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Willa didn’t so much as blink an eye. She just grinned. “There is now. Or at least, there will be.”
Chapter Nineteen
MARIAN
“Sleep well, my bride?” Prince John asked through the bars of my cell.
I flashed a sunny smile. “Indeed, I did. So many happy dreams.” I let a heartbeat go by before following up with the punch line. “I dreamed a thousand different versions of your death.” I stretched my arms high in an exaggerated yawn. “The kind of dream you enjoy so much, you never want them to end. But when you remind yourself how dreams can spill over into real life… All in all, a lovely way to start the day.”
His dark eyes flashed. “Watch what you say to your future king.”
I fluttered my eyelashes. “You mean, our dear Richard when he returns?”
I swear, the prince would have gone for my throat the moment a guard opened the cell door. Happily, Lady Winthrop launched herself between us first.
“Ah, it’s you again. Good morning.” She smiled at the prince as if it were any normal day, then motioned to the guard. “Two teas, please. One with a spot of milk, one without.”
Which only riled Prince John further.
“There will be no tea! It’s execution time.” He leaned in, exhaling garlicky breath in my face. “And no tricks. I’ll be watching you closely, and so will my guards. Any sign of trouble, and we’ll kill the children.”
The ultimate bargaining chip, and he knew it. Bess and her children had been locked up somewhere nearby, and I’d heard them sob all night. All but her eldest, Tom, whose efforts to cheer his mother broke my heart.
“It will be all right, Mummy. A brave knight will save us.”
I gulped, thinking of Tuck. Had Snow found him? Had he reached the Merry Men? Was all lost, or was Tom right?
My fingers itched, tempted to knife Prince John on the spot. I had several blades stashed in my dress, so the knife part was easy. But that would only eliminate one danger, leaving Lady Thornton free to kill Robynne and the hostages.
Lady Winthrop and I had gone through all the options the previous night, and she was right. Our best hope was to launch a coordinated attack outdoors, where innocents like Bess had a better chance of fleeing.
Coordinated meant me, Lady Winthrop, Tuck, the sheriff, and the Merry Men. The catch was, we hadn’t seen or heard from any of them. So, survival required a hell of a lot of improvising.
“Just like the Battle of Montgisard.” Lady Winthrop patted my hand as we were shoved down a corridor.
To my dismay, we were quickly separated. Lady Winthrop was ushered down the corridor, while I was pushed toward a huge balcony.
“Smile, darling,” the prince snarled. “And don’t forget, these three will be watching your every move.”
He indicated the huge guards lurking in the shadows, knives at the ready.
With that, he shoved me out onto the balcony and greeted the public.
“Wave, my queen,” he grunted through his fake smile.
I kept my hands at my sides and my expression as bleak as it had been all morning. No way was I going to show any support for this snake.
The crowd seemed to have adopted a similar strategy. Instead of meeting the prince with a roar of approval, they offered dark looks and beleaguered grunts.
“Hmm. Your adoring public isn’t so adoring. I wonder why that might be?” I muttered.
Prince John tried on a new smile, but the result was more bared teeth than happy to be here.
“They don’t know what’s best for them.”
I snorted. “Oh, I think they do. And they know poison when they see it.”
Hundreds of people packed the town square, gazing up at the balcony where the prince and I stood. It sickened me to think of being paraded out like that in the future.
