Burdened Bloodline

by Sarah E. Burr

  “Hard to believe, yes, but not impossible,” Jax said with a pointed look. She’d bought herself some time, but her words only further proved George could very well have entered the tower unseen, stolen the key from Ivan’s unguarded room while he slept, and attacked Philippe. But then again, there were two other people who knew the location of the key as well. “Who, besides your brothers, Ivan, knew about where you kept the master key?” She wanted all names out in the open.

  “High Courtier Shavon, Lenora, Captain Solomon…” he said, revealing the names he’d already shared with her and Perry earlier, “and I suppose Sabine knows about it, too.”

  Jax’s ears perked up. Ivan had failed to mention Sabine before. “Then I think it would be wise to question each of them about their movements last night.” A relieved sigh escaped between her lips. She had successfully raked George into a pile of other suspects. But Perry’s burning glare seared her skin; he’d figured out what she’d done.

  “A reasonable suggestion,” the Duke agreed. “Ivan, you will allow Jacqueline to assist you in this investigation. I’ve seen her skills at work with my own eyes.” He paused, likely recalling the eventful summit in the Duchy of Lysandeir that had been overshadowed by death. “She’ll help get to the bottom of this.”

  Pride hummed inside her, although the annoyance on Ivan’s face dimmed her spirits.

  “Very well, Father,” he mumbled.

  Cornelius took one last sweeping look around at his sons. “Not a word about what’s happened in here leaves this room. I can’t have the duchy up in arms about who their next Duke will be when I have yet to decide, myself.” He locked eyes with Jax. “Be discreet in your questioning, please. This puts Pettraud in a precarious state, which will only weaken my position on the War Council.”

  Jax bowed her head. “Of course, Duke. You have my word. Saphire will see this through with you.”

  “Very well.” With a nod of dismissal, he turned on his heel and departed.

  Galahad proceeded to follow his father, but stopped at the threshold and turned around. “Is there anything you need from me, Ivan?”

  “Only that you stay inside the castle walls today. Just in case we need to find you later.” Ivan tilted his head in Jax’s direction.

  Galahad vanished, following his father’s footsteps like a hungry puppy. Why was he so eager to leave, Jax wondered. Could he be hoping to convince his father to name him the new successor?”

  “Kaul, Elias, you’re excused as well,” Ivan said, his face an uncomfortable shade of green. Clearly, as Captain, he was still not accustomed to giving orders to his brothers. “Perry, you too.”

  Perry scoffed. “I don’t intend to leave Jax alone for this, brother.”

  “I’ll be fine.” She fought to keep her irritation with him under wraps. She didn’t need his biased attitude muddling her investigation.

  The stinging hurt in his eyes nearly made her retract her words. “But…I want to help you,” he muttered.

  Moving across the sitting room to stand at his side, she placed a hand lightly on his arm. “It would be helpful if you went to console your brothers.” She hoped he understood the inflection of her suggestion. Perhaps, without either herself or the Duke present, Kaul, Elias, and Galahad would reveal more information about their movements last night.

  A shimmer in her husband’s eyes told her he understood his marching orders. “Very well, then,” he said, overplaying his wounded pride for Ivan’s sake. “I shall see you at lunch.”

  Jax’s stomach rumbled in reply. In all the chaos, they’d missed breakfast. Perhaps she would stop by the dining hall to retrieve a pastry before she and Ivan started their snooping.

  Perry exited the chamber, leaving Jax alone with Ivan and Philippe’s body. “Before Lenora gets back, I’d like to take a look at him, if that’s all right?” She waited until Ivan gave her a nod of approval.

  The gaping wound left by the missing dagger greeted her, flipping her insides. The amount of blood was staggering, but most of it had been absorbed by the bearskin rug. Kneeling beside Philippe, Jax examined the Crown Prince. When he’d fallen to the floor, he’d landed on the side of his face, and his lavender eyes stared lifelessly back at her.

  As she studied the body, hoping to find something Lenora might have missed, a memory tickled the back of her mind. Elias had said to Kaul, “Your room is right next to his, and you didn’t hear a thing? Convenient.” The walls were thick in this castle, so she didn’t necessarily think it suspicious that Kaul hadn’t heard anything, but it would have taken several minutes for Philippe to bleed out. Surely, he would have tried to yell for help before his strength ebbed?

  Jax frowned as she scanned Philippe’s frozen face. His wide eyes matched his bulging cheeks…

  What if he couldn’t? Gingerly, she poked the side of Philippe’s face. She was met with resistance. Something was stuffed inside the prince’s mouth! Steeling her nerves, she tugged on the stiff jawbone, until it popped open. “Ivan, there’s something inside his mouth!”

  Taking over the morbid task, Ivan gently maneuvered his shaking fingers past the parted lips of his dead brother. “It’s a piece of cloth.” He pulled it out, careful as not to tear it.

  Jax stared at the crumpled ball of fabric in the Captain’s hands. A handkerchief. “Is there anything embroidered on it? Something to identify the killer?”

  Ivan slowly unfurled the ball, his face falling with disappointment. “Nothing. That’s odd…if I’m not mistaken, this is satin. Strange material for a man’s kerchief.”

  Jax leaned in closer, examining the muted rose tones of the piece. “Maybe for a man, but not for woman.” Her fingers stroked the buttery material. “This belongs to a high lady.”

  Ivan rose to his feet and helped Jax to hers. “How did Lenora miss this during her examination?”

  Jax weighed her words carefully before answering, the amber-eyed noblewoman’s elegant features filling her mind. “Maybe she didn’t.”

  Chapter Fifteen

  “You think Lenora purposefully omitted telling us about finding this?” Ivan placed the cloth into Jax’s outstretched hands.

  “Why else would she not bring this up?” Jax countered.

  “Perhaps it’s because I made a mistake.” Lenora’s timid voice floated in from the threshold.

  Jax and Ivan both turned around, stunned they hadn’t heard her approach.

  “Lennie—” Ivan reach a hand outward to the healer.

  She waved him aside. “No, there’s no need to apologize.” Her lips pursed in a tight smile. “I’m embarrassed to say this in front of a Duchess who seems to know so much about the topic, but I’ve never tended to a murdered body before.” Her cheeks darkened. “I’m the one who should be sorry. I almost let a valuable piece of evidence slip away, all because I don’t really know how to handle…all this.” Her last words were burdened with emotion, and in that moment, Jax remembered that the man on the floor was not just a faceless victim. Philippe had been a brother and friend to the people in this palace, even if she herself had never known him in that light.

  “Lenora, we can’t fault you for not being experienced in such instances,” Jax said, resting a tender hand on the woman’s shoulder. “The Virtues know I wish I wasn’t.” Delicately, she held the rumpled cloth up for the healer to examine. “Does this kerchief look familiar to you?”

  Lenora bit her lower lip in hesitation, her eyes darting from Jax to the Captain. “I can’t be certain, but the color does ring a bell. I believe Lady Astrid has a few pieces like this near her bedside.”

  Lady Astrid? What role does Sabine’s ailing mother play in this? With a questioning glance toward Ivan, Jax slipped the kerchief into her dress pocket for safekeeping.

  Ivan watched her do so before addressing the healer. “We’ll leave you to your work, Lennie. Please, if anything strikes you the least bit odd while you’re preparing Philippe for interment, let myself or the Duchess know immediately.”

&nb
sp; “You have my word.” She bowed her head and exited into the hallway, before immediately returning with two somber guards in tow, each carrying a mop and bucket. “They’ll help me bring him down to the catacombs unnoticed. After your brother is situated, I’ll get to cleaning.”

  “Good. My father will appreciate your discretion. If the castle gets wind of what’s happened, it’s going to thrust us into a chaos that we cannot ignore.”

  Ivan escorted Jax from the room, leading her down the stairs and out of the royal tower. The hallway stretching out before them was empty, save the two remaining guardsmen manning the entrance.

  “How did a handkerchief belonging to Lady Astrid come to be a gag in Philippe’s mouth?” Jax asked in a hushed tone, unclear where Ivan was taking her. “Isn’t the woman bedridden?”

  Ivan nodded, grim lines etching his chiseled features. “She is, but her daughter isn’t.”

  “You think Sabine could have done this? Why?” Jax couldn’t figure out the woman’s motive. Hadn’t she been trying to get Philippe to marry her?

  “It’s that damn Code of Succession,” Ivan seethed. “She was at the dinner table when Father announced he was thinking about it. She saw the fallout after Philippe was taken away.”

  Jax quickly caught on to his line of thinking. “If she thought there was a chance she could marry another brother and still become a Duchess…but do you really think she has the ambition to kill?” Keeping in step with her brother-in-law, she waited for his reply.

  “I honestly don’t know anymore.” Woe crept into Ivan’s stern gaze. “I don’t know what’s worse, thinking the young woman you’ve treated like a sister is capable of ending Philippe’s life, or believing one of your own brothers is to blame.”

  “I know which one I’d want to be true,” Jax sympathized. “But Sabine was never guaranteed to become a bride, even if Philippe took the throne. Would she risk such a huge gamble?”

  Ivan’s silence told her of his indecision.

  “Before we go speak with her, I’d like to return to my chambers.” She held her hands away from her side. “I need to freshen up.” More likely, toss my clothes into the fire and burn the stench of death off them.

  “Of course, Duchess. I should see where my brothers have gone off to.” Ivan’s fists tightened. “I need to look them in the eyes and ask them if they did this.”

  “Let’s reconvene outside your father’s study. I think that’s the one place in the castle I can find on my own.” Jax gave him an encouraging smile.

  Ivan deposited her at the entrance of the guest wing before departing in search of his family. As she watched him march away, she wondered how long they’d be able to keep this tragedy concealed from the public. Once the servants got wind of what had happened to Philippe, no doubt gossip would spread down the cliffside and into the capital city like wildfire. Cornelius was right; having Pettraud’s throne in flux did not bode well for the approaching War Council. The last thing she needed was for her allies to be seen as weak and vulnerable.

  Safe within the confines of her suite, Jax washed her hands, scrubbing her fingers raw where she’d touched Philippe’s body. Just as she finished lacing herself into a clean gown, a series of fervent knocks assaulted her door, and before she could utter a word of entry, George barged in, looking wild.

  “Jax, what in Virtues is going on?” His nostrils flared as he huffed. “First, you tell me Philippe is dead, then Perry accuses me of murder, and then you order me to stay behind while you go to a secret meeting with hardly any protection?”

  She gave him a wry smirk. “I’m surprised you didn’t follow us.”

  “I did.”

  Her brow furrowed. “What? I didn’t see you.”

  He rolled his eyes. “I wouldn’t be very good at my job if you did. But the tower guards wouldn’t let me past the entrance to the royal wing.” He tapped his foot impatiently. “Will you tell me what’s going on?”

  She sank into one of the arm chairs. “I wish I knew.” She rubbed her temples, pressure building behind her amethyst eyes. “Perry and I accompanied Ivan while he delivered Philippe breakfast this morning, only Philippe had a huge dagger sticking out of his back.”

  George took a chair directly across from her. “Was Philippe’s chamber still locked when you arrived?”

  Jax nodded. “I watched Ivan unlock it myself.”

  George stroked the budding stubble running the length of his chin. “As did I, last night. That’s why Perry thinks I did this. Because I saw where Ivan put the key?”

  “Among other reasons.” Jax winced, reliving Perry’s earlier manic behavior.

  George’s eyes narrowed in question.

  “There are other people in the castle who know where the key is kept,” Jax explained. “Perry seems to think you did this as a way of protecting Saphire…protecting me.”

  He snorted. “How is putting you in the middle of a diplomatic crisis protecting you?”

  She gave him a weary smile. “Please, just remember he has lost a brother. Philippe might have been a brute, but he was Perry’s family, nonetheless.”

  George sobered at her reminder. “I won’t hold it against him.”

  “Duke Pettraud has put Ivan and I in charge of getting to the bottom of this nightmare before it blows up in our faces.” She leaned her head back against the headrest, closing her eyes for a brief moment. “But I feel like I’m out of my element. Every devious plot that I’ve come across has been a part of an elaborate scheme, or well-thought out plan. This seems different.”

  “How so?”

  Her gaze wandered around the sitting room. “It’s too messy. Too spur of the moment. A crime of passion, if you will.” She explained the missing dagger and the ladies’ handkerchief she and Ivan had found.

  “The dagger is what most concerns me,” George said after she’d laid out all the facts. “The killer went back to the scene to collect it. Which indicates they’d been in the royal wing all along.”

  Jax nodded in agreement.

  “Once you left to find me after discovering Philippe’s body, was the royal tower ever left unguarded?” George stood and thoughtfully paced to the glowing fireplace.

  “I’m not sure. Ivan came to collect Perry and I at the Duke’s request for a gathering. Perhaps he sent the guardsmen to fetch everyone else?” She shrugged. “I’ll have to ask him. Ivan and Lenora were the last people in the room that I know of. Elias said that when he entered, the dagger was not in Philippe’s back.”

  “Can anyone else confirm Elias’s story?” George asked.

  Her face heated at the huge oversight she’d made, evident by George’s question. “No. Virtues, he could have taken it and tucked it away in his tunic, hiding the evidence the entire time we were all in the room!”

  “Its sudden disappearance does seem suspicious.”

  Jax released a frustrated sigh. “What do you make of Lady Astrid’s handkerchief, then?”

  George’s features noticeably tightened. “I’m sure anyone could have snuck away with one of her rose handkerchiefs under the guise of a visit.”

  As his words settled in her ears, she gripped the arms of her chair. “George, I didn’t tell you it was rose-colored.” A flutter of panic erupted just south of her throat. “How did you know?”

  His gaze darkened. “Goodness, Jax, it’s not what you think.”

  “Did you take one from her room?”

  Blood pounded in his cheeks, spreading down his neck, and disappearing beneath the collar of his tunic. “No. But…” he almost seemed in pain, “I have seen a rose-colored handkerchief of hers. Several, in fact.”

  “Where?” Suspicious confusion bubbled to the surface of her emotions. George never kept anything from her, but he was dancing around the truth now.

  Taking a deep, steeling breath, his gaze dropped to the floor. “In Sabine’s room. She took me back there to bandage up the cut Philippe gave me.” He pointed to cotton patch slathered over his right eyebrow. “S
he mentioned her mother had gifted them to her recently.”

  She deflated inwardly. She had enjoyed Sabine’s company yesterday and had been looking forward to getting to know her better. But it seemed she was quickly becoming a viable suspect. “Oh, dear.”

  “What is it?”

  “Ivan thought,” Jax began, “that Sabine might be capable of killing Philippe. With the Duke’s bewildering announcement about the Code of Succession, Sabine could have realized she had a chance at becoming Duchess without having to marry Philippe. With him out of the way, she could set her sights on the new heir.”

  George scoffed. “Ivan honestly believes she wants to be Duchess that badly?”

  Jax shrugged, taken aback by his odd retort. “Well, if she was willing to marry Philippe…”

  “Maybe when she was younger, but she knows what a monster he’s turned into.”

  Jax rose and inched her way over to George’s imposing frame. “And how do you know this?”

  His cheeks reddened again. “While she was tending to my cut, we talked.”

  Somewhere, deep inside her, a string went taut in alert. “George,” she said softly, “why wouldn’t you answer Perry when he asked where you were this morning?” She was certain George could hear the pounding of her heart.

  His silence stirred a confusing flurry of emotions within her.

  “How long did Sabine tend to your wounds, Captain?”

  “Only a few minutes…” He swallowed, still not meeting her searching gaze. “But I stayed with her the entire night.”

  A sharp ache pinched her chest. Why? Why am I reacting like this? “So, when Perry and I ran into you in the hallway earlier…”

  “I was returning from her chambers.” Confusion and regret mingled in George’s expression, as if he, too, were experiencing conflicting feelings he didn’t quite understand.

  She wished she hadn’t asked. She cursed herself for her prying curiosity. Of course George was free to seek the company of an attractive, vibrant young woman. It wasn’t as if by pledging himself to the Ducal Guard he had to forfeit the carnal pleasures of life. She should feel happy her friend had found comfort amongst all the gruesome events that had befallen them lately.