**THE BRAZEN SERIES is part of the GOLDEN UNIVERSE**
♦YOU MUST HAVE READ BOOK ONE, A BRAZEN MAIDEN, TO READ THIS SEQUEL!♦
♦♦It is ALSO recommended that you read THE GOLDEN GIRL/DUCHESS/PRINCESS & QUEEN to better understand events in this novel, as...
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♪ You don't get in my brain You don't fill up the spaces ♪ {Lennon Stella—Fortress}
To have her best friend so close somewhat settled Harriet's uneasy soul. It calmed the screams in her scalp, those that reminded her of her heavy responsibilities. And it soothed her heartbeats that had become too erratic to tolerate. How she yearned to knock on Esther's door and sneak downstairs in their slippers to sip on tea and steal pastries from the chef's basket. It would bring back happy thoughts of the Academy, of their years as innocent girls not yet plagued with all they now knew.
Sadly, Esther's presence was temporary. The next morning, after they finished their breakfasts, the couple apologized, as they had to be on their way.
"We must make a stop in Rosford to visit with Father... and to relay some of the information we discovered on the road," said Esther, as Harriet guided them to the door.
Emeric thanked Harriet and excused himself as he scurried outside to ready their carriage.
Standing near the threshold, basking in the frosty air swirling inside, Harriet inhaled. "All is well... with you two?" She weaved her fingers between her best friend's. "He seems... tense." It had been hard not to notice Emeric's half-hearted smiles and brief responses to questions while they broke their fast. His vacant gaze, his sullen attitude, his gaping out the window while the girls chatted—he was elsewhere.
Esther looked out at Emeric, and a glossy glow grew in her eyes. One of wonder and awe... and love. "We are fine, yes. He... tames my eccentricity," she laughed, "but we complete each other, Harriet. He... is a marvelous man." She exhaled, and the radiance in her demeanor faded. "But he is tense, yes. Much is happening at court, and his father... is worried. He dispatched us to the castle with many tasks and wrote a secretive letter to my father that neither I nor Emeric were able to de-code."
Harriet followed her gaze out onto the early morning grounds. Up ahead, the manor gates were sealed, isolating them from whatever happened in town, from whatever scandals had reached them from the capital. Protecting them from all that happened in the rest of Totresia. Despite being overwhelmed by her new life, she thanked the Heavens that she no longer had to be so involved in all her father's court plots.
"Just... be careful, will you?" She flipped to Esther and grabbed her by the shoulders. "The King is wary, I am certain of it." She bit her lip before revealing how she knew—from Prince Jules. "There are vipers surrounding him in his own home, and... he trusts very few in his vicinity."
"Yes, and I trust Emeric. And, to an extent, his father, stern as he is. We will be all right, you need not fret over us." Esther pinched Harriet's cheek. "But take some time for yourself, yes? There is not much you can do for the royals until you have a full staff at your disposal. You cannot investigate into your father's misdeeds until you have others to delegate your chores to."
