“Jimmy!” called Francie as he started down the hallway.
Jimmy turned and saw her hurrying after him. “Hello,” he said coolly.
She slipped her arm in his and said, “I haven’t seen you for a while. Has your father had you out and about?”
Jimmy said, “No, I’ve been working here, but have little time of my own.” Very gently and slowly, he disengaged his arm from hers.
“Jimmy, what’s wrong?” she asked.
Jimmy felt his color rise, and suddenly he was choking on unexpected emotions. “What’s wrong is it isn’t appropriate for me to be overly familiar with the future Queen of Isles.”
Her color rose in a blush and she looked down at the floor stones. “I should have known your father would tell you.”
“Why didn’t you tell me?” he asked.
She looked up at him, and her eyes were rimming with moisture. “I don’t know. I didn’t know . . . how you’d take it. Before I came to Darkmoor, I thought I knew how I felt about you . . . about us. Then when I saw you, and we dined together and those walks together . . . I don’t know. Things just didn’t seem the same as they did when we were children.”
Jimmy said, “That’s because they’re not the same. We’re not children.”
She looked him in the eyes, then impulsively leaned forward and kissed him on the cheek. “You were always my best friend, Jimmy. I love you more than any boy I’ve known. I want you to be happy for me.”
Jimmy flushed. “Happy because you’re going to be Queen, or because you’re going to marry that ass Patrick?”
“Don’t be that way,” she said softly. “Daddy says someone has to keep Patrick in line, and that’s why he wants me to be a strong Queen. It’s one of the reasons the King wants me to marry Patrick.”
Jimmy said, “Look, I don’t know what to say. I only know that whatever we want doesn’t matter, and that you’ll marry Patrick, and I’ll marry whoever Father tells me to marry, and that will be the end of that. It’s never been any other way.”
She squeezed his hand. “Be my friend?”
He nodded. “I’ll always be that, Francie.”
A tear formed and started down her cheek. “I’ll need friends like you when I’m Queen in Rillanon.”
He found his own feelings rising and said, “It’s just. . .”
“What?”
Softly he said, “We’ll never know what we could have been, don’t you see?”
She nodded. “I see. But there’s never been a choice for either of us, has there? We can’t let our feelings distract us from our duty.” She looked into his eyes a moment, then added, “I will always love the boy who used to play with me in the palace at Rillanon, and who used to laugh when I beat up his little brother. I’ll cherish the time we spent sneaking into all those places we weren’t supposed to go. I never forgave you for being boys and getting to do boy things, while I had to learn to be a lady.” She sighed. “But I will never be able to fall in love, my dearest Jimmy. And neither will you. Don’t mourn for something that never was. Just be my friend.”
Without another word she released his hand and hurried back down the corridor.
Jimmy stood quietly for a long minute, then slowly turned and resumed his walk down the corridor.
Dash signaled and Jimmy turned and waved. They were a hundred yards ahead of the first column heading into Krondor. A delegation of Duko’s men were waiting a mile outside the city and Jimmy wanted the column to wait until an exchange of documents was completed.
Jimmy urged his horse forward and rode to a point just before the obvious leader of the group. Jimmy saluted and said, “I am Baron James of the Prince’s court.” He recognized the man as being one of Duko’s captains. Then he remembered his name. “How are you, Captain Boyse?”
The Captain, a muscular man with a long beard and hair, nodded. “Well, Baron James.”
Jimmy reached into a pouch sewn into his cloak and pulled a thread, unraveling the top seam. He reached into the pocket and pulled out a sheaf of documents. He handed them to Boyse. “This is the final communication between Prince Patrick and our newly named Lord Sutherland. This will confirm his appointment to office—the ceremony will be held when Patrick returns to the city. There are several orders and instructions, but they just reaffirm what the Duke already knows.”
Captain Boyse stroked his chin. “You know, when Duko . . . I mean the Duke, first told me of this deal, I would have bet my life it would never take place.” He shrugged. “What do I know?” He pointed to the southwest. “A troop of five hundred men, foot and horse alike, are already on the march toward Land’s End. We will occupy that fortress by week’s end.” He smiled. “I understand we may have to dislodge a few Keshians who have wandered into that town from the desert?”
Jimmy nodded. “Bandits, mostly.”
“You’ve brought the replacements?”