Staring at her savior in astounded delight, she wasn’t sure if she was happier that he’d come to her rescue or that he was finally free of his dungeon prison. “Oh, Perry!” She threw her arms around his neck, crushing her body into his.
Chapter Eleven
Captain Solomon commanded his men to bring the imposter to Captain Roche and round up his henchmen, still camped out on the fairgrounds. “Thank goodness we got here when we did.” The Captain of the Ducal Guard looked ashamed he had left his Duchess to face the danger alone.
“Well, it seems like Jacqueline can handle herself just fine,” Duke Mensina growled proudly, giving his granddaughter a reassuring squeeze on the shoulder.
“How did you know I was in trouble?” Jax asked eagerly, her eyes still on a wondrously freed Perry.
“I went to the ducal treasury, only to find your grandfather just as he was leaving for the ball,” Captain Solomon explained. “He had wrapped up a meeting with Sir Wincaester. The Knight with No Face requested his prize money in full, as he did not plan to stay around until the end of the tournament.”
“The whelp said he was anxious to return home, now that his retirement was official. Considering I’d already gotten what I wanted out of his appearance, I figured I could arrange to have the gold transferred now and thought nothing of it. One less thing for me to worry about, as he so eloquently argued.” Duke Mensina snorted in disbelief, no doubt annoyed at himself for falling for the ruse. “He signed the proper paperwork and I approved the prize money to be delivered to his suite tomorrow morning.”
“When I arrived at the treasury, I showed the Duke the Shadow Seal and told him that we believed someone was paying the guild to sabotage Perry,” Captain Solomon stated, his cheeks coloring slightly.
“Yes, I am going to look past the fact that you thought I might be behind this,” Duke Mensina said, looking into his granddaughter’s guilty eyes, “because, considering my past plots with your father, you had every right as a Duchess to be suspicious of my intentions.”
Jax was surprised by the genuine sincerity in the familial purple eyes staring down at her.
“Once Captain Solomon showed me the seal,” her grandfather said, “I knew something was amiss. The handwriting on the treasury paperwork Sir Wincaester filled out was the same writing as ‘LeDuke’ etched on the back of the crest.”
“We found Captain Roche, who informed us that LeDuke is the name of an infamous member of the Shadow Brethren, wanted for several murders across a handful of duchies. We immediately sent men to find the imposter, while Duke Mensina and I went to release Perry,” her ducal guardsman explained, smiling at the bedraggled young lord.
Perry grinned sheepishly. “While I was locked up, I kept trying to think why Sir Wincaester bothered me so much. I mean, any man would have to be out of his mind not to try to flirt with you, Jax, but there was something else about him that rubbed me the wrong way. Then, this afternoon, it hit me. I remembered seeing his likeness posted on a notice board in a town we rode through on our way here. The rogue was wanted for ransacking an estate or something along those lines. I was fooled by the pageantry of the Knight with No Face to think that they could be one in the same person, but in the depths of my mind, doubt festered.”
“We were all fooled by him, myself the most.” She looked grimly across the garden, her eyes lingering on the bench she’d been sharing with the criminal mere moments before. “I was so quick to be charmed by him, simply because of his title. You’d think I would have learned by now that you can’t trust anyone in this position.”
“I refuse to let you be that jaded, Jax. You can’t simply stop trusting people. Not when there are so many around you who care for you deeply.” Perry moved to her side, allowing her to take in the view of Captain Solomon and her grandfather, with her aunts, Uma, and Hendrie breathlessly arriving in the garden clearing, concern for her written all over their faces.
Taking Perry’s hand, she allowed a tearful smile to shine in the moonlight.
Teaming up, Captain Roche’s men were able to round up LeDuke’s henchmen with the help of the Saphire Ducal Guard. Seven other wanted men were dragged into the depths of the palace dungeons, LeDuke’s screams of rage echoing through the halls. Duke Mensina sent word immediately to the Duke of Beautraud and to House Wincaester to let them know of the developments.
Jax’s heart ached for the family, knowing they would soon learn their beloved Antoine had been killed by the monster LeDuke. She and her grandfather had already arranged for the Knight with No Face’s tournament winnings to benefit the charities of which Sir Antoine was a patron. LeDuke had done his research thoroughly, for every word about the knight’s philanthropic background was found to be true.
After the foul start to the Feast of Champions, the Duke of Mensina could not hide the nefarious goings-on from his people any longer. The next morning, he preached from the tourney arena the evils of the Shadow Brethren and how Mensina and Saphire would jointly lead a new initiative to eradicate the criminal guild across the Realm of Virtues. Jax stood beside him, her presence calm and reassuring, a contrast to her grandfather’s fiery propaganda. Rumors ran wild that she singlehandedly thwarted the imposter, and the public’s awe and respect of her doubled overnight.
With all that transpired, Jax was happiest to have Perry back, his handsome figure appearing seemingly out of nowhere the minute she needed an arm to grasp or a confident smile to reassure her nerves. She couldn’t believe how good-natured he’d been about the whole ordeal, continually showering praise on her for her bravery.
“I’m glad to have you back,” she said as she clasped his hand and held it to her cheek during a rare moment alone. “I thought I’d done something that cooled your affection toward me.” She lowered her eyes nervously to the ground.
“Whatever do you mean?” Perry asked, astonished.
“It’s just that you seemed angry with me or something. The first night we were here, right before the joust, your attitude was so cold.” She shuddered at the memory. “Then you ignored me all through dinner, and that brute’s flirting only made things worse.” She heaved her shoulders, uncomfortable just thinking about it. “The next morning you hardly glanced at me, and then you were thrown in the dungeons before I could figure out why.”
Perry gave her a bemused grin, the sunset caressing his dark, curly hair. “Is that why you wanted to clear my name? So you could interrogate me yourself?”
“No.” Jax rolled her eyes in blatant exasperation.
Chuckling, Perry drew her in closely, his arms circling her slender body. “Oh Jax, I forget how incredibly perceptive you are. No, I was not having second thoughts about us in the very least. I suppose I should have told you sooner, but this festival happens to mark a year since my mother passed away,” he shared, his eyes going misty. “The palace staff had placed some fresh flowers in my room the day we arrived. They were begonias, my mother’s favorite. It put me in a bit of a sad mood, seeing them there. At the joust, I got to thinking how much I wish she’d lived to see me make someone as special as you proud.” Even now, his handsome face was marred with grief. “I was lost in my own sorrows, I guess. I’m sorry, I should have let you in.”
She had no words for her darling knight. A simple kiss said it all.
Chapter Twelve
Over the remaining days of the festival, Duke Mensina nearly bent over backward to express his deepest regrets at being so hotheaded and blind to Perry’s innocence. Of course, Perry knew he had the upper hand, but he was as chivalrous as ever, using the opportunity to help Jax and her grandfather mend their strained relationship. “Family is everything in this life, Jax,” Perry told her. “Royal, noble, or common blood, it’s a love that runs deep.” Despite the thorns that littered their familial past, Jax knew Perry was right. For her to truly prosper, both personally and as Duchess, she needed her family’s strength behind her.
The morning of the Saphire delegation’s departure came at last, souve
nirs of the final feast still lingering in Jax’s veins. She perhaps drank a bit too much honeyed mead the previous evening, her head aching at the rap on her chamber door. Uma giggled as she entered, having no sympathy for Jax’s moaning complaints. She set to work packing the Duchess’s belongings, laying out a simple traveling gown for the carriage ride back to Saphire. “We’ll be leaving without you, Your Grace,” Uma teased, placing a damp, cool towel on the Duchess’s forehead.
“Good. I need a few more days to recover.” Jax buried her head in her feather pillow, sulking at the prospect of spending hours sitting on a bumpy, uncomfortable bench.
With reluctance, she allowed her lady’s maid to help her dress, and she soon was on her way to the palace entrance, a slew of palace staff in tow with her luggage.
“Let’s not wait until the next imposter comes along to get together,” Amia said with a chuckle, hugging Jax tightly. Each of her remaining aunts then took their turn to say goodbye.
“Yes, I hope there will be another occasion for us to celebrate. A wedding, perhaps?” Annette’s eyebrows wiggled suggestively, her purple eyes dashing back and forth between Perry and Jax.
Laughing, Jax gathered Annette in a warm hug. “Whatever the occasion, you are always welcome in Saphire.” She turned to Duke Mensina, giving him a kiss on the cheek. “That goes for you as well, Grand-Père.” No trace of disdain lingered; her pet name for him was now spoken with genuine affection. He, in turn, hugged her close.
“Don’t go getting into too much trouble now, Jacqueline,” he playfully grumbled, yet a glimmer of concern sparkled in his eyes.
Jax gazed sheepishly at her beloved companions. Uma, Captain Solomon, and Perry each suppressed a snort of laughter. “No promises, Grand-Père. One never knows when trouble might pop up.”
Acknowledgements
A big thank you to Evan Grant for being my social media maven.
An incredible thank you to Angelina Gennis for bringing the Realm of Virtues to life with her artistic magic.
Thank you to Bettye Underwood for her editorial review.
A special thank you to Mihail Uvarov; cover design by www.Ecover.pro
Dedications
To my youngest fans, Charlie and Gigi
A Feast Most Foul (Ducal Detective Mysteries Book 2) Page 9