by C. J. Archer
"Yes. He's close with the king."
"As are you and Theodore."
He thought about it a moment. "In a different way. Balthazar is older and the king listens to his advice, much like a son listens to his father."
"Whereas you and Theodore are more like friends or brothers?"
"Not quite, but our relationship with him is more informal than it is with the other servants."
Getting to Theodore meant leaving the hidden service corridors behind and entering the main part of the palace. We passed through room upon room of opulence, each painted a different color, some vivid, others in pastel. One room led directly into another and another, many with gentlemen or ladies talking quietly in groups, some playing cards, others fanning themselves by the windows. They watched us pass by as if we were the most interesting thing to have crossed their paths that day. I tried not to meet their curious gazes. Instead I took in the many paintings and tapestries, the chandeliers, some larger than me, the elegant furniture and lush carpets. The nobles must think me vulgar for staring but I didn't care. I might never see such grandiosity again and I didn't want to miss a single gilded flourish.
We found Theodore in a room of no discernable function except to advertise the king's wealth. The domed ceiling was divided into quarter sections around a fifth central one, each painted with scenes from the Holy Book. A chandelier with hundreds of tiny tear-shaped crystals hung on a long chain over a circular carpet of bright blue and gold. The carpet colors matched the patterned walls and fire screen. The room was mostly empty, except for two sideboards facing one another across the carpet and a series of low velvet-covered stools arranged around the perimeter. Theodore sat on one beside a closed set of gilded double doors. I could hear voices beyond, but not what they said. He rose and greeted us.
"Can we talk?" Hammer asked.
Theodore directed us to a large adjoining room containing a masculine desk positioned beneath a portrait of King Leon on a horse with dogs at his feet and a forest in the background. I recognized two of the dogs from the kitchen. It was a strange painting considering he didn't like to hunt.
Theodore left the door open and asked me to sit. He sat too, but Hammer remained standing by the entrance where he could see the entire sitting room and the door to the room where the voices came from.
"Lady Miranda is better," the captain announced.
"That is good news," Theodore said.
"But she would like some time to herself. She asked Josie to inform you to break it to the king in such a way that will not hurt his feelings."
Theodore slumped into the chair. "Ah. Doesn't she share his affections?"
I glanced between them, wondering how much of the conversation I could divulge to them without betraying Miranda's confidence. "She feels as though she doesn't know him well enough to have those sort of feelings yet."
"They've spent a lot of time together. How much more does she need?"
I simply lifted one shoulder.
"She has not allowed intimacy," Theodore went on without a qualm. "Perhaps that would change things."
"And how do you propose to broach that topic with her?" Hammer sounded amused but there was no outward sign of a smile.
Theodore looked at me.
"No!" I shook my head. "That is a conversation for the two of them. May I suggest you allow her to direct the king into her bed when and if she wishes? She seems to know her mind, on this matter and others."
"I don't understand…why does she not want to be with him?" Theodore seemed genuinely confused. "Setting aside the fact he is the king, there's nothing wrong with him. He's not as handsome as Hammer, for example, but he's not ugly. He's generous and kind, mostly good natured and even tempered. He's not overly masculine, I suppose, but that is not always a good measure of a man. The other ladies seem to desire him."
"Then perhaps he ought to look among them for a wife," I said.
"But he wants her." Theodore's gaze narrowed. "What are you hiding, Josie?"
"That's not fair, Theo," Hammer said. "She's simply passing on a message."
"Lady Miranda has clearly confided in her. I can tell by the way she won't meet my gaze."
I forced myself to stare at him.
"You should blink once in a while, Josie. It'll make you more believable." Theo tossed me a crooked smile to soften his words. "You can tell us. Hammer and I trust one another implicitly. Nothing you say to us will be passed on to the king. It won't leave this room. I simply want to understand."
Hammer was no help. He neither encouraged nor discouraged me; he simply waited. It was an interrogation technique that worked too well on me.
"She says she can't grasp his character, that he's changeable," I said. "She mentioned an incident where a lady touched a cabinet in his rooms and he became so furious that he ordered her and her family to leave the palace. Is that true?"
Hammer shifted his weight from one foot to the other. Theodore cleared his throat. "Yes," he said. "It is."
"What's in the cabinet?"
"Nothing of importance."
"We don't know," Hammer said, ignoring Theo's glare.
"Miranda witnessed the king's tantrum that night and I think it rather put her off him," I said. "She says he also acts immaturely sometimes. She doesn't seem like a woman in love, or a woman prepared to act like she is just to become queen." The fact she confided in me at all would suggest she hoped I would pass on her reluctance to these men. It was the act of a trapped, desperate woman.
Theodore pulled on his lower lip as he thought. After a moment, he slapped his hands on the chair arms. "What do we do, Hammer?"
"Give her time?" the captain suggested. "Perhaps she will change her mind."
For Hailia's sake! Were they this stupid because they didn't understand women or because they'd lost their memories and had forgotten how the opposite sex behaved?
"May I offer a suggestion," I said.
"Please do," said Theodore eagerly.
"Try to direct the king to a woman who is interested in him. Do it subtly so he thinks he's making up his own mind. Seat him near suitable women, not Miranda, and keep him occupied in other parts of the palace, not near her. If he still won't look elsewhere, she might agree to you spreading a rumor about a fungal infection. I can tell you the symptoms if you like, to make it more authentic, but I would encourage you to discuss it with her first."
"You're diabolical." Theodore's eyes gleamed. "I'll speak with the king after his meeting. Any movement yet, Hammer?"
"No," the captain said.
"Good. The longer they're in there, the better. The advisors were growing desperate for this meeting. Apparently they had much to discuss."
"The king was avoiding them?" I asked. "Why, when he asked them here?"
"Asking them and wanting them are two different things." Theodore offered me a flat smile. "The king doesn't like meetings."
"Or his advisors," Hammer added in a mutter. Theodore glared sharply at him but Hammer paid him no mind.
So the king didn't like meetings, advisors or hunting. Luckily he liked beautiful women or I would have worried that every kingly trait had passed him by altogether.
"How goes your hunt for the poisoner?" Theodore asked the captain.
"We have several pieces of information, one of them thanks to Josie," Hammer said. "I questioned the footmen who served that night so now I know the seating plan, who got up from their chairs, and the general mood of the party."
"And?" Theodore asked.
"Lord Frederick Whippler sat on Lady Miranda's left and the duke of Gladstow on her right. Gladstow barely spoke to her, preferring to converse with the duchess of Buxton, but Whippler engaged her in regular conversation. He also cast several dark glares in the direction of the king, who found himself seated next to Lady Lucia Whippler."
"The dark glares were most likely because he was jealous of his sister flirting with the king," I said.
"I may not recall much of anything," Theodo
re said, "but even I know incest isn't natural. If the king knew… I actually don't know what he'd do."
"Will you tell him?" I asked.
Another glance passed between them. "Perhaps," was all Theodore said.
"It does make Lord Frederick less likely to want to poison Miranda," I said. "Without her, the king could very well turn his focus onto Lucia."
"Don't discount him yet," the captain said. "There may be another reason he wants to kill Miranda that I haven't yet discovered."
"Go on, Hammer," Theodore said. "What else happened that night?"
"Lady Lucia got up from her seat once, and draped herself over her brother's shoulders while he sat. He was sitting beside Miranda, if you recall, so Lucia would have had access to her food and wine. Lady Violette Morgrave also got up between courses, while Miranda was out of the room, and even sat in Miranda's chair."
"That's odd," I said.
"She mimicked Lady Miranda's way of eating and drinking, so one of the footmen told me."
"Mimicked or mocked?" I said wryly.
"How did the king react?" Theodore asked.
"He didn't seem pleased at first, but Lady Morgrave said something witty that sounded exactly like Miranda and the king laughed."
There was that word again—witty. The court's definition of it was very different to mine.
"Thanks for the report," Theodore said. "I'd offer to help with your investigation but I'll be busy diverting the king's attention toward a woman who will reciprocate his feelings."
"Preferably not one of the suspects," I said.
Theodore pointed at me. "Precisely."
"It's all under control," Hammer told Theodore. "I have men looking for the poison seller now. I'll send them out of Mull if I have to. Once we find him, we'll know who he sold the poisons to."
"Spare us the uncivilized details of how you go about getting answers," Theodore said, hands in the air.
Hammer's glare turned flinty before he looked away.
Theodore didn't notice. He was about to head past the captain when he remembered something. "By the way, the king wants an evening of entertainment to be held in ten days time."
"That'll keep Balthazar busy," Hammer said.
"He has complained incessantly to me already, but I think he secretly enjoys the challenge. I'm looking forward to seeing what he does."
"Ten days doesn't seem like a lot of time to prepare festivities fit for a king and hundreds of nobles," I said. Then again, this was the magnificent palace of King Leon—the palace that had been built in under three months, from the empty land to the final gilded ceiling rosette, and all without a workman being seen.
Theodore resumed his original seat on the stool by the meeting room door. We were about to exit the office too when a group of gentlemen and ladies arrived. Hammer pulled me back behind the open door.
"Look," he whispered, turning me to face the door jam. "Observe." I could see part of the room through the gap and the six new arrivals. I recognized Lady Deerhorn and her daughter, Lady Violette Morgrave, who still visited her parents from time to time since her marriage to Lord Morgrave. The rest were strangers to me.
"Is the blasted meeting still going?" whined a woman dressed in a gown the same color as her red-gold hair. With her hair piled high on her head and a long brown feather shooting from the top of the arrangement, she seemed excessively tall. Only one of the gentlemen was taller.
"That's Lady Lucia Whippler." Hammer's breath brushed my hair and his body warmed my back. I struggled to focus on the group of nobles in the sitting room, and not on his compelling presence. I drew in a deep breath, but it only filled me with the scent of him, sharpening my senses in the wrong direction.
It took Lady Lucia's prancing toward the meeting room to shift my focus forward. Theodore stood, blocking her way.
"I only wanted to remind the king that he promised to watch our little theatrical," she said in a voice that could leave no listener uncertain as to who was the higher ranked of the two. "I wouldn't want him to miss it and break his promise."
"The king will be more than happy to watch your theatrical after his meeting," Theodore said with bland politeness. "I'll remind him as soon as he becomes available."
"Or I could remind him now. Move aside."
"The king cannot be disturbed."
"What is your name again?"
"Theodore."
"I shall be sure to tell the king who forbade me to enter."
"It is your prerogative to do so."
The expansive cleavage on display above Lady Lucia's tight bodice swelled. "I have never experienced such insolence from a servant before. If you were in my household, I would thrash you then dismiss you."
He indicated the door through which they'd entered. "If you wouldn't mind waiting elsewhere. Your voice has a way of piercing through solid doors and we wouldn't want to disturb His Majesty and his advisors."
The feather in her hair shook with her anger. "My lady," she snapped.
"Pardon?"
"You will address me as Lady Lucia or my lady. Is that understood?"
"Yes, my lady." He bowed low, much lower than necessary, turning deference into mockery.
Lady Morgrave smiled behind her hand. Her mother, Lady Deerhorn, pressed her lips together.
A tall, blond gentleman came forward and grasped Lady Lucia by the shoulders. "Lucia, darling, let's take this opportunity to rehearse one more time. I certainly need it." He steered her away then mouthed "Sorry" over his shoulder to Theodore.
"Her brother, Lord Frederick Whippler," Hammer whispered in my ear.
Theodore gave Lord Frederick a nod. Once they were all gone, he crooked his finger at us to join him. "That went well," Theodore said, eyes flashing in the direction in which the group had left.
"You should be careful, Theo," Hammer said. "She has some influence over the king and may acquire more if he turns his attentions from Miranda to her."
"He has better taste in women than that."
"She's his second favorite."
"That's because he can't see past the two over-inflated charms she manages to thrust in his face at every opportunity. Once he raises his gaze above her chest into her cold eyes he'll see her for the wasp she is."
"As long as he doesn't get stung first."
Theodore turned to me. "What did you think of her, Josie?"
"I think if her brother didn't divert her attention, she might still be here," I said. "She seemed determined to speak to the king."
"She can't keep away from him."
"She's worried he'll forget her if he goes more than an hour without seeing her," the captain added.
"Desperate," Theodore spat. "Let's hope the king smells it on her soon so we can direct him to a more worthy lady." He sighed. "Are you quite sure Lady Miranda won't change her mind? I do like her."
"I'm not at all sure what's in her mind," I said.
He was about to sit again when the double doors leading to the meeting room burst open and the duke of Gladstow stormed out. His pounding footsteps shook the crystal teardrops hanging from the candelabra on the sideboard.
"That upstart!" he said, loud enough for everyone in the meeting room to hear. "This is outrageous. What has he done to earn it? Fathered a brat of a girl on that whore of a wife, that's all."
"Gladstow!" the king barked from the doorway. "Do not walk away from me." The man I'd only ever witnessed as affable, looked as ferocious as a thunderstorm, ready to unleash a deluge over the duke's head. I'd not thought him terribly regal until now. He looked every bit the powerful ruler of a nation.
I inched away until I was back in the room with the desk. I hid behind the door again and watched through the gap. Neither man had taken any notice of me.
The duke halted but did not return to the king's side. They glared at one another from opposite sides of the room.
"Do not disparage Lady Claypool in such a manner," the king said. "She is the mother of an admirable, kind woman and y
ou would be wise to hold you tongue."
The duke sniffed. "Claypool doesn't deserve an earldom. He's only a baron, and second generation at that. Merdu, he's practically a peasant!"
"If Lady Miranda and I marry, her father will become an earl, whether you agree or not. It's only right."
"Right? Ha!" Gladstow looked past the king into the room beyond where other men all stood, watching. "I think that requires some investigation of the legal texts before you can declare such a thing."
"I am the king," His Majesty said through a hard jaw. "I change the laws if I wish."
"No," Gladstow said triumphantly. "You cannot."
One of the advisors shuffled forward. "Discussion of marriage is too soon, surely."
"Precisely," Gladstow said. "Anything could happen. She hasn't even fully recovered yet. Besides, she might reject an offer."
"Why would she?" the king said, throwing out an ominous challenge.
Gladstow smiled a twisted smile. "She is her mother's daughter, a fickle, disobedient creature."
"Enough, Gladstow! You are on thin ice."
"I am merely stating my opinion, sire. There is no law against doing so. Indeed, that is the entire point of these meetings, to debate opinions. You cannot chastise me for that."
"I can and I will do more than merely chastise if you cross me again, Gladstow. Your position is not set in stone. Your title can be taken away as easily as it was granted to your forebears."
Behind him, several men gasped. Gladstow took a step forward but stopped. He'd gone pale.
"You can't strip me of my title," he said, although he did not sound entirely sure.
"The king can do as he wishes," the king said.
"Within reason. Some decisions must be voted by council before they become law." Gladstow nodded at the other men. "Didn't you know, sire?"
The king clasped his hands at his back. "Good day, Gladstow."
The duke gave a perfunctory bow and marched off. The other men followed, each bowing before exiting.
"Is that true?" the king said to Theodore after the others were gone. "What he said about some decisions requiring a vote?"
"I think so," Theodore said carefully. "I haven't had time to wade through all the legal texts in the library yet."