Women of Wasps and War

by Madeleine D'Este

  'Have you seen the red death before?'

  'No, my Lord. Thank the Father. But I have read accounts from other physicians. Much has been written from the experiences in the territory of the Neven. By those who are left.'

  The Duke gave a short nod, Master Tveldt was a learned man.

  'And when he did not show the boils of the red death under his skin, I became suspicious. Then it all came back to me.' The physician paused and straightened.

  The Duke clenched his fists.

  'I have seen mushroom poisoning before. My father was a compounder. He stocked a variety of mushrooms in his apothecary and as a child, he gave me strict instructions never to touch those jars. Luckily, I listened to him. The mushroom I suspect in the murder of Master Plesec is small. Like a puffball but deadly. It is known as the 'destroying angel'.'

  The crowd gasped and shot disgusted glares at the women.

  'And this destroying angel can be found in Ambrovna?'

  'The hills are filled with poisonous plants if you know where to look. These days, compounders do not use such ingredients. We heal. We do not kill. You would need someone skilled in un-Fatherly ways to locate it. A Wasp Woman.'

  The Duke flinched at the word but if the truth was to be uncovered, references to Wasp Women could not be avoided.

  'Boil 'em,' jeered a man.

  Kalin glared and pointed and the guards swiftly removed the beady-eyed man without a fuss.

  'What makes you suspect...Wasp Women?' Lord Kalin said.

  'I was unsure. It was merely a hunch and I try not to listen to the blether of laundresses.' The physician stroked at his beard. 'At first, I suspected an enemy in our town, a Henden compounder perhaps, unhappy with the outcome of the war. This seemed like the most likely answer. Until today. When I saw the other accused women. Those two know exactly how to get their hands on powerful poison.' He pointed at the sisters standing by the wall.

  The Duke leaned forward on his elbow. 'How?'

  'You are probably too young to remember, my Lord. They have another sister. A notorious Wasp Woman who ran away from Ambrovna decades ago. They say she lives wild in the hills.'

  All eyes turned to the sisters. Sira gulped but her sister stared down. The Scion turned to the Duke and nodded sagely.

  'Were Singlewoman Osias and Goodwife Ejvind present at the Plesec house?'

  'Not when I was treating Master Plesec. At first, I suspected the maid. But I discounted this idea quickly. She was too overwrought and much too feeble-minded. Unless she is a great actress. But there was something amiss about the wife.'

  'Mistress Plesec here?' Kalin pointed and the merchant's wife's eyes narrowed to slits.

  Tveldt nodded. 'I checked Master Plesec's wine and brandy and found nothing untoward. Then I went to the kitchen shed. The maid apologised profusely. With all her concern for the Master of the House, she had not completed her chores. Lucky for her laziness, his lunch bowls were unwashed. I fed his leftovers to the dog. Within the hour, the dog began vomiting and then I knew. Destroying angel. The little puffball is tasteless but it takes effect quickly. And a dog being smaller than a man, of course.'

  'Did you see Mistress Plesec touch the meal?' Kalin asked. 'Or the bowl?'

  'No, my Lord.'

  'Could someone else have administered the poison?'

  'The maid assured me that only she and Mistress Plesec had access to Master Plesec's food.'

  The merchant's wife screwed up her face like a dried apple but she remained quiet.

  'Are there other possibilities? Master Plesec was a wealthy man. He may have other rivals in business. Enemies. Someone who may want him dead?'

  'I did not know him intimately. I was only his physician.'

  'Why do you think Mistress Plesec did it?' Kalin asked.

  Tveldt rubbed the back of his neck. 'A good question, my Lord. I have been pondering this myself. Who knows what wickedness went on while we were at war. Traders visited Ambrovna like they always did and our women were alone. She must have taken up with another man and hoped Master Plesec would die in battle but when he came back--'

  'You do not think she is a Wasp Woman?' Lord Kalin said.

  'She did it for the pleasure?' Tveldt said, his eyebrows raised as he contemplated this prospect. 'To appease their savage Mother? I suppose it could be possible. But Mistress Plesec strikes me as a practical woman. I expect there to be a reward for her. A way in which she benefits.'

  The Duke shuddered. Mistress Plesec's eyes bulged but she abided by the rules of the trial and said nothing, her lips white. Had a new type of Wasp Woman emerged in his town? Knowledgeable in the ancient ways but also educated and power hungry. Was she the Queen Wasp? The one who had corrupted Agata? A year was plenty of time to enchant and ruin a young woman's mind.

  'Thank you, Master Tveldt. My Lord, do you have any questions for the physician?'

  The Duke hesitated. He was desperate to ask but fearful of the answer. 'And what of the other accused? Do you know whether the Duchess was involved?'

  'Not for certain, my Lord.' Tveldt lowered his eyes. 'But Irina mentioned the Duchess visited the Plesec house on the morning of her Master's death.'

  The Duke's eyelid twitched. He sat very still.

  Kalin spoke up. 'Irina?'

  'The Plesec maid. Singlewoman Vonder.'

  'Ah, the lazy one. Do you wish to ask anything further of the physician, my Lord?'

  The Duke sucked in a long, deep breath and rubbing his fingers across his chin hairs. 'Bring forth the maid.'

  'Very well, my Lord. We have her father's permission. Singlewoman Vonder come forth!'

  The physician bowed deeply and scurried off to the side.

  Kalin called out once more. 'Singlewoman Vonder.'

  The door to the bailey scraped open and the onlookers parted. A scrawny cowed girl with greasy hair approached, dressed in the muddy brown tunic of the serving class. Mistress Plesec harrumphed loudly and Kalin shot her a piercing glare, which she returned with equal ice.

  'You are Singlewoman Vonder? Employed as a serving girl at the Plesec house?'

  The girl's mouth moved but the Duke could not make out a word.

  'Speak louder!' Lord Kalin barked.

  The girl cowered. 'Yes, m'Lord.'

  'How long have you been serving Master Plesec?'

  'Six years, m'Lord.'

  'Does your Master treat you well?'

  'Oh yes, m'Lord.' Her dull eyes ignited. 'He is a good man. Was...'

  'And the mistress of the house?' Kalin asked

  The maid shook her head and spat. 'She is not a good woman.'

  'In what way?'

  'She did not love him. She did not treat the Master the way a wife should.'

  'What happened on the day of your Master's death?'

  'He called me to his study, m'Lord. He was feeling sickly and then he coughed up blood. I rushed to Master Tveldt and brought him back to make my Master better. But he couldn't.' The girl sniffled, squelching her wet nose against her sleeve.

  'How did your Master become sick?'

  'I didn't know but Master Tveldt said it was a poison and not the red death.'

  'And you believe him?'

  'Of course. Master Tveldt is very clever. I looked for poison in my Master's wine but I couldn't see nothin'.'

  'Are you familiar with poisons?'

  'Oh no, my Lord,' Irina gasped. 'But Master Tveldt does. He found some in a dish. I meant to clean up but I was busy with the people in the shed and looking after Master.'

  Mistress Plesec sharply inhaled but clamped her mouth before she spoke, her brow furrowed and mouth pinched.

  'By people in the shed you mean Goodwife Ejvind?'

  She nodded. 'And her children. Rabel, I mean Goodwife Ejvind, sometimes worked for my Mistress. During the war. My Mistress put them in the loft, above the chickens. I don't know why. She didn't tell me. She doesn't tell me things. Only yells at me.'

  'And so, my Lord.' Kalin turned, briefly b
iting on his lip. 'Here is the connection between Mistress Plesec and Goodwife Ejvind. Mistress Plesec harboured Goodwife Ejvind and her children when your guards were searching for her. When we suspected her of carrying the red death.'

  The Duke nodded slowly.

  'Goodwife Ejvind came to Mistress Plesec for help? To escape the Shield guards?' Kalin asked.

  Irina nodded once more. 'The Duchess asked her to, m'Lord.'

  Gasps echoed around the Great Hall. The Duke tightened his fists against the arms of his chair and interjected, his voice roaring louder than he intended. 'How do you know this?'

  The girl flinched.

  'I overheard them, m'Lord,' she stammered. 'The Duchess came to visit that morning. They thought I was in another room but I have very good ears. I didn't know what they were talkin' about at the time but later I worked it out. They were talkin' of poison and the red death. It is horrible, m'Lord. I didn't want to say but they can't be allowed to get away with such wickedness. It's not right.'

  Scrutinising the maid closely, the Duke wiped his damp palms on his chair arm.

  The Scion spoke up, his voice kindly. 'You have been very brave, Singlewoman Vonder. It takes courage to speak up against your Masters and tell the truth. The Father will be pleased with your words.'

  'Thank you, Scion. He did not deserve to die in such a way.' Irina blew her nose.

  'Why do you think your Mistress poisoned him?' Lord Kalin asked. 'Was there another man? Did other men visit your Mistress?'

  The maid shook her head. 'She was faithful but she liked him being away.'

  Kalin nodded before turning back at the Duke. 'Do you have anything further to ask, my Lord?'

  The Duke rubbed his chin and narrowed his eyes at the girl. 'Tell me about the bruises on your Mistress's face? Was he cruel to her?'

  Kalin shot him a look of displeasure but the Duke pressed on. There must be a reason for all this death. Violence was not in a woman's nature.

  Irina half-shrugged. 'He had a temper. A good wife knows when to be quiet.'

  Mistress Plesec rolled her eyes and crossed her arms tightly across her chest.

  The Duke compressed his lips. She had not denied the beatings.

  'One last question. You overheard your Mistress and the Duchess talking. Did you hear the Duchess speak about my murder? Did you hear them plotting to overthrow me?'

  The serving girl stared down at her feet and shuffled from foot to foot, her mouth clamped shut.

  The Duke frowned, a sudden heat rising under his tunic. 'I order you to answer me, girl' he said with a glare as sharp as knives.

  The maid hid her face behind her lanky hair. 'Yes,' she said, her voice breathy and light, barely louder than a whisper. 'I heard them, m'Lord.'

  'You may go.' The Duke leaned back in his chair and wiped his forehead as the blood thumped in the veins. Could it be true? Was Agata a plotting shrew like the merchant's wife? He studied his wife's face, dark as summer storm clouds, saw her eyes follow Irina through the crowd. How well did he truly know the woman he'd married?

  'Now my Lord,' Kalin said. 'For our next witnesses, I call Singlewoman Osias and Goodwife Ejvind to give evidence.'

  Sira and her sister exchanged frightened glances.

  'But first, the matter of permission. In accordance with the customs of Ambrovna, women must have consent to give evidence. Either from their husbands,' the women lowered their heads, 'of which, there are none, or in the absence of a husband, the accused's father. Can your father give permission for you both?'

  'Our Pa is in the Land Beyond the Sunset,' Sira said, making the circle of the Father on her forehead.

  'In that case, this leaves only the Scion. Scion Zavis, do you grant permission?'

  The Scion pressed his lips together. 'Given the confessions of Singlewoman Osias and Goodwife Ejvind, I am willing to permit them to speak. They have shown the strength to admit their sins before the Father. Their repentance is rewarded.'

  'Thank you, Scion. Now, your confessions state you obtained poison and colluded to kill Goodman Ejvind and his boy, Teo. An innocent boy of nine...'

  Sira's sister lunged forward. 'I did it all, my Lord,' she said, her voice shrill and her eyes savage. 'I killed my husband and my son.'

  Sira grabbed her sister's hand but she shook Sira away.

  'I did not kill my son on purpose.' The scrawny Alleys woman bent from the waist, clutching her hair in clumps. 'He must have finished my husband's stew when my back was turned. But it is all my fault and I must be punished. My sister had nothin' to do with it.'

  Sira stepped forward, pushing in front of her sister. She addressed the Duke directly. 'No, m'Lord. My sister is trying to protect me. I harvested the poison myself. Alone.'

  'I can't let you--' Her sister gripped at Sira's shoulder, her face twisted in pain.

  'Rabel, please.' Sira shook her head.

  'One at a time.' Kalin sighed. 'Singlewoman Osias, you admit to being a Wasp Woman?'

  'Never.' Sira clasped her hands at her breastbone. 'I am a devoted follower of the Father. I have heard the tales of the women who follow the Great Mother, like we all have, but I am not a Wasp Woman. I know nothing of their ways. My Pa showed me the mushroom in the hills when I was a child.'

  'And what of the third murder by poisoning? The mohair merchant, Danis Plesec. It is claimed you supplied the poison. What do you say in response to these accusations, Singlewoman Osias?'

  Sira scrunched her fists by her side and opened her mouth but her sister spoke first. 'It was me.'

  'Don't listen to her. It was me,' Sira insisted.

  'Silence!' Kalin roared, his voice bouncing off the rafters. The sisters flinched and closed their mouths. He shook his head, muttering over his shoulder to the Duke. 'This is why we should not allow them to speak.' He cleared his throat. 'I need to hear the truth. Who provided the poison to Mistress Plesec?'

  'I gave the poison to her, m'Lord,' Sira said. 'But only after she blackmailed me.'

  The Duchess recoiled. Mistress Plesec's eyes were without a single flicker of emotion.

  'Women,' mumbled the Scion. 'Betraying each other like spoilt children.'

  Kalin continued. 'And what was your role in the conspiracy to murder the Duke and take over the Duchy?'

  'I know nothing about a rebellion, m'Lord and I would never be part of any such plot. I have served the Duke and his family all my life. I helped to free the Allotment women as I said. But I would never hurt my Lord.'

  The Scion walked slowly towards the sisters, his hands clasped behind his back. 'I have known you for many years, Singlewoman Osias. And your family,' he said, his eyes scouring her. 'A murderer? A traitor? The woman I see before me is not the Singlewoman Osias I know.'

  Sira shuffled under his glare, her whole face flushed to the colour of her birth-marked cheek. 'I did what I thought was right. My sister and her babes were suffering. And I have confessed my sins.'

  'You are not yourself.' He shook his head.

  'I do not understand, Scion,' Sira said, her eyebrows pressing together.

  'I suspect you have been bewitched.'

  Bewildered, she shook her head.

  The Duke pressed back slightly in his chair.

  'No, Scion. I know what I did. I did it willingly.'

  The Scion stroked his chin. 'There are ways to tell. You may not be aware of the spell on you. The Wasp Women should not be underestimated.'

  Approval rumbled from the crowd but Kalin held up his hand, his forehead creased. 'With respect, Scion. This is not within the laws of the Four Rivers kingdom. Perhaps in the olden times but not now. We do not follow such practices in the modern day.'

  Zavis stared back coldly but said nothing.

  The Duke released a breath, glad for Kalin's interjection, the Scion was straying into uncertain grounds.

  Kalin continued. 'You are the Duchess's maid, Singlewoman Osias?'

  Sira chewed her lip. Kalin and every man in the room knew she was the Duchess
's maid.

  The Duke's heart clanged like the Temple bell.

  'Answer me.'

  'Yes, m'Lord. The Duchess was not involved.'

  Sira was loyal to the castle and to her sister, but how deep did her loyalty to the Duchess go? His own valet had changed his clothes and emptied his chamber pot ever since he was nine years old. Wladek knew more about him than he did himself. Perhaps the war forged a bond between the women but after less than two years in her service, would Sira lie for her?

  'This is your final word. This is the truth?'

  'In the eyes of the Father.' Sira nodded.

  'You may step back.'

  Sira's shoulders dropped, the strain lifting from her face as she retreated from the glare of attention.

  'Tell me, my Lord,' her sister cried out, her hands clasped tight at her chest. 'What have you done with my babes? Please. Who is lookin' after them? Not Sabet. Please. Let it not be Sabet.'

  'Take them aside.' Kalin frowned.

  'Please,' Sira's sister moaned, burying her head in her hands and Sira draped an arm around her shoulders as two guards pushed them back towards the wall.

  Kalin turned to the Duke. 'We have one more witness, my lord. Lord Sylwin, please come forward.'

  As his silver-haired great uncle limped into the centre of the room, his wife's face brightened. She pressed her hand to her heart with a slow smile and the Duke's damaged heart shattered a little more. From the expression on her face, she had no idea what was coming.

  Chapter Fifty-six

  The old man took his place, bowed towards his great-nephew then turning to face Lord Kalin. Agata smiled at her grey-haired adviser but he did not meet her eyes. Surely Lord Sylwin would mend the damage. The Duke would certainly give more weight to his words than the spiteful lies of a servant girl.

  'Lord Sylwin. You advised the Duchess during the Civil War?' Kalin asked.

  'Yes, my Lord. I was her counsel while all you fit young men battled the Hende and Sopter Clans men.'

  'She trusted you?'

  He nodded. 'I became her confidante.'

  Agata licked her dry lips.

  'You understand the accusations today? The very serious accusation of treason?'