Thorns of Decision (Dusk Gate Chronicles) Page 12

  “Yes. It is worse.” Thomas said behind them. “Max, I don’t think you understand. Yes, there are some really bad things going on in Philotheum. And, yeah, there are people who are on Tolliver’s side, and they’re trying to sabotage us. But most of them aren’t like that. It was two of Tolliver’s own soldiers who rescued me from Harbin Rhinewald’s estate. If Tolliver ever figured out who they were … I don’t even want to think about what would happen if the border were closed and our soldiers wouldn’t allow them to get here to safety. They risked their lives for me.”

  Maxwell’s expression softened, if only slightly. “I know.”

  “It’s scary, Max, I know. But Philotheans are still our brothers. And there are more good people there than bad. We cannot let the bad ones push us into doing the wrong thing. There are Friends of Philip over there who are risking their lives every single day to see our kingdoms united again.”

  Ever since Thomas had returned from his time in Philotheum, there had been moments where William could see he’d changed, where just a little bit of the carefree spirit of his little brother had been replaced by a man who’d seen more than William had – more than even his older brothers had. This was one of those moments.

  “All right, little brother,” Maxwell said, “I get your point. Now let’s see if we can’t get you up on that leg a little bit so I can get back to at least beating you on the crumple pitch.”

  Later, when Thomas was worn out and Maxwell had left, William sat down in a chair next to the bed. “That was pretty awesome, Thomas.” He’d made it all the way down to the hall in the common room, and even been talked into presiding over a tea party for the littlest girls before he walked on the crutches back to his room. “Your recovery’s been pretty remarkable. Nathaniel is going to be impressed when he gets back.”

  Thomas shrugged. “I’ve had someone pretty awesome taking care of me, Will. You’ve sacrificed a lot.”

  William felt his neck turning red – he didn’t know if anyone in his family was ever going to realize that this was what he wanted to do. Of course there had been times lately it had been harder than it usually was to give up his free time – now that there was something else he wouldn’t have minded doing with it, but even so, this was Thomas. There was nothing more important to him than making sure his brother got the best care.

  He decided it was his turn to change the subject. “That was a pretty interesting speech you gave Max earlier.”

  Thomas shrugged. “It’s how I feel about it. It worries me, actually, that Dorian and James are still there, still near Tolliver where what they did could be found out at any moment.”

  That thought put a heavy feeling in William’s chest. “Are you doing okay with everything, T? You almost never talk about anything that happened to you while you were in Philotheum, and I worry sometimes about how hard that must have been on you.”

  Thomas locked eyes with him and shrugged again. “Some days it bothers me more than others, Will. I really don’t like to think about it more than I have to.”

  William nodded, and they sat in silence for several moments.

  “Speaking of things we haven’t talked about,” Thomas finally said, “what’s going on between you and Quinn? Linnea said she caught the two of you kissing in the garden that first day the Hardridges were here.”

  “I’ve been waiting for you to ask me about that. I was starting to worry that Linnea had actually learned how to keep a secret.”

  “Hey, at least she’s not keeping the good stuff from her poor, bed-ridden brother. You’re kind of heartless, really, Will.”

  “Uh-huh. I’m the only one holding out anything here, right?” William asked, eyeing the tray of extra desserts Mia had brought up for Thomas after lunch.

  “What? Mia just likes taking care of people.”

  William raised an eyebrow.

  “Well, she’s awfully cute and sweet, Will. Who could resist? Besides, she’ll sit in here for hours and actually tell me things about what’s going on around the castle and in her life – unlike some people.”

  “I tell you things.”

  “Yeah, you just leave out the best parts – like kissing Quinn. What’s the status of things between you two? You’re awfully chummy lately. I was a little surprised actually when you stayed here and let her run off to the city with Linnea and Rebecca today.”

  “She’s been cooped up in the castle the whole time she’s been here, and she’s been working so hard helping take care of those kids, I thought it would be nice for her to have a chance to get out and ride Dusk, and get to check out the market.”

  “How come you didn’t go?”

  “I did think about it, actually.”

  “But someone had to stay and take care of me, right?”

  William caught his brother’s gaze. “No, Thomas. You did not keep me from going. Lily would have helped you this afternoon, but it has been awhile since she had a day just to herself to spend with Graeme and the kids. Anyway – I wanted to be here when you got up and around on those crutches. And I want to be here when you show off to the girls this afternoon, too. Besides, it did turn into kind of a girls’ trip. Even Howard didn’t go.”

  Thomas was silent for several minutes before he finally nodded. “So, things are going well between you and Quinn, then?”

  William couldn’t stop the grin that spread across his face. “Yeah, actually they are.”

  Thomas’ eyes widened. ”How well?”

  “I’m really starting to like her, Thomas. She’s always so … there, you know? Ready to just jump in and be a part of things. And I feel like we get each other. We can just sit and talk about everything for hours. I think I could tell her anything and she wouldn’t think less of me.”

  “Well, you look happier than I’ve seen you in a long time – at least when you’re around her.”

  “I am. I never imagined I would actually feel this way about someone, Thomas. Really, I never figured I’d find someone who would put up with how busy I am and how focused I get sometimes on being a healer. Even these last eight days, when we’ve both been so busy with so many things throughout the day – when we finally do get to see each other, she just gets it. She’s always spent the whole day doing her own thing, or else she’s willing to spend time with me helping me do things.”

  “Are you actually courting her, Will?”

  He felt heat at the base of his neck again. “Yeah, I kind of am. I told her my intentions, anyway, and she’s still spending time with me.”

  Thomas chuckled. “Yeah, that might not be entirely official, but it sounds like courting. Have you told Mother and Father?”

  William shook his head. “I think they both know something is up between us, but we’re just not ready to make it public yet. She has so many things she has to figure out; what with her life in Bristlecone, her mom, Nathaniel … We don’t know enough about where we can really go with this to involve everyone just yet.”

  “She does have an awful lot going on, doesn’t she? … How do you think she’s doing with the whole Nathaniel thing?”

  “I think it still freaks her out – the same way it freaks all of us out. We haven’t talked about it a whole lot. She usually changes the subject pretty quickly when I bring it up, so I think it does bother her, and she’s still trying to get her own head around it before she deals with my thoughts, you know?”

  “Do you think she doesn’t talk to you about it because of the way it changes things between the two of you?”

  “I’m sure that’s part of it, but I think it’s a lot more, too. I mean, what she just found out changes pretty much everything about who she ever thought she was. And she’s always been so close to her mom…”

  “Yeah … can you imagine finding out that Mother and Father had been keeping something like that from you?”

  William looked up at his brother, an unexpected flash of irritation filling his chest. “They have been keeping this from us, Thomas. They knew this whole time. They sent m
e to school in Bristlecone with her for all these years and I never had any idea. Why would they do that?”

  “What did they say when you asked them?”

  “That they were trying to protect the secret, keep her safe. And that it would have been ‘too hard’ for me to know.”

  “But you don’t believe them.”

  William paused for a moment, trying to organize his thoughts before he answered his brother. He’d thought about this before, of course. Actually, since finding out, there had been many times that he’d thought about little else. “It’s not … I don’t think they’re lying. It’s more that their explanation doesn’t cover everything about it. I mean, I get that they made some kind of promise or whatever to Quinn’s mom about not telling her, I just don’t understand why they would keep it secret from everyone, especially after she found the gate the first time.”

  “Would you have been able to not tell her? Or at least, not tell me? And if you’d told me, I would have told her, for sure.”

  “But it’s that, right there. The fact that none of us would have been able to make it past the first two days that she was here without just telling her. I don’t understand how they could keep it from her. Father flat out told her how happy they were that she’d come, and how much they’d missed her. And you’ve seen Mother, how she’s doted on Quinn hand and foot ever since she found out.”

  “Yeah, that part I don’t understand, either.”

  “Did you know that they and Nathaniel paid for her horseback riding lessons when she was little, and they’ve sent presents for every birthday and Christmas Quinn has ever had, even though she never knew?”

  Thomas nodded, deep in thought. “You’re right, Will. Not telling her once she was here is odd. Doesn’t it make you think that there’s something else to it?”

  “I don’t wonder if there’s something else to it. It’s obvious that there is. I think Quinn is going to have to talk to her mom sooner or later, and I really wish Nathaniel were here. I know there are secrets he’s still keeping.”

  “Yeah …” Thomas stared down at his blanket for a long time, before he looked back up.

  “What, Thomas?”

  “There is one possibility I’ve been thinking about. It’s a little crazy, and it’s probably wrong, but it would fit.”

  “A little crazy? As opposed to how sane the rest of this is?”

  Thomas chuckled. “Yeah … something like that.”

  “So, your theory is?”

  “It’s not even a theory, as much as several questions.”

  “Okay, then, what are you questions?”

  “All right. We know that Nathaniel is not our uncle. He came to live here, with Grandfather and Grandmother when he was a young teenager.”

  “Right.”

  “And now, we find out that it couldn’t have possibly just been him. It would have had to be him and his brother – Quinn’s dad.”

  William’s eyes widened. “I hadn’t even really thought about that. But, obviously, that’s true.”

  “So, who are they, Will? They weren’t related, or at least not closely related to Father, but Nathaniel’s a Rose.”

  “So, they have to at least be pretty close to the direct royal line somewhere, but it would be pretty hard to be that close to the direct line, and not related to us.”

  Thomas nodded. “Exactly. And I’ve thought about it, Will. One time I even got bored enough to pull out a copy of the family tree. There isn’t anywhere on our side that they would fit.”

  “Which leaves…” William suddenly had trouble breathing.

  “Exactly. It leaves them somewhere on the Philothean royal line.”

  * * *

  The family’s common room in their private wing was easily Quinn’s favorite room in the castle. Filled with comfortable couches, arm chairs, massive bookshelves, and a little kitchen area with a small wood-burning stove, it was where the king and queen and their children spent a lot of time as a family, playing games, talking, and relaxing.

  When Quinn woke up from a disturbing dream sometime in the middle of the night, she found herself drifting automatically there; it was a place she would feel comforted and safe, even when the rest of the castle was dark.

  A cup of tea would make her feel better, help her relax, and maybe fall back asleep in a while, she thought. Tea was an important ritual in Eirentheos. Practically everyone she’d met here who was over the age of about thirteen drank tea all the time. Every morning began with huge pots of a rich, spicy tea at the breakfast table, and in the evening, there would always be a full kettle on the common room stove, ready for mugs to be filled again and again, mostly with a soft, sweet tea that carried a flavor Quinn could only describe as minty, though she couldn’t think of anything in her own world that it was exactly like.

  As soon as she opened the door, she flipped the light switch. The bright glow from the sconces along the walls blinded her for a moment, and she stood there blinking. Once her eyes had adjusted, she made her way over to the kitchen area.

  Once she had finally managed to open the complicated latch on the baby gate someone had built between the wall and the tall counter – Emma had apparently been quite adventurous and inventive as a toddler, requiring several different tries at a lock that would actually keep her out – Quinn encountered an obstacle that she hadn’t considered.

  She’d never gotten a fire going in the stove by herself before.

  Usually, there was someone, a servant, around who took care of the small details like this for her – for everyone. When she stayed in the castle, it was easy to forget that she was in a different world that didn’t offer all – or even most – of the conveniences and technologies she was used to. Like a stove that you could just turn on. Actually, if she wanted to heat water at home, she’d probably have just used the microwave.

  While there was electricity in the castle, William had explained to her that it was still a limited resource in their world, mostly used for lights and a few other essentials – things in the medical clinic, for instance. And even though they could probably get enough in the castle to power a stove, there wasn’t exactly an appliance store in town where they could buy one. The small refrigerator in the clinic was something that William and Nathaniel had somehow managed to carry through the gate.

  Fortunately, she was an experienced camper and had built many fires. In the end, she didn’t have much trouble getting a fire going in the little stove; it just turned out to be a lot more effort than she had expected to go through to make herself a mug of tea in the middle of the night. She probably wouldn’t have bothered, except she didn’t have anything else to do anyway.

  Finally, though, the teapot was whistling, and she had a chance to use the purchase she’d made at the market in the city today. A little tea ball, embossed with delicate floral patterns around the sides, paid for with the strange little Eirenthean coins Charlotte had filled her purse with this morning, despite Quinn’s objections.

  “I’ve never gotten to spoil you as much as I’d have liked to,” Charlotte had said. Arguing was useless, as Quinn had already learned from prior experiences – and anyway, seemed a bit cruel when it made Charlotte so happy to give things to her. It was still strange to her to know that she’d had presents in her piles from Stephen and Charlotte at every Christmas and birthday since she was born, and she’d never known it.

  Sort of in her piles, anyway. Nathaniel had told her that they mostly provided money, adding as much as they were allowed to help Megan afford more expensive things, like the horseback riding lessons she had taken for years, and vacations that her family had gone on together.

  Charlotte had a wistful look in her eyes when she talked about that, and Quinn knew it hurt the queen’s feelings whenever she turned down gifts from her. So instead, she’d opted for grateful, and had even had fun, carelessly bouncing from stall to stall, sampling treats and trying on jewelry with Linnea and Rebecca.

  They’d spent a long time at a parti
cularly elaborate tea stand, which was where Quinn had bought the little silver ball, as well as a few neat little mesh bags filled with interesting-looking teas. She’d picked up her own supplies of the teas she was growing so accustomed to drinking here at the castle; after spending so much time here, she knew it was something she’d miss once she went back home.

  She was just settling into one of the big, cushy armchairs when there was a strange noise in the hallway. Startled, she craned her neck toward the sound, trying to figure out what it was. It didn’t quite sound like someone walking up the hallway – there was another, clunking quality to it. At the exact moment she started to get freaked out, the common room door swung open, and she could see Thomas standing there, on his crutches.

  “Oh my gosh,” she said. “You scared me.”

  “I do sound a little frightening on these,” he said, smiling as he hopped the rest of the way into the room. “I got about halfway down the hall before I started to worry that I might wake someone up. Of course, by then I was halfway down the hall.”

  Quinn smiled, and stood to assist him, first closing the door behind him, and then taking the crutches so he could lower himself carefully onto a couch. “What are you doing up?” she asked.

  “I couldn’t sleep. I’ve spent entirely too much time in that bed. Now that I know I don’t have to be there, I doubt I’ll sleep more than a few hours at a time. I was too anxious to get some more practice on these things to just lay there in bed.” He nodded toward the crutches.

  “William said you can’t push yourself so hard, Thomas. You need to take it easy and keep healing.”

  He rolled his eyes. “Walking down the hallway in my home is hardly pushing myself, Quinn.”

  The tone in his voice told her it would probably be wise to let this one go. “It is good to see you up and around again,” she said. “I’m sure it has been hard being stuck in one spot most of the time.”

  “There are worse places to be stuck than in a nice bedroom in a castle, but yes, I’m anxious to get back to my life. Did you make tea?” he asked, looking at her steaming mug, and then glancing back toward the stove.