CHAPTER

ONE

Jane

My footsteps echo by way of the opulent hallway as I enter the grand fort. I clean my apron and tuck an errant auburn curl behind my ear earlier than setting to work. The rooms sparkle, however there may be all the time extra sprucing and dusting to be performed in a house this dimension.

I run my feather duster over the ornate image frames and vases, cautious to not miss a speck. The motions are methodical, soothing. I take pleasure in my work, figuring out the tiniest particulars matter. This place is dependent upon me, and I will not disappoint.

My ideas drift to the lavish life inside these partitions. Silk sheets, marble flooring, banquets of meals—greater than an orphan woman like me may dream. I am fortunate they took me in. I’ve a function right here.

As I meticulously prepare flowers within the crystal vase, I think about myself on the head of the desk. I might put on a chic robe, dripping in jewels. Servants would wait on my each want. A fantasy, I do know. However a lady can dream…

The work is difficult, however trustworthy. And this fort is the closest factor I’ve to residence. I will do no matter it takes to stay right here, to show my value. There should be extra to life than dusting and scrubbing flooring. However for now, I’ve a job to do. I put goals of glamour apart and dutifully are likely to the duty at hand.

I make my method down the lengthy hallway, my footsteps echoing on the marble flooring. As I enter the grand eating room, I see Mary and Elizabeth, two of the opposite maids, already laborious at work sprucing the expansive mahogany desk.

“Good morning!” I say cheerfully as I seize a rag to assist them. Mary smiles again warmly.

“Morning Jane. Did you sleep alright?”

“Oh sure, fairly properly,” I reply. Although my cot is lumpy, I am grateful for a spot to put my head.

The three of us work diligently, joking flippantly as we scrub and wipe away each smudge and fingerprint. I am struck by how lucky we’re, not simply to have work, however to know one another. My fellow maids are the closest I’ve to household.

As we transfer from the desk to the china cupboard, I catch a glimpse of my faint reflection within the glass. My easy grey gown, my hair pulled again neatly. I mix in, simply one other servant woman within the shadows. Some might overlook me, however I do not thoughts. I discover consolation within the simplicity of my duties, the order and routine. Let the lords and girls have their events and finery. I’ve a function right here, and that is sufficient for me.

I end sprucing the cupboard and make my method upstairs to the visitor bedrooms. As I clean out the superbly made beds and plump the silk pillows, my thoughts drifts to recollections of my childhood. I by no means knew my mother and father. The orphanage was the one residence I might ever identified earlier than coming right here. The times had been lengthy, the nights chilly and lonely. I used to be all the time hungry, all the time wanting. The headmistress was stern—we had been taught to work laborious and by no means complain. “Nobody owes you something,” she’d say.

Once I turned sixteen, she turned me out with little greater than the garments on my again. I wandered the streets, misplaced and afraid, questioning how I might survive. By some miracle, I discovered this job on the fort. A heat mattress, easy however filling meals. It was all I dreamed of. The work is difficult, however I remind myself that arduous work means I get to remain.

As I gently fluff the pillows on the four-poster mattress, I really feel a swell of gratitude. This fort is probably not a household, nevertheless it’s the closest factor I’ve. I’ve a function right here.

I belong.

CHAPTER

TWO

Henry

The crown weighs heavy on my head. I gaze out over the ocean of faces within the nice corridor—my topics, seeking to me for steerage. Their future king.

My advisor drones on about taxes and tariffs, however I barely hear him over the pounding in my temples. How am I to know what’s finest? I am not but thirty, but someway meant to have all of the solutions.

I loosen my collar, stifling. This throne chafes. My father made it look so easy. However he is gone now, the dominion left to me alone.

“Your Majesty?”

I blink, tuning again in to the current. My advisor frowns, awaiting a response.

“Sure, after all,” I say. “Enhance the southern tariffs. We should defend our farmers.”

He nods and continues on. I attempt to focus, gripping the arms of the throne. My knuckles flip white.

Get it collectively, Henry. These folks depend upon you now. Lead them. Shield them.

I straighten my again, sq. my shoulders. My piercing blue eyes survey the room as I mission the power they count on from their king.

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