Chapter 16 A Double Spy

Susan's attic was small and dark.

A little bed took up most of the room. A small table crowded together in the corner with a narrow old wooden chest. The chest was stuffed with almost all of Susan's private possessions: a pair of underwear, a day dress, and a small basket of tools.

Shadow stood in the middle of the room, dark cloaks wrapped around his body, dim oil lamp flame waving behind him, yet unable to break up the darkness before him.

That's another reason Susan hated Shadow. Even when they met every night, she didn't really see his face.

Once, while practicing her royal curtsey, she pretended to trip over in front of him and almost pulled his hood off. Still, he dodged away as quick as lightning, then laughed at her stupidity.

Susan had been holding a grudge about it for a long time.

What kind of man needed to hide his face like that? Susan thought in her heart angrily: He must be horrid, the face full of scars and warts, even more, with uneven eyes and a crooked mouth.

"Practice, now," Shadow said coldly.

"But the court dressmaker interview is just tomorrow. Are we still going to practice tonight?"

Susan had grown tired of the tedious royal etiquette practice:

What to perform the courtesy while attending the court; how to dress the Queen according to the different ceremonies; how to address various royal titles; and memorize the royal family tree.

Though, Susan couldn't understand why a court dressmaker need to memorize the royal family tree. But she did it anyway.

In addition to the knowledge necessary to serve the Queen, Shadow required Susan to walk, sit, eat, and talk like a high-rank lady. Actually, this course took Shadow and Susan most of their time and energy.

The other Shadow's behavior Susan didn't understand was that he took lots of effort to teach her about world geography, history, and government power structure. She meant to learn more about this strange world was a good thing for her situation, but WHY?

Overall, a royal dressmaker could probably use 20% of the knowledge of Shadow's teaching, which was already the best Susan could expect. But if she was trained as a spy, that makes much more sense.

A spy!

Susan sighed in her heart.

Today, after hearing the Duke's conversation with the highest priest and Daniel, she was finally able to confirm her long suspicions.

Shadow was training her as a spy.

Susan tried to ask Shadow about her training purpose before, but Shadow never gave her a straight answer.

Whatever Susan used a roundabout way or asked directly to his face, the answer she got was always the same:

"When you settled yourself in the court, you will understand."

If not for today's encounter with the Duke, and mistakenly become his subordinate. Susan probably would have waited until she was in the Palace before thinking about this.

At this point, seeing Shadow wrapped around her like a messager from Hell, Susan suddenly realized a problem:

She was already the Duke's spy, and if Shadow intended to make her a spy, she would be a double spy, isn't she?

A double spy?

Holly crap!

Was this mission difficulty a bit too high?

Shouldn't she start with a few novice tasks first to buffer?

Susan took a few deep breaths, told herself to calm down three times, then said:

"Anyway, the interview is tomorrow, so there's no need to practice today, right? Why Don't you tell me about the Palace?" Susan chose her words carefully, "Is there anyone I should be extra careful with? Anything?"

Shadow was silent for a few seconds, then asked:

"What do you want to know?"

Susan speechless.

How can you ask me? Shouldn't you tell me what I should spy on, eavesdrop on, be alarmed, or pay attention to?

It was so quiet at that moment.

Susan could hear the wind blowing through the window and the Owl Calling in the braches. The downstairs was silent, and Ella was probably curled up in her little bed, asleep. As for the woman, she was supposed to call her mother, invisible as usual.

Shadow seemed to think a while, then asked:

"Why all of a sudden?"

Susan was silent for a moment, then hopefully asked again: "You really have nothing to say to me?"

"What do you want me to say?" Shadow asked, sounding a little bit confused.

Susan was speechless. She even started to doubt herself: Did Shadow really want her to be a spy?

If he didn't, why would he train her?

If he did, why didn't he tell her anything about the mission?

Susan was completely confused by Shadow now.

"You're acting weird today," Shadow said. Susan could almost tell from his voice that under the hood, he must be frowning and studying her with his sharp eyes.

"I am fine, and it's nothing. Please forget about it." Susan was a little frustrated. She couldn't figure out what he was up to, putting her in a bad mood.

"Being weird is not nothing. Did you go out today?" Shadow obviously didn't want to let it go.

Susan's heart skipped a beat. Shadow must not know the Duke exists. it will be a disaster, and Susan didn't think she could handle that situation.