Leaning on the railing next to Janus, Vasily let his head sink down between his arms and stared at the dirt, squeezing his eyes shut against the sudden stinging there. “He hates me.”
Janus sighed. “Did he say that?”
“No,” Vasily said. “He didn’t need to. He walked away.”
A calloused hand landed on the nape of Vasily’s neck, warm and reassuring. “Don’t be so quick to assume. That was quite some news you gave him. Knowing Mother, he’s gone off to think about it, that’s all. Don’t give up hope.”
“Do you think so?” Vasily turned his head to find Janus watching him, mouth curved up in a sympathetic smile.
“I think Mother is a man who, for the first time in his life, has found someone he’s head over heels for. And now he’s found out that person isn’t who he thought they were. Do you blame him for needing some time to get used to the idea? What if you suddenly found out he was the ninth Earl of Evergreen?”
Vasily blinked and propped himself up as he considered how he’d react to finding out Mother was someone other than he claimed. “That…makes sense,” he said slowly, and a spark of hope ignited in his chest. “So, you don’t think he hates me?”
Janus raised his eyebrows. “Vasily, that man adores you. Knowing him, it’s more likely he thinks he’s not good enough for you.”
The very idea that Mother might think that had Vasily scowling. “Bryn is far better than I deserve.”
Janus’s eyebrows inched higher. “He told you hisothername?” He shook his head and chuckled. “If you ever needed any more proof that he’s gone on you, that’s it right there. Exactly four people know that name outside of his parents.”
The spark of hope flickered into a tiny flame, and the pressure in Vasily’s chest eased the slightest bit. “So…what should I do?” he asked.
“You wait. When he’s ready to talk, he’ll find you. Then you listen to what he has to say, and with any luck you’ll work out what happens next. It might not be easy, though. Youarestill a prince.”
Vasily didn’t want to admit it, not when there was a chance that Mother didn’t hate him after all, but he knew that Janus was right. Still, he had more hope now than he’d had an hour ago. “You’re a wise man, Captain.”
Janus grinned. “I just know Mother Jones.” He looked past Vasily’s shoulder then and shouted, “Aubrey! Watch your footing! He’ll have you over in a—” There was a dull thud followed by a startled squawk and laughter from the rest of the recruits. Janus ran a hand down his face in a timeless gesture of defeat and muttered, “I’m getting too old for this.”
“Thank you,” Vasily said. He still didn’t feel anything close to good about what had happened, but he didn’t feel quite as devastated as he had before either.
Janus gave a nod, then hauled himself upright and walked across the yard, and the last thing Vasily heard as he walked away was Janus telling his recruits to pair up and try again.
It was later than he’d realised, and he ended up going to the stables. At the end of the day, he had a job to do, and it wasn’t like Blackbird or Shadow cared about whether he and Mother were on the outs or not. They just wanted to be fed.
Mother was nowhere to be seen. He wasn’t at dinner either, and the windows in his cottage were still dark when Vasily checked. He was miserable with no company, so Vasily climbed into bed—alone—for the first time in almost a month.
It was a long time before he fell asleep.
* * *
The next morning Mother didn’t come and join him for breakfast.
All Vasily’s doubts and fears that Mother hated him came rushing back, along with a new, added worry that perhaps Mother had gone and gotten drunk on cider, fallen into the ocean, and drowned. He pushed the thought aside, aware that he was being dramatic. For one thing, unlike Vasily, Mother knew how to swim.
Still, Mother’s absence ached like the empty socket of a tooth, a space that refused to remain unnoticed—which was ridiculous. It had been less than a day. But nonetheless, Vasily found himself hurrying down to the stables, convinced that Mother would be there barking orders at his grooms and whispering soft words to his horses, just like always.
Except he wasn’t.
Instead, it was the prince consort who he found feeding Blackbird half a carrot. Felix was wearing a ratty shirt, a stained pair of trousers, and old boots, and Vasily wondered at his attire. He didn’t look like he was here to ride.
“Sire?”
Felix swung around to face him. “Vasily! I hope you don’t mind, but Leo has those quarterly meetings, and I’d sooner poke myself in the eye with a sharp stick than sit through those, so I thought I’d hide out here and run the stables. You can have the day off.”
Vasily blinked. “Pardon?”
Felix arched an eyebrow at him. “I’ll take care of the horses, Vasily.”
“But…” Vasily twisted the end of his ponytail around his fingertips.
