I stepped away from Hudson. “You can’t ask me to marry some horrible old crazy guy. Why don’t you just wait until King John’s eating dinner and tell the other guards he asked you to get something from his room.”
Hudson shot me a look to let me know I was being unreasonable.
“Do you know what would happen if I got caught snooping around the king’s rooms? And besides, since when did you get picky about men? I thought you liked the horrible type.”
“Just because I dated Bo doesn’t make me an idiot.”
“Yeah, technically it does.”
135/356
“No,” I said, my hand clenched. “It makes me a person who made a mistake.”
“And Robin Hood?”
“I never wanted him as a boyfriend.”
“That’s not what he says. He says you had a crush on him, and when he spurned you, you sent him back.”
“Well, he’s not the most reliable source, is he?” I turned away from Hudson and looked out the window again. Fine. If he wouldn’t help me escape, I’d find a way to do it myself. Before morning, this room would be filled with spools of golden thread. I could braid some of it together and make a rope. After all, it worked with Rapunzel’s hair.
That’s how you know you’re really desperate—when you start making escape plans based on what worked for Rapunzel. Thinking out loud, I said, “How thick would a golden rope have to be to support my weight?”
I shouldn’t have thought out loud. Hudson put his hand in front of the windowsill. “Don’t you dare escape on my watch, Tansy.” I was about three stories up. The cobblestones on the ground seemed so far away, but what choice did I have? “I’m not doing anything that’ll result in me marrying King John and having his baby.”
“Okay. Don’t.” Hudson moved in front of me, blocking the window so I couldn’t see past his crimson surcoat. “But don’t mess up my plans or do anything that will send me to the stockades. I’m going to make sure there’s a guard underneath your window. Don’t even think about climbing down it.”
“If you escaped with me, they couldn’t punish you.”
“And if I escaped with you, I couldn’t get the Gilead.”
“Chrissy will fix things.”
He shook his head. “Sorry. I’m placing my bets on the wizard.” 136/356
I stomped my foot in frustration. “You’re trapping me in here?”
“No, you did that with your wish. I’m trying to get us home. If you want to escape, do it sometime when I’m not guarding you.” Hudson moved away from the window. “I’d better go so Rumpelstiltskin can come.”
Hudson’s casual tone irked me even more. “Don’t say his name.”
“What?”
In a voice so low it was barely more than a hiss, I said, “If he knows that I know his name, he won’t ask me for it in a year, will he?
That’s how I save my baby.”
“The baby you’re refusing to have?”
“Yes.”
“If things go well, neither of us will be here in a year, but fine, my lips are sealed. I’d better go before He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named comes.” Hudson strode back to the door, opened it, then turned and cast me one last glance. My hands were still balled into fists.
“I think you’re supposed to be crying,” he said and closed the door.
I didn’t cry. I took off my shoe and threw it at the door.
• • •
I didn’t stay barefoot for long. The stone floor was cold, and it’s hard to pace with only one shoe. As I walked around the room, I thought of my family’s situation. Hudson was young, strong, and tall even by twenty-first-century standards. Here in the twelfth century where people were naturally shorter, he wasn’t having any trouble taking care of himself. But Dad and Sandra were librarians, and Nick was an underweight computer nerd. These were not stunning recommendations for life in the Middle Ages.
137/356
I hoped my family had enough sense to stay barricaded in our house and barter off a few belongings when they needed more food.
As I paced, I sent irritated looks at the door. It was just like Hudson to end up guarding me. He probably thought my stint as the miller’s daughter was some sort of divine justice for accidentally sending him here.
I purposely stayed far away from the spindle that sat on the stool.
I had the vague fear that Chrissy might have mixed up my wish even more than I’d realized, and if I pricked my finger on the spindle, I would fall into an enchanted hundred-year sleep.
Every once in a while, I went to the window and looked out. Just as Hudson had said, another guard was posted down below.