Princess of the Midnight Ball - Jessica Day George [38]
Yours sincerely,
Galen Werner
“What does it say?” Poppy was on her feet now, dancing around in anticipation. “What does it say? Does he love you madly?”
“Poppy,” Daisy frowned. “I told you—”
But Poppy was already across the room, holding the shawl up to the light to admire it, putting it down again to reach for the letter. “What does it say?”
Rose snatched the letter out of her sister’s reach. “It says that the weather is cold, and he thought I might like a shawl. The end.” She refolded the letter and tucked it into her belt.
The words of the letter had been very formal, almost stilted. But she fancied that there was a little hidden warmth there. He had noticed the color of her hair and remembered her red gown. He had taken the time to make her this shawl, and there had been the meetings in the hothouses, the bouquets for them all, and the rose he picked just for her. …
“Why are you laughing?” Jonquil came into the sitting room, looking upset.
“Galen, the good-looking under-gardener, is in love with Rose,” Poppy said.
“What?” Jonquil frowned around at them, not even seeming to really hear what Poppy had said.
Lily came into the room, looking just as upset as Jonquil. “Have you heard?”
“Heard what?” Rose got to her feet. She took the shawl back from Poppy and, without really thinking about it, swung it around her shoulders. Lily and Jonquil both looked very grave.
“Father has just had a letter from the archbishop,” Lily said. Her face was as white as chalk. “He’s accusing us of witchcraft. The archbishop is threatening to excommunicate Father and the twelve of us, if it proves to be true.” She stretched out her hands to Rose. “The bishop who brought the letter has already taken Anne to his rooms for questioning. I suppose he thinks she’s teaching us spells along with geography. Bishop Schelker tried to stop him, but he doesn’t have the authority.”
The younger set stopped giggling. Poppy stopped trying to snatch the letter out of Rose’s belt, and Daisy went pale and swayed where she stood. Rose felt as though all the blood had been drained from her face and hands, and for the second time that day she felt the floor falling out from under her.
“But why?” Rose could barely form the words. “Why?”
King Gregor came into the room just then, one arm around a sobbing Hyacinth. In his free hand he held a long roll of parchment with seals and ribbons hanging from the bottom of it. His skin was gray and waxy. “Why?” he said in a hoarse voice. “Because, according to the kings of Analousia, La Belge, Breton, Spania, and nearly every other nation in Ionia, I not only condone the practice of witchcraft, but used it to kill the princes who refused to marry my daughters.”
Hyacinth fainted dead away.
Interdict
Galen was sitting in Zelda’s pastry shop, talking to Jutta and her husband, when the news reached the city at large. His cousin, Ulrike, her normally rosy-cheeked face ghastly pale, ran into the shop and skidded to a halt at their table. She clutched Galen’s shoulder and panted for a moment while they all stared at her.
“Have you … have you … have you heard?” She gasped out the words, her free hand pressed to her side.
“Heard what?” Galen rose to his feet, concerned, and helped the girl into a chair.
Jutta fetched another cup and poured some tea for Ulrike from the pot on their table. “Has there been an accident?”
Galen felt a surge of alarm. “Uncle Reiner? Tante Liesel? What’s happened?”
Shaking her head, Ulrike took up the teacup in shaking hands. “A bishop from Roma came with a letter from the archbishop,” she said.
“About what?” Galen felt a stirring of dread in his gut.
“They say the royal governess is a witch. She’s already been arrested! The archbishop has accused the princesses as well. The letter says they’ve been using magic to kill all those foreign princes. If they don’t confess, they’ll be excommunicated. And if they do, it will probably be worse!”
They all sat in shocked silence at this. The ladies seated at the next table had been eavesdropping, and one