by C. J. Archer
I hummed as I collected herbs from the extensive range. For the first time in a long time I felt completely safe. The Deerhorns had fled and I was far from the trouble in the village. The cottage felt like it existed in a different world to Mull and the palace. Perhaps that was the result of the magic that had created it. I imagined the sorcerer conjuring up this peaceful place for his own pleasure. But that wasn't right. The sorcerer was an entity, not a person, and did not perform magic for itself.
I looked around, admiring the sorcerer's fine work, and caught sight of a horse through the trees. I crouched behind the yellow rose growing at the side of the cottage as the rider came into view. I released a breath and stood up.
"Good morning, Dane. I hope you brought food with you because I don't have enough for—"
"Dane?" came a voice from beyond the trees.
I groaned and mouthed "Sorry" to Dane as he dismounted.
"It's all right," he said. "They were bound to find out sooner or later."
Theodore and Balthazar rode into the clearing, twin looks of thunder on their faces. Theodore dismounted while Dane assisted Balthazar to the ground.
"Why did you tell her your real name and not us?" Theodore asked. "Are we not your friends too?"
"He didn't trust us," Balthazar said.
"That's not it," Dane said.
Balthazar and Theodore glared at him, waiting.
Dane sighed. "I didn't trust you in the beginning, it's true, but later…I simply didn't see the point in telling you after so long."
"You didn't see the point?" Theodore threw his hands up with a huff. "I would like to have called you by your real name instead of that ridiculous moniker."
"Hammer isn't ridiculous," Dane said.
"It doesn't suit you."
"It does sometimes," Balthazar said.
It was Dane's turn to glare.
"When were you going to tell us?" Theodore asked. "Or were you never going to?"
"Of course I was going to," Dane said. "And soon."
Theodore crossed his arms. "You say that now that you've been caught."
"Let's go inside," I cut in quickly. "The tea will be ready." I hooked my arm through Balthazar's to help him on the uneven garden path. "Isn't it beautiful here? It's so peaceful. How is the village? Have the riots ended? Are Rhys and his men still there? Oh, and did you know the Deerhorns have left?"
Theodore glanced over his shoulder at me. "You don't have to be nervous, Josie. We don't blame you for not telling us. We know you trusted us." He punctuated the sentence with another glare for Dane.
Dane sighed again.
Balthazar's hold on my arm tightened. "Perhaps she did trust us," he said quietly. "Or perhaps she did not."
I stared straight ahead as Theodore pushed open the cottage door. He held it as we filed past him, his narrowed gaze tracking Dane.
Dane pulled out two of the chairs and slapped their backs with his palm. "Sit. Both of you. And drop the matter of the name. You can call me Dane from now on, if you prefer, or Hammer. It's up to you. If the others overhear, then so be it."
Theodore jerked a chair away from him. "So you put Bal and me on the same level as every other servant? Even the ones you've never had a conversation with? Nice to know where we stand."
I groaned. He was deeply hurt and I couldn't see any way to make amends. "Who wants tea?" I asked cheerfully.
Balthazar put up his hand. "Put some of those calming herbs into Theo's."
"And some truth-telling ones into his." Theodore jutted his chin in Dane's direction. "Whatever his name is today."
"There's no such thing as truth-telling herbs," I said lamely.
"Fine," Dane said to Theodore. "You want to know the real reason I never told you and Bal?"
"If it is the real reason," Theodore said huffily as he slunk into the chair.
Dane accepted one of the cups of tea from me and set it down with a thud in front of Balthazar. "I liked that Josie was the only one who called me by it." He deposited another cup in front of Theodore. Tea sloshed over the sides. "Satisfied?"
Theodore picked up his cup and saluted me with it. "Yes. Thank you. Why didn't you just say so before?"
"Why do you think?" Dane growled. He took the next two cups off me without meeting my gaze. Even when we both sat at the table, he wouldn't look in my direction.
I was glad of it. I didn't want him seeing my fierce blush. It was bad enough that Balthazar sported a small smile.
"Can we get down to business now?" Dane asked.
"Go right ahead, Dane." Theodore shook his head. "It's going to take some getting used to."
"What has happened?" I asked. "Are the villagers still rioting?"
"The riots have eased overnight and finally stopped this morning," Dane said. "Rhys is keeping some men there to make sure there are no more flare ups, but we both think the worst is over now that word has reached the villagers of the Deerhorns' departure."
"And the arrest," Balthazar added.
"They arrested the governor?" I asked.
Dane shook his head. "The sheriff refused, stating there isn't enough evidence."
"Which is true," Balthazar said.
"He's still guilty in my book," Theodore said.
"And mine," I chimed in. "But I can see why Sheriff Neerim won't arrest him without solid proof. He has already arrested Ned Perkin, so what is the new arrest you're referring to?"
"The two main leaders from The Row, the heads of each faction. They'd been at loggerheads before the fire and it was they who encouraged the looting and rioting in the village afterwards. If it hadn't been for them, there would still have been protests, but property would not have been damaged."
"They would have still stormed the Deerhorns' castle," I said. For me, I might have added. It was both incredible and humbling that the villagers had been willing to go to such lengths to save me.
"We didn't come here to tell you about the village," Balthazar said. "Although I understand your desire to know how your friends have fared."
"Then why have you come?" I glanced at each of them in turn. I didn't like the worried looks they gave me. "What's happened?"
"An attempt was made on the Duchess of Gladstow's life last night," Balthazar said.
My stomach dropped. "Hailia, no."
"It appears she has been poisoned, "Dane said. "She's ill but not as gravely as Lady Miranda was. I gave the duchess the same instruction your father gave Miranda to purge the poison from her body."
"She should rest too," I said. "But she's vulnerable."
"My men are watching her. I informed both dukes of my suspicion of poisoning immediately. Gladstow scoffed, saying it was just her delicate constitution and that she must have eaten a bad piece of fish, but Buxton instructed me to have men guard her. Gladstow couldn't refuse or he'd look guilty."
"He is guilty," I said. "He and Violette Morgrave."
"Quentin informed me of the conversation the stable hand overhead between Lady Morgrave and Lady Deerhorn. He should have informed me sooner."
"Give the lad his due," Theodore said. "He's been taking care of the duchess, making sure she purged up all of the poison and sitting with her, wiping her brow."
I rose, my hand at my stomach. "I have to make her some riverwart tea. If she doesn't drink it immediately…"
"The dose of poison mustn't have been very strong," Dane said. "She's not too sick."
Thank Hailia for that, but I still wanted to see her. "The danger to me is over now that the Deerhorns have gone," I assured him. "I'm going to see her."
"Not all of the Deerhorns have left," he pointed out. "Violette Morgrave is still here. If you are seen helping the duchess, she can report you to the authorities. The duke will support her, since he clearly wants his wife dead."
"It's just a tea," I told him. "I'm an apothecary." He hesitated so I added, "I'm allowed to dispense teas to ease a stomach ache."
He stood. "Then I'll fetch the water."
&nb
sp; I'd picked enough riverwart in the cottage garden to make three cups of tea. I didn't make it as strong as the antidote given to Miranda after she'd been poisoned. By diluting the riverwart in the water, Kitty would gently expel the rest of the poison from her body rather than do it quickly and violently.
I poured the warm tea into a jar and joined the men at the horses. Dane assisted Balthazar into the saddle then held the reins of Theodore's horse. Theodore didn't mount immediately, however.
"What is it, Theo?" Balthazar asked.
Theodore's lips flattened. "I find it hard to believe the duke would murder his wife in cold blood. The duchess is a fine woman, very amenable. What can he possibly have against her?"
"She's not Lady Violette Morgrave," Balthazar said. "Make no mistake, that woman is her mother's daughter. She's manipulative and knows just how to make a vain, weak man like the duke do her bidding."
"He certainly is vain, but I'm not so sure about weak," I said. "He's too cruel to be weak. He tried to force himself on Lady Claypool in the garden one evening."
Theodore gasped.
"He also wants an heir," I went on. "Kitty hasn't fallen pregnant in two years of marriage. To him, that's too long. He's hoping Violette will give him an heir."
"But she has no children of her own," Theodore said. "How can he be sure she will fall pregnant?"
"She's manipulative," Balthazar said again. "No doubt she has convinced him she's fertile."
We rode to the palace, and Dane escorted me to Kitty's apartment. Her ladies' maid, Prudence, let us in, although her displeasure was written into every groove surrounding her pinched lips.
Kitty lay beneath the covers on the large canopied bed. Her eyes were two deep pits amid her pale face, but they were alert rather than glassy. She managed a smile upon seeing me.
"Josie." She lifted her hand and I took it. "I'm so glad you're here."
"How do you feel?" I asked. "Any nausea?"
"No medical questions," Dane warned.
"I feel better," Kitty said. "I think the poison has left my body." Her fingers tightened around my hand, and I was pleased to see she had a good amount of strength.
I glanced at the bowl on the floor beside the bed. "Let me empty this for you."
"Prudence will do it."
I picked it up anyway and took it into the bathroom where I sniffed the contents. Beneath the stink of stomach juices was the distinctive sickly sweet smell of cane flower, the same poison that had been used on my father. Thank Hailia the poisoner hadn't used enough to kill her.
I emptied the contents of the bowl into the small bath and flushed it down the drain with the entire pail of water. I took the bowl back into the bedchamber and met the maid's stern gaze with my own.
"I brought you some tea," I said to Kitty. I removed the jar from my pack and filled the cup by the bed.
Kitty sat up and sipped. I waited until she'd drunk all of it.
"You look as though you need some rest," I said, choosing my words carefully in the presence of Prudence.
"She does," Prudence said. "Please leave. Take your guards with you, Captain. There's no need for them to be here."
"She was poisoned," Dane said. "There is every reason to keep a watch stationed with the duchess."
She made a scoffing sound. "She merely has a weak constitution and a fanciful imagination. She wasn't poisoned, she just ate something that had gone off."
Kitty's lashes lowered and she sank into the pillows. She'd given up fighting this woman. Prudence was the duke's creature, and Kitty, for all her high status, had no power over her.
Prudence crossed her arms and regarded me coolly. "I ordered you to leave."
"You are the one who will leave," Dane said.
The maid bristled. "I will not. My orders are to remain with the duchess at all times."
"Leave," he said again. "Or my men will remove you."
The two guards moved up alongside her, hands on sword hilts. The maid's mouth worked but no sound came out. She turned quickly and marched out of the bedchamber. One of the guards closed the door.
Kitty expelled a long breath. "Thank you, Captain. I thought I'd never be rid of her."
"Do you know how the poison was administered?" I asked.
"It must have been in my meal last night. Prudence served it in here. My husband has banned me from joining the other ladies, you see. It was him, Josie. I know it. Prudence might have been the one to administer the poison, but it was done at his bidding."
I looked to Dane. "What can we do?"
"Without proof? Nothing," he said.
I rubbed my aching forehead. Poor Kitty. She deserved justice. "At least it wasn't a strong dose," I said. "But next time, they might not make the same mistake."
"Which is why you're going to leave the palace, Your Grace," Dane said. "Pack your things and return home."
"I wouldn't be safe there either," she murmured. "No, I won't leave the duke."
"But he's trying to kill you!" I cried.
"You misunderstand, Josie. I'm not staying because I still love him. I'm staying because I'm the Duchess of Gladstow. If I leave, it is an admission of defeat. I might as well just give Violette my title on a platter." She fussed with the bedcovers that had fallen to her waist. "I will show him, show them both, that I will not be set aside."
"Kitty, he's not trying to set you aside. He's trying to kill you. You're risking your life by staying."
"I agree with Josie," Dane said. "My men can only protect you so much. If the duke commands them to leave your chambers, they'll have no choice. You'll be vulnerable to another attack, particularly if your maid continues to work for him."
She nibbled at her lower lip. "I see your point."
"So you'll leave," I said.
"No."
"But—"
"I won't give in, Josie." She caught both my hands in hers. "I will be careful with my food. I won't eat a thing until Prudence has eaten half. Or I'll go to the kitchens myself and eat with the staff. I've always wanted to see how the servants dine."
I groaned. "This isn't an entertainment."
"You mustn't worry. I'll be very careful from now on."
I sighed. How could I get through to her?
"There is another way." Dane's voice sliced clear through the silence.
Kitty leaned forward, her interest piqued as well. "Go on, Captain."
"Do you remember the tea you made for Leon?" he said to me.
"To relieve his constipation," I said. "I remember. What about it?"
"Make some for the maid. Add it to her tea, her food, anything she consumes."
Kitty pulled a face. "I think I follow. You plan for her to be frequently absent in order to relieve herself. Actually, I don't follow. How will that protect me?"
"If she can't adequately perform her duties, the duke will dismiss her. We'll make sure she's replaced with someone we can trust. A palace maid, perhaps, or a woman from the village."
"Josie, can you make some of that potion?" Kitty asked.
"I'll have it ready this afternoon," I said.
"In the meantime, my men will remain here." Dane nodded at the two guards and they nodded back.
He opened the door and waited for me to exit ahead of him, but Kitty caught my hand. She waved me closer and I bent down to her level. "Your captain is both handsome and clever," she whispered, her warm eyes shining. "You're very lucky."
"He's not my captain," I whispered back.
"He could be, if you put in a little effort. It only requires you to use your femininity a little more effectively."
I had no idea how to do what she suggested but I smiled and thanked her for the advice, then realized what I was admitting by doing so. "He's not my captain," I said again so there could be no mistake.
"Of course." She winked.
It would seem I wasn't going to get through to her. Without telling her the full story of the memory loss, I doubted she would accept any explanation I gave.
&
nbsp; Dane and I headed along the service corridors to the garrison. His profile was steely, his brow heavy, but that could have been a result of the shadows cast by the torches in the dark recesses.
"I'll escort you back to the cottage," he said. "I can wait while you make up the concoction for the maid then bring it back. There's no need for you to also return."
"I could return to the village now that it's safe."
"I'd prefer you stayed at the cottage until I depart from the palace. I won't leave until I know Mull is completely safe."
"Ah. About that…" I cleared my throat. "Can we talk?"
"That depends," he said.
"On what?"
"On whether you're going to use your femininity on me."
My heart did a little flutter. "Do you want me to?"
His pace slowed. "Yes," he murmured.
I caught his hand and stopped, forcing him to face me. Slowly, slowly, his gaze lifted to meet mine. My heart skipped a beat at the intensity in the deep orbs. He hadn't looked at me like that in some time.
I wanted to reach up and capture his face, to kiss him senseless right there in the light of a flickering torch. I wanted to tell him I loved him, and that I knew he had feelings for me. But I didn't want him to discard his vow either. Not until he was ready.
I warred with myself and in the end, he made the decision.
He sighed then dragged his hand through his hair and looked away. "You wished to say something."
"Right. Yes." I searched for a way to tell him. After that interlude, I suspected everything I had planned to say would come out wrong. So I just gave him the simplest version. "I'm leaving with you."
He cocked his head to the side. "We agreed that you should stay here. I'll come back if…if I am free to do so."
"I didn't agree to that. And if you are not free to come back…at least we can say goodbye."