“Make my bed? I don’t—”
“Yes, you do. Or did you assume the maid would be doing that for you?”
She set her jaw angrily. “Well, I don’t see why we should live like peasants,” she said. “Rose-Jean could easily come down here each day and—”
“Rose-Jean is gone,” he told her.
For a moment she didn’t comprehend. “Gone? Gone where?”
“Back to Castle Araluen. There was a mail courier wagon leaving earlier this morning and I arranged for her to go with it. Couldn’t have her stumbling around the countryside on her own, could we?”
“But… she was my maid. You had no right to…” She stopped, seeing the hard light in his eyes.
“Maddie, please understand, I have every right. She was your maid when you were the princess. Now you’re a Ranger’s apprentice. And Rangers don’t have maids. I think I mentioned that.”
Will felt a grim twist of amusement as he recalled a similar conversation with Halt in his first few days as an apprentice. What Ranger’s apprentices do is the housework, he remembered Halt telling him.
“In addition,” he added, “you’ll sweep this room each day after breakfast, and clean out the fireplace and stove firebox. And every Friday, you can take the rug outside and beat the dust out of it.”
She glared at him, eyes slitted. He pretended not to notice for a few seconds, then raised his eyebrows in a question.
“Did you have something to say?” he asked.
She answered very deliberately. “May I enquire, who performed these tasks before I arrived?”
Will nodded as if the question was a good one. “Actually, I did,” he told her. “I can see now why Halt enjoyed having apprentices. Should have taken one on long ago myself.”
She said nothing, but rose and made her way into her room, making her bed in a series of brisk, angry movements. When she was finished, she looked around the room and saw that there was only one small curtained-off area for clothes storage. It wouldn’t fit one-tenth of the clothes she’d brought with her.
“Where am I going to keep my clothes?” she demanded.
Will put his head round the door and gestured to the small curtained area. “That should do you,” he told her.
She shook her head and gave a hollow laugh. “That little space will barely fit any of the clothes I brought with me.”
Will waved a hand airily.
“Oh, don’t worry about them,” he said. “They’re already on their way back to Castle Araluen with Rose-Jean.”
Thirteen
“Are you sure you’re not being too hard on her?” Jenny asked.
Will considered the question for a moment, then shook his head.
“I think I have to be tough, Jen,” he said. “She’s spoiled and wilful and arrogant, and I’m going to need to shake that out of her if I’m to make a go of it.”
They were sitting under an awning in the outdoor eating area at the front of Jenny’s restaurant. She gave him an appraising look, then nodded.
“Maybe. But don’t overdo it, will you? I’m sure she’s not a bad kid at heart.”
“Well, I’m trying to remember how Halt treated me,” Will said, “and I’m being guided by that.”
“You said at the time that he treated you horribly,” she said with a smile. “And you weren’t even a princess.”
“Neither is she now. And that’s what I have to remember. She’s my apprentice and she has no more rights or privileges than any other apprentice. She gets no special treatment.”
“Just make sure that while you’re not giving her any special treatment you’re not leaning too far in the other direction,” Jenny warned him. “Where is she now, by the way?”
“She’s with Mistress Buttersby, being fitted for her uniforms,” Will said, jerking a thumb down the high street. “At least, Mistress Buttersby is showing her how to alter the clothes so they fit. Maddie’s going to have to do the job herself. She could be some time,” he added wryly.
Jenny looked at him. It was the first trace of humour she’d seen from her old friend for months. But she was wise enough not to mention it. She filed the thought away. She’d share it with Gilan when next he visited Redmont Fief—something he did more than was strictly necessary. She knew how much Will was hurting over the loss of Alyss and she thought it was a stroke of genius to assign Maddie to him as an apprentice. She glanced along the high street and pointed.
“Looks like she’s coming now.”
Maddie was trudging up the shallow hill towards them, her arms encumbered with a pile of garments. Draped awkwardly over her shoulder was a familiar item—the mottled grey and green cloak that was standard wear for all Rangers and their apprentices.
“She looks a little overwhelmed,” Jenny added, smiling, as Maddie managed to drop a pair of boots and a leather vest into the dust. As she bent to retrieve them, she spilled more garments. She’d received three uniforms—woollen shirts and breeches, the leather jerkin and two pairs of boots—along with the cloak, and the mass of clothes was proving hard to manage.
“It’s been an overwhelming day,” Will said. But he made no attempt to rise and move to her assistance. As Maddie came closer, boots, shirts and breeches balanced precariously, Jenny took pity and stood to move quickly to her side.
“Let me help,” she said. Maddie looked up gratefully and relinquished half the load. She followed Jenny into the restaurant and dropped the remaining bundle on a nearby table.
“She gave me the smallest sizes she had, but they’re all way too big,” she said a little breathlessly.
Jenny smiled. “Not surprising. After all, you’re the first girl Ranger.”
“Did she show you how to take them in?” Will asked.
Maddie nodded. “It’s going to take me hours to get them all done.”
“Well, you only need one set for starters. That shouldn’t take too long. You can get that done this evening after dinner,” Will told her. He wasn’t sure if she’d been looking for sympathy, but if she had, she wasn’t getting any from him.
Jenny and Will had been drinking pressed fruit juice. She signed to her waiter now to bring a third glass for Maddie, who accepted it eagerly and took a deep sip.
“Aaaah. That’s lovely. Thanks,” Maddie said.
“It must be all very different and confusing for you,” Jenny said kindly. “I hope Will isn’t being too mean to you, Maddie. I’m Jenny, by the way.”
She held out her hand, smiling. Maddie regarded it uncertainly for a moment. She’d more or less come to terms with the strange relationship that now existed between her and Will. After all, as he’d pointed out, he was a senior officer of the realm and technically outranked her. But Jenny was different. Jenny was a commoner. She was a cook—really with no greater status than a servant at Castle Araluen might enjoy. Maddie wasn’t sure that first-name terms were quite proper between them.
But Jenny had been friendly and welcoming, and Maddie didn’t want to upset her. She tried to be tactful. Like most fifteen-year-olds aiming for tact, she was a long way wide of the mark.
“Um… I’m not sure that it’s proper for you to call me Maddie,” she said apologetically. “Really, you should call me ‘princess’ or ‘your highness’.”
Jenny’s smile faded and she withdrew her hand. Will’s face clouded with fury at Maddie’s words. Jenny rose and said coldly, “I’ll bear it in mind.” She nodded briefly to Will. “I’ll see you later, Will. I’ve got work to do.”
She walked into the restaurant, her back straight. Maddie looked at Will helplessly and spread her hands in a defeated gesture.
“What? What did I do wrong now? I understand how it is between you and me. But do I have to let everybody speak to me as if I’m a nobody? After all, she’s just a cook.”