A Throne for Sisters

“What can I do for you… my lady?”

“It’s delicate,” Sophia said.

“Discretion is my watchword.”

“I find myself short of funds in the wake of the latest ball, and obviously I can never wear that dress again… would you be interested in such things?”

It turned out that he was, although at nowhere near what they were truly worth. Even so, the small pile of Royals and shillings he handed over seemed like a fortune. For the first time, her theft of the clothes seemed like what it was, because now Sophia could see exactly how much she’d taken from Angelica and the others.

Still, she would need the money if she was going to play the part of the noble Sophia of Meinhalt, and she couldn’t afford to keep the dress where it might one day be recognized. It was better to be safe, to get rid of it.

She had just concluded the transaction when she glanced out of the shop’s window and saw a familiar figure on the edges of the crowd. Sophia saw her sister watching as though ready to run at the first hint of trouble.

Taking a guard with her to see Kate probably wouldn’t be a good idea.

“Is there another way out of here?” Sophia asked.

“My lady is very cautious about being seen,” the pawnbroker said. “You needn’t worry. There’s a reason why I’m so close to the noble quarter.”

He let her out of a back door nonetheless, and Sophia slipped around past the spot where the guard was standing. She was able to buy two eel pies and some beer while she walked back across the square to her sister. She found herself wondering how things had gone for Kate in the last couple of days, and hoping that they had gone well. She certainly hoped that things were less complicated for her sister than they were for her.

The moment Sophia saw her sister walking toward her in the square, the moment she saw Kate’s face, she knew that things were anything but simple for her.

There were bruises there, and it seemed as though she had a split lip, only just beginning to scab over. One of her hands was bandaged, as if from a burn, and she was moving without her usual energy and strength. Sophia ran to her, wrapping her arms around Kate.

“What happened to you?” Sophia asked. “Are you all right?”

“It’s nothing,” Kate said, and Sophia could see the look of determination there that meant that Kate was trying to be brave.

You can’t hide things from me, Sophia sent, and this close, it wasn’t like some blind sending across the city. What happened?

“All kinds of things,” Kate said. She took one of the eel pies when Sophia offered it. “It’s part of why I could come. Thomas let me off from the forge after everything.”

“Is he the one who did this?” Sophia asked. She didn’t know what she could do to someone who had hurt her sister like this, but she would find something.

“What?” Kate asked. “No! This… it’s embarrassing. I tried to join one of the free companies.”

“You tried to join a regiment?” Sophia said. “And they beat you for it? That’s where all these injuries are from?”

“Not all of them,” Kate admitted. “I got the burn when I was clumsy in the forge. Oh, and some barge hands threw me off a barge when I tried to leave the city.”

That was the last thing Sophia wanted to hear. She wanted her sister to be happy.

“Oh, Kate, why couldn’t you stay safe? Be the kind of girl who likes to sit in the library and read?”

“I am, remember?” Kate countered. “I took us there.”

Sophia had forgotten that the library had been the first place they’d gone looking for safety. It seemed like a lifetime ago, even though it had just been a matter of days.

“You’d love the library in the palace,” Sophia said. “They have more books than anyone could hope to read.”

“You should love it there then,” Kate said. “I can’t believe that you made it inside.”

“It wasn’t easy,” Sophia assured her. “I had to sneak into the middle of a ball.”

Sophia started to tell her the story of it, and she watched her sister’s eyes widen in response.

“You seduced a prince?” Kate said, in obvious disbelief.

“I think… we kind of seduced each other,” Sophia said. She didn’t want to think about what she had with Sebastian as the kind of simple manipulation some nobles perpetrated with those who had more money. “He’s wonderful, Kate.”

“And you’re obviously doing well,” Kate said, with a gesture toward Sophia’s rich clothes.

“Yes, I…” Sophia hesitated, then shook her head. “It’s dangerous here too. Already, there are people asking questions, wondering who I am. They might not be beating me, but there are girls there who… I upset them when Sebastian picked me. They won’t forget.”

Kate reached out to put a hand on her arm. “It sounds as though we should both be careful. Are you sure you’re doing the right thing?”

“Are you?” Sophia countered. She couldn’t let Kate see the truth: that she wasn’t sure. That there was a part of her that wanted to walk away from all of it before it went too badly wrong. She had some money. She and Kate could get on a boat on the river and head out of the city. Except… she wasn’t sure that she could leave Sebastian that easily.

“I need to do this,” Kate said. “These bruises are nothing. I’m going to learn to fight. I’m going to get to where I don’t have to rely on anybody.”

To Sophia, she sounded like she was trying to convince herself, but Sophia didn’t say anything. She knew what it was like to want to believe that things would turn out all right, even though there were so many things that could go wrong.

“And,” Kate said, “there’s a boy. His name is Will.”

Her sister sounded hopeful now. Sophia knew that tone, because she heard it in her own voice when she spoke about Sebastian.

“Tell me about Will,” Sophia said with a smile.

“He’s wonderful,” Kate said. “It was his regiment I was going to, and – ”

“And you were trying to impress him?” Sophia asked.

Kate looked a little embarrassed. “A little.”

Sophia put an arm around her sister. “Kate, you shouldn’t be doing things that could get you hurt.”

“Neither should you,” Kate countered. “It sounds really dangerous in the palace.” She paused for a moment. “We could still run away. Come with me now. We could just go, leave the city and find somewhere else.”

Sophia wished that she could. She wanted nothing more than to look after her sister and make sure that she never came to harm again.

“I can’t,” she said instead, even though it hurt to do it. “I have to do this. I have to go back.”

Kate hugged her. “Are you sure?”

Sophia wasn’t sure, but she couldn’t let her sister see that.

“You can rely on me,” she said instead. “If I hear you calling, I’ll come.”