CHAPTER NINE

UPPING THE STAKES

The ragged, mischievous girl named Wafe – the one who had taken Fenn’s booty – returned to the palace that afternoon, her feet sore and her belly empty.  She managed to sneak into the castle in her usual manner.  She crept around the rear courtyard, staying behind the hedges, and then scaled the turret wall.  She used the vines for handholds and she kept the crossbow and stolen coins securely bundled inside her pack.

         Her bedroom was in the rear of the castle, a marble chamber lined with promotional portraits of popular minstrel groups of the day.  Some of the placards were signed: “To the Talented and Beautiful Pr...

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