The Rose Bride Read Online Free PDF Page A

and there, windows glowed with a halo of amber—servants were preparing her father’s wing of the house, making sure everything was presentable for his inspection.
    Perhaps it might be better to go back. What was she doing, riding out alone in the dark?
    “I’m doing what I must,” she whispered. It didn’t matter if it was the safe thing or the wise thing or even the right thing. It was what she must do. What her heart told her to do.
    Raising her chin, she squared her shoulders and rode past the scarecrow.
    “Où? Où vas-tu?”
the wind whispered to Rose.
    The stars shifted overhead. The owl had taken flight long ago and tiny creatures skittered in the bushes along the familiar path toward the village.The night pressed down on Rose like a weighty hand. She was fatigued already.
    Moments later, she reached a little wooden shrine where people could say prayers for the safe delivery of Princess Lucienne of the Land Beyond. She was carrying the son of Crown Prince Jean-Marc. His father, King Henri, ruled the Forested Land as well as the Land Beyond, but the Forested Land was only a province. The Land Beyond was where he lived.
    Rose raised the lantern and inspected the shrine. A thick, tallow candle had been set in front of a foot-tall figurine of a woman. It had blown out. Impulsively Rose opened the door of her own lantern, picked up the tallow candle, and relit its wick with her little flame. Steadying Douce, she leaned over and set it in front of the figure.
    “Health and long life to the lady princess and her child,” she whispered.
    Then she took the fork that led to the mountains. The path was pitch-black, save for the distant star field lining the dome of the sky. Rose guided Douce carefully around sharp curves and switchbacks, holding the lantern up high.
    “Papa?” she called. Her voice echoed off the mountainside. There was no answer and she moved ahead.
    The mountain to her right dropped away and she licked her lips as the lantern light revealed a sheer drop into a chasm. At the next sharp curve, billows of fog tumbled over the road like the stream of silverywater in the rose garden. It became so heavy she couldn’t see her gloved hands gripping the reins.
    Uneasily she dismounted, anxiously placing her foot on the firm ground, relieved that she and Douce didn’t plunge into empty space.
    “It’s all right.” Her voice quavered. “We’re safe.” She had no idea if that were true, but she had to keep Douce calm. If her horse panicked, she might leap off the path to her destruction.
    Rose stood tense and alert for a long time. Then the lantern candle guttered out, casting Rose and her little gray in utter darkness. Rose bit her lower lip to keep from crying out, and she gave the lantern a tiny shake, hoping that perhaps the wax had flooded the wick and it was still partially lit. But it was clearly out for good. She wished she’d taken the princess’s candle instead of relighting it.
    “I’m going to call for Papa again,
ma Douce,”
she told the horse as she set the lantern down. With her free hand, she gave the horse a soothing rub so that she wouldn’t startle when Rose yelled.
    But then she realized that the fog was just as thick for him as it was for her. If he heard her and tried to come for her, he might get hurt, or worse. She felt horribly foolish. She’d set out on this journey to rescue him and now she was the one who needed help. Elise had been right. She should have waited.
    She shouldn’t have listened to her heart.
    Rose had no idea how much time passed, but she began to sway, her gloved hand sliding off Douce’sback and her eyes drooping shut, no matter how many times she tried to keep them open. With the reins still in her fist, she felt around until she rested her back against the slimy rock face and slid, weary and done in, onto her bottom.
    Wind whistled in her ears, and snowflakes fluttered down. A snowstorm in spring was not unheard of, but the day had been so fair.