Free Princess Ben by Catherine Gilbert Murdock Page B

application of brute force. I would emerge from my cell perspiring but dominated, to present myself, should she be available, for Sophia's inspection.
    At the moment, however, it took all Hildebert's efforts to awaken me. "What have you done to yourself?" she grunted. "You're covered in filth, you are!"
    I blinked, struggling to gather my wits.
    "And what are you doing in your gown yet? You never even donned your nightdress!"
    "No one undressed me," I answered peevishly but with undeniable truth.
    "Milady will have to see this herself!" So saying, Hildebert tossed me aside and stomped away, pausing just long enough to lock me in.
    I remained sprawled, laboring to recall the past hours. My hands, swollen and stiff, brought back Sophia's beating. And the tower room ... had I dreamt it? My gown was irreparably soiled; that was one reassurance. And my curls still reeked with that unmistakable stench of burnt hair.
    Leaping off my pallet, I rushed to the wall. In daylight the stones appeared doubly solid, absolutely impregnable. And yet, as I reached out, my hand slipped into them as though into water.
    Why did I now suddenly have this power? But, I realized,
I had never touched this particular wall before. No one traipses about a castle fondling every rock and bit of mortar. It was a plain, dull expanse of masonry, the likes of which I'd seen for hours on end every day of my life. Perhaps, indeed, the portal opened for everyone.
    Soon as this thought sprang into my head, I heard Hildebert's stomping return. I remained in place, startling her as she opened the door.
    "We're going to see her," she announced with a scowl.
    "Who?" I demanded, with a petulance that before this day had come automatically to my lips; now I had to force the performance.
    "Lady Beatrix, of course it be! I'd take you to the queen, but Her Majesty's suffering from a touch of headache."
    That was interesting news, or would be when I had time to dwell on it. At the moment, however, I simply stamped my foot. "I'm not going."
    As a red cape enrages a bull, so did this capture Hildebert's attention. "Oh, you're not, are you?" She advanced, arms wide.
    As she closed in, I leapt forward and caught her formidable middle. The woman staggered back.
    Anticipating that she would fall through the secret portal,
I intended to snatch her away, and distract her through tantrums until the incident slipped her mind. To my surprise and great relief, I was spared this, for her head hit the rock—the very rock into which I had just plunged my hand—with a crack that resounded like a whip snap.
    Raging, the woman lunged at me and delivered a great cuff that even at the time I knew I deserved. Our balance of power thus restored, she led me to Lady Beatrix.
    ***
    Hildebert had had no sensation of the doorway! To be honest, if one were to rank the castle's occupants on their potential for magical powers, Hildebert without question would appear near the bottom of the list. Nonetheless, I now had proof that my abilities were unusual if not unique. Perhaps 'twas my ancestors' blood after all.
    As I scurried to match Hildebert's quick pace, footmen stiffened with unusual crispness; maids who had rarely acknowledged my presence now curtsied low. Had I considered the matter, I would have attributed it to my preposterously filthy appearance. Lost in my thoughts, however, I scarce noticed the reception.
    Lady Beatrix, when we arrived at her chambers, puffed
in horror. "Princess! What have you done?" Apparently we had interrupted her in the middle of her toilette, for she lacked rouge on one cheek.
    I repeated, not having another answer, "No one undressed me."
    "And so you ended up like this! Did you roll about on the floor? I cannot believe it."
    Neither could I. How would anyone who had seen my sterile cell suppose for one moment that it held dust enough to soil a handkerchief, let alone my voluminous and many-layered gown? But I overestimated the opinion in which I was held. Lady