Страница 29 из 56
“Princess Poppy,” he replied. “It was in a book that she gave me, while I was in Bruch. So I guessed that … that you and your sisters, you were entrapped by the King Under Stone all those years ago, and that’s why your dancing shoes wore out every night. Now that you’re here as her guests, I thought you should know about the co
The princesses seemed slightly stu
“Are you accusing the grand duchess of being in league with the King Under Stone?” Petunia didn’t look shocked, but her face had gone hard, and Oliver’s heart sank a little.
“Yes?” He wished that it didn’t sound like a question. “I mean, I don’t know. But I do know … or, er, I believe that she did have one of the King Under Stone’s sons. Did you know he had twelve? All with noblewomen?”
“Yes,” Petunia said, and now her voice was wintry. “I knew.”
“Oh,” Oliver said. He suddenly felt extremely foolish. “So, I just, was worried that you might not be safe,” he said lamely.
Oliver could feel his ears burning. Why had he come? They probably knew much more than he did. Princess Poppy had probably just given him the books because he was bored and she had them at hand, and not in some roundabout plea for help.
“You saw shadows in the garden?” Petunia asked.
“Yes,” Oliver said. “The first night that you were here. They looked like men, or the shadows of men, and they ran through the garden toward your window,” he told her, hoping that at least this bit of information would be useful.
Petunia looked toward the window, thoughtful. “You say they came out of one of the hothouses? And you found something there? What?”
Before he could answer, though, Pansy spoke up. “If you won’t let me get Rose and Galen,” she complained, “at least let me lock the door, Pet.”
Petunia let go of her sister, who hurried to lock the door.
“Keep one ear to the door, please,” Petunia told her. “Olga never lets me out of her sight for very long. And she has her own key.” She sighed heavily.
“I found wax, clear wax all over the floor leading to the door of the hothouse,” Oliver said, before he put his boot in his mouth by saying that Olga sounded more like a jailer than a maid. “It looks like someone has written something in the wax, but I can’t make it out.”
Petunia rose up on her toes, seemingly excited. “So you’ve seen Kestilan and his brothers, and you think you know how they get into the gardens here?”
“Kestilan?” There was that name again. Oliver fought down an irrational surge of jealousy for this mysterious being who took up so much of Petunia’s attention.
“That’s the name of the youngest prince,” Petunia clarified.
“Yes, then, I suppose I did see him,” Oliver told her. “I didn’t really know what he—they—were.”
“They are the sons of the King Under Stone,” Petunia said. “But they aren’t supposed to be here, in this world. They’re supposed to be shut up in the prison that was created to hold their father.”
“Someone’s coming,” Pansy whispered.
Oliver slung the cloak over his shoulders and fastened the clasp.
“Get back under the bed,” Petunia murmured. “And listen.”
“All right.” Oliver crawled back under the bed and lay still, trying to keep his breathing as quiet as possible.
“We all took a tour of the gardens this afternoon at Galen’s insistence,” Petunia said, speaking in a quick, low voice. “Grigori led us around, though, and I guess he just thought that Galen was interested because he used to be a gardener. But Grigori said the hothouses were boring, and we didn’t go anywhere near them. So we’ll have to try tomorrow—”
The doorknob rattled.
“My princesses, it is time for di
Oliver bit back a laugh as Petunia said something under her breath that was not fit language for either a princess or indeed a young lady of any rank. He settled in for another nap, and wished he’d asked her to bring him something from di
Prayer
At di
“Pet is always a bit out of sorts in the winter,” Pansy suddenly said, in a lighthearted tone that made everyone turn their attention to her. “It’s because she’s so devoted to Mother’s gardens, you know. Anytime she can’t be out digging in the dirt she becomes restless.” Then she blushed. “Not that she likes being dirty, or rooting around in the mud,” she clarified.
“Really, Petunia? I knew that you were fond of gardens, but I didn’t know that you liked gardening itself!” Prince Grigori smiled at her, and Petunia gritted her teeth over the indulgent look on his face. He probably thought she liked picking flowers for table arrangements or some other ladylike pursuit.
“Yes,” she said, slicing a sprout in half with u
To her satisfaction, this did appear to impress the prince.
“You are creating new roses?”
She liked that he did not seem surprised that she was the one creating the roses, but more that such a thing was possible. She nodded her head graciously at him.
“Yes, we are. It’s quite exciting, really.”
Orchid made a face. “It’s really not, unless you’re also obsessed with roses,” she said.
Petunia glared at her.
“It’s quite complicated,” Rose put in. “And I do think my father is a little disappointed that the only one of us with a gift for gardening is Petunia. I think he hoped for three or four who would enjoy talking about grafting and cross-pollination.”
“I have never heard either of those terms,” Prince Grigori admitted.
“Then you should certainly have Petunia take you to the hot houses tomorrow afternoon and explain them,” Pansy said with an excessive amount of enthusiasm. “And Galen and Heinrich should go with you; they’ve both worked in the gardens as well.”
Petunia finally saw what Pansy was doing and tried to kick her under the table but it was too wide. Pansy’s voice was so bright it sounded strained. Petunia dropped her knife with a clatter.
“Clumsy!” she exclaimed, and snatched it up again. “I would be delighted to have a tour of the hot houses tomorrow, Grigori. But don’t worry, I shan’t think less of you if you aren’t interested.” She gave a tinkling laugh that was just as false as Pansy’s bright tones, then quickly changed the topic. “Violet, would you like to play for us after di
“It is of Romansch make,” the grand duchess said, as Violet and her husband, Frederick, exchanged eager looks. “My granddaughter Nastasya plays, but since she went back to Russaka, there has been no one to play for me.”