“Bess is arranging for a finer gown for me to wear,” Jane explained. “For the French court. Edward says he wants me with him when he makes his appeal to the king.”
Gifford cleared his throat. “Ah. I see. Edward wants you with him.” He finished with her dress quickly and stepped back. “There.”
“It makes sense that I should be there, in case I’m needed to validate Edward’s story.”
“Yes, of course,” he said stiffly. His expression was suddenly blank. “The sun’s almost up. I should go.”
She followed him as he made his way outside. “Wait, G—”
“Have a good day, my lady,” he said, and jogged off, pulling at his clothes.
“Have a good day,” she called after him lamely.
Then he was a horse. She watched him trot through the gardens and jump a low section of the crumbling wall.
She sighed.
Gifford had been acting strangely since they’d escaped London. For the most part, he was warm and affectionate with her. He teased her, but never with an intent to hurt her feelings. He often held her hand. He called her pet names, like “my darling” and “my sweet.” Those things shouldn’t have had such an effect on her, but they did. Being with him made her breath come quicker and her heart pound and her palms get all clammy. It made her wish she could remain human all the time so that they could stay together.
But then there were other times, especially when they were around Edward and Bess and Gran, when Gifford retreated behind a wall of silence, his jaw set in a way she recognized as anger. She wondered if he blamed her for all that had happened.
They had no home now, no safe place to go except for this broken-down abbey. No title or position. No possessions, as he’d pointed out.
That was hardly her fault, but still. She’d been awful to him in London. They’d had an actual fight. She’d thrown pillows at his head.
No wonder he hadn’t even been trying during their training session with Gran and Gracie. He was probably happy to avoid her company.
Jane watched him canter across the field, his head high, mane streaming. He seemed so content as a horse. And it wasn’t as though she’d given him much of a reason to try to be a man.
Her chin lifted. They had so little time together now—just a few minutes at the start and end of every day. She’d have to use those precious minutes wisely.
She’d have to try harder to win back his trust.
When she came into the kitchen later, Gracie, Bess, and Edward were discussing the best routes to take to France.
Bess unfolded a map and spread it across the table. “If we want to move quickly—”
“And we do,” said Edward.
“—then we need to take the most direct route with the best roads,” Bess finished.
Jane stood on tiptoe to peek around Edward’s shoulder. “Let’s do that.”
“But there are a few problems with this route,” Gracie said. “Mary’s men will be looking for all of you, and this road”—she dragged her finger over a line—“takes us dangerously close to the Shaggy Dog.”
“The Shaggy Dog?” repeated Jane.
“From the description that Gifford gave us,” Edward said, “that’s the tavern you were attacked in. The headquarters of the Pack.”
Jane shivered. “What are our other options?”
“Longer paths on poorer roads.” Edward pointed out a few. They did look rather out of the way.
“So what will we do?” Jane asked.
“I . . .” Edward drummed his fingers on the map. “Speed is of the essence. But so is safety. What do the rest of you think?”
“Long way,” Gracie replied immediately. “The Pack is bad news.”
“Short way,” Bess said. “We’re taking back a kingdom. We should be bold. And swift.”
Everyone looked at Jane, who consoled herself with the reminder that, though she was a tiebreaker, this would still be Edward’s decision. He was the king. “Short way,” she said. “I agree with Bess.”
Gracie glared. Edward looked uncomfortable. Bess gave a faint smile.
“Furthermore,” Jane said, “I think we should recruit the Pack to our side.”
“Are you daft?” cried Gracie. “They almost killed you.”
“I’m aware of that.”
“They’re not just some random bandits, you know,” Gracie said. “They’re a well-run organization. And they see themselves as superior to humans. They certainly don’t answer to any king. They’ll use your pretty feathers to stuff their pillows, Sire.”
“Right. Recruiting the Pack sounds like a terrible idea,” agreed Edward.
“But we need anyone who isn’t already on Mary’s side,” Jane argued. “We could use all the help we can get.”
“Not their kind of help!” Gracie shook her head. “Tell her, Edward.”
“What do you think, sister?” Edward turned to Bess, who looked thoughtful.