Infamous Read Free Page A

ladies would jump at the chance. When you favor my company, they feel neglected.” Jory searched for a plausible excuse and found one. “I’ll stay and watch for Lynx’s arrival.”
    â€œFamily duty be damned. Keep your eyes open for a tempting young lord who will lure you to dalliance.”
    As Joanna left, the corners of Jory’s mouth lifted in a secret smile. She had learned much from the royal princess, not the least of which was how to dissemble, flatter, and manipulate so that she could do exactly as she pleased. She gripped the crenellated wall and gazed downward. She was in time to see the sable-clad noble swing a long, powerful leg across his stallion’s rump and dismount in one lithe movement that kept his back ramrod straight and his head erect. A frisson of desire rippled through her belly as he disappeared from her view. I believe I shall go hunting after all, and I have spotted my quarry!
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    Jory returned to the imposing rectangular building in the Upper Ward where Princess Joanna and her ladies resided. Their chambers, which took up the entire second floor, were in disarray.
    The ladies had hurriedly changed into their riding dresses and dropped the garments they’d been wearing onto their beds, knowing the servants would pick up after them.
    Jory entered Joanna’s chamber and swept up the soiled petticoat from last night before the serving women found it. She followed the sound of female voices and found three servants tidying Maud Clifford’s chamber. She gave the women a measuring glance, selected one, and took her into her own room. “Dora, you are about my size. How would you like to have this dress I’m wearing?”
    â€œOh, my lady, it’s brocade! Do you mean it?”
    â€œThere’s a catch. I have need of the plain grey tunic you are wearing. Will you trade with me?”
    â€œIndeed I will, Lady Marjory. I have half a dozen like this.”
    Jory unfastened her gown and stepped out of it as Dora hurriedly removed her tunic. Then she lifted her gown over the servant’s head and fastened the buttons that ran down the back. “Go and look in the mirror at how lovely you are.” Jory thanked Dora, hung the grey tunic in her wardrobe, and donned another gown.
    She picked up Joanna’s petticoat, bundled it with one of her own that needed washing, and made her way to the castle laundry. It was a cavernous place beneath the vast kitchens, where dozens of washerwomen toiled daily over a mountain of soiled clothing and household linen. Boiling water, soap, lye, and starch branded them with red chapped hands, the telltale mark of their trade. The laundry also encompassed drying chambers, pressing rooms, and folding and storage areas for the clean linen.
    The head laundress bobbed a curtsy, while her young helpers at their scrubbing boards gaped. “How may I serve ye, m’lady?”
    Jory’s smile encompassed all. “You do such excellent work and I’m here to thank each one of you. Maud Clifford is responsible for Princess Joanna’s personal laundry, but I have a shrewd idea that she passes it off to one of you.”
    â€œMary’s the one wi’ the gentle hands,” the laundress confirmed.
    Jory dropped the petticoats into Mary’s washtub and smiled her thanks. “I’d love to look around. The vast scale of your operation is astounding. Would you be kind enough to show me?”
    The head laundress swallowed the bait and gestured for Mary to accommodate the princess’s lady-in-waiting. Jory took the lead immediately and maneuvered her way to the linen press, where the clean garments for all the castle servants were stored. As they walked between the rows of shelves, her eyes searched for things that would serve her purpose. She saw a pile of white linen headdresses and helped herself.
    â€œI’ve always wondered what the bathhouse women wear when they scrub the noblemen who