Total pages in book: 104
Estimated words: 96695 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 483(@200wpm)___ 387(@250wpm)___ 322(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 96695 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 483(@200wpm)___ 387(@250wpm)___ 322(@300wpm)
Hugo’s lips limped into an almost smile while some of the tension that gripped his lungs eased. At least this person didn’t sound like he was a big fan of the royal family.
The man patted the other bale of straw next to him. “Sit. You seem interesting. Tell me your tale. Maybe I can help.”
Hugo didn’t see how that was possible at all, but it would be nice if someone knew the truth prior to his death. He dropped onto the straw and sighed. “My mother told a ridiculous lie while we were at the Winthrop Spring Gala last night. She claimed to this group of stuffy nobles that her son could spin straw into gold. I know she only did it hoping to find me a good match. We need an advantageous marriage. She probably took one look at her son and knew I wasn’t enough to win some rich man’s heart. She felt she had to lie to make me and our family appear more important.”
“So, you’re a family of gold diggers?”
Hugo sucked in a horrified breath but caught the words of denial before they could leap from his tongue. They were. Of course, many families were, but that didn’t make it right. “We are,” he mumbled, hanging his head. “I don’t want to be. Since my father died, things have been falling apart. My mother doesn’t want us to become common tradesmen, but we have no other options unless I marry well.” Hugo shoved a hand through his hair.
“Why didn’t you confess?”
“I should have, but I didn’t want to embarrass my mother at the ball. Besides, I could see all those women hiding their laughter behind their gloves and fans. Not one of them believed her. I thought they’d mock us and then forget about it. But one of those people is a cousin of the queen—”
“Lady Hawthorne,” the stranger sneered. “There’s a busybody the world could do without.”
Hugo couldn’t agree more, but he kept that part to himself. “When the queen confronted my mother, I was sure she would claim it to be a joke, but she insisted again that I could spin straw into gold. She knows I can’t. No one can! The idea of it is ridiculous.” Hugo jumped to his feet and paced across the room. “It was too late. What was I to do? Let the queen throw my mother in prison for lying? Or worse, allow her head to be chopped off? My father would never forgive me. So, I told the queen that I was the one who told my mother I could spin straw into gold. That way, after I failed, she’d blame me and not my mother.”
“That is a pickle.” The odd man scratched his head through his hood.
“But you can get in and out of this room with magic, right?”
“Sure, but I can’t take you with me. My magic is good only for me.”
Hugo waved his hands as he rushed to the other bundle of straw. “No, I want you to take a message to my brother Dorian. My family lives just outside of Buckleford. Ten minutes down the lane that leads through Shaggy Butternut Woods. It’s a skinny three-story house with faded blue shutters. Go there and ask for Dorian. Tell him what has happened, and that he has to take my mother and brother away from here as fast as he can. I don’t know if the queen will be satisfied with killing me. Especially if I jump out the window before I can be executed. My family has to be far from here so she can’t hurt them too.”
“I don’t know,” the man said, rising to his feet. His back was bent, and his legs creaked as he moved.
“Please, I’m sure my brother will pay you a few coins for your troubles. We don’t have much, but we can give you that for delivering such an important message.”
“Well, I can do it if you’re so determined to leap out the window.” The man shrugged and motioned to the still-open sash. “But I could spin the straw into gold for you.”
“What?” Hugo choked out. He tried to leap to his feet, but his knees gave out, and he landed hard on the straw. “You can do that?”
“Of course. I have magic. Real magic.”
Hugo nearly shouted for the man to help him, but once again the words were caught in his throat. He would still be lying. He would be alive, and his family would be safe, but he’d be furthering the same lie to the crown. It wasn’t really fixing anything.
“I don’t wish to lie to the queen. It isn’t right.”
“Ah, you’re such a good boy. But wouldn’t your father think it was more important that you live so you could protect your mother and brothers? No one would have to know about this little lie. I’m sure the queen wouldn’t go bragging about it. She wouldn’t want every peasant and tradesman rushing to your family to produce mountains of gold, right?”