. “I thought that was because he was trying to protect us. Wait, you said blood doesn’t matter—is that why Cinders Ellen was so annoyed that we got even shares? She wasn’t the all-important line that had to inherit?”
Harvey seemed to hunch his shoulders a little. “I don’t know why she was annoyed, but I know that the one who inherits Brownrock would be the most attractive option for the crown prince to marry.”
“I beg your pardon?” asked Jane.
Charlie, with far less tact, said angrily, “If you’re trying to suggest that Alaric swapped from Jane to Ellen because he wanted his children to inherit the manor, you should shut your mouth. All of us inherited the manor, so he could have picked any one of us. Everyone knew that!”
“I didn’t say—his children can’t inherit the manor, anyway! The crown isn’t allowed to inherit it. Anyone who inherits it has to first give up any claim to the throne. The fact that the prince usually marries someone from one of the manors like Brownrock is to keep friends close and enemies closer, so to speak!”
That, in Jane’s opinion, didn’t make things any better. She asked, “Did Alaric know about this? More than the fact that his children can’t inherit, I mean? We all knew that much.”
“He must have known,” Harvey muttered. “They all knew, at the castle. They always know. That’s why you hear about odd marriages taking place from time to time in the royal family: it isn’t just to keep the blood from getting too weak and weird, you know. The royal family likes to have alliances with the families that own the protectorate estates—it’s a lot easier to stop people taking over the country if they’re your people.”
“I don’t care what else was happening,” Charlie said stubbornly. “Alaric really loved you, Jane! Anyone could see that! And if he had the three of us to choose from, as well as girls from the other manors—”
“None of the others are as strong or useful as Brownrock,” said Harvey at once. “And only two of the other families have a daughter: one of those is just married in the last six months, and the other is only five. Alaric only had the three of you to choose between, and it’s not like Charlie is really a choice, so—”
Charlie glared at him. “You’re just annoyed because Alaric is helping us again, aren’t you? I think you want to be the only one helping Jane now because you didn’t help in the past.”
Harvey went very red. “You asked me about it!” he said, fairly choking on the words. “Don’t you dare try and tell me what I’m thinking! I’m just saying that if you’re wondering what’s going on and this is important, you probably shouldn’t lean too much on Alaric! He’s the prince, and he isn’t going to let love stand in the way of doing what he thinks is right for the crown.”
“I wouldn’t want him to do so,” Jane said, quietly. “He’s the future king: of course he should do what’s right for the country.”
“I said he’d do what he thought was right for the crown, not the country,” Harvey muttered. “And I didn’t say it would be what was right, I said it would be what he thought was right. It’s not like we usually agreed on that, anyway.”
