Diversion

Although she had suggested her lady-in-waiting's room be the first to be searched, the men started in the sitting room, making Rose's attempt to warn the stranger that much more difficult.

Had they headed off to where they could not see her, the quick trip to her wardrobe would have been largely unnoticed. Now she was in plain view.

The princess moved cautiously backwards as the men looked under the couches and in them. They opened cabinets and drawers of the many large pieces of furniture in the sitting room.

Cole even looked inside the wastebasket. "How small do they think the intruder is?" the princess wondered with a small chuckle. The captain noticed the small noise.

"Are you going somewhere, Your Highness?" Rabert asked suddenly. He looked up from his search and eyed her curiously. Rose stopped her retreat and gazed at him innocently. She batted her eyes a moment trying to think of an excuse.

"Do not mind me. I am just trying to stay out of your way…Oh and I would also like to tidy up my room before you enter." Rose smiled sweetly.

She took another step backwards, but with a swift motion Rabert quickly inserted himself between her and the door. Rose turned swiftly to keep him from seeing the crimson part of her gown and nearly ran her face into his chest. The blonde was forced to move away from her door to make a suitable space between them.

"Forgive me for startling you, Your Highness. You need not worry about being tidy. I promise my men will be discreet, but I must insist you stay with us, Your Highness." Rabert's voice was firm.

He could feel the princess was trying to hide something. But whether that was a few embarrassing feminine articles of clothing left strewn about her room or something more sinister, he could only guess.

"I do not want to cause you any more discomfort than is necessary." he said quietly, flicking his eyes away toward his men. "Would you prefer I do the search alone?"

"No, no. Do not go in there without me. I want to see what you are doing. They are my things after all." Rose brushed the question aside, but inwardly her mind was reeling. She had to do something. While the captain engaged her in their private conversation, the other two men had carried on through the sitting room and into Caitlyn's suite.

Just then the pair emerged empty handed and saluted Rabert. Philip took the lead. "Captain, we have finished with the other rooms. How would you like us to proceed?"

"I'm sorry, Your Highness." Rabert motioned for the men to move forward as he stepped out of their way.

"Must you search my room?" she said loudly, hoping the occupant of her closet could hear.

Rabert furrowed his brow. His mind was torn. The captain liked the princess very much. He, like the king, had no children and enjoyed watching the vivacious and compassionate young woman grow in confidence and beauty.

The person before him now was nothing like the lady he knew. She was fidgety and fearful, with her eyes darting toward her room nervously. He realized the earlier events must have been very traumatic for there to be such a marked change.

'Rose was right not to see the king,' the captain decided. The well-meaning king would do everything in his power to dote on her and fix the problem, causing her to hide her true feelings. That would only make the issues worse.

Rabert nodded. "We will be very quick, I promise. If we don't search, the king will come himself." He added gently.

Rose conceded defeat and allowed them to enter with a wave of her hand. 'Maybe they won't go in the closet,' she hoped in vain. The princess knew they would be thorough. They all entered in turn with Rose following behind.

"Do you have any idea who the intruder might be?' she asked out of curiosity and in an effort to hide her nervousness.

"Can't be sure," Rabert responded as he looked behind the door. "Borit is in the infirmary swearing up and down that it's the Mighty Silver."

There was a touch of sarcasm in the captain's voice. Borit had blamed the legendary figure for many crimes over the years in hopes the king would put a price on the Guardian's head. The claim had been made too many times and had lost its potency.

"But you don't agree with him?" Rose finished the captain's thoughts.

The soldier shifted the vanity and looked behind it. "I think if the Mighty Silver graced us with his presence, he wouldn't have been spotted. Not unless something went very wrong."

Rose recalled her captor's words, 'He said he'd been sabotaged!'

The princess smiled briefly, hiding her amusement before Rabert could see. Fortunately none of the men were looking her way.

"The intruder is most likely some midrange lowlife that was able to breach our first set of defenses but not the second wall. We will know more when we catch him." Rabert was confident.

Castle Burke had never been successfully breached. There was no reason he could think of for that to change. The captain turned to the bed and his eyes opened wide.

"What is this? Blood?!" He asked anxiously. Rabert pointed to small droplets of red on the bed's coverlet. The other two soldiers came to investigate.

'Drat!' Panicking, Rose squeezed her hand even tighter, feeling a fresh wave of pain. She made a hasty excuse.

"I may have had a bit of a nose bleed. I think it was stress. No need to worry, Captain. I am fine now."

Rabert took the words at face value and said no more. Rose took a deep breath, relieved that her ruse had worked. As Cole and Philip finished searching the rest of the bedroom, Cole reached decidedly for the wardrobe door. His intention was obvious.

Clearing her throat lightly, Rose intervened. "Thank you for searching my room and keeping me safe. I bid you all goodnight." She stepped away from the door, leaving them a clear exit.

Rabert, sensing her apprehension, placed a hand on her arm. It was unheard of for soldiers to touch nobility, and the captain quickly withdrew his hand and looked suitably embarrassed.

Like King Rhodri, Rabert hated to see the princess unhappy. "Forgive us once more, Your Highness. We are almost done." Before she could protest further, the captain bid the men to finish the search.

'No!' Too late to lunge forward, Rose held her breath and shut her eyes as the door to the closet flung wide. When no immediate outcry or clash occurred, she ventured a slit to peek through her eyelids.

Surprisingly, the closet was empty, and the men completed their task without incident. The princess released the air from her lungs and smiled, the mask of her station once more in place.

"Captain, if there is nothing else…" Rose said formally.

"We are finished." Rabert and his men bowed deeply. "I will leave a few men outside your chambers, and I will relay your message to King Rhodri."

"Thank you, Captain Rabert. Before you go, have you any news on Lady Cait?" Rose was concerned for her friend, and it occurred to her that the captain might have news.

"Lady Caitlyn is conscious but weak. I believe she will be allowed to leave soon. Shall I send an escort for her?"

Rose considered for a moment but dismissed the thought. She didn't want to drag the upstanding lady into her mess just now.

"No, thank you, but could you send a message to Caitlyn? I would bid her to spend the night in the infirmary. Tell her not to come until the healers are sure she has fully recovered. For you see, I am a terrible nursemaid—that last part is just between us," she added lightly.

Rabert smiled, genuinely happy to see some light back in the young woman's eyes.

"Of course. I will have Cole deliver the communication to Lady Caitlyn, and I will speak to the King myself on your behalf. May your humble servants be dismissed?" There was a brotherly warmth in his voice that comforted Rose.

The captain was fiercely loyal to the King and by extension to her. Rabert would have loved nothing more than to protect her himself through the night, but he could tell his welcome had ended.

At any rate, the king needed to be informed of developments, and with Borit out of commission, that task fell to him. For the second time in the span of a minute, Rabert made a courtly bow.

Rose beamed on him for a moment, knowing he was one of the few men in the castle known for integrity over ambition. Then the princess curtsied in turn, making a surreptitious move to hide the stain on her dress.

"Thank you, Captain. Now that you have thoroughly rifled through all my undergarments…" she smiled as she spoke to convey she felt no ill will, "You are dismissed."

The men filed out of her quarters and the blonde followed them to the door of the sitting room. As she bolted the door behind them, Rose heaved a huge sigh. 'That was close,' she thought with relief, then her brow furrowed.

'Where did the hooded figure go?'