The Princess and the Rogue Read Online Free Page B

lost track of the time,” she said. “Am I late for supper? Well, then, just bring it to me in my quarters.” To her amazement, no one said a thing. Her staff knew better than to question or contradict the mercurial princess so they merely obeyed. Morgaine had said they would.
    “Command, always command. They will obey you. They have to,” said Morgaine. The countess and her courtiers had counseled Scarlett on how to act like a princess. From how to act with servants, to what silverware to use, to courtly manners, they had stuffed Scarlett’s head with information until she thought she’d burst. But Scarlett was a quick study. After all, she could read and write, having been well taught by the good sisters.
    So as the imposter settled into her new life as Princess Juliet, how could she know that the real princess was having a very different experience?
     
    * * *
     
    Bathen Castle
     
    Where was she? The days had been a blur. It had been hard to tell the difference between night and day. Most of the time she’d been trussed up in the back of a wagon. They kept her asleep by forcing her to drink some type of potion that made her drowsy. She had no idea how many days it had been since her abduction. Because that is what had happened. Juliet realized now the rocking of the wagon had stopped and she’d been unceremoniously dumped into this place. But what was this place? Who had done this and why? She was the princess of the realm. This was not supposed to happen.
    Now as the faint light of dawn streamed in through a window, she rose on one elbow and looked around, trying to assess her situation. She was in a large room. All around her were platforms in alcoves supporting sleeping figures. They looked like young women. She looked down at herself and ran her fingers across the plain cotton shift that she wore. Someone had stripped her out of the page’s clothing and dressed her in this. She blushed as she thought of the implication. Who had done that?
    She fell back on the rough sleeping platform, woozy still, only to be awakened by a loud noise.
    “Wake up! Wake up! Everyone up. Time to go to work.”
    Juliet saw a beefy woman in the dress of a servant banging a pot with a spoon. She had flung open the door to the room and was now yelling at everyone. The sleepy girls started to arise. Now was her time to announce her identity. Then they would rue the day they’d been born.
    “Stop,” she commanded. “You there,” she said, addressing the woman with the pot and spoon. “I would see your master immediately.”
    The woman stopped, put her hands on her hips, and cocked her head in amazement.
    “And who might you be?” she said, her expression one of disbelief that she would be challenged by one of her charges.
    Juliet drew herself up and proclaimed, “I am Princess Juliet of Greystone. My father is King Robert and I demand to be taken out of this place. I demand to see your master, and I demand to be treated in a manner worthy of my station. There has been a hideous crime perpetrated on my person, and those responsible for keeping me in this condition will be severely dealt with. Do you understand?”
    For a moment there was dead silence. The other girls, all of whom were young, watched wild-eyed. Some put their hands to their mouths, barely daring to breathe. Juliet looked about, wondering what they were all afraid of.
    “You’re the new one, aren’t you? Brought in last night, were you?” She was nodding, a thin smile on her face. The smile changed to a frown, and she shook the spoon at Juliet. “You listen to me, missy. If you’re a princess, I’m the queen of the five kingdoms. You’ll keep your tongue in your head if you know what’s good for you. You want to see my master? There is no master. There’s my mistress, and if you keep this up, you’ll meet her soon enough. You won’t like it, either.”
    That just made Juliet angry. She stomped her foot. “Who do you think you are to question me,