A hurricane of questions assaulted her mind as she worked her way around the room looking for any evidence of foul play. Why kill Olavo? Who had access to his room? How long had he been dead?
A knock on the sitting room’s outer door jolted her from her concerns. Racing from the bedchamber, Jax opened the door in grim greeting. Uma’s face paled, her doe eyes wide. “I just ran into Corporal Highriver downstairs. Tell me he’s playing a cruel joke.”
I’m afraid not. Jax sighed and ushered Uma inside. “What exactly did Highriver tell you?”
Uma, clearly afraid to disturb anything in the sitting room, remained standing. “Not much. He told me to stay on the premises today…as if I had planned on leaving. When I asked him why, he said Sir Olavo had died sometime during the night and inquiries needed to be made.”
With crossed arms, Jax glided to one of the windows. “I guess Charles hasn’t made much headway with his autopsy exam yet. I was hoping we might have a time of death.”
Uma shuddered. “I take it Sir Olavo didn’t die from natural causes.”
A somber smirk flashed on Jax’s lips. “It’s highly doubtful.”
After bringing Uma up to speed on what little she’d uncovered, the two women entered Olavo’s bedroom. “Whoever did this to him did a very thorough job cleaning. I haven’t found a speck of blood anywhere.”
Uma bit her lower lip. “It would certainly take a lot of time and towels to soak up that much blood.”
Jax nodded. “You’re right, but I haven’t found anything that could have been used to clean up the scene. The guards searching the estate haven’t reported finding anything either.”
A dark chuckle escaped Uma. “You’d think a pile of bloody towels wouldn’t be too hard to track down.”
Surveying the room once more, Jax’s gaze halted on the flickering fireplace, the flames choking on the mountainous pile of charred remains. “Unless they don’t exist anymore.” In a hurried move, she grabbed the fire poker from its stand and prodded the glowing embers. Careful to avoid the copious amounts of soot that had spilled onto the wooden floor, Jax searched the debris left by the dying fire. “Uma, is this what I think it is?”
Uma swooped in beside her, focused on the pile of black charcoal. “What do you see?”
Jax tapped the end of the poker against a small scrap of white fabric, nestled under two tented pieces of charred kindling. The fire’s heat had licked away at the kindling, preserving the piece of linen underneath.
“Blood.” Uma sucked in a breath, her eyes finally finding the crimson-soaked cloth. “If I’m not mistaken, that fabric is the same as the bedsheets.” She motioned over to Olavo’s canopied mattress.
Sliding the poker back into its stand, Jax headed for the ornate bureau tucked away in the corner room. While the first two drawers were filled with clean towels and extra nightclothes, the third drawer only contained six pillowcases, which looked as if they’d been mussed. “Our culprit must have used the extra bed linens to wipe up the evidence, then burned everything to ash.”
Uma eyed the fireplace once more. “The fire is almost out. If the sheets were indeed burned, I’d say the attack and subsequent clean-up would have happened at least four or five hours ago.”
Jax was pleased with her friend’s deduction. “We’ll make a detective out of you yet.” She squeezed Uma’s shoulder. “Let’s see if Charles can confirm your theory—oh, Virtues, look at my slippers!” Holding up the hem of her nightgown, Jax’s expression collapsed with dismay over the state of her fox fur-lined shoes. Even though she’d been careful around the hearth, black soot flecked the tips of the fur that lined each shoe.
Uma’s reflexes failed her, as she was unable to conceal a snort. “You’ve left quite the mess, Duchess.” She pointed to the line of dirty footprints leading from the fireplace to the linen bureau.
Using Uma’s outstretched arm for balance, Jax removed her slippers and hopped clean of the soot cascading from the hearth. “I suppose I should change. I can’t continue running around the manor in my nightclothes. It’s unseemly.”
Chuckling, Uma escorted her back to her suite. “Since when have you ever cared about being unseemly?”
Jax smirked. “If we’re to track down who did this, I need everyone’s minds functioning and focused…not ogling my alluring figure.” In flirty emphasis, she ran one hand through her tangled curls while placing the other suggestively on her hip.
Uma lost her composure and burst into full belly laughs, the cheery sound echoing up and down the hallway. “I will never understand how you can take something so ghastly as murder and still make the best of it.” She wiped tears from her eyes, and Jax noticed fear and hesitation return.
Squeezing her friend’s hand, Jax’s teasing demeanor sobered. “When I heard the commotion coming from the guards this morning, my first thought was that something had happened to you, Vita, or George.” She bit her quivering lower lip. “How awful is it that I was relieved to hear Sir Olavo was the subject of their concern?”
Uma’s normally angelic expression soured. “Not awful at all. That man played a role in trying to kill you, Jax. His death is hardly something to be mourned.”
Momentarily left speechless by the harsh sentiments from her normally levelheaded lady-in-waiting, Jax paused before responding. “As deceitful and dubious as Olavo’s actions were, we must remember the man believed he was only serving his Duchess. Besides, if I asked you to deliver poisoned goods to my enemies, wouldn’t you do it?”
The question startled Uma. “You’d never stoop so low.”
“Would I?” Jax raised an eyebrow as she reached for the door handle and ambled inside the comforts of her suite. “If I felt there was no other option…who knows what I might do?”
With tentative steps, Uma followed her into the bedroom and set about assembling her wardrobe for the day. “When you phrase it that way…I suppose I would do whatever you asked me, because I believe in you and your vision for the future of the realm.”
Jax dipped her head as realization dawned in Uma’s eyes. “So, can we really condemn Olavo to death for blindly following the will of Duchess Tandora and her comrades?”
Uma’s shoulders bent in defeat. “No. I suppose not.” A stifled gasp escaped her lips. “What will poor Ines think? Olavo was the only family she had left.”
The memory of Olavo’s sister filled Jax’s mind. “I think after she found out the role he played in Tarek Killiam’s death, Ines had written her brother off, or at least tried to tell herself he meant nothing to her. But he is family.” She paused. “This is news she deserves to receive in person.”
“Do you think we’ll ever see her again?” Uma asked, laying out a pale rose gown lined with gold trim.
Shirking off her dressing robe, Jax began untying the lace that looped her nightgown together. “I have a feeling we will.” After the unmasking of her brother’s crimes, Lady Ines had decided to travel to Zaltor with high ranking members of the Ancient Faith, Edrice and Ammon. The Ancient Faith had already pledged its support to Saphire in the approaching war, leaving Jax little doubt that she would see the trio again. “Why don’t you go collect Sabine and Vita for breakfast while I see to Charles’s progress?”
Uma blanched. “Breakfast? You expect them to be able to eat after hearing what’s happened?”
Jax patted her stomach. “Well, if they aren’t ready to eat, that’s their prerogative, but I will need some sustenance if we’re going to get to the bottom of what’s happened.”
“There you go, keeping things light again.” Uma shook her head. “Jax, has it crossed your mind that Olavo’s killer might very well still be in this house?”
As her amethyst gaze trailed out the window, Jax pressed her lips together with grim understanding. “Uma, my dear, Corporal Highriver already reported that no one has left the estate grounds. The gates have been closed since Carriena’s arrival. Which means…” she locked eyes with her lady in waiting, “the killer is most cert
ainly among us.”
Wringing her hands together, Uma shuffled toward the suite’s entrance. “Well, isn’t that a pleasant thought.”
Jax followed her friend out into the third-floor hallway. “I’m going to go check in on George first. I’m sure he won’t be pleased we’ve kept him in the dark this long.” She steeled herself for the Captain’s reaction. “I’ll meet you and the girls in the dining room after I’ve conferred with Charles over the autopsy.”
With shivering shoulders, Uma nodded and set off toward Vita’s chambers. “Be careful, Duchess.”
Jax turned and headed for George’s room, barely pausing to knock on the door.
The Captain sat propped up in bed, wiping sleep from his eyes. Good, he’s only just awakened.
“To what do I owe this wake-up call?” A sarcastic smile twitched on his lips. “I would have thought you demand I sleep in as late as possible.”
She plopped down on his bed. “I’m glad to see whatever sleeping aid Charles gave you last night did its job. You’ve slept through quite an eventful morning.”
His eyes narrowed with suspicion. “What do you mean?”
George’s hand clenched the bedsheets as she told him the news, the only indication he gave of his budding fury at being left in the dark for so long.
“Uma and I just came from examining Olavo’s chambers,” she concluded. “We believe his killer cleaned up the blood and burned the evidence using the fireplace in the bedroom.”
“And Highriver confirmed that no one entered or left the estate?” George kept his tone even as he questioned her.
Jax poured him a glass of water from the pitcher resting on the nightstand. “Not since Carriena arrived. The gates have been barred shut, and no one could scale the wall unnoticed by the sentries.”
“Meaning our killer is still in Galensmore.”
Jax leaned against one of the poles supporting the canopy overhead. “Highriver called for every available guardsman not on duty to search the premises. No one has been found hiding outside, so we can conclude the killer is someone within the manor.” She did her best to keep her rising panic steady, but conceding that point out loud to George made it terribly difficult.
With surprising deftness, George threw back the sheets and climbed out of bed. “Every available guardsman except me,” he growled as he tugged off his sleep shirt, his bandaged torso on display.
Jax opened her mouth to protest, but he cut her off. “I realize that you thought you were protecting me by letting me rest through all of this, but let me remind you, Duchess, my sole purpose in life is to see you kept safe. How can I do that if I’m not at least informed about what’s going on?”
“George, calm down. Wynn and Ansel only discovered Olavo missing less than two hours ago.” Jax crossed her arms in defiance. “I’m experienced enough in these matters to know that time is of the essence. If we are going to catch this killer, we have to act quickly. I simply did what I thought was best…what you would order everyone to do.”
Panting, for the simple movement of getting out of bed and throwing on a fresh tunic seemed to drain him, George sank down on the mattress beside her. “As much as my pride hates to admit it, reporting to me would have cost valuable time in the search of the estate.” He reached for his neck, rubbing at the tight muscles with his fingers. “You said Charles was doing an exam of the body?”
Jax nodded, relieved by his acceptance of the situation. “I’m hoping he can give us a more accurate time of death.”
“What about cause of death? You mentioned a hole in Olavo’s chest…what could have made it?”
Sighing, Jax twirled a strand of her hair. “That I don’t know. I’ve never seen anything like it. It was like it he was run right through.” She shuddered at the memory of Olavo’s broken, bloodied body in the rose bushes. “I didn’t find anything in his room, either. The killer either took the weapon with him or somehow was able to destroy it in the fireplace with the linens.”
“Him?” George raised an eyebrow.
Jax’s cheeks grew hot. “Considering the only women on the estate are myself, Uma, Vita, Sabine, Carriena, and Mistress Ellamae, I think it’s logical to assume our killer is male.”
George’s searching stare rattled her insides.
“Why do I get the feeling you don’t agree with me?” Jax’s voice caught in her throat.
A grim frown stretched across the Captain’s lips. “I think I should keep my opinions to myself until we learn more from the autopsy.”
She jabbed his arm on his uninjured side. “I think you should tell me what you’re thinking now.” She gritted her teeth.
With stiff limbs, George pushed himself off the bed and wandered over to one of the windows. “I think it would be wise to keep our minds open, Jax, especially after the attack at the palace. War changes people. The fear war brings…it changes their values and their hopes. If they could prevent it, or save themselves, they might be willing to do anything.”
“What are you saying?”
George turned, his dark gaze full of anxiety. “Why kill Olavo? Where’s the motive?”
Startled by the change in subject, she took a moment to puzzle over the questions. “I don’t know.” She joined him by the window, watching the morning sun caress the fields that surrounded the manor. “Do you think someone made an error? Do you think someone was trying to kill me? Finish what Raulph started back in Saphire?”
George leaned against the window pane, his eyes focused on her. “I do think this person meant to finish what Raulph started. But I think we made the wrong assumption about who Raulph’s true target was to begin with.”
Her nose wrinkled with confusion, but as she replayed George’s words in her mind, a staggering revelation dawned. “That day in the throne room…Olavo was right in front of me!” Her eyes widened. “Raulph hadn’t been aiming to kill me. He’d been after Olavo!”
George nodded. “You summoned Olavo to the throne room to garner what secrets about our enemies he possessed.”
Jax steadied herself as a jolt of fear raced through her bones. “Raulph was sent to silence him.”
“And when he failed, someone else was tapped to finish the job.” George headed for the door, his gait stilted and stiff, but determined. “Come, let’s see if Charles has figured out what killed Olavo. We can regroup from there.”
“George.” Jax hastened to his side and placed a hand on his forearm. The look in his eyes told her it would be useless to ask him to stay behind. “Duchess Tandora would have received the War Council summons a few weeks ago. I didn’t outright accuse Delphinia and her cronies of plotting my assassination in the letter, but we haven’t exactly been keeping Olavo’s arrest a secret while traversing the continent. If she found out he was in our custody...”
Holding the door for her, George ushered her out into the hall. “You think she might be the one who puppeteered his death?” he asked, keeping his voice low.
“It makes sense,” she whispered in a hush as they made their way down to the first-floor landing. “Once she realized her plan had been foiled, Delphinia would want Olavo out of the way, for fear he might divulge something my allies and I could use to our advantage.”
Before George could respond, the swoosh of robes alerted them they were not alone.
Bernard Hoftstead barreled into the foyer, a line of sweat dribbling down his rosy cheeks. “Goodness, the guardsmen are in quite a state. What in Virtues has happened, Jax?”
During their years at the Academy together, which had been filled with plenty of ghastly surprises, she had never seen the Lord Chamberlain so out of sorts. Bernard’s normally immaculate appearance was rumpled, and Jax spied dirt along the hem of his robes and on his shoes. “Goodness, Bernard, where have you been?” She deliberately didn’t give him a direct answer, for her mind compared Bernard’s dirty robe and loafers to the soot on the floor in Olavo’s bedroom.
He ran a hand through his disheveled hair, trying to flatten t
he copper-colored strands. “I was outside tending to the garden. I find it relaxing to watch the sunrise. I’d only just come in to wash up for breakfast when I ran into Highriver barking orders. What’s going on?”
His gaze was innocent enough, but it seemed odd to Jax that he hadn’t noticed something awry earlier, when the Ducal Guard patrolled the estate for the hidden culprit. Again, she decided against answering him. “Captain Solomon and I are needed in the cellar.” As she glanced around the hallway, she sheepishly continued. “Although, I don’t quite remember where the entrance is.”
With a wave of his billowing robes, Bernard motioned for Jax and George to follow him down the service hallway. “It’s through the kitchen.”
Mistress Ellamae hardly noticed their presence as they wove their way through her workspace. She was busy rearranging puffy loaves of bread in the large brick oven. A cinnamon aroma washed over Jax as she trailed after Bernard, her stomach growling in anticipation of breakfast.
Beside her, George chuckled softly. “Even in the face of death, your appetite wins out.”
She was about to toss back a biting comment when Bernard pulled back a hardly noticeable oak door and extended a trembling finger into the darkness. “You’ll find it just down these steps.”
Taking the lead, George eased himself down the steep stairs, leaning heavily on the handrail. His wound must be killing him, Jax thought. He didn’t even take any pain relief before we left. She turned to ask Bernard to fetch one of the untouched vials by the Captain’s bedside, but the Lord Chamberlain had already disappeared.
“Odd,” Jax murmured, following in step behind George.
Through laborious breaths, George snickered. “Not everyone is as eager to view a dead body as you, Duchess.”
She frowned. “But he doesn’t even know about Olavo.”
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