Page 55 of A Problem Princess

“I certainly hope not.” Trusting that Madame kept the other pistols loaded and ready to fire, he snatched them from the box before shoving it back under the bed. “Do you know how to fire a gun?”

When she didn’t answer, he looked up at her. She’d gone pale, all of her shaking fiercely, and her arms were wrapped protectively around her middle. She stared at the gun in his hand as if it were a snake about to strike.

He hated frightening her like this, but he couldn’t hide the pistols, not when her life might depend on having them at the ready. Instead, he slowly stood and placed one on the bedside table, another on the fireplace mantel, and a third on the dresser. He kept the last one in his hand.

“They’re only here in case we need them,” he assured her. He laid the pistol flat on his palm to show it to her. “You point it at what you want to hit, cock back the hammer here, and squeeze the trigger there. That’s it.”

She whispered, “Is it really that easy to kill someone?”

He solemnly met her gaze. “Not at all.”

A knock rapped at the door. Startled, Cordelia jumped, and her hand flew to her mouth to stifle a cry of surprise.

He put his finger to his lips to signal for her to remain quiet. Then he approached the door, his pistol raised. “Yes?”

“Madame said t’ bring up dinner fer ye,” a female voice answered from the landing. “An’ water.”

“Just leave it outside the door,” he ordered.

“Aye.”

He waited until he heard her footsteps descend the stairs, then he cautiously opened the door and peered out to make certain the landing was empty. He brought the tray and bucket of hot water inside, then securely sealed them inside again behind all three locks.

He placed the tray on the desk and the bucket by the washbasin on the dresser. He needed to send a message to the men of the Armory, but first he had to take care of the princess.

He slowly approached her. “You should eat.”

She remained by the foot of the bed. “I’m not hungry.”

“I know.” He slipped her arms out of the greatcoat and tossed it over the desk chair. “But you need to keep up your strength.” He took her arm and slowly rolled her glove down and off her fingers. “And you need to rest to give your ankle time to fully recover from your fall.”

Careful not to hurt her, he removed the second glove that covered her bandage. He ran his fingers over the white cloth to make certain she hadn’t reinjured herself.

No, that was a lie. He simply needed to touch her.

“You’re all right, Cordelia,” he said in his softest voice, more to reassure himself than her. “You’ll be safe here, I promise.”

She nodded absently, not because she believed that, he knew, but because he expected it. Even now, her sense of duty permeated her actions. “And we’ll find out soon what happened?” she asked, searching his face. “If Marie and the others were harmed or…”

“We’ll find out soon that they are all just fine.” Another lie. Apparently, he was full of them tonight.

Another knock sounded at the door.

“Who is it?” he called out, not releasing her arm.

“The man downstairs said you need to ’ave a message delivered,” the high-pitched voice of a boy answered. “For a good price.”

He placed his finger to Cordelia’s lips to remind her to remain silent. “Give me a moment.”

With a touch of her cheek to reassure her, he went to the desk and quickly scribbled out a message to the only person outside the Armory he would wager his life would never be involved with Scepter—the Honorable Mr. Justice James Rivers. Merritt’s father.

Inside the note, he placed a second sealed message for the judge to deliver to Merritt and the men of the Armory, followed by a third message to the Home Secretary. That message was comprised of a single word:Safe.

He folded and sealed the note, then wrote the justice’s name on the outside. He carried it to the door and slowly opened it.

A towheaded boy covered in a layer of soot and dirt waited with a scowl on his round face. He couldn’t have been more than eleven or twelve, but already he’d aged far past his years based on the harsh edge Clayton glimpsed in him.

Clayton held out the note. “Can you read this name?”