by C. J. Archer
"You think that will make it easier? Merdu, Josie, it will be hard enough if I learn I have a wife. It will be even harder if you are there."
"I can't simply wait here for your return. It will be torture."
"You can get on with your life."
"Could you, if our positions were reversed?"
He looked down at his boots. "It's safer for you here now that the Deerhorns are gone."
"Safer but lonely without you. There'll be nothing for me here once you've left. If I go, I'll miss Meg but she's the only one. Mull doesn't even feel like my home, anymore."
He tilted his head back and blinked up at the ceiling. "You're making this so hard. I don't want to leave you behind—"
"Then don't."
"But if I have a wife…"
"If. It's not a certainty." I touched his chin so that he'd look at me and I offered him a weak smile. "We'll face that obstacle if it arises. But I am coming with you, Dane. You can't get rid of me that easily."
His lips quirked. "That's the problem. I don't want to."
Andreas, one of the warrior priests, appeared at the end of the corridor. "Thank the goddess, I found someone." He jogged up to us. "I'm looking for the garrison but these tunnels are more confusing than the ones beneath the temple. Can you direct me?"
"We're heading that way," Dane said, setting off.
Andreas looked at me, at Dane's retreating figure, and back at me. "My apologies, Josie. I interrupted something."
"Not at all." We followed Dane to the garrison where some of the guards sat along with several warrior priests, Balthazar and Theodore.
"How is the duchess?" Theodore asked me.
"A little unwell but she'll recover quickly," I said. "She's worried, though. She's certain her husband ordered her maid to add the poison to her food."
"Are you sure she was poisoned?" Balthazar asked.
I nodded.
"What precautions are you employing?" he asked Dane.
"Josie and I will set a plan in motion this afternoon," Dane said. "I'll escort her back to the cottage now."
Balthazar tapped the end of his walking stick into the flagstone floor. "Just a moment, Dane. Rhys has a report to give you."
Some of the guards frowned at Balthazar, perhaps wondering if he'd lost his mind. Others repeated Dane's name in curious whispers.
"Dane?" Quentin asked, his head tilted to the side like a quizzical puppy. "Have you remembered his first name, Balthazar? Is your memory returning?"
Balthazar folded his hands over the walking stick head and leaned on it. "It has not. While we know him as Hammer, he has always known his name was Dane."
"He only saw fit to inform us this morning," Theodore added with a pout in his voice.
"Dane," Quentin repeated. "It's a good name. Better than Hammer."
Max grunted. "Why'd you take so long to tell us?"
"I had my reasons. Rhys," Dane said to the master of the warrior priests. "Your report."
"Wait," Quentin said. "I'm confused. Do we call you Dane now?"
"Call me Captain."
Dane and Rhys spoke quietly at the table while the rest either watched on or returned to their conversations. Max pulled out a chair and signaled for me to join him.
"You knew, didn't you?" he asked.
"He told me his real name some time ago," I said. "He didn't want me calling him Hammer."
He grunted, but there was no resentment in it.
Quentin sat on the edge of the table near me, a bowl in hand. "Does the duchess need me, Josie? I have a cloth to wipe her brow and a bowl for purging into." He tossed the cloth into the bowl.
"She needs to rest now," I said.
"I should check that she drank all of the tea you made for her."
"Let her rest."
His shoulders slumped before his face lifted again. "I can keep the maid away."
"The guards on duty are doing that," Max said. "Do as Josie says. The duchess doesn't want to look at your spotty face while she's recovering."
"Can I be put on the next guard duty?"
Max nodded at the board where a roster had been written. "Remove Ray's name and add your own."
Dane and Rhys stood and an expectant hush fell over the room. "Master Rhys reports that the riots have completely stopped," Dane announced. "He and his men will maintain a presence in Mull tomorrow to make sure trouble doesn't flare up again. If all remains calm, they will leave the day after. Balthazar is going with them, as is Theodore." He met Max's gaze. "And me."
Murmurs once again rippled around the room, louder this time, but Quentin's voice rose above the noise. "You're leaving us, Captain? But…you can't!"
"I want to find out more about myself. Learning about Balthazar and Amar's lives in Tilting might help. It's not likely, but it's an opportunity I need to explore."
Quentin plopped down on a chair, the bowl in his lap. He looked like he wanted to be sick into it.
"Anyone who wants to do the same is welcome to travel to Tilting with us," Dane went on. "The rest can remain here. If we learn anything in the capital, word will be sent back."
The guards glanced at one another. Three declared they would travel to Tilting, but the rest looked uncertain. Only Max declared his intention to stay.
"The dukes will want some guards to remain at the palace," he said. "Even if they leave, someone should protect the property."
I smiled at him. I knew he chose to stay to be near Meg.
"There will be a need for other servants here too," Balthazar added. "It's likely the dukes will both remain for a little while, at least. Neither of them are willing to give up the power base."
"Balthazar, meet with the heads of each department," Dane said. "They can inform their staff and find out who wishes to stay and who will go. We depart at dawn the day after tomorrow." He indicated to me that it was time to leave, and I followed him amid an increasing hum of voices as the guards discussed their options.
"Do you think many will come with us?" I asked as we crossed the forecourt.
"Hard to say. Some see this as their home now and aren't interested in learning about their pasts, but most are. Many lack the courage to venture away, however. I expect many to stay and wait."
"Quentin didn't commit to staying or going, but I expect him to follow you," I said.
"He might, but he has a woman here now."
"He does?" That explained some things.
"I'm disappointed Max chose to stay," he said. "I've grown used to relying on him." It was the first time he'd ever shown something resembling friendship to any of his men. He considered Balthazar and Theodore to be friends, but they were his equals at the palace. Max was different.
We passed a sedan chair being set down on the forecourt tiles by its carriers. The Duke of Gladstow stepped out, and his gaze fell on Dane. I stood very still, hoping he would consider the captain's companion as beneath his notice. I didn't think he'd seen me when I rescued Lady Claypool from his clutches on the night of the revels, but I preferred to avoid him now anyway.
"Captain," he said. "Your men are disturbing my wife. Remove them from her chamber immediately."
"I will not, Your Grace," Dane said.
The duke's spine stiffened. "I order you to remove them!"
"I cannot act without the Duke of Buxton's agreement."
"You put them there without mine," the duke ground out through gritted teeth.
Dane bowed. "Your Grace."
The duke's gaze drifted to me for the first time. He frowned, as if he was trying to recollect where he'd seen me. I held my breath, but he strode off without acknowledging me in any way.
"Our plan had better work," I said, watching him go. "I can't leave without knowing Kitty is safe."
The following day, Dane accompanied me into the village, but we parted ways outside the Divers' house. Meg received me with a bone-crunching hug.
"Max told me you were safe at the palace, but I've still been worried," she said as we
settled at the kitchen table with her mother and a loaf of freshly baked bread. "After Lord Xavier took you away, I was so scared."
"We all were," Mistress Diver said.
"The Deerhorns have fled the village," I told them. "You no longer have to worry about their interference."
"Thank the goddess," Mistress Diver muttered. "With them gone and those two thugs from The Row in jail with Ned Perkin, the village can finally begin to return to normal."
"As normal as it can be with so many newcomers arriving every day plus the displaced residents from The Row on the streets," Meg said. "The council needs to build more houses, and quickly."
"Now that the Deerhorns can't influence the governor, conditions will improve," I said.
"Supplies will start to flow into Mull much faster than they have been," Mistress Diver added. "Some say the Deerhorns were controlling how quickly goods were processed in the customs house. Their departure will unblock the bottleneck."
I finished my slice of bread slowly as I tried to think of a way to tell them about my imminent departure, but I lacked the courage. I'd already informed Meg but she mustn't have told her mother or Mistress Diver would have tried to talk me out of it already.
I waited until she left to call on a friend, but I still avoided the conversation with Meg. Instead, I told her the other palace news. "Kitty was poisoned by her husband. It was only a mild dose, and she's recovering well. She looks better today."
"How awful! Has the sheriff been notified?"
"We can't prove who did it, although we're sure the maid administered the poison at the duke's direction. The sheriff won't dare arrest him without solid proof."
"Surely the duchess will leave him now. She can't possibly stay."
"She won't leave. She refuses to hand her husband and title over to Violette Morgrave." I told her about the tisane I'd given the maid to purge her bowels and our plan to replace her with someone who'd do our bidding and not the duke's.
"The tisane has begun to take effect," I said. "When I visited Kitty in her rooms before coming here, she was alone except for the guard. Her maid was indisposed."
Meg chuckled. "Good. I hope she soils herself."
"Kitty says her husband is irritated by the maid's frequent absences. She thinks he'll want to replace her very soon to resume his poisoning scheme."
Meg’s smile began slowly, tentatively, until it grew into a sly grin. "Replace her with me."
"Absolutely not! It's much too dangerous. If the duke discovered your duplicity, he might kill you."
"So it's all right to risk the life of a stranger, but not mine?"
"That's not what I meant."
"Josie, listen to me. I'm smart enough to avoid the duke's plotting. I can also try to convince the duchess to leave him. Besides, I want to do something other than sit here and work in my mother's kitchen." She picked up a wooden spoon she'd been using to stir the pot hanging over the fire and waved it in my face.
"I can't put you in the duke's way," I said, taking the spoon off her. "I'd never forgive myself if something happened to you."
"But—"
"No, Meg." I set the spoon down out of her reach. "There's something else I need to tell you before Dane gets back."
"Dane?"
"His real name." I waved off her questions. "I'm leaving with him tomorrow."
She gawped at me. "So soon?"
"We're traveling to Tilting with the priests and some of the other servants. Ever since the priests recognized Balthazar and Amar, Dane has wanted to find out if there's a link between their lives and his."
"I know you said you wanted leave with him, but I thought I'd have time to change your mind."
"There's nothing for me in Mull if he leaves." I reached across the table. "Except you."
"And I am not enough to keep you here."
I winced. It sounded unkind. "I want to be with Dane. I want to help him find his home."
She sat back, her arms over her chest, a frown on her face. "You're leaving me here, alone, with stifling parents."
"They love you."
"My mother wants me to be just like her, in the kitchen with children at my feet. But I want more. I want…" She sighed. "I'm not really sure what I want."
I understood. After my mother's death, my father had stifled me too. Perhaps it was why Meg and I were such good friends. We both wanted to live fuller lives, although it was a side of Meg that I'd only recently seen emerge. I suspected there was a reason for that.
"Max is staying behind because of you," I said.
Her cheeks flushed. "This isn't about him. It's about me. Just like your desire to leave isn't entirely about the captain."
"It is a little bit," I conceded. "But you're right. It's time to see what's outside Mull."
She clasped my hand. "So you agree I should become the duchess's new maid."
I hesitated then nodded. "But only if Max keeps a very close eye on the situation."
Her blush returned, but she smiled too.
I spent the afternoon saying goodbye to neighbors, friends and former patients. Many were upset to see me go and asked me to reconsider. Some even told me my father would be horrified, but those who remembered my mother's free spirit conceded that she would have let me go with her blessing. By the time I returned to the Divers' house, my heart was full and I'd shed more tears than I cared to admit.
I was about to go inside when Dane hailed me. He rode quickly up the street, and reined his horse to a stop beside me. I knew from the look on his face that something was wrong. Very wrong.
"What is it?" I asked.
"The gem," he said heavily. "It's gone."
Chapter 13
I grabbed the bridle as he jumped down, landing softly on his good foot. "What do you mean?" I asked. "Did you lose it?"
"It was dug up and removed. It's possible whoever took it didn't know the significance of it, they simply thought it a valuable jewel."
"Do you believe that?"
He closed his eyes and shook his head. "I don't understand how anyone could have known where it was. And if they saw me bury it, why wait until now to remove it? But…I'm sure I wasn't seen."
"Have you told anyone where it was? Anyone at all?"
He shook his head.
"Where did you bury it?" I asked.
"The graveyard."
"Then it was probably dug up by accident. Brant said the area was decimated by the rioters. I was about to head there for one last visit."
"Brant told you this?"
I nodded. "He returned from the village via the graveyard when Barborough chased him. He said the rioters pushed over headstones and did all kinds of damage. It's a travesty, and now one of those rioters has the gem. We should visit the silversmith in the village to see if someone tried to sell it to him." My voice dwindled as he shook his head.
"The area where I buried it wasn't touched by the rioters," he said. "The gravestones were upright and the only earth that was dug up was the spot where I buried the gem."
"The riverwart," I said on a breath. "You buried the gem when you planted the riverwart at my father's gravestone." I groaned as a wave of nausea swamped me. "It's my fault. I told him."
I sat on the front porch and buried my head in my hands. Dane sat beside me.
"What are you talking about?" he asked gently.
"After Brant told us about the graveyard, I asked him if my parents' headstones were damaged. In describing the location, I mentioned you planted a riverwart at the time of my father's death. He must have guessed you'd planted it to hide the gem buried there."
"Brant," he bit off. "At least we know who has it."
I felt even sicker. "If Brant has it, he can use his wishes to gain whatever he wants."
He got up and put out his hand to assist me to my feet. "Then we'll make sure he doesn't."
We raced back to the palace and searched the garrison and dormitory for Brant. We eventually found him in the commons enjoying a pie in the din
ing room.
"Brant, with me," Dane barked.
Brant hunched over his plate. "I'm eating."
Dane grabbed him by his sore arm and pulled him to his feet. Brant gritted his teeth but didn't make a sound. Dane marched him from the commons to the palace corridor then to Balthazar's office. I trailed behind and shut the office door.
Balthazar and Theodore looked up from the lists they'd been writing. "Making trouble again, Brant?" asked Balthazar.
"He took the gem," Dane said.
Theodore gasped and Balthazar dropped his pen. The ink spread over his paper, ruining his list.
Dane told them where he'd hidden the gem. Both men realized before he'd finished what had happened.
"I told him where to find it," I said on a groan. "Why didn't I realize earlier that's where you'd buried it? It's so obvious."
"It's not your fault, Josie," Balthazar said gently. "If Dane had informed you, you would have kept quiet."
"Or if he'd told us, we could have stopped you," Theodore added with a glare for Dane.
Dane ignored the jibe. "Hand it over, Brant."
"It wasn't me," Brant snapped.
The knuckles on Dane's fingers turned white as he dug into Brant's arm. Brant growled and tried to wrench free, but Dane relentlessly bore down. "Hand it over," he snarled.
"It wasn't me! Merdu and Hailia, don't you think I would have used it by now to get my memory back?"
"Perhaps you wished only for yours to return and you're pretending now. Or maybe you lied and you don't have the wishes. Maybe you plan to sell the gem to the Deerhorns or Lord Barborough. Or maybe you haven't considered how you want to use the wishes yet."
Brant wiped a bead of sweat from near his ear with his shoulder.
Dane whipped out his sword and dug the point into Brant's throat. A drop of blood beaded.
"Don't!" Theodore cried. "Please, Dane, I'm begging you, don't hurt him. You don't want it on your conscience."
"Where is it?" Dane ground out.
"You won't kill me," Brant said with a smirk. "Not if you think I have it."
Dane lowered the sword to Brant's groin. "But I could castrate you."