Bedtime Story Read Online Free

to him, close enough to touch.
    “I trust you are well,” the captain said.
    Mareigh looked pointedly at the men ringing the kitchen. “I’ve had better mornings.”
    Matthias flinched at his mother’s tone. He expected the captain to lash out at her, with either words or, more likely, his hands.
    Instead, he looked at the guards. “Gentlemen,” he said.
    At the single word, the men broke rank and filed out through the swinging door.
    “They’ll wait in the tavern,” he said. “Out of sight. I am aware that the sudden appearance of the King’s Men can be bad for business.”
    Mareigh nodded. “I appreciate that.”
    “We’re here about your son,” he said, turning to look at Matthias.
    Matthias pushed back from the table, starting to rise to his feet. “I’m sorry,” he said quickly. “I didn’t mean to, but I couldn’t …” He glanced at Arian, then back at his mother. “My mother, she told me to wait here while she answered the door, but I was scared so I ran.”
    The captain listened to him, his face set in a dark scowl that broke, surprisingly, into a smile. “What are you talking about, boy?”
    The question stopped him. “About what happened this morning.”
    The captain took a satchel from one of the men. He tossed the bag as if it weighed nothing, but it landed on the table in front of Matthias with a heavy smack.
    “About Zekariah and Jarrett.”
    “That is none of my concern. There are clothes in there. Boots. You’ll need to clean up.”
    Matthias glanced at his mother; she seemed as puzzled as he.
    “Clean up,” the captain repeated. “The Queen has summoned you.”

    The sound of the door slamming brought me back to myself. Davy’s footsteps were already fading into the house, up the stairs toward his room. Jacqui was standing in the doorway, her keys in her hand, herpurse under her arm.
    “You’re not coming to his game?”
    It wasn’t really a question, and I didn’t answer. I just closed the book slowly.
    She shook her head. “You should have bought him
The Lord of the Rings.”
    She walked away before I could say anything.

    Mareigh swept aside the heavy curtain and stepped into Matthias’s sleeping room without warning. He hurriedly finished pulling the new shirt over his head.
    “I’m worried for you,” she whispered, so as not to be overheard by the guard at the foot of the narrow staircase.
    Matthias was scared too, more than he would let his mother see. His insides had turned to water when the captain delivered his summons, and the feeling was only getting worse.
    “You know the captain?” he asked.
    “Captain Bream,” she said. “He served with your father.”
    “But …”
    She squeezed his arm so tightly it hurt. “Stop,” she said firmly. “We don’t have much time.”
    He pulled his arm away from her and took a step back. His legs pressed against his low bed.
    She moved closer to him. “You have to be careful,” she whispered. “The Queen …” She shook her head as if she had decided something. “She gets what she wants.”
    Of course she gets what she wants, she’s the Queen
. He didn’t dare say so; his mother’s face was white and taut.
    “I’ll be all right,” he whispered, though he feared the words were a lie.
    He hugged his mother close, holding her tight until Captain Bream called for him from the tavern below.
    “Be careful,” she said, as he started down the stairs.
    The captain looked at him appraisingly as he descended. “That will have to do, I suppose.”
    Matthias had hoped to see Arian one last time, but the captain led him directly into the street, where the King’s Men formed a tight circle around him. There was nowhere for him to turn, no way for him to run, and he fell into step with them as they led him away, up the sharp rise of the island, toward the castle.

    “Are your teeth brushed?” I asked, up to my elbows in soapy water.
    “Nolan fed?”
    “Yup.” He was already in his pyjamas, and his face was