Sovereign Sieged

by Sarah E. Burr

  From his seat across from Sabine, Charles’s cheeks blossomed pink. “You made for quite the attentive student, Lady Sabine. You really must consider attending the Academy for formal training.”

  “Oh, I don’t think so.” Sabine took a demure bite of roasted rosemary mashed potatoes, seemingly oblivious to the cease in the chatter around her. “I enjoy helping people when I can, but I don’t think I have the demeanor of a healer.”

  “Have you given any thought as to what your calling in this world might be?” Uma asked.

  Sabine frowned. “I really haven’t. At first, I thought I might end up Duchess of Pettraud—” she stopped herself at the admission, embarrassment flooding her pretty features. “But of course, that didn’t really work out.”

  Jax struggled to contain an amused snort. No, indeed it did not.

  “Then I became so focused on my mother’s health that I sort of lost myself.” The honesty in Sabine words made the entire table still for a moment. “So, I suppose I am a blank slate.” Her bright and cheery disposition returned.

  While everyone muttered their sympathies to the young woman, Jax wondered if this blank slate of Sabine’s had already been tainted. I need to examine her quarters to see if she’s under the influence of outside forces.

  “Well, as long as you keep company with the Duchess here,” Carriena raised her chin in Jax’s direction, “I’m sure you’ll never be bored by what life has to offer.”

  “I have enjoyed my time with her very much.” Sabine’s pert lips curved upward.

  “You have different tastes in enjoyment than I do, Lady Sabine.” Thanasis barked a loud cackle before taking a swig of his drink. “It seems to me that any time spent in the Duchess’s company involves death and murder.”

  “Speaking of Sir Olavo’s passing,” George hastily began, interrupting the annoyed retort Carriena looked like she was about to spout, “I’d suggest everyone move outside to the garden after lunch. We’ve kept you all holed up inside for far too long on this glorious day.”

  Bernard’s head jerked up. “But what about remaining in our rooms for safety?”

  “My lieutenants, Wynn and Ansel, will accompany you all and remain on guard,” George instructed. “With Corporal Highriver and his men patrolling the border wall, you all should be safe.”

  Thanasis snorted. “And yet, a murder was still committed inside the manor. Whole lot of good that border wall did for Olavo.”

  Jax’s lips pressed into a firm line. “Sadly, a physical barrier does no good against intangible evils that can weasel their way into any susceptible heart.”

  As her condemning words settled over the table, Jax analyzed the reaction from her suspects. Thanasis merely took another sip from his goblet. Sabine toyed with her napkin, and Bernard poked at the remaining bites of pork on his plate. Were any of those the actions of a guilty person? She couldn’t be sure.

  As lunch was winding down, a knock on the dining hall door drew Jax’s attention away from her companions. Dressed in his Ducal Guard uniform, Wynn stood at attention. “We just received a crowned falcon from the palace, Your Grace.” He placed three small envelopes in her hand.

  Jax glanced through them, taking careful note of the handwriting. The first boasted the official seal of Saphire, indicating it would contain the latest report from the Ducal Guard about Raulph. The second was in Perry’s looping script, the wax seal of Pettraud latching the pages together. The third simply bore the loving words, Our Vita.

  “Another letter from home.” Jax held up the letter for her lady’s maid.

  Vita’s shoulders sagged. “Oh goodness, I hope my youngest sister isn’t announcing an engagement this time. I’ll never hear the end of it.” As everyone around the table chuckled at her quip, Vita reached over Uma’s place setting and scooped the note out of Jax’s hands.

  Saving the two other letters for less prying eyes, Jax tucked them into the pocket of her gown. “I’m sure it will be nice to hear some news about the outside world.”

  Vita nodded a vague agreement. “Perhaps I’ll save it for bedtime reading.” She glanced down at her lap. “That’s when I tend to get the most homesick.”

  Surprised by her admission, Jax gave her friend a sympathetic smile. “It’s settled. Once this whole mess here at Galensmore is resolved, I’m sending you home to enjoy a few days with your family. You as well, Uma.”

  Startled by the declaration, Uma did a doubletake. “You think it wise for us to leave court during all the turmoil of the War Council?” Uma’s words hung in the air.

  Jax patted her arm in reassurance. “I will make sure you are looked after. You’ll both be under the protection of the Ducal Guard during the course of your travels.”

  Vita bowed her head. “That’s very kind of you, Jax.”

  “Anything for my friends,” Jax said simply, putting the matter to bed.

  Lunch concluded shortly after, Ellamae offering to bring a collection of sweets out to the garden for everyone to enjoy. Despite having eaten more than her fair share of the meal, Jax couldn’t resist the homemade chocolate-covered cherry cordials Vita had described making this morning with the famed chef. As everyone rose from the table and shuffled off to their rooms to prepare for their time outside, George caught Jax by the elbow and pulled her back.

  “Sorry, Duchess, but your sweet tooth will have to wait.” He smirked, clearly amused that she hadn’t seen through his ruse. “I figured that while everyone else is out lounging in the garden, we can do a more thorough check of the guest rooms.”

  Vita materialized beside them, expertly balancing several dirtied dishes. “Shall I continue to keep watch over Ellamae through the afternoon?”

  Jax assessed the dark circles under her friend’s eyes as she considered the cook’s innocence. “After everything we’ve learned, I don’t think it’s necessary. It would have been impossible for Ellamae to make it past the guards unnoticed.” She glanced at George, who nodded in agreement. “Why don’t you go upstairs and rest, my dear, once you’re done helping clean up?”

  Vita brightened at the suggestion. “I just might do that. It’s quite tiresome, being on alert all the time. I don’t know how you do it, George.” She flashed a wearied grin at the Captain. “A short nap is just what I need to get the wind back in my sails.” She curtsied and headed through the pantry doors leading to the kitchen.

  George rubbed his neck. “Tiresome, indeed.”

  Jax scoffed. “Says the man who’s been confined to bed for most of our stay.”

  By the look on his face, it was too soon to joke about such things.

  Chapter Seventeen

  With several cherry cordials in her hand, Jax slinked up the staircase to the third floor where George stood waiting.

  A wry smile inched up his lips. “I see you couldn’t resist bringing a snack.”

  Jax popped a gooey chocolate into her mouth. “My love of sweets is almost as legendary as my love of a good mystery. It would have raised suspicion if I didn’t at least make an appearance outside and sample some of Ellamae’s treats.” She held out her palm to him in offering. “I even brought one for you.”

  “Only one?” George pointedly looked at the six candies in her hand.

  “Only one.” For emphasis, she tossed back another, relishing the sweet cherry tang.

  George selected the largest of those that remained and ate it with more discretion than Jax had managed. “I figured we should check out Sabine’s chambers first,” he said. “Hers is the only one we haven’t done at least a cursory search of.”

  Jax nodded in agreement, and by the time they reached the door to Sabine’s suite, she had polished off the rest of the chocolates.

  “I hope all that sugar doesn’t affect your senses,” George teased her as he eased open the door.

  A blue and cream color scheme greeted them as they walked into the sitting room. Sabine had kept her space reasonably neat, although there were a few gowns strewn about the room. When she’d
gone out to the garden to collect some dessert, Jax had noticed Sabine had changed into a long-sleeved dress, probably out of fear that the sun would nip away at her again.

  “Where should we start?” George eyed the sitting area and the bedroom beyond.

  Jax looked for a desk or stack of papers that might hold a telling clue, but saw nothing of the sort in this room. “You take the sitting room. Maybe she’s stuffed something into the sofa cushions. I’ll poke around her bedroom.” If Sabine turned out to be innocent, Jax wanted to spare her the indignity of having a man rifle through her most personal things.

  While George set about examining the sitting room furniture, Jax glided into the bright and cozy bedchamber, scanning the area for any clues. Splayed across Sabine’s bed was an open book, ink beaming off the pages.

  What do we have here? Knowing Sabine couldn’t be so naive as to leave incriminating evidence out in the open, Jax had little hope the journal would offer anything of note. Yet, she still couldn’t resist the temptation to read the private thoughts of a young woman she really didn’t know all that much about.

  Charles’s knowledge of the human anatomy is far superior than Mistress Lenora’s. Clearly, the field of medicine has advanced since she attended the Academy. I didn’t know there were so many things you could tell about a person, even after death!

  The raw enthusiasm in Sabine’s words made her chuckle. Perhaps healing is your true calling, Sabine. Jax decided to flip back a few pages, as she had no interest reading about delving into a dead body. She found an entry dated the day they returned home to Saphire.

  Saphire is just as glorious as I imagined it would be. So bright and welcoming. I wish I could stay here forever, but I doubt Jax has a place for me in her court. She already has Lady Uma and Vita at her side. Perhaps Jax will recommend me to a foreign duchy. I think I would like to be a lady-in-waiting. Lady Uma does it so effortlessly. Watching her and Jax together makes me long for a companion to share my deepest secrets with. To say nothing of the bond Jax and Captain Solomon share. Virtues, I feel so sorry for him. Despite all the pain he feels, he’s not that bitter about it. I can’t imagine harboring a devotion like that for so long. Although, I did keep after Philippe longer than I should have…I guess the heart wants what it wants.

  But now, there’s Master Charles. Virtues, he is quite possibly the most handsome man I’ve ever seen! And so smart and funny! I nearly toppled over upon our first meeting. Too bad it was under such tragic circumstances, but he assured me Captain Solomon would recover from his injuries. Watching him tend to the Captain was like seeing an artist paint a canvas. He’s so brilliant…

  Jax stopped reading as Sabine’s adoration for Charles Montivarius continued for a few pages. A plague of emotions unfolded inside of her. Sabine’s obvious longing for friendship made her pity the young woman who had spent so much of her life alone in a castle. But the passage about George stoked a fire of anxiety inside the Duchess. What did Sabine mean by “the pain George feels”? During their visit to Pettraud, had George shared with Sabine that he was unhappy? And how did those feelings reconcile with the “devotion” Sabine wrote about? Devotion to what?

  Her finger trembled as it ran over the words once more. She couldn’t ignore this. If George was burying anger and pain, she needed to find out why. She couldn’t let her friend suffer any more than he already had.

  Not wanting evidence of George’s unhappiness staring her in the face, Jax flipped the journal back to the page it had been open to, eager to focus her tumultuous thoughts on something else.

  I didn’t know there were so many things you could tell about a person, even after death! For example, Charles showed me how you can examine the contents of one’s stomach to determine what they last ingested. Olavo’s was quite boring, considering he was a prisoner on a restricted diet. We only found some bits of bread and wine. Goodness, I’ve never smelled something so bitterly rancid in my life. Charles explained the body produces an acid in the stomach that corrodes its contents over time, so he believes Olavo drank the wine probably moments before he died because the digestion process had hardly diluted it at all. Goodness, to think the wine was naturally that bitter before the stomach had its way with it…

  “What in the Virtues is going on here?”

  Jax jumped off her spot on the bed, Sabine’s voice a roar from the sitting room.

  George hadn’t yet responded by the time Jax arrived at his side, his arm elbow-deep inside a silk-covered cushion.

  “Jax?” Sabine gasped, her anger quickly melting into confusion. “What are you two doing in my room?”

  Jax couldn’t come up with a reasonable explanation other than the truth. “I’m sorry, Sabine, but we needed to search your apartment as part of our investigation into Olavo’s death.”

  Stars of hurt danced in Sabine’s watery gaze. “Why? Do you think I had something to do with it?” Her question came out as a snarky joke, but when she noticed Jax and George share a guilty glance, she sank to her knees. “Oh my goodness, you do.” Her voice edged up an octave. “You think I killed someone!”

  Jax bit her lower lip. “We’re just covering all angles, Sabine.”

  “Have you ransacked Lady Uma’s room? Or Vita’s? Or George’s?” Sabine rattled off. “Or yours? How do we know you didn’t kill off Olavo to make it seem like Saphire was under attack? Or that you didn’t orchestrate Raulph’s attack at the palace to invoke fear over your own safety?”

  The cold anger lacing Sabine’s accusations made Jax’s guilt multiply. “I’m sorry we’ve hurt you, my dear.”

  “I thought you considered me a friend.” Sabine began to sob into her hands, tears seeping through her fingers. “I thought both of you did.” She glanced up momentarily, throwing a dark look at George.

  Jax rushed forward and began to rub the young woman’s shuddering shoulders as the racking cries took over her petite frame. “We do.”

  “Then how could you suspect me of something so heinous?” Sabine wailed.

  George knelt beside Jax, his expression contrite. “Because we don’t have the luxury of blindly trusting everyone we consider to be a friend, Sabine. Jax’s role doesn’t allow for that.”

  Her cries quieting, Sabine rubbed her tear-stained cheeks. “I didn’t kill Olavo, you know. Virtues, I helped Charles figure out what time he died! I was doing everything I could to help with your investigation.”

  “I know.” Jax’s face colored. “I read the details of the autopsy in your journal. You were quite thorough.”

  Sabine’s mouth dropped in mortification. “You read my journal?”

  Jax quickly moved to reassure her. “Just the last page about Olavo’s examination. It was laying open on your bed.” No need to mention the more personal thoughts I read.

  The relief in Sabine’s eyes was fleeting. “I cannot believe you could think me capable of killing.”

  George rose from his kneeling position, grabbing his injured side. “Forgive me, but my side feels like it might burst. Charles left another vial of painkiller in my room for after lunch. I just need a few minutes of rest.” He darted from the room with surprising speed for someone claiming to be in such severe pain.

  “Coward,” Sabine muttered under her breath, forcing Jax to raise an eyebrow. “For the head of the Ducal Guard, Captain Solomon does not like to meet personal confrontation head on.”

  Jax’s expression softened. “It’s my fault. I’ve been working him too hard. If only we’d had a nice, quiet stay in the country to allow him to recover.” She nimbly pulled Sabine up from the floor and steered her onto a nearby chaise. “Besides, he was only in here because of me. I’m the one who thought you might be involved in Olavo’s death, Sabine. George was merely going along with my theory.”

  By now, Sabine’s anger had eased into a simmer. “And what theory was that?”

  Jax shrugged, feeling foolish. “That the real reason you wanted to leave Pettraud was to carry out some assassination plot you’d been
roped into by one of my enemies.”

  The strained silence that followed was cut short with a burst of biting laughter from Sabine. “What?” She doubled over, hardly able to catch her breath between guffaws.

  “It does sound quite ridiculous saying it out loud.” A sheepish grin eclipsed Jax’s embarrassed expression.

  “A bit.” Sabine wiped more tears from her eyes. At least this time, they were from amusement. “Please, Jax. I know it may seem odd that I’ve practically run away from the only place I’ve ever called home, but…you and your friends brought such light and joy to my life, even during its darkest times. I wanted to follow that light. Please believe that.”

  Jax twiddled her thumbs. “I do. I know your heart is true. I…I may have read a bit more of your diary than I first let on.” Her cheeks flamed with molten heat.

  “Oh?”

  Jax couldn’t quite decode the young woman’s emotions. She hung her head. “Yes. And you have to understand, despite what it may look like right now, I do consider you a friend, and I will do anything I can to help you navigate whatever dream you choose to pursue. Whether it be a lady-in-waiting or…” She left her voice trail off, thinking it would be best for Sabine to do the talking.

  Sabine’s gaze dropped to her lap. “Well, I appreciate it that.”

  “I’m sorry I violated your personal space.”

  Sabine held up a hand. “I understand why you did it. And it’s not like I revealed any state secrets. I’m pretty sure the whole household knows I’m besotted with Charles—well, everyone except him.”

  Jax laughed. “I can most certainly arrange for the young physician to be clued in on your affections, as I am sure he feels the same way.”