The Faithful Heart Read Online Free Page B

arm. “You stink. See that you have a
bath before you report to Mistress Joanna for instructions.”
    He let go of her when they reached a cool,
dark hallway that lead from the castle garden to the kitchen. She
couldn’t think of anything to do or say other than, “Yes, sir,” and
lower her head.
    Livingston sniffed then strode off. Madeline
looked up and found herself at the edge of Derby Castle’s great
kitchen. Three cooks and more than half a dozen servants and pages
rushed every which way preparing a feast. The aromas of cooking
meat and baking bread were enough to make her light-headed. She
couldn’t remember the last time she’d had more than a heel of
begged bread to eat. She leaned against the wall, her knees giving
way.
    “You!” one of the cooks shouted at her. “What
are you standing there for?”
    With a yelp Madeline straightened and bolted
for the door leading into the castle hallways. She made it to the
end of the hall, turned a corner, then gasped and jumped back as a
group of men in plain clothes crossed in front of her.
    She blinked. “Ethan?”
    When she craned her neck to look back into
the hallway the men were gone. Now she was seeing things. Hunger
and exhaustion were taking a toll on her.
    She sighed, clutching a hand over her
pounding heart. Sense slipped its way back into her mind and she
rushed on, turning a corner and climbing the stairs to the main
hallway of Derby Castle. She took a deep breath and forced her back
straight. She had to find Aubrey.
     
    Lady Aubrey Huntingdon descended the last
flight of stairs from the High Tower to the main hallway and
stopped, rubbing her round belly with a heavy sigh. There was never
anything for her to do at the castle. At Windale she was in charge
of running things, but at the castle Livingston and the staff took
care of it all. Though by the look of the scraggly page she passed
at the top of the stairs leading to the kitchen Livingston’s
standards had gone way down.
    She figured the best place to distract
herself from her boredom and itchy stomach was to be in the place
where the most people were. She strode into the Great Hall by way
of the gallery and looked out over the buzz of activity. The room
was being scrubbed from floor to ceiling, including the windows
which had needed to be cleaned for years. She drew in a breath.
There was no need to worry just because London had sent an
emissary. Crispin had done everything Prince John could have wished
of him and more. Derbyshire’s nobles would back him up if it came
to it … wouldn’t they?
    “My lady,” the bright and calming voice of
her maid Joanna kept her from getting lost in her thoughts. Joanna
was dressed in the Huntingdon black and silver and wore it with
pride, walking with a spring in her step. Several of the male
servants did a double-take when Joanna swept into the room. Toby
would be proud of his sister. “These letters came for you.” She
curtsied and held out a small handful of folded parchments.
    “Am I suddenly the most popular woman in
Derbyshire?” She raised a wicked eyebrow at the most popular woman
in the castle as she took the letters.
    “You’re certainly the most well connected.”
Joanna grinned right back. Aubrey knew that she shouldn’t be so
familiar with her maid but she couldn’t help it. In a few short
months Toby’s sister had become her closest friend.
    She sighed as she shuffled through the
letters, pushing away from the gallery and walking down the stairs
with Joanna at her side. “No,” she said as she opened one letter,
read the signature, and handed it over her shoulder to Joanna.
“No.” She repeated the process with another. “Hell no!” She tossed
the third.
    As she flipped the fourth over to look at the
seal a sharp crack and clatter followed by a high-pitched squeal
turned her to the stairs she’d just descended. Several brooms had
been knocked over, upsetting a bucket of dirty water as someone
tripped down the stairs. “Careful,