Chapter 37: The Ball
"Duke Gilbert."
The Weaponsmaster's jaw dropped; he looked incredulous. Jubilee nodded shortly. "I heard Gallas say it was the Duke," she said. "I'm positive."
The Weaponsmaster shook his head. "If I told Richard…he could believe it of almost any other duke in court…except Gilbert. Gilbert…my God, he's the King's cousin, girl! Are you sure? You were pretty badly hurt, you're still recovering…it's possible you could have misheard what Gallas said."
Jubilee looked upset. "I know what I heard, sir. It was Gilbert, I'm certain of it." Why were they doubting her? They had never doubted anything 'Lee' said, so why were they now…it was because she was a girl. That had to be it. None of the pages were questioned for what they heard or said.
Logan, sitting next to Jubilee, saw her dismay. "Look, if that's what she said she heard, then that's what she heard. Don't bug her about it. What are ya gonna do about it?"
The Weaponsmaster cleared his throat. "Uh…well, we can't just go around accusing the King's cousin of treason," he said. "We have to have some solid evidence. Let me see what the spies can come up with, and then I'll confront King Richard." He cleared his throat again, his face lightening. "Now. In the meantime…I wanted to let you know that Richard has officially declared the war over. In celebration of that, we'll be having a ball. You're all invited to attend."
Jubilee's mouth fell open, startled out of her dismay by this piece of news. "A ball?" she choked on the words.
"A ball," the Weaponsmaster said, his eyes twinkling. "And you'll have to attend. Everyone's curious about the girl Logan brought back from Gallas's fortress, and very few people have seen you. You've been hiding in your room entirely too much. This will be a good opportunity to get out and interact a bit with others."
"Oh, no," Jubilee shook her head. "I'm not going. I can't! I've got nothing to wear, and I don't know how to dance!"
"I think we can fix that," Renee said, speaking for the first time since Logan had brought the Weaponsmaster into her suite, insisting that Jubilee had something she needed to tell him. "Weaponsmaster, do what you can about finding evidence. I give you one week. At the end of that time, I want you to tell me what you have found. If nothing, I will go to the King myself. I can make him listen. Now, all of you, out. Jubilee is tired, and it's been a long day." Without further ceremony, she hustled the two men out of her suite, leaving her and Jubilee alone.
"A ball," Jubilee said disbelievingly. "I've never been to a ball before. I have nothing to wear, and I don't know how to dance! Can I not attend?"
"You and Logan need to be there," Renee said, sympathetically but firmly. "Logan's going to be receiving an award from the King, and I don't think you're going to want to miss it." She grinned suddenly, her eyes sparkling. "And dancing isn't hard; you can learn easily." She went to her closet, opening the doors and looking at the gowns arranged neatly in it. "As for the gown…I think there's something here we can get to fit you. You're not that much shorter than I am, and a few extra seams to cover your thinness here and there won't be noticed."
Jubilee blushed and looked down at her hands. It had been almost a month since she and Logan had returned to the castle. Although she'd spent most of the time resting, or doing some light fetching and carrying for Renee, she hadn't managed to fully gain back her strength and health, and it was most obvious in the thinness of her body. She was dreadfully self-conscious of the way she looked; and even as the summer weather got sultry and sticky, she insisted on wearing a high-necked, long-sleeved gown to cover the scars on her body. Renee had told her not to try and cover them up; more people would respect her once they'd seen what she'd endured. But Jubilee stubbornly insisted on hiding as much as possible, and covering up when she couldn't hide.
Renee had tried to tell the girl that it was nonsense, but Jubilee wouldn't listen. A compulsory ball was exactly what she needed; something she would have to dress for, and be forced to mingle with the other members of court. And, Renee thought as she turned back to her closet and looked at her selection of gowns, it was an ideal platform to try and catch Logan's attention. Jubilee was hiding in the Queen's rooms, partly because of her uncertain health and partly to hide from Logan. Renee had been watching them closely. Logan cared about Jubilee; Jubilee cared about Logan. However, she was still suffering the mental aftereffects of her brutal handling back at the fortress, and Logan was too much of a gentleman to try and insist on seeing her when she obviously didn't want to see him. Renee had just about enough of all this.
"This will be perfect," she said, reaching into the closet and coming out with a deep crimson gown she had never worn. She had had it made…and then realized the color wasn't suitable for her coloring at all. It would be perfect for Jubilee, with her dark hair (now just past her shoulders) and her fair skin and bright blue eyes.
Jubilee stared in dismay. "I can't wear that," she said, finally finding her voice.
"Why not?" Renee sighed inwardly. Jubilee could be incredibly stubborn; she'd found that out already. It was going to have to take a lot of coaxing to get Jubilee into this gown…but Renee was determined to get the girl to wear the dress even if she had to order the girl to do it.
Jubilee stared at the rich crimson satin. She'd never worn something so rich before; surely she'd tear it, or spill something on it, and Renee would be upset. Not to mention the neckline, which was so low that she was sure some of the scars on her shoulders and the back of her neck would show. She shook her head determinedly. "I can't wear that," she said again, firmly.
"Sure you can," Renee said briskly. "Stand up." Before Jubilee could protest, Renee had unlaced Jubilee's dress herself and taken it off, leaving the young girl dressed in nothing but her shift. She carefully forced herself not to flinch at the sight of the scars, still markedly redder than the rest of Jubilee's honey-colored skin, and settled the dress over Jubilee's head. Her hands worked swiftly with the laces and buttons on the dress, and then turned Jubilee to face the piece of polished glass that served as a mirror. "See? You don't look so bad."
Jubilee stared at herself in the mirror for a minute. Her hands came up involuntarily, trying to cover her thin, protruding collarbones, touched the edge of one scar that peeked over the top of the gown, on the smooth outward curve of her breast, and shook her head. "I can't," she whispered. "My scars… I'm too thin…please, Renee."
There was a tap at the door, and Renee called out, "Who is it"
"Sir Vincet, Your Majesty; I have a message for you from the Duchess of Sanford, whom I've just come back from visiting…" Renee pulled the door open, holding it open for him to enter. Vincet walked in.
Jubilee, at the mirror, turned around, and the piece of parchment fluttered from his hand as he stared at her. Renee scooped the missive from the floor and opened it, sitting in a chair to read while she watched Vincet and Jubilee out the corner of her eye. She knew Vincet liked Jubilee; but she also knew that Vincet had more women than he could count, and was unsuitable for a shy, withdrawn girl like Jubilee. However, his experience with women—and what women wore—would help her in her quest to get Jubilee to wear this gown to the ball. Jubilee looked stunning in it; Logan would be floored. Renee was certain of it.
"Uh…" Vincet was speechless for a moment, and Jubilee stood there, wishing she could melt through the floor. He was staring at her; she probably looked so bad in it he was trying to tell her what he thought without hurting her feelings.
She hastily said, "Uh…I know, it's awful on me, Renee just wanted me to try it on."
Vincet shook his head, finding his voice. "No, no, I wasn't thinking that at all…you look wonderful, Jubilee, really…The dress is fantastic, it's perfect. The color makes your eyes look like sapphires, and your hair looks darker. It's beautiful. Are you wearing it to the ball"
"Uh, I…" It was Jubilee's turn to be at a loss for words. Of all the reactions she could have gotten, this wasn't one she expected. She collected her wits. No, she was not wearing this to the ball…or was she? If she wore it, would Logan's eyes shine at her the way Vincet's eyes were shining now?
She'd barely seen him lately. When they'd first gotten to the castle, she had avoided him because the mere sight of a man brought back hideous memories of what had happened to her; she had woken up more than a few times in the middle of the night, shaking and desperately trying to stifle her screams as her body remembered the pain. Since then, they'd gotten a little less frequent, to the point where she was no longer afraid to sleep, and now she began to look at men again. It was hard not to; the queen had a large number of serving maids and ladies in waiting, and all the women who weren't married had at least some man to whom they gave favours. And, sitting in the sewing room with them, working on mending and fancy needlework, she had listened to gossip. That had educated her as to what was really supposed to happen between men and women, and one lady had gone into considerable detail one morning on what her lover had felt like on the previous night. Even as she blushed Jubilee had wondered whether it would be like that for herself and Logan.
Not that she was all that eager to try it out…but she wondered. If the maids liked it so much, surely it couldn't have hurt as much as it did with Julian, Gallas, and later, with the guards. There had to be something to physical love besides pain, or the women wouldn't like it so much. Her curiosity had been piqued…and she did miss Logan. More than she thought she would. "Does it look that good?" she turned back to the mirror.
Vincet looked at the Queen. A smile was hovering around the corner of her lips, and she gave him a sly wink. He grinned back at her. "Yes it does," he said, and meant it. She was stunning in that red dress. "If you haven't decided to wear that dress yet, then do. Logan will love it."
She turned around so fast he almost didn't have time to school his features into a properly awed look. "Really? Do you think he will"
Vincet smiled at her. "Yes, he will," he said to her. So that was it. She still loved Logan enough to care what he thought about what she wore. "Red happens to be his favorite color"
"Really?" Jubilee looked back at the mirror. "You don't think it's…too bright?"
Vincet grinned. "No, it's not. It's perfect. Wear the dress. He'll love it."
Logan fussed with his clothes. As one of the King's Knights, he had the option of wearing the red and gold dress uniform; it was a rich, deep red tunic with gold trim and braid all over it, and a dark-red shoulder cape with gold brocade on it, or his own colors. He would much rather have worn his blue and yellow colors, but Vincet had been most insistent on Logan's wearing the dress uniform.
"Are ya sure 'bout this?" he growled behind him, where Vincet was sitting in a chair and watching Logan dress. "I'd rather wear my own colors."
"Wear the dress uniform, Logan," he said. "Trust me, in about ten minutes you'll be glad you did."
"What do ya know that I don't?" Logan glared at the man warily, but Vincet only grinned that annoying, infuriating grin he'd been wearing all day and refused to answer. Instead, he stood up, took Logan's elbow, and steered him toward the door. "Go on down."
He descended the stairs into the main hall, raising his eyebrow as he saw the Weaponsmaster apparently deep in conversation with the king. The week Renee had given the man had come and gone; Logan didn't know if he had found anything, but he hoped he was down there talking to the King about Gilbert. Unlike the Weaponsmaster, Logan knew that Jubilee was to be completely trusted when she said Gilbert was the traitor. She wouldn't have said anything if she wasn't sure. The Weaponsmaster thought that she might have been so disoriented from her torture; Logan didn't think so.
Vincet joined him a moment later, carefully adjusting the golden clasp that held his cloak settled rakishly over one shoulder, as was the fashion that year. Logan grinned at him and yanked on the end, earning an offended look from Vincet as the other knight hurried to refasten the cloak. "Stop that," he said irritably. "I want to make a good impression on Sylvie." Logan looked across the room to the knot of ladies gathered around the entrance the Queen would come from. He spotted Sylvie, Vincet's current paramour, in a butter-yellow dress that complimented the long brown-red hair and green eyes. The neckline of her dress, however, left little of her charms to the imagination, and he could already see other men in the room eyeing her; and not all of them were single.
"Yeah, well, ya might have a little competition there," he said. Vincet stopped fussing with his cloak and looked around at the glances Sylvie was getting, and gritted his teeth. In a few strides, he crossed the floor and took the woman's elbow possessively, and she excused herself from her friends to follow Vincet.
The Queen then entered, with her ladies-in-waiting, and Logan searched the women for Jubilee. Renee had said she was going to bring Jubilee; where was she? The only dark head he saw was a slim, stylishly-dressed young woman, talking to another woman with her back to him. Then, as if she felt Logan's gaze on her, she turned, and his breath caught in his throat.
He wasn't sure what she had done to her hair, but the shoulder-length black mane hung full and soft, the lower half loose while the upper half was wrapped in shining, dark braids. The gown she wore was only a shade darker than his uniform, and the tiny gold ornaments glittering at her throat and ears (gifts, or loans, from the Queen) accented her pale skin. She still looked pale…and then, as her eyes locked with his, a flush rose in her cheeks, making her look, suddenly, beautiful.
He reminded himself to throttle Vincet tomorrow after the ball. The other knight had obviously known what Jubilee was going to wear, as evidenced by his insisting that Logan wear the red uniform…and he hadn't told Logan. The very least he could have done was prepare Logan for the sight of so much of Jubilee's skin showing!
He walked over, and the gossiping among the ladies stopped almost immediately. Logan ignored all of them, going straight to Jubilee's side. Up close the dress was even more magnificent, and the blush on her cheeks just made her prettier. He dropped to one knee, taking her hand in his, and pressed the back of her hand to his lips. "My lady," he said silkily.
Jubilee felt a rush of warmth spread from the back of her hand, run up her arm, and race through her entire body. "My lord," she said, dropping into a low, graceful curtsy. As she rose, the musicians struck the opening chords to a slow waltz, and Logan sighed with relief. Slow waltzes he could do; faster ones, he couldn't. "Shall we dance, my lady?"
Jubilee almost forgot to breathe. Logan had called her 'his lady'; and he'd just asked her to dance. She hadn't expected to be asked this early; Renee had told her she would probably dance a couple of times, and then spend the rest of the evening sipping wine, nibbling food, and talking.
She remembered, rather belatedly, that she was supposed to say something. "Certainly, Sir Logan," she replied with another feminine curtsy. "I'd love to dance." She could hear the other women whispering behind her as she walked off with Logan to the dance floor, on which Richard and Renee were already poised and waiting for other couples to form, and took their places four couples down from the King and Queen. The music began.
"You look beautiful tonight," Logan said as their fingers twined. Again she felt that tingle. She smiled, a bright, genuine smile that hadn't crossed her face since they had been captured. It felt good. "Thank you, Sir Logan," she said demurely, but her eyes sparkled. "You look handsome yourself."
Logan flushed with pleasure as they closed together in the pattern of the dance. "Thanks," he said gruffly. Unable to think of anything else to say, they danced in silence for several measures for a moment. Then the music changed, and the other couples came together in a close embrace. Logan hesitated; would she still have that aversion to being touched? He wouldn't touch her if she didn't want him to…
She stepped close to him, taking his arm and wrapping it around his waist, then reached up under his arm until her gloved hand rested against his shoulder blades. She took a step, drawing him into the dance with her, thanking Renee silently, and they moved together for a time. As the music concluded, Logan took her hand and led her over to a nearby chair. She was out of breath, and her thin chest was heaving. "Stay here. I'll get a glass of wine for you," he said gently, and disappeared into the crowd.
The chair next to her squeaked, and Jubilee looked over…and saw Duke Gilbert next to her. "Hello, my dear," he said, his voice even but dangerous as he took her elbow in a grip of steel. He pulled upwards, almost dislocating her wrist as he forced her to rise. He led her over to the large doors opening out to the courtyard, ignoring her attempts to fight him. "I haven't seen you since Logan brought you back from King Gallas's fortress. We need to have a talk, 'Lee'."