These days, Duke Savant spends much of his time visiting the Duchies of Beautraud and Tandora, although the other DeLacquans and I are not allowed to attend the private meetings held between the sovereigns just yet. The Duke doesn’t fully trust that our allegiance has transferred from you to him, since he believes you to be firmly planted in Duchess Saphire’s pocket. It’s so disheartening to listen to him debase you, but sadly, I am no longer in the position to come to your defense. I hope wherever you are, you are treated with the respect you deserve.
I hope things will settle with time. Savant’s ire over the Isla DeLacqua purchase is sure to die down once he realizes how futile it would be to try to rise against the might of Saphire.
May the Virtues guide your new path.
Courtier Rubeus Altonia
Jax bit her bottom lip as she analyzed the swooping lines of ink, disappointed. She had hoped the letter would contain more useful information. She already knew of Savant’s struggling treasury and that he, Beautraud, and Tandora were meeting frequently. It seemed this Courtier Altonia hadn’t even realized the sovereigns had also discussed plans for her assassination during their sessions.
Jax wished Bernard had had the political foresight to allow Lord Brunovaris to respond to Courtier Altonia’s olive branch, for they could have used the courtier’s connections to weasel out information about their enemies. Sadly, the window of time for such action had passed. If only she’d known the DeLacquan courtiers had defected sooner…how had Lord Brunovaris not known about his rogue court, or had he known and hidden it from her?
Jax climbed out of the basin and wrapped herself in a towel. With determined strides, she found where Uma and Vita had unpacked her things and quickly dressed in one of her courtly gowns. Placing a delicate, yet formidable gilded crown atop her head, she exuded the power she’d been born with as she made her way out of her apartment and down the third-floor corridor.
Balling her fist, Jax pounded on the solid oak door at the end of the hall, the noise a thunderous announcement of her arrival. “Duke DeLacqua, open up!” she bellowed, hoping the use of the man’s former title might hurry him along.
A moment later, the door opened a crack, the lilac eyes of the former sovereign blinking blearily down at her. “Well, well, Duchess. This is a surprise.”
With her palm still splayed out on the door, Jax pushed it back the rest of the way, storming past the nightshirt-clad lord. “The day is just full of them, so it seems.” She held in her other hand the yellowed parchment bearing Courtier Altonia’s Savantian seal.
Lord Brunovaris had clearly just crawled out of bed, as he wiped sleep from his eyes before motioning Jax to take a seat in the cluttered sitting room. Either Julian or Martán had not been allowed in, or Brunovaris had created the mess overnight.
When Jax made no move to sit, the former Duke sighed and plucked the letter out of her hands. “I had no idea that members of my court fled to Savant until I received this.”
She crossed her arms. “And I’m just supposed to believe you?”
“You can reprimand me for my foolishness all you want, Jacqueline, but please, I ask that you don’t insult my honor.”
Jax eyed the disheveled man, who despite his haggard appearance and growing paunch, still exuded an attractive confidence.
“May I assume you didn’t ride all the way out here to point out that I had lost control of my own court before you took the reins?” The smug arrogance dissolved from Thanasis Brunovaris’s face. “What in the Virtues brings you to Galensmore?” Genuine worry hedged his inquiry.
She waved his words aside. “I’m still asking the questions at the moment, Thanasis.” Her hands went to her hips. “Do I need to be worried about the information your former courtiers have to offer Savant and his allies?”
His lilac eyes darkened as he squinted at the letter. “No. Altonia had only been in my service a few weeks before the acquisition transpired. Hardly enough time to build up a wealth of state secrets.”
Jax glanced at the page in his shaky hands. “What about the others he speaks of? Do you know who they are?”
Thanasis’s brow furrowed. “Since he doesn’t name them, I can only guess. But other than information about Isla DeLacqua’s lack of natural resources, I doubt they have anything noteworthy to provide.” He puffed out his chest. “In fact, I think the only reason Savant allowed them into his inner circle was because he thought he could use them to get to me.”
Jax gave the slightest of nods to indicate she agreed with Thanasis’s theory.
“And because that meddling Lord Chamberlain couldn’t wait to stick his nose into my business,” Thanasis uttered in a low growl, “an opportunity to milk a spy in Savant’s court has passed us by.”
A smirk eased its way across Jax’s stony façade. “The countryside hasn’t dulled your shrewd political mind, I see.”
The former Duke wagged a finger in her direction. “With my inventive tactics and your skills at managing a treasury, we’d make for a powerful team, Jacqueline. Are you sure I need to remain hidden away from the world here at Galensmore? Might it be well for me to return to court?”
The lustful glint for power in Thanasis’s gaze cooled at Jax’s answer. “I’m afraid it’s not even safe enough for me to return to court.”
Meeting Thanasis’s bewildered expression, Jax shared an abridged summary of all that was happening in the realm, detailing her reasons for traveling to Galensmore in anonymity.
Thanasis stroked his silky beard, the only evidence that he was taking care of himself. “I suppose with Duke Savant’s growing ire toward you, it was only a matter of time before someone declared the need for a War Council.”
“None of this is common knowledge,” Jax reminded him. “Virtues, my own courtiers just found out about the War Council yesterday after my arrival from Pettraud. Tell me…” She paused, her gaze flitting back to the letter in Lord Brunovaris’s hands. “If Bernard had not intercepted this note, how would you have responded to outreach from an enemy court, knowing what you now know?”
Thanasis’s aging skin paled, and he stared out the window for a time before responding. Jax scrutinized his reflection with apprehensive interest as the man’s lilac eyes roamed the estate in deep thought.
“I suppose I would have tried to get Courtier Altonia to trust me, maybe even convince Duke Savant I could be trusted to act as a double agent.” Thanasis hung his head. “I’ve messed up Carriena’s life enough as it is. After all my failures, my only goal now is to protect my daughter.” Setting down the letter, he nervously massaged his hands. “If Savant thought I was dedicated to his cause, there would be no reason to use Carriena as a pawn in all this madness.” The honesty in Thanasis’s eyes sucked the air from Jax’s lungs. “I owe you the truth, Jacqueline, after what you did for me and my family. At the end of all things, my allegiance will be to the victor of this impending storm.” The steel determination in his gaze vanished as his shoulders deflated into a weary hunch. “I do hope very much it will be you.”
Her lips pressed into a razor-thin line, but she held her tongue as Lord Brunovaris’s intentions settled into her troubled mind. Even though she had no children of her own, she understood the depth of the love behind his goal. She felt the same way toward the people of Saphire. She would do anything to keep them safe, to give them the best chance at a good life.
“I appreciate your frankness.” Jax straightened, summoning her most regal mask to cover her warring insecurities about putting her trust in this man. Thanasis’s thorough answer as to how he would have responded to Altonia’s letter made her wonder if he somehow already had.
“Of course, Duchess.” Thanasis scrambled to bow.
Jax wove her way through the clutter toward the door. Before she left, she turned to him. “Should I find out that you’ve sent unauthorized correspondence to any of my enemies about my whereabouts, I will have your head for treason. After all, you are a citizen of Saphire.”
T
o his credit, he didn’t flinch at her threat.
Chapter Seven
As the door clicked shut behind her, Jax let loose a heavy breath. Thanasis’s words echoed in her ears. My allegiance will be to the victor of this impending storm. While she trusted that Lord Brunovaris wished for Saphire to emerge victorious, she also understood he might possibly defect to Savant’s shadows should the war not go in her favor. He would need to be watched, and certainly kept at arm’s length going forward.
An echoing creak of a door halted her reverie.
“Jax, I’m glad I caught you.” Charles waved from the entrance to George’s suite down the hall. “He’s waking up.”
With a swoop of her skirts, Jax closed the distance between her and the physician. “How is he?”
Charles wiped his forehead, his wispy blond hair matted with sweat. “The fever is close to breaking, I think. I’ve got quite a fire going to keep the chills at bay, but I think he’s taken a turn for the better.”
Jax almost collapsed on the polished wood floor with relief. “Why don’t you rest for a bit, Charles? I’ll sit with him for a while.”
Hesitating at first, Charles then nodded in agreement. “My room is right next door. If anything changes, come get me at once.”
Giving the healer’s arm a grateful squeeze, Jax tiptoed into the sweltering bedroom. A blazing fire roared from the fireplace, its heat causing a layer of perspiration to blossom all over Jax’s freshly bathed skin. Making sure her hair was securely tied back, she moved to the bedside.
George opened an eye, as if he’d sensed her noiseless approach. “I suppose this wasn’t the best idea after all,” he croaked.
Reaching for a pitcher of cold water on the nightstand, Jax poured the Captain a generous glass and held it to his parched lips. The image of his gangrenous wound sprouted in her mind. “Why didn’t you tell us how much your side was bothering you?” Her words came out sharper than she’d intended, but relief that her friend was all right was quickly being trampled by irritation over his stupidity.
He grimaced under her narrowed stare. “I didn’t realize the wound had become infected until we were well underway this morning. It would have been pointless to double back to the palace.”
Fresh tears pricked at her eyes. “You should have said something sooner! Goodness, it wasn’t until you passed out that Charles knew something was very wrong. What if it had been too late by then?” she snapped. “You could have—” Terror at what might have been seized her senses and agonized sobs followed, bursting out of her lungs.
George tried to raise his hand to comfort her, but witnessing the strain in his eyes at that slight movement made her cry even harder.
“I’m sorry,” he whispered after a time, when her wailing had ceased to a whimper. “I’m sorry I’ve become another burden. You’ve got enough on your plate as it is.”
She scowled at him, wiping away the river flowing down her chapped cheeks. “You’re an idiot, you know that?”
George’s eyes, the only part of his body that didn’t seem to cause him pain, widened at her retort.
“You’re an idiot to think you are or will ever be a burden to me.” Her hands balled into tight fists, clutching the skirt of her dress. “You may have deluded yourself into believing you are merely a pawn of the Crown, but you are wrong.” She trembled with conviction as she wrangled the last of her emotions into well-practiced control.
His gaze softened and his body seemed to relax into the sea of pillows and sheets that cocooned him. “Have I been out long? What have I missed?”
His eagerness to focus on her issues rather than his own forced a begrudging smile from her. As much as she wanted to continue to berate him for the brave face he’d assumed, she knew the blame fell on her own shoulders, too. She had done nothing to stop him from coming along on this adventure, after all. Her selfishness had almost cost her the person she cared about the most…besides Perry.
Reluctantly, she followed his indirect request to change the subject. “It seems our host has been considering dabbling in espionage.”
George’s expression froze in confoundment as he listened to Jax relay the details of the defected DeLacquan courtiers and her enlightening conversation with Lord Brunovaris.
“He’s made a grave error in trusting me.” Her tone grew cold and distant. “Thanasis intends to do whatever it takes to protect Carriena throughout this war. If I even catch a whiff that he’s betrayed my confidence and defected to Savant’s side, I won’t hesitate to use his daughter against him.”
George’s brow furrowed. “That doesn’t sound like you, Jax.”
She snorted. “Of course I would never do something that puts Carriena in harm’s way, but Thanasis doesn’t know the extent to which the Duchess of Saphire would go to protect her land and her people.” She didn’t voice the dark pledge lurking in the back of her mind. If she had to make the choice between one life and many…as Duchess, she would do what she must.
Pulling back the sheets with his good arm, George made an attempt to climb out from his sickbed. “I need to speak with Corporal Highriver. I want the Ducal Guard to review Thanasis’s correspondence even before the Lord Chamberlain does.”
Jax placed a gentle hand on his heaving chest, as he already wheezed with agony. “Oh, no you don’t. Charles will have both our heads if you move from this bed.” With tender force, she pushed him back against the pillows. “I will speak with the Corporal later. You need to rest. Charles says your fever hasn’t even fully broken.”
Agitation seared into George’s features. “I’m feeling much better. Going downstairs to speak with the Corporal isn’t going to send me to the morgue, you know.”
“If you don’t adhere to an order from your sovereign, it might.” Her amethyst eyes narrowed, rooting the Captain in his bed.
He laboriously folded his arms in defiance, despite the pain it caused him. “Fine.”
Jax rose from her perch on the bed and glided toward the door. “I’m going to get you some more water. Why not try to get some sleep?”
George’s slumbering snores greeted her as she returned from the manor’s bountiful kitchen, holding an icy pitcher with water sloshing inside.
Charles poked his head into the room a few hours later. “Duchess?” he whispered, so as not to disturb the sleeping patient. “Shall I take over so you can get something to eat?”
Jolted from her own daydreams, Jax’s gaze fluttered to the fireplace mantle boasting a large clock. It was nearly two in the afternoon and she hadn’t eaten anything since that sorry-excuse-for-a-welcome banquet at the palace last night. It seems a lifetime ago…
Nodding, Jax wiped a line of sweat from George’s forehead before she vacated the chair next to his bed. Charles took her place, holding the back of his hand against the Captain’s skin. A giddy look of triumph emerged. “His fever has broken.”
Jax reached for the physician as she wavered with relief. “Why don’t you come down and get some food, too? I need you to be in top form to see that George recovers quickly.”
“Very well.”
Together, they made their way downstairs, finding their companions chatting away over a game of cards in the parlor.
Sabine leaped from her chair at the sight of Jax. “Oh, I’m so glad you’ve come to join us. Does this mean Captain Solomon is feeling better?” Her innocent eyes bounced from Jax to Charles.
“Yes, thanks to Charles’s skilled effort.” Jax looped her arm through that of the blushing physician. “We’ve worked up quite an appetite. Is there anything left from lunch?”
Vita clutched her stomach, fanning herself with her hand full of cards. “We haven’t eaten yet. We were hoping you’d come down and join us.”
Uma took two cards from her hand and slapped them victoriously on the table. “Yes, given how much you went on and on about Ellamae’s cooking, it didn’t seem fair for us to enjoy it without you.” Uma beamed up at Jax, reveling in the sulking expressions coming from
Vita and Sabine as they assessed her winning hand.
Chuckling, Jax motioned her friends to follow her. “Well, let’s get a move on, then, before we all waste away.”
Their game forgotten, Uma, Vita, and Sabine chatted brightly as they guided the group down the first-floor corridor toward the dining room.
Bernard’s cheery face popped out of a side chamber and greeted them with a gracious bow. “I take it the worst has passed for Captain Solomon?”
“Master Charles was able to alleviate the Captain’s fever.” Jax gave Charles’s arm another squeeze, gratitude shining in her eyes.
“Wonderful news.” Bernard straightened the sleeves of his formal chamberlain robes. “Why don’t I have Ellamae whip up a light meal for you to take on the outdoor terrace? I know she’s preparing a treat for tonight, so I’d hate for you to ruin your appetites.”
Vita’s cheeks flushed, her growling stomach making its presence known. “Just a light meal?”
Hunger, too, clawed away at Jax’s insides. Now that the worst of her fears about George and Lord Brunovaris had subsided, her desire to eat returned with a vengeance. “I didn’t think it was possible to ruin one’s appetite.”
They settled themselves outside on the patio, the afternoon sun washing away the stress of the tumultuous morning. Despite the change of season being only a week away, the surrounding meadow radiated the waning summer’s warmth. Wildflowers danced in the light breeze, and if Jax hadn’t had the woes of the War Council festering in the back of her mind, she might possibly have found it within herself to relax and enjoy her stay at Galensmore.
“Bernard took us for a tour of the grounds.” Sabine rocked in her seat like a happy child. “I’d love to do some reading by the pond in the back acres. It’s so peaceful and bright, I can hardly believe it’s real.” Having grown up in the gloom and fog surrounding the Pettraud fortress, the sun’s constant presence was a thing of wonder to the young woman.
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