Page 37 of Legacy of Thorns (Kingdoms of Legacy #3)

Daphne

T he girl remained still, Archer frozen beside her with her hand still in his. Daphne stared at the two of them, waiting for something to happen.

“Should I try again—” he started before breaking off as the girl’s eyes fluttered open.

She blinked several times, frowning at Daphne before catching sight of Archer.

“Oh!” Her pink lips formed a perfect circle, and her eyes lit up.

Archer quickly dropped her hand and stepped backward.

“Welcome back to wakefulness, Gabrielle,” Daphne said into the breach. “I’m Daphne.”

Gabrielle’s eyes remained fixed on Archer, her face flushing a delicate rose. “What’s his name?”

“Lady Gabrielle!” The loud cry from the fireplace saved Daphne the need to answer.

The sleeping woman from the fireplace ran across the room with surprising vigor and threw herself on the neck of the young girl. “You’re awake! You’re awake!”

She began to sob.

Archer seized the opportunity to back several more steps away, his expression one of mild horror.

Gabrielle wriggled out of the woman’s hold with difficulty. “Have I been asleep long, Nanny?” She glanced around the entryway. “Why, whatever is my bed doing down here? Have I been asleep a terribly long time?”

The old woman’s tears paused, her expression arrested. “I…I don’t know, Pet.” She looked at Daphne.

Heartened by the obvious connection between the woman and the girl, Daphne replied to the clear question in the woman’s gaze.

“It has been a long time, I’m afraid. I don’t know how long exactly, but we believe it’s been decades.”

“Decades!” the woman said sharply. “Then the old lord...?”

Daphne gave a reluctant nod. “From what we understand, he left to seek help for his daughter but didn’t survive the trip. You’ve both been sleeping here ever since.”

“Oh, how awful!” The woman turned on Gabrielle again, wrapping the girl in a fresh embrace. “My poor dear!”

Gabrielle, who was now on her feet, protested loudly at being grabbed in a watery hug for a second time.

“Your poor Papa,” the woman said, her words catching Gabrielle’s attention as Daphne’s had not.

The girl tore her eyes from Archer—who had retreated even further from the bed—and frowned at her nanny. “What about Papa?”

“He’s dead, my lady,” the woman said. “Apparently we’ve been sleeping for decades.”

“Papa is dead?” the girl repeated blankly. “But…” She frowned. “But you are still here, Nanny.”

“You know I would never leave you,” the woman said, her voice firm. “I’ve been sleeping with you, as is right and proper.”

“Have I really been sleeping for years and years? How strange.” She looked around the entryway again. “And there isn’t even any dust. Are you sure?”

“I think that might be part of the enchantment.” Daphne tried not to sound impatient. After being afraid of the girl’s response to her news, it wasn’t fair to feel irritated with the girl for not reacting enough.

“The old lord was a kind man,” the nanny said in a quiet, almost apologetic aside to Daphne, “and he doted on his daughter. But he didn’t know much about children, let alone youth, and he was quite elderly.

Lady Gabrielle fretted at being kept here without others her own age, and he never knew how to talk to her. ”

“Has she no other family?” Daphne asked. “Is there no one we can contact on her behalf?”

The woman’s expression grew fierce. “I’m her family. Her mother passed birthing her, poor lady, and I raised Gabrielle with as much love as if she was my own. There’s no one who can take better care of her than me.”

“What of you, then, ma’am?” Daphne asked. “Do you have family for us to contact?”

“Call me Nanny, dear.” Nanny patted her on the hand.

“Everyone does. But I’m afraid I have no one to send you to either.

I was a serving maid here as a girl, and my husband was an undergardener, which is how we met.

We never had children of our own, which might be why the old lord assigned me to the nursery after Lady Gabrielle was born.

He was always good to us after that, seeing the way his daughter had attached to me.

My husband rose all the way to head gardener before he passed.

My family now is Lady Gabrielle, as I am hers. ”

“There must have been other servants,” Daphne said. “Did they sleep as well? Are they somewhere inside the castle?”

“There were other servants, of course.” Nanny frowned around the entryway. “It’s a big place. But the others didn’t stay overnight. They weren’t caught in the enchantment, so I can only assume they moved on long ago.”

“I’ve never seen such beautiful eyes,” Gabrielle said, oblivious to their conversation. She gave a wistful sigh.

“What’s that, Pet?” Nanny sounded confused.

“You’re going to be embarrassed about this later,” Daphne murmured, although she hadn’t actually noticed any perceptible embarrassment in Archer since his infatuation had worn off.

“Oh, Nanny!” Gabrielle seized her nanny’s arm. “Isn’t he the most beautiful boy you ever saw?”

“Who?” Nanny looked so honestly bewildered that Daphne burst out laughing.

“But he is! He is!” Gabrielle’s voice rose, and Daphne was surprised she didn’t stamp her foot.

“Do you mean that young man over there?” Nanny began searching in one pocket after another until she finally located her glasses and placed them on her nose.

She frowned in Archer’s direction. “He’s quite pleasing looking, I suppose,” she declared after an extended examination.

“Pleasing looking!?”

“Do you not think so?” Nanny asked, even more confused.

“He’s far more than just pleasing!” Gabrielle declared. “I love him!” She hurried across the entryway toward Archer, who was backing away with a fresh look of alarm.

“Love!” Nanny exclaimed in alarm. “Whatever is wrong with her?”

“Archer is the one who woke her up,” Daphne explained.

“Considering he’s young, good-looking, and was the one to rescue her, I suspect she was always going to be inclined toward him.

But the Legacy is enhancing it into a full-blown infatuation.

It might also explain her calm reaction to her father’s death. ”

“Oh dear.” The older woman watched Gabrielle latch onto Archer’s arm and stare up at him with an adoring expression.

Looking at Archer’s face, Daphne couldn’t quite suppress another laugh. After a moment, Nanny chuckled as well.

“Maybe you’re right, and there’s a blessing to be found in this infatuation,” she said.

“I can see this Archer isn’t one to take advantage.

He’s certainly not using the opportunity to ingratiate himself with an heiress at any rate.

If it will help ease the strangeness of it all for her, it might be a good thing. ”

Across the entryway, Archer tried to shake Gabrielle off his arm, but she had latched on too tightly and wouldn’t let go. The girl glared back at Daphne whose eyebrows shot up.

“I’m not sure what I did,” she said mildly, “but your Gabrielle doesn’t seem too inclined toward me.”

“You’re mine,” Gabrielle declared loudly enough for Daphne to hear. “She can’t have you. She’s too old.”

Daphne grinned. “I most certainly am,” she called back. “You’re quite welcome to him.”

Gabrielle beamed, closed her eyes, and rested her head against Archer’s arm.

He made a strangled sound in his throat and threw Daphne a look that was clearly asking for a rescue.

She just laughed again. He shouldn’t have confessed that he’d been playacting toward her for so long if he wanted a quick rescue from her direction.

“No,” she said to Nanny. “You don’t need to worry about him trying to ingratiate himself with her.”

And she didn’t need to worry about Archer coming under the influence of the Legacy himself. Now that he’d finished the task of waking Gabrielle, his horror at her hero worship seemed to have counteracted any Legacy pull toward her.

“But who is he?” Nanny asked. “While we appreciate what you’ve done in waking us, how did you come to find us in the first place? If it’s been so many years…”

“He’s the son of Prince Timothy,” Daphne said, watching for a reaction.

“Oh!” The woman’s eyes lit up. “I remember the young prince! He was such a charming scamp. He was only a few years older than Lady Gabrielle when I accompanied her and the old lord on a visit to court. But that was back when she was just a young mite herself.” She shook her head. “And that’s his son , you say!”

She fell into silence for a moment, pondering the enormity of the lost years.

“So you’ve come from court, then?” she said at last.

“Actually, we haven’t.” Daphne hesitated. “It’s a long story, and we might not have much time. I should tell you both at the same time.”

“Archer, bring Gabrielle over here,” she called, and he hurried to her side, trying unsuccessfully to outstrip Gabrielle.

“You have to rescue me,” he said in a desperate whisper when he reached her. Daphne just grinned at him.

“We’ll be more comfortable in here.” Nanny gestured them through a door off the entryway that gave into a comfortable sitting room.

Like the entryway itself, the room had been well preserved, protected from the ravages of time by the sleeping enchantment. Daphne selected the hardest looking seat in the group of chairs, determined to keep herself awake, and Archer quickly sat on a single armchair.

Gabrielle looked disappointed but settled for pulling her chair as close to his as she could and gazing at him adoringly.

Nanny frowned at her charge before sighing and looking to Daphne. “Now, what’s this urgent matter? Does it have to do with Lady Gabrielle?”

“I’m afraid it does.” Daphne outlined the facts about Barlowe and his quest as quickly as possible.

Nanny gave a shriek at hearing Barlowe’s intentions, but Gabrielle merely wrinkled her pretty nose.

“Of course I wouldn’t marry some old man who only wanted my castle.”

“Very right, my dear,” Nanny said firmly. “And so we’ll tell him when he arrives.”

Daphne and Archer exchanged dismayed looks.

“I’m afraid it might not be as simple as that,” Daphne said.

Archer snorted. “Simple? If they try that, it will be quite simple. He’ll take one look around, see there’s no one but a girl and an old lady in his way and run them both through.”

Nanny screamed again, and Daphne gave Archer an exasperated look. But she didn’t refute his words.

“Barlowe has already shown himself to be a violent man without scruples, so it’s a legitimate concern.

And he already has Archer’s brother as his prisoner.

If you have any gratitude toward Archer for waking you up, I hope you’ll also give some concern toward his brother.

I think we need a more sophisticated plan. ”

“I must get Gabrielle away immediately!” Nanny said.

“Abandon the castle?” Gabrielle frowned, momentarily distracted from Archer. “But it’s my home! I won’t just let him take it!”

Nanny wrung her hands together, clearly torn. Her primary concern was protecting her charge, but protecting Gabrielle also meant protecting her interests. If they fled, they would be two women alone in the kingdom, even displaced from their own time.

“We don’t mean to let Barlowe get away with it,” Archer assured Gabrielle firmly, and the girl immediately relaxed. Apparently she had full confidence in Archer’s ability to deal with the situation.

Daphne turned to Nanny. “I do agree that the best thing you can do for now is to take Lady Gabrielle away. From what you said about Prince Timothy being a few years older than Lady Gabrielle when you went to sleep, I think you must have been sleeping for about thirty years. Surely there would be someone in the nearest town who would still remember the two of you? Once they realize who you are, you can report the situation to the local guards and ask for help. It was difficult for us to do so since we have no claim here, and the Legacy had made most people forget you. But now that you’re awake, it’s a different matter. ”

Nanny immediately brightened. “That’s an excellent idea.”

Archer nodded fervently. “Daphne and I will stay here and protect Fin if Barlowe arrives before you get back.”

“No!” Gabrielle cried so sharply that they all jumped. “We have to protect Archer! We can’t leave him here alone and in danger.”

“Alone?” Daphne muttered, but she didn’t bother protesting more loudly. At least Gabrielle had now learned the name of the boy she so desperately loved.

The girl began a spirited argument with her nanny, which Daphne ignored, her mind busy on an idea.

“You might be right,” she said, and both women turned to her with fierce nods, clearly thinking she was talking to them. “Archer should be the one to take Gabrielle into town. Nanny can stay here and help me.”

“What?” Archer shook his head vigorously. “Of course I’m not going to abandon you here, Daphne! Why would you suggest that?”

“I think it’s an excellent idea,” Gabrielle declared before pausing. “There wouldn’t be any risk of harm to Nanny, would there?”

Daphne hesitated. “I think there would be very little,” she said cautiously.

“Do you have a plan in mind?” Archer asked, his curiosity caught.

Daphne drew a breath. “We need to get Gabrielle to safety, and we need her to fetch the guards. She’s the property’s owner, so she’s the one with the right to call on them.

Since she’s clearly not going to go without you, you need to be the one to take her.

But we can’t just abandon the castle in the meantime.

If Barlowe arrives and it’s empty, he’ll have no need for Finley. ”

“He would kill him on the spot,” Archer agreed, his face and voice serious. “Get rid of the witness.”

“Exactly.” Daphne kept her voice steady and her face impassive. “We need Barlowe to think his plan is working. That means that when he arrives, we need not just brambles but also a sleeping girl.” She drew another deep breath, feeling the weight of what she was about to say.

It had been looming over her for weeks, and now her dreaded fate had arrived. The Legacy had won.

“I need to take Gabrielle’s place.”