Ashes of Roses (Tales of the Latter Kingdoms Book 4) Read Online Free Page A

property, and proceeded to nail the proclamation to one of the wooden posts there. I reflected that perhaps it was a good thing my stepmother was away and couldn’t see such defacement of her property, but then I realized she most likely would not consider such a thing to be an act of vandalism, but rather welcome attention from the Crown.
    Even from where I stood I could see the flush on the rider’s brow. It had to be thirsty work, going from street to street and making his proclamation. I lifted my buckets and went toward him, barely staggering under my burden, as I had grown accustomed enough to it by that time.
    “Some water, good sir?” I asked, and indicated the buckets I held. “I have no dipper, I fear, but — ”
    A most unofficial grin spread across his lips, and he took the bucket from my left hand, drinking deeply. Indeed, he drank so much I feared I would have to go refill the bucket, but at length he set it down by my feet.
    “Many thanks, miss,” he said, his smile even wider now, if that were possible. “I can only hope that the young woman His Majesty chooses is half as thoughtful as you.”
    Not knowing what else to do, I bobbed a curtsey. “You are too kind, my lord.”
    His gaze sharpened slightly. I knew my accent was not that of a servant girl, and I had been trained in manners and courtesies while my father was still alive. I held my breath, hoping he would make no further comment, and hoping I hadn’t attracted attention that might get me in trouble.
    But the moment passed, and he shrugged. It was clear to me that he had many more stops to make, and the puzzle of a servant who sounded like a nobleman’s daughter was something he would have to leave aside for another day.
    A nod, and “thank you again, miss,” and he turned away from me, going back to his horse and swinging up into the saddle with a smooth, practiced movement. Then he was gone, and I was left to stare at the paper nailed to the fencepost.
    So the Emperor was seeking a bride. On the face of it, I met the requirements — I was nineteen, and of gentle birth, my father having been a baronet. But I knew there was no chance of participating in the planned festivities. Even if I had somehow managed to scrounge one halfway presentable gown, my stepmother would never allow me to leave the house and abandon my duties for a single day, let alone five in a row.
    Indeed, she made sure that I did not venture beyond the little cul-de-sac where the house was located. Any errands were entrusted to Mari, the other maidservant, or Janks, the young man who performed everything from footman duties to minor repairs, as needed. My stepmother did not keep a carriage, hiring a coach as required, and had many of the household’s necessities delivered.
    Perhaps in a perfect world Mari might have been a companion to me, someone I could commiserate with over my stepmother’s harsh treatment of us all. But Mari had adopted the general tone of the household toward me, thinking herself my superior because she had the lighter duties of managing the wardrobes of my stepsisters and stepmother, and doing their hair, and dusting the bric-a-brac with which my stepmother had cluttered the interior of what once had been quite an elegant house.
    If I had not once caught Mari and Janks indulging in behavior that most likely would have gotten her dismissed — and which gave me an education in relations between men and women that I would not soon forget — she very likely would have treated me even worse than she did. Although I had sworn not to say anything, knowing how hard it would be for her to get a new situation with no reference, still I thought she did not completely believe me, and that I held the information in reserve against a day when I might have need of it.
    So I sighed, and gathered up my buckets, and returned to the house. Mari had gone with my stepsisters and stepmother, leaving Janks and me to manage the place on our own. I actually rather