Holly slipped through the trees, actually, it was more like hobbled through the trees, her ankle still pained her. With a heavy sigh, she grumbled and carefully pushed a branch out of her path. It had been hard to elude Logan in order to get out of the castle this morning; she’d had to leave fairly early, practically before the sun rose. 

She’d been wandering about for nearly an hour now and it was more than likely that Logan had noticed her absence by now and was out looking for her. Sidestepping a pile of deer droppings, she rounded a clump of trees and froze. Standing nearly hidden in a small copse of trees was Lady Monica.

Holly quickly ducked back into the trees and watched Lady Monica. She frowned. Monica wore breeches and a tunic instead of a dress. As Holly watched, Monica raised a bow and fired an arrow at a tree some distance away. Holly was somewhat surprised when she hit her mark, striking the tree dead center.

She stood quietly and watched for a good ten minutes as Monica hit her mark again and again. It was clear she knew her way around a bow. What kind of a noblewoman knew her way around weaponry so well?

She backed away slowly, turned and moved back through the forest, heading back toward the castle. It was most certainly time to have a serious discussion with Logan about keeping a closer eye on the Lady Monica. Once she was further from the clearing where Monica had been practicing, she hobbled a bit more quickly, nearly barreling into Logan as she left the trees.

“Whoa, Holly, slow down. Where are you going in such a hurry?”

“Logan! I’m so glad you found me! Lady Monica … bow … arrows, trees!”

He frowned and shook his head. “What are you babbling about?”

She pointed toward the trees. “She knows how to use a bow, Logan!”

“So do you and Deva, so what pray tell is your point?”

Holly punched him in the arm. “She’s a noblewoman!”

Logan glared at her and shook away the pain in his arm. “Again, your point?”

“What kind of noblewoman is an expert with a bow?”

“Princess Cassandra is quite accurate with that sling of hers, am I correct?”

Holly growled at him and stamped her foot, sadly, she stomped the one with the sprained ankle and winced at the pain that it caused. “A sling is vastly different than a bow, Logan! What kind of a parent gives a young woman a bow? I’m telling you there is something off about her!”

He sighed and shook his head, without asking, he lifted her into his arms. “Come on; let’s get you back to your room where you belong, before you injure yourself any further.”

“Do not make me punch you again Logan!”

“Holly, you can’t base your findings on the fact that the woman knows how to use a bow! Not when you and Deva both use the same weapon!”

She grumbled beneath her breath. “I really hate you right now.”

“You don’t. Let’s find Deva and Mitchell and we’ll see what they think of your discovery, all right?”

“Fine, a second and third opinion then,” she agreed readily.

***

“See! See Deva agrees with me!” Holly shouted in triumph as she pointed at Deva.

Logan scowled at both girls. “She only agrees with you because she thinks Lady Monica might be one of the girls vying for Mitchell’s hand in marriage.”

Deva sent him a look of complete innocence. “How dare you accuse me of such bias Logan! I’m agreeing with Holly because I believe she has a point!”

Logan snorted and looked at Mitchell. “Can you inject some sense into this argument?”

He shrugged. “I honestly don’t know what to think of the woman. I’ve danced with her on several occasions and when I’ve spoken with her she says all the right things—”

Logan threw an arm out in Mitchell’s direction. “See, there’s nothing wrong with her!”

Mitchell held up a hand. “I wasn’t finished. She says the right things, says them perfectly. When asked about her family or her childhood her answers seemed somewhat …” He paused and frowned a bit over his answer. “Prepared or practiced, as if she’s planned them out beforehand. All her answers seem that way none seem at all spontaneous.”

Logan considered this for a moment, slowly he paced the room, after several minutes he stopped and turned back to Mitchell. “Are you certain?”

Mitchell shrugged. “How can you ever be certain of what happens inside another’s mind? I can only tell you what I’ve observed of the woman when speaking to her. I’m certainly no Ranger, but I am not an idiot.”

Logan smiled at him. “No you are not an idiot, Mitchell. I trust your opinion.”

Holly snorted and folded her arms over her chest. “Oh you trust his opinion but I’m just a foolish girl, is that it?”

Logan slapped a hand over his eyes. “No, that isn’t it! I simply wanted more evidence before we flew headlong into a Holly plan!”

Deva snickered. “Are planning on setting the woman on fire then?”

Holly threw a pillow at Deva where she sat in a chair beside the bed. “Shut up!”

Deva tossed the pillow back at Holly with a grin. “Just wondering!”

Mitchell grinned at the girls before looking back at Logan. “So what is our plan?”

“Observe Lady Monica and search for anything that seems strange. We need something solid before we can accuse her of any subterfuge. The princess and Sir Horace aren’t going to boot her out based on what we have at the moment.”

Mitchell nodded in agreement. “No, they won’t. Halt and Will would roll their eyes at us and shake their heads in utter disappointment if we offered up this sort of evidence as proof of her wrong doing.”

“My dad would give us that wholly disappointed look and stare down his nose silently at us until we couldn’t hold his gaze any longer and were all staring at the grass beneath our boots,” Holly grumbled unhappily.

Logan groaned and ran his fingers through his hair. “I don’t even want to think about what my father would say.”

Deva jumped up. “Right so operation Weasel Watch is a go!”

“Weasel Watch?” Mitchell asked her.

“What, you don’t think she looks a bit like a sneaky weasel?” Deva narrowed her eyes at him.

“Uh, yeah sure why not.”

***

Holly sat beside Logan on a settee against the wall, once more dressed in a fancy ball gown. “I hate these dresses.”

Logan glanced sidelong at her. “You look nice, but I agree they really aren’t you.”

“Thanks, at least someone agrees.” She never glanced at him the entire time they spoke, her eye were glued to Lady Monica.

He sighed and looked toward Mitchell where he stood to one side of the room, surrounded by a group of young ladies, all vying for his attention. Deva stood to one side looking rigid and slightly angry. Beside Logan Holly suddenly sat up straighter and he glanced at her. “What is it?”

She nodded at Monica. “Where do you suppose she’s off to?” They watched Lady Monica cross the room and slice her way easily through the throng of Mitchell’s admirers and straight to his side, smiling the whole time as she did. Once she had reached his side, she placed her hand on his arm and led him away, guiding him to the table that held the punch bowel and snacks for those who might get hungry after dancing. 

Beside Logan, Holly rose smoothly, despite her still healing ankle and started for the table. Logan knew better than to go after her and try to stop her. That would be a suicide mission; she’d probably do more than simply punch him. So, he remained seated and kept an eye on her in case she needed any assistance.

Holly crossed the room, wandered by a table, snatched up an empty teacup, hiding it in the folds of her skirts (skirts did come in handy for some things she supposed) and kept walking. She stopped briefly, dipped low and scooped a hot coal from the low burning fireplace as she passed by, using the fine china to hold it. As smoothly as her sore ankle would allow, she glided across the room and up behind Lady Monica, tilted the teacup and dumped the burning hot coal on the edge of her skirts.

Humming quietly, she deposited the cup on the edge of the buffet table and slowly crossed the room to sit back beside Logan with a tiny smile. No sooner had her rear end hit the cushioned comfort of the settee than a scream rent the air and Lady Monica was trying to beat out a small fire from her skirts.

Logan chuckled. “Holly plans seem to come in many forms don’t they?”

Holly brushed as a spot on her skirt where some ash has discolored it. “Hmm … what? Oh, yes so they do don’t they. I thought that one went rather well.”

He shook his head as he watched Deva toss a pitcher of water at Monica, not quite hitting her skirts, the water seemed to miss and hit her square in the face. Either Deva’s aim had suddenly gone awry or she’d done that on purpose. Lady Monica screeched at her as a servant threw a second pitcher of water on the flames and put her skirts out at last. Even from across the room they could hear her yelling.

“You did that on purpose!”

Deva shrugged. “Think what you wish, I tripped on my skirts and it threw my aim off, I do apologize Lady Monica.”

“You are a horrid, horrid little witch and you don’t belong here!” Lady Monica hissed before turning and storming from the room.

Princess Cassandra sighed and patted Deva on the arm. “I’m sure she didn’t mean that Deva, she’s just upset.”

Deva shrugged and handed the empty jug to a nearby servant. With dignity, she certainly didn’t quite feel at the moment, she picked up her skirts, lifted her chin and headed for the door. As she neared the entrance, Logan and Holly fell into step on either side of her. She felt infinitely better with the two of them walking beside her. She wished that Mitchell had followed, but she knew he couldn’t leave his mother.

***

“You set a woman’s skirts on fire! In front of the entire Royal Court, Holly!” Halt bellowed.

Holly sat meekly with her head bowed as he father stood and glared down at her. Of all the days for her father to return, it just had to have been today. It was just her dumb luck. She peeked up at him. “Sorry?”

“Sorry? Sorry! That’s all you have to say is sorry! A fire Holly, you set a human being on fire!”

Okay, so maybe she shouldn’t have said anything at all. She dropped her eyes back to her lap and remained quiet. Beside her, Logan was just as quiet, shifting nervously and twisting the hem of his cloak in his hands.

“And exactly what part did you play in this fiasco, Logan?” Halt demanded.

“Um … I sort of sat there and … uh watched.”

“Watched did you?”

“Yes sir,” Logan replied.

“Not once did you think to stop her from setting this woman on fire?” Halt asked him in a seemingly calm tone of voice.

“Well sir, the thought did cross my mind, I mean the thought of stopping her, I did not however know exactly what it was she had planned. You do understand your daughter sir, stopping her, well it just isn’t done, Halt sir.”

Halt made a small, exasperated sound. “Someone needs to start stopping her!” He became flustered when he realized how ridiculous he’d sounded. “You know what I mean!”

Logan nodded solemnly. “Yes sir, I understand.”

Holly sent him a glare from under her lashes. Why did he have to agree with her father so readily? It wasn’t as if she’d actually hurt anyone … well okay not this time. Her plan had worked perfectly, they’d distracted Monica and she’d left poor Mitchell alone. The last thing they needed was that woman anywhere near Mitchell trying to get her claws in him. Could you imagine her as the future queen? Holly shuddered.

“Holly, are you listening to me?” Halt snapped.

“What? Um … yes … maybe.”

Halt glared at her. “Maybe?”

She shrugged. “She needs watching Dad! She’s suspicious!”

“She is a lady of Araluen and you will leave the woman alone! Now go to your room and do not set it on fire while in there!”

“Dad! Why won’t you listen to me?”

He rubbed a hand over his face. “The fact that you do not like the woman is not sound reasoning, Holly.”

“Dad, come on you know that it’s more than that! You’re not being logical!” she complained.

“I am being perfectly logical. She has done nothing untoward, leave her be. If she does something that warrants suspicion you know I will be the first to back you.”

Holly grumbled under her breath as Logan rose, grabbed her arm and pulled her to her feet. “Yes sir, I’ll see that Holly stays out of trouble, I promise.”

Halt snorted. “So you’ve said before.”

Logan opened his mouth to respond and then decided against it, instead he closed his mouth inclined his head to Halt and dragged Holly from the room. Once he had her back in her room, he released. “Stop antagonizing your father!”

“He’s my father!”

“So that means you keep poking the bear!” he shot back.

Holly had no response to that so she sent him a glare and sat mutinously on the edge of her bed. “I do not like you right now Logan, go away.”

He wandered over and sat beside her. “I still like you, so you’re stuck with me. Look, your dad isn’t going to listen to us unless we find solid proof that Lady Monica is up to something evil.”

She looked up at him. “So does that mean you aren’t bailing on me?”

He gave her that huge grin of his that made his eyes go all crinkly at the corners. “No, I would never bail on you. I think we should abstain from any further fires however simply to avoid any more lectures from your father. It would make things simpler.”

“If you insist.”

“I really must.” He tweaked her nose.

Holly slapped at his hand. “Don’t do that dork.”

He laughed and did it again and when she went to punch him, he grabbed her wrist and stopped her. “Fine I won’t as long as you do not ever Holly punch me again.”

“Holly punch?”

“Yes indeed, defined as a punch so hard your arm is quite useless for at least five full minutes.”

“Dork,” she said with a chuckle.

“Yes, but I’m your favorite dork.”

She shook her head at him, but she didn’t dare answer that, because he really was her favorite dork. He’d become her favorite in so many ways. From the way he made her laugh, to the way he cheered her up and the way he’d taken care of her when she’d injured her ankle. Even the way he teased her. There were many things she had come to like so very much about Logan.

“If we’re going to keep watching Lady Monica I suppose we’re going to have to do it a little more quietly now,” she said.

“Yes we will, we don’t want your dad or Will accusing us of disturbing her overly much.”

“Right don’t want to upset the fancy lady so she complains,” Holly said with a snort.

Logan grinned. “Nope. So we’ll just be a little more overt about it, don’t worry she’ll slip up eventually.”

He stood and stretched, before crossing the room and heading for the door. “I’ll go check on Deva and Mitchell, you stay put like a good girl and don’t cause your father anymore undue stress.”

She stuck her tongue out at him, but agreed. Once he was gone, she stretched out on the bed and stared up at the ceiling. Well, she supposed Logan was somewhat of a good influence, if it weren’t for him, she might just be climbing out her window about now instead of considering what might happened if she did just that. The result, not so pleasant an outcome if she was caught, so she’d follow his directive and stay put like a good girl.