Princess of Glass - Jessica Day George [39]
He had hardly ridden out of the palace gates before he was hailed by Roger and Dickon Thwaite, who both looked rather grim. Christian reined in to meet them, curiosity over their dire expressions winning out over disappointment at the distraction.
“What’s happened? You look like you’ve had some bad news,” Christian said.
“I say, Christian,” Dickon said, shaking his head in puzzlement. “Did Lady Ella seem cursed to you? I thought she was charming, but Roger’s gotten it into his head that she’s under some sort of enchantment.”
“An enchantment?” Alarm spread through Christian. “We must help her! Quickly, the palace has weapons we can use!”
“Capital! We’ll need swords and pistols!” Dickon looked eagerly at his older brother, who was staring at both of them with consternation. “Coming, Roger?”
“You’re both acting like idiots,” Roger said, almost musingly. “This is perhaps part of it…”
“Part of what?” Christian steadied his horse with one hand. Why were they all sitting on horses in the middle of the street? Had they been on their way to the park? He turned his horse in that direction and the brothers flanked him, their horses moving at an easy walk. He felt his belt for a pistol, then couldn’t remember why he would be armed.
“I believe that Lady Ella is under an enchantment,” Roger explained. “And I think it’s spreading. The two of you are not behaving as you normally would, even around a beautiful young woman.” He shot a sly glance at Christian, then at Dickon. “Especially considering that both your attentions should be elsewhere.”
Dickon looked quite astonished. “Where do you mean?”
“Precisely,” Roger said, much to Christian’s confusion. But the older Thwaite brother did not appear to be teasing them or reveling in their bewilderment. Rather, he seemed to sink deeper into thought, a frown settling on his face and creasing his forehead. “Precisely.”
“Look here, fellows,” Dickon said eagerly. “Do you think if we ride around the park long enough, Lady Ella will put in an appearance? There’s quite a few ladies out today.”
Christian, too, was craning his neck for a glimpse of dark hair. He remembered Poppy then, and Marianne, and felt a jolt. He hadn’t been riding to the park! He had been on his way to Seadown House. Feeling muzzy-headed and faintly embarrassed, he was about to suggest that they invite Marianne and Poppy to join them when Roger did it for him.
“I must speak with Princess Poppy,” Roger announced. “Let’s go out this way, toward the Seadowns’. Come to think of it, I should probably inform Lord Richard of my suspicions as well. And talk to El—talk to an old friend, if she is there.”
Christian, relieved to have remembered his destination, didn’t ask who in the Seadowns’ household Roger considered an old friend. Dickon, for his part, was so busy looking for Lady Ella that he was almost sitting backward in the saddle.
“She must be around here somewhere,” the younger Thwaite kept muttering.
Finally Roger grabbed the reins of his brother’s horse. “Just come along, Dickon, we’ll get you sorted out later.”
Investigator
Roger, thank heavens!” Poppy leaped to her feet, scattering her knitting across the floor, when the butler showed Christian, Roger, and Dickon into the parlor. “I just sent you a message!”
She barely stopped herself in time: she had been close to throwing her arms around the older Thwaite brother in relief. She looked at Christian, almost blushing, but he was glancing around the parlor as though he had never seen it before. Dickon Thwaite, too, looked around with an expression of mild interest, taking no notice of Marianne on the sofa. Poppy raised her eyebrows, and Roger nodded gravely.
“Dickon, Christian,” Poppy said loudly. “Why don’t you chat with Marianne while Roger and I discuss something?” She kept her voice bright yet firm. It was the same type of voice she used when trying to get Pansy and