He was distracted momentarily, and Dinah swung hard for his head. Wardley ducked and easily lopped off the top of her broom handle with his sword.
“You always go for the head. Always with these ill-planned swings,” he lectured. “It leaves you open. Wait for the RIGHT opportunity, and then go for the strike. Don’t go for it the minute you have any opening. You’re too impulsive. Xavier has been working with me on identifying my weaknesses, and that, my friend, is yours. It will be the last thing you do in a battle.”
Dinah smiled and brushed a string of black hair out of her eyes. “I’ll never be in battle. Croquet is the closest I’ll come to that, I imagine.”
“A queen should know how to defend herself,” Wardley answered, picking up the broom pieces from the stable floor. “Even if all you do is listen to complaints and grow fat eating warm tarts on your throne. The King of Hearts is a seasoned warrior. He might not be a great father, but I know him as a commander. He is every bit the unyielding man Wonderlanders say he is. You shouldn’t be so hard on him. You should hope to be LIKE him in that matter.”
“I’m hard on him?” Dinah flung her broken stick away. “I’m hard on HIM? He looks at me only with disgust and contempt. He treats Harris awfully, and gods know what WOMEN he has up in the mistresses’ chamber every night. . . .”
Wardley pushed his sword into the dirt and grabbed Dinah’s arm. It gave a passionate tremor under his calloused skin. “Dinah, BE QUIET.” He gave her a gentle shake. “You could be put in the Black Towers for saying such things. I know you haven’t had the best time without your mother, but this obvious hatred for your father could get you, or even worse, ME, killed.”
The thought stopped the argument rising in Dinah’s throat. She would never do anything to hurt Wardley. Never. Wardley had been her constant companion and playmate, ever since she could toddle around the castle on chubby legs. When they were younger, Harris and Emily left her frequently with Wardley’s mother, a lady of the court, and the two children would scamper off chasing birds and pudgy hedgehogs that roamed the palace grounds. Wardley taught her how to wield a sword, how to ride Speckle, how to pee outside, and how to eat a tart without her hands. To a child, Wonderland Palace was truly full of marvel, and exploring its secrets together had brought Dinah more joy than any other part of her childhood. Wardley was hers and hers alone, something her father could never take from her. Not that it mattered much. The King of Hearts doted on Wardley and encouraged his fine abilities. He tolerated their friendship and almost encouraged it by his lack of anger toward Dinah when Wardley was around. One day, Wardley would be the Knave of Hearts, the commander of the Heart Cards. And maybe, if everything went as planned, he would marry her and be her King. He would love her.
Dinah turned that last wish in her heart as she scowled at him. She did not like being lectured about her father. “I’m leaving,” she snapped. “I don’t need to be told what to do by a boy with sugar powder all over his face.”
Wardley grinned. “Dinah, c’mon. . . .”
“NO.”
She pulled her cloak over her pale-gray dress lined with red hearts and tucked her long black braid back into the hood. “That’s the last tart you will ever get from me. Who are you to lecture the Princess of Wonderland? No one, a lowly stable boy.”
Wardley pushed his hair back from his forehead and gave her a knowing smile. “Alright, but I’ll still be hungry tomorrow.”
“Goodbye.”
“Dinah, wait!”
Her heart throbbed in her chest as she turned back to him. He leaned against the side of Corning, his face close to hers, whispering, “You can’t say anything like that about your father again, unless we are outside of the palace, or in our box in the Heart Chapel, do you understand? I’m serious.”
Dinah saw a rare glimpse of fear in his chocolate-brown eyes. She gave a sigh. “I won’t, I won’t say anything to get you in trouble, I promise.”
“Good.” Wardley gave her shoulder a friendly squeeze. “I enjoy having my head.” He pulled Corning over by his red reins and mounted up. “Will you come see me again tomorrow, after training?”
“Perhaps. If I have time. I probably won’t. Tomorrow is the Royal Croquet Game.”
“Ah yes, your favorite day of the year.”
Dinah grimaced. She hated the Royal Croquet Game. “Perhaps I can find a way to hit Vittiore with my mallet.”
“Go easy on her. I think your father scares her. She seems terrified all the time.”
“He should scare her. She’s a bastard child, unworthy of a minute of his time. I hope she dies of wheezing fever.”
Wardley looked off into the distance, focused on something Dinah couldn’t see. “You don’t mean that. So, you’ll visit me tomorrow, maybe after croquet? Or I’ll see you at the game.”