Page 13 of Veil of Winter

“He doesn’t know any German. He speaks only English.”

“I speak English,” she said, switching from German to English. “The truth is... Will you shut that door?” She nodded at the open door behind Gerard.

He shut it as she continued. “Princess Elyce has not awakened as she should have, and I don’t know what to do.”

“I don’t understand.”

“She took a potion to make her sleep for three days. Everyone was supposed to think she was dead. On the third morning, when she woke up, her servant Jacob and I were supposed to helpher escape, while letting everyone think she was in the coffin and was dead. She would then be free to find a way to stand up to King Claude so he would not force her people to work in his mines.”

The young woman wiped at a tear before going on.

“But the king’s physicians realized she wasn’t dead, only that her heartbeat was considerably slower than normal and that her breathing was very shallow. At least they called a halt to her wedding to Lord Rodrigo. But this morning...”

Her face crumpled as she covered her face with her hands.

“Has it been three days?”

“Yes. And she won’t wake up. I had the old woman fetched who gave her the potion, but she said she warned the princess that she might never awaken. She said the princess was willing to take that risk and there was nothing she could do. She said to keep giving her water to try to revive her. But I’m not sure she’s swallowing even what little I can get in her mouth.”

“Does anyone else know of this?”

“No one except her servant Jacob.”

“And who are you?” Oswalt spoke up in his usual calm, even voice.

“I am Ysabeau, Princess Elyce’s attendant. I only wish to awaken my mistress.” Her voice broke and she pressed her hand to her mouth.

Gerard gestured toward the bed. “May I?”

She nodded and watched him.

He approached the bedside, his heart in his throat. Theprincess was so beautiful, she took his breath away. And he was amazed how much the entire scene looked like his vision—the gauzy curtains around the bed, the way her hair was splayed out, even her dress.

God, please don’t let her die. After all,Yousent me here for her.

He knelt beside her bed and took her hand in his. Her small fingers were cool but pliable enough to indicate she was alive. He stared at her eyelids, willing them to open, but they remained still and closed. Her cheeks were flushed, her lips surprisingly red.

He held her hand in both of his, trying to impart his warmth to her. Truly, he could not tell if she was breathing at all.

He suddenly remembered something.

He’d once seen a Saracen healer approach a knight who had stopped breathing after falling from his horse. He pounded his chest, then pinched his nose and blew into his mouth. The knight had suddenly started breathing again.

He could not bear to strike the woman’s chest, but since Ysabeau was speaking to Sir Oswalt behind him, perhaps they would not notice if he followed the Saracen healer’s example and breathed into her mouth.

He bent over Princess Elyce’s still form and started to touch his lips to hers.

But this wasn’t right. He had to pinch her nose first and then blow. That should get some breath into her lungs, shouldn’t it? It had worked with the knight.

Still hearing Ysabeau and Oswalt talking behind him, hepinched the princess’s nostrils closed, then leaned forward and pressed his lips to hers.

Before he could breathe into her mouth, she sucked in an audible breath. He jerked back.

The princess was staring at him with wide, horrified eyes.

Four

Elyce was lying on her back and something, or someone, was pinching her nose.