The Return of Absent Souls (After The Rift Book 6)

by C. J. Archer

  “Cantankerous?” I finished for Dane. “Stubborn?”

  “Distracted.” He went to kiss me again, but I moved away and shook my head.

  “He’s watching.”

  He hooked me around the waist and pulled me against his body. “Good.” His kiss was as thorough as any he’d given me in private.

  Dane didn’t come that night or the next morning. I awoke after a terrible sleep and yawned through breakfast with Kitty. We were alone in the cottage, with two guards stationed outside. I delivered bread and bacon to them and Kitty followed me out with cups of tea.

  “Finish that quickly,” she told them. “As soon as I’m dressed, I want you to escort me to the palace.”

  “What are you planning to do?” I asked, following her inside. “You can’t risk being seen.”

  “It’s time to put an end to this. I’m going to show them I’m still alive and—”

  “You can’t!” When she didn’t stop, I caught her by the elbow. “Kitty, no. Not yet. The Deerhorns are already feeling threatened. They’re unpredictable right now. If you suddenly show up and declare Violette’s marriage to Gladstow unlawful, they’ll make trouble for certain. It will push them over the edge.”

  “But that’s the thing, Josie. They have power now because they’re connected to my husband through Violette. He’s protecting them. But if that connection is severed, their power will diminish.” She caught my hands in hers. “Last night, you told me all about the dreadful way the Deerhorns are treating the villagers. They have far too much power now. Gladstow is either too weak to oppose them or doesn’t care what they do in his name. I lay awake all last night thinking it through, and I kept coming up with one conclusion. I must rise from the dead. This is all I can do to help you, Meg and the other villagers. It’s something good and important. Something worthy. I want to do it.”

  She let me go, and I watched her march up the stairs, her steps determined. There was no doubt she wanted to do it. But I suspected she needed to do it, for her own sense of self-worth. While she had enjoyed playing an ordinary woman, she was ready to resume her place as the duchess of Gladstow.

  I only hoped the guards could keep her safe.

  Chapter 12

  There was no time to warn Dane of Kitty’s plan. She dressed quickly in the gown she’d not worn since the day of her staged death. Between the two of us, we managed to wrangle her hair into a tidy if simple arrangement. She had sold all her jewels but found a pair of suitable gloves to cover her worn fingernails.

  The palace was not as busy as it had been at the height of King Leon’s reign, but there were enough ladies in the salons to make Kitty’s entrance satisfyingly dramatic. Gasps and murmurs passed from chamber to chamber, and by the time we reached the council meeting room, we had quite a following intent on viewing the spectacle.

  Erik stood guard on one side of the door with Quentin on the other. Both arched their brows, but only Erik spoke. “Are you sure?” he whispered.

  “It’s too late to back down now.” Kitty lifted her chin and raised her voice. “Announce me.”

  Erik opened the door. “The duchess of Gladstow.” When none of the men looked up from the papers spread out on the table, he cleared his throat, loudly. “The first duchess of Gladstow!”

  Dane glanced up, followed by several others, including Lord Deerhorn. The duke of Gladstow didn’t seem to notice the sudden hush, so intent was he on reading a document. It wasn’t until Lord Deerhorn pushed back his chair with a scrape and shot to his feet that the duke finally looked up.

  “What is the meaning of this!” Lord Deerhorn demanded. “Gladstow! Explain yourself.”

  The duke paled. His jowls shook. He stared at his wife with a look of utter incredulity. He didn’t speak, and I suspected he was struggling to think clearly, let alone form coherent sentences.

  “Magic,” someone whispered.

  “Witch,” someone else said.

  Dane stood and offered Kitty his chair. “You are most welcome to join us, Your Grace.”

  She bestowed one of her best duchess smiles on him. “Thank you for your kindness, Dane, in this and in everything.” She sat and faced the group of men, her cheeks a little flushed and her eyes dancing. She was enjoying this. “I must apologize for my intrusion. I know you’re all very busy, but I couldn’t wait. I awoke this morning after living in a fog, my memory returned. I just knew I had to see my dear husband again. I didn’t want him thinking me dead for a moment longer.”

  The duke of Gladstow continued to stare, but the other lords had been jolted out of their shock. The questions began, with Lord Deerhorn’s voice rising above them all.

  Kitty put up her hands for calm. “Do sit down, my lord, and I will explain.”

  She waited until Lord Deerhorn sat again before settling her hands in her lap, the picture of the perfect, demure noblewoman. There was nothing of the silliness about her now, no airy quips or giggles. She looked quite at home in the council chamber full of powerful men.

  “I fell into the flooded river on my journey to Tilting. This you know. However, I didn’t drown. That day is still something of a blur, and somewhat traumatic to recall.”

  The lord to her right patted her hand. “Take your time.”

  She smiled and thanked him. “I was saved by a floating log, but I was washed some way down the river. A local farmer found me the next day on the riverbank. I was weak, half-dead, and I’d lost my memory. I couldn’t even tell him my name. He took me to his farm and his wife cared for me, nursing me back to health. Since I didn’t know where I came from, I stayed with them.”

  “Ridiculous story,” Lord Deerhorn bit off.

  “Why?” Dane asked.

  Lord Deerhorn bristled. “The farmer must have heard about the drowned duchess. Surely he knew the woman fished out of the river must be she.”

  “They live in a very remote spot,” Kitty said smoothly, “and courtly gossip isn’t important to them. On the few times the farmer went to the village, I suspect it never came up.”

  “You’ve been with the farmer and his wife all this time?” Lord Claypool asked.

  “Until a few days ago when Miss Cully and Captain Hammer stumbled upon me. Oh, forgive me,” she said to Dane. “I forgot, you are not known by that name anymore. Should I refer to you as Majesty?”

  “Not yet,” Dane said, equally as smooth.

  “What do you mean they stumbled upon you?” Lord Deerhorn pressed.

  “They were heading back along the same road after their travels, and when they reached the bridge where I was washed away, they decided to have another look. They went further afield than their last search.”

  “We felt certain someone must have come across her body downriver,” Dane said. “Indeed, that’s all we hoped for: news of a body. We didn’t expect to find the duchess alive and well.”

  “The duke’s men searched downriver,” Lord Deerhorn shot back.

  “Not far enough, it would seem.” Kitty gave her husband a sympathetic look. “I don’t blame you, Gladstow. You were in mourning and not thinking clearly. Besides, you weren’t to have known that I was rescued and taken to a farm. It was just fortunate that on the day Dane and Miss Cully searched again that the farmer was near the river, otherwise I could still be on the farm.”

  “How did you get your memory back?” one of the lords asked.

  “I’m not really sure. It just came back to me today. Since returning, I have stayed with Miss Cully at a place not far from here, so perhaps it was the familiar surroundings that jogged my memory. Or perhaps I simply needed time. Either way, I asked them not to make my presence known. It didn’t feel right without any memory of my past. I wasn’t ready. Until this morning, that is, when I awoke with full knowledge of everything. Then I insisted on coming here to see my husband.” She smiled at the duke of Gladstow. “I have not had an easy time of it, but these last months must have been truly awful for you.”

  His throat moved but no sounds came o
ut.

  One of the lords coughed. The rest wouldn’t meet Kitty’s gaze, not even Lord Claypool. The duke of Gladstow finally stopped staring at his wife and pressed his hands down on the table, as if about to announce something. But he said nothing.

  The thick silence was broken by Lord Deerhorn swearing. He stormed out of the meeting room.

  Kitty’s brow wrinkled. “He didn’t look very pleased to see me.” She gave a small shrug. “Never mind. I was never close to the Deerhorns.”

  “There’s a reason for him being upset by your return, as it happens,” said the duke of Buxton. He waited but the duke of Gladstow did not take over. “Would you care to tell her, Gladstow, or should I?”

  The duke of Gladstow licked his lips. “I must inform Violette.” He did not get up, however.

  “I suspect it’s too late for that.” The duke of Buxton nodded at the door through which Lord Deerhorn had just left. “Very well, since you seem to be having trouble grasping this news, let me explain.” He turned to Kitty. “Your Grace, I have something rather shocking to tell you. There is no easy way to say it, so I will just come out with it. Your husband remarried.”

  Kitty clutched her throat. “Remarried? But I was only gone a short while.”

  The duke of Gladstow sank into his chair.

  Kitty blinked back tears. She would have made an excellent actress. “Who is she?”

  “Lady Violette.”

  Kitty’s lips formed an O as she glanced at the door. “Now I see why Lord Deerhorn was so upset. Poor Violette. She’ll be devastated.”

  “It’s an unfortunate business for everyone involved,” the duke of Buxton said matter-of-factly. “It’s a situation that could have been averted if patience and the respectful period of mourning had been employed.”

  The duke of Gladstow sank even further.

  “It’s most unfortunate for Violette and her family,” Kitty rambled on. “Lord and Lady Deerhorn must have been thrilled when you married their daughter, Gladstow. What a blow this news must be to them, but I’m sure the priests will grant an annulment, and it will be as if nothing happened. There. Problem solved.” She put out a hand to her husband. “Shall we retire to the ducal apartments? I would like to change into something else. This gown has seen better days. Do you mind, my lords?”

  “Not at all,” the duke of Buxton said, rising. “The two of you must spend some time together. These meetings can wait.” He smiled, looking very much like a man who had wagered on the underdog and just realized he’d won.

  The duke of Gladstow stood and took Kitty’s hand, a vacant glaze to his eyes and a slackness to his jaw. He resembled a puppet, or rather a puppet in need of a puppeteer to pull his strings. He didn’t seem to know what to do.

  A commotion at the door stopped Kitty and the duke in their tracks. Erik moved to block the entrance, sword drawn, barring Lord and Lady Deerhorn.

  Unlike her husband and the duke of Gladstow, Lady Deerhorn didn’t look confused. She looked furious. “Stand aside!” she demanded. When Erik didn’t move, she stiffened. “Get out of the way!”

  “It’s all right, Guard,” Kitty said.

  Erik stepped aside, but Lady Deerhorn remained in the outer chamber, her face all thunderous fury, her eyes flashing at Kitty.

  Kitty rushed forward and embraced her. “Lady Deerhorn, I am in shock. Poor Violette. I know this is awkward, but let’s be friends. We have so much in common, after all. I am Gladstow’s wife, and your daughter thought she was, briefly. I don’t blame you or her, naturally. If only Gladstow had waited a more suitable length of time after my supposed death, we wouldn’t be in this predicament now, would we?”

  Lady Deerhorn’s nostrils flared.

  Kitty kept her sympathetic smile in place. “You must have had grand plans. With a duchess for a daughter, you could have achieved new heights.” She leaned forward and whispered conspiratorially. “Not to mention how your star would rise if Gladstow became king after the war. Why, you would have been mother to the queen! Dane’s declaration put an end to those dreams, of course, and now my reappearance means dear Violette must go back to being the widow of a count. Never mind. She still has her youth and beauty, and I’m sure everyone will be very understanding and kind to her. Her wellbeing is what matters now, don’t you agree?”

  If Lady Deerhorn’s lips pinched any more they’d disappear into her face entirely. Her chest heaved with her breath, and her fists clenched into balls at her sides. She looked ready to explode.

  By contrast, Kitty was all elegant gentility, despite sporting a gown that had traveled to Freedland and back in a satchel and her lack of adorning jewels.

  Lord Deerhorn clapped his hands together at his back and glared at the duke of Gladstow, as if he expected him to fix this situation in favor of Violette. But there was nothing Gladstow could do. Not here, in front of witnesses.

  Erik used his sword to part Lord and Lady Deerhorn. The reunited couple passed between them, Kitty holding onto her husband’s arm and smiling as if she didn’t have a care in the world.

  “I feel different now,” she said in a clear voice as they walked off together. “My time away has matured me and helped me understand more of the world. I was like a child before, but I’ve changed. Other things must change too, now that I’m back, starting with our staff. I’m going to employ my own servants. You won’t mind, will you, Gladstow? You have enough on your plate already, without worrying about such trifles. I’m going to find a new maid, and that dreadful housekeeper will be replaced immediately.”

  I admired her. She really had come a long way from the weak, spoiled girl who’d been at the mercy of her husband. By announcing her intention to employ her own servants in such a public way, she’d given him no choice but to go along with it. He’d employed them to spy on her and manipulate her. She’d been afraid of them. Kitty might never be able to control the duke, but I suspected she would no longer be controlled by him.

  As long as the Deerhorns left her alone.

  Dane gave Quentin a nod, and he followed the Gladstows. The lords dispersed; the meeting couldn’t continue without both dukes present. Lord and Lady Deerhorn remained behind. He huffed at us, his face a patchwork of red blotches. But it was Lady Deerhorn’s calmness that chilled my blood. Her ferocious anger of moments ago had cooled, replaced by familiar steeliness.

  “The poor duchess,” she said. “She should have stayed at the farm and lived out a quiet existence. Palace life can be so…treacherous for the simple-minded.”

  Dane came up beside me. “You shouldn’t mistake her naivety for stupidity.”

  Her lips curled in a smile. She turned and walked out, her husband trailing behind.

  I let out my held breath. “She looked far too smug for my liking.”

  “She thinks they’re going to get the wishes and undo all of this.” Dane took my hand and squeezed. “Max should be back today.”

  “And if he’s not? If their men intercept him on the road?” I pressed my fingers into my eyes. “I wish you’d gone with him, Dane.”

  “He took a lot of guards with him.”

  “A lot,” Erik echoed. “Come, Josie, I will escort you and Dane to the cottage so you can be together.”

  “I’ll join you later,” Dane said. “I promised my mother I’d tell her how the meetings went. I’ll be as brief as possible. ”

  “I’ll be in the garrison,” I told him. “It’s too quiet at the cottage alone.”

  “You will not be alone,” Erik said. “I will be there. We can find something to do together. Now that Kitty is gone, I need a new friend.” He winked at me.

  Dane scowled. “I think staying at the garrison is an excellent idea.” He kissed my forehead and strode off.

  Erik chuckled. “It is fun to make him jealous.”

  We left together and took the hidden passageways to the garrison rather than the route through the salons. The nobles preferred not to see servants unless they were delivering food or wine, and I was a
s good as a servant to most.

  “Kitty was magnificent, wasn’t she?” Erik said. “I am very proud of her.”

  “Are you sure you don’t mind that she has gone back to Gladstow?” I asked. “You two have become very close.”

  “We will always be good friends. But she has her road to follow, and I have mine.”

  “Where does your road lead?”

  “To the maids’ quarters.”

  I laughed. “Thank you for cheering me up, Erik.”

  “I am glad to be of service.”

  We walked on, with Erik leading the way. I had never quite learned all the different tunnels through the palace’s belly. Erik was quiet for a while and he suddenly stopped.

  “I think you should be queen,” he said.

  I sighed. “Don’t.”

  “But if you will not, then I offer myself to be your lover.”

  “Oh. Er, that’s very kind of you.” I set off again, trying to hide my smile from him.

  “I will be more fun than Dane,” he said, lengthening his strides to catch up. “And I promise to adore you.”

  “But will you be faithful? I prefer my lovers to give me their full attention.”

  “That will be difficult,” he conceded.

  “I can see how you would struggle with it.”

  “It is not my fault. It is the women. There would be weeping if I have to choose. I am sorry, Josie, but if you insist on there being no others, I will have to decline. Try not to be too sad.”

  I grinned. “I’ll drown my sorrows in ale if the garrison has any.”

  “There is always ale in the garrison.”

  There were only two other guards seated at the table, both with their booted feet up, their arms crossed and their eyes closed. I didn’t want to disturb them but Erik didn’t lower his voice and they both awoke with a start, followed by grumbled complaints.