by Rin Grey
Except… Jon said he had orders to see that she came to no harm, he’d been quite explicit about that. That would have put a limit on what he could and couldn’t do.
She sighed, and gave up. It was impossible, from the information given, to determine what had actually happened, so there was no further point in examining the unclear evidence.
Though this did not, in fact, stop her reviewing the events yet again.
*****
It was late afternoon by the time they arrived back in Asherad, but they went straight to Jocelyn’s office, where despite the late hour, she was waiting for them.
“Well?” she demanded, once they were all settled around the conference table in her office. She looked from person to person, and with each new solemn face, her lips grew thinner.
“I’m sorry, Jocelyn, we were unsuccessful,” Merron admitted.
“What happened?”
As Merron told Jocelyn the whole sorry tale, Elizabeth winced at how damning it sounded. Of course, Merron was deliberately making it sound that way. When he said, “…and Elizabeth backed him up with everything he said, no matter how bad an idea it was,” she had to interrupt.
“While you may not have understood the reasons behind his decisions, magically, they made sense.” She knew that sounded even more damning, the moment the words left her mouth. She hid a wince.
“So you’re saying that you believe he had a way to know that his partner was dead?” Merron demanded.
“He did, yes.”
“How exactly could he tell that?” Merron asked, raising an eyebrow.
Elizabeth glanced over at Jocelyn, who regarded her thoughtfully, lips pursed.
“Yes, Elizabeth. Since you apparently know so much, how about you explain it to us.”
Elizabeth hesitated. Jon hadn’t actually said not to tell anyone, he didn’t need to. His care in making sure they couldn’t be overheard told her that he didn’t want the others to know quite clearly. If he’d been willing to share that information, he would have told them himself.
Was that because the workings of the Seekers were kept close, even within the Dome, or was it because he was hiding something?
“Well,” Jocelyn demanded, as she deliberated.
Elizabeth let out her breath in a sigh. “I’m sorry, Jocelyn, it isn’t my place to reveal Seeker secrets. You’re going to have to take my word for it that his story was… credible.”
“How do you know Seeker secrets?” Merron said, his voice accusing.
Freck, she’d stepped right into that one.
“He told me while we were on watch. It was clear he only did so because I was a fellow mage and have ties to the Dome.”
Jocelyn’s lips were pressed so thin they almost disappeared. “And you believed him? Do you also believe the mages had nothing to do with this explosion or the disappearance of our items?”
Elizabeth let out her breath in a sigh. “I don’t know what to believe,” she admitted reluctantly. “At this point, I can’t deny there is a possibility we were double crossed.”
Merron’s eyes widened. “You’ve changed your tune.” He turned to Jocelyn. “Before we left Elizabeth was quite vehement that the mages were not responsible at all.”
“And since then, I’ve had two days to consider the matter and have, reluctantly, come to the conclusion that Merron could have grounds for his suppositions,” Elizabeth said flatly. She may have argued against him, but she was more than ready to admit when she was wrong.
Merron shook his head. “I’d like to believe you, Elizabeth, but you took his side every time, and whenever I turned around you were there chatting cosily to him.”
“Just what are you implying?” Elizabeth demanded. “It sounds to me like you’re accusing more than just the mages.”
Of course he was. And from where he was sitting maybe it made sense. She couldn’t explain to them why she had been so intent on talking to Jon, it would damn her as surely as no explanation would. But that didn’t mean she was going to let him speak to her like that.
Merron turned to Jocelyn. “I think she was working with them, Jocelyn. There’s no other explanation for it. She had to have known that Seeker, they were too close for people who had just met,” Merron said with certainty.
“That is a very serious accusation,” Jocelyn pointed out softly.
Elizabeth scanned Jocelyn’s face, trying to figure out if she believed Merron’s claim or not. She had no idea why she even cared. It wasn’t like Gemma would stop talking to her if Jocelyn believed Merron.
But for some reason, she did care.
Merron didn’t waver. “You didn’t see them together, Jocelyn. There was something going on between them, I’m sure of it.”
“Elizabeth, what do you have to say to that?”
In truth, Elizabeth felt a momentary urge to just say ‘Freck you,’ and walk out. She was having enough trouble dealing with her own suspicions, she didn’t need theirs as well.
But she didn’t. “Anything between me and a fellow mage is my business. I can assure you however, that if there was anything underhanded going on, I had nothing to do with it.”
Jocelyn’s eyebrows shot up. She opened her mouth to speak, then shut it, and her eyes narrowed. She turned to Merron and the others. “You might as well go home and get some rest, it’s late, and it seems that there is little more that can be done now.”
Merron nodded and cast a satisfied smile at Elizabeth before leading the others out.
Elizabeth correctly assumed that the dismissal did not include her and didn’t move from her seat. She folded her arms and waited.
The door had barely closed behind Cyril when Jocelyn demanded, “Just what is going on, Elizabeth?”
Elizabeth sighed. “I have no more idea than you do Jocelyn. At the time, it all seemed perfectly reasonable. However, on closer consideration, it is possible that we were set up. Possible, but by no means a certainty. Merron is basing his accusations on the idea that I was in cahoots with the mages, which I can assure you was not the case.”
“Yet Merron, who has worked with me for three years I might add, is certain that you were involved with the remaining Seeker. And since you refuse to give any other explanation, in fact claim that anything between you and a fellow mage is not my business, what else am I to think?”
Elizabeth hesitated. Her natural inclination, coupled with years of keeping her relationship with Sean a secret, warred with the urge to prove her innocence. “The matter we were discussing had nothing to do with the items, or the mission,” she said finally.
“And what was it exactly you were discussing?” Jocelyn asked.
“That was private,” Elizabeth said flatly.
Jocelyn’s eyes narrowed for a moment. “You mentioned once, about having an affair with someone close to someone in power, was it that Seeker?” she asked.
“No!” The vehement denial was out before Elizabeth even had time to consider it. “It most definitely was not. Freck, he’s just a child,” she added, in an attempt to explain her sudden shout. “Barely even of age.”
Even so, Jocelyn looked surprised at her vehemence. “Well, what is your explanation then?” she asked in frustration.
“You’re not going to get one. Even if it’s true and the mages took those items, you might as well kiss them goodbye, there’s no way to get them back now.”
Elizabeth was suddenly tired, more tired than the hours spent in the saddle could account for. She just wanted to go home and go to sleep and think about this tomorrow. Or maybe next week.
“Whether we get the items back or not, I need to know if I can trust you,” Jocelyn said flatly.
“Well, you’re just going to have to make up your mind one way or another,” Elizabeth shrugged. “Nothing I say is going to make any difference. You’ll believe what you want to believe. Right now, I just want to go home and go to bed.”
Jocelyn frowned. “All right, we can talk about it more tomorrow.”
The very idea filled Elizabeth with dread. But she didn’t let any of that show on her face. Instead she said, “Tomorrow, after I sleep in, I will be spending the day with my family, and the day after that, I will be preparing Mitch to undergo the final test of his magical training.”
Jocelyn’s eyebrows shot up. “So you’re refusing to discuss it further?”
“Very perceptive of you. Yes, I am. I see nothing to be gained by further discussion.”
She couldn’t explain any of it to their satisfaction, and none of that was going to change between now and tomorrow morning. Or next week.
Jocelyn stared at her in annoyance for several moments, and Elizabeth wondered if she was going to find herself no longer the heir. She wouldn’t blame her niece. She might even be a little relieved, so long as they didn’t put the job back on Mitch.
But to her surprise, Jocelyn instead gave a heavy sigh. “I have no idea what we are going to do with you, Elizabeth. I really do wonder if I’m going to regret my decision to accept you as heir.”
That was far less dramatic than Elizabeth had expected. She stared at Jocelyn for a moment, then gave a short laugh. “Probably,” she agreed. “But we’re stuck with each other now it seems, unless you can find someone better, so there’s no point dwelling on it.”
Jocelyn must really not have a lot of choices, that she stuck with Elizabeth even after all this. She felt a slightly warm glow that could have been something to do with family, or could have just been tiredness.
Jocelyn shook her head, though Elizabeth wasn’t sure if it was disagreement for her comment, or a statement of hopelessness. “Goodnight, Elizabeth,” was all she said.
Elizabeth stood. “Goodnight, Jocelyn.”
Mentally and physically exhausted, she headed out the door without looking back.
*****
Jocelyn watched her go, frustrated and annoyed. She had indeed been stupid to agree to Elizabeth taking the position of heir. Mitch would have been far easier to manage.
Not that it was her job to manage the heir, only to prepare her to take her place. Given Elizabeth’s magical skill, that should be simple enough. Which was a good thing really, given that she herself had no magical skills, and would have struggled with that part of the training.
If it was true that she had betrayed them however, something would need to be done. Of course, she had no way of knowing, but someone else would…
Even before she thought the words to contact him, he was there. “She is telling the truth, as she experienced it anyway.”
“The mages didn’t betray us then?” Jocelyn asked in surprise.
“I didn’t say that. I have no idea what happened. But everything Elizabeth said was true from her perspective.”
Jocelyn sighed in frustration. Though that helped her stop mistrusting Elizabeth, it did not help her work out what had happened. “What was she doing talking to that mage so much then?”
“You will have to ask her that question.”
Sometimes, Jocelyn wondered whose side he was really on. “In case you didn’t notice, I already did. She won’t tell me.”
“Then I suppose she does not want you to know. It is not my business to reveal everyone’s secrets to you, Jocelyn.”
Not that he would, even if it was his business, Jocelyn thought sourly. Sometimes, she suspected he took great delight in not telling her things. “So can we trust her not to betray us to the mages?”
This had not been her choice, though she would be left to deal with the consequences if Elizabeth did betray them.
“It is impossible to predict what someone will do under future circumstances. I suspect even Elizabeth is unsure of whose side she would take if she were forced to choose.” It was hard to explain how she could tell, but he seemed amused.
Jocelyn sighed. There went any ideas about being able to trust Elizabeth. And he sounded like he didn’t even care. “I suppose we shall have to wait and see then,” she said sarcastically.
“We shall indeed.”
Then he was gone, leaving Jocelyn alone with her thoughts.
*****
Elizabeth rode slowly home, letting Rianna choose her own speed.
The horse must have been as tired as she was, for she ambled along, head low. As they neared Gemma’s cottage, Elizabeth could see a light in the downstairs window. She wasn’t sure how late it was, but it looked like someone, at least, was still up.
Her stomach growled, reminding her that she hadn’t eaten anything since the hasty lunch in the saddle many hours earlier, and she hoped there were some leftovers from dinner.
Not even having the energy to dismount and walk, she rode up the front path and around the back to the stables, where she slipped out of the saddle. She unbuckled the girth, and was just wondering if she had the energy to lift the heavy saddle down, when Digger appeared in the doorway.
Elizabeth glanced over. Why was he just standing there and not coming over to help her?
The expression on his face was a mixture of pain and frustration, laced with concern and relief, and the memory hit her. She winced at how she’d left things with him, the brief conversation after the night with Sean seeming a distant memory after the last week.
For him, the memory was obviously more prominent, and she wondered briefly whether she had finally lost him. The sting of that possibility added to the turmoil she already felt.
Then his expression cleared and he walked across and took the saddle from her.
“Go inside and sit down. I’ll rub Rianna down for you. You look beat.” His voice was gruff, but there was enough of his usual demeanour for her to smile gratefully, relieved that the moment seemed to be past.
She needed to fix things, but not now. When she could think more clearly.
“Thanks, I am beat. It’s been quite a week.” She gave him a quick hug, which after a moment’s pause, he returned. Then she headed inside to find Gemma and see if she could rustle up some food.
Gemma was happy to see her, and more than happy to heat up a meal of leftover stew, which Elizabeth ate gratefully. Digger came just as she was finishing, and took the plate for her, rinsing it in the bowl of water on the bench.
“Thanks, Gemma, that was just what I needed,” Elizabeth said, leaning back in her seat.
Gemma smiled, the awkwardness from the morning she had left apparently forgotten. “We’ve been leaving a little each night for the last few days, hoping to see you.”
She didn’t ask how things had gone, and Elizabeth didn’t offer up the story. She was too tired to even think any more about it tonight, much less explain.
“I’m sorry I’m not more sociable, but I think I’m going straight to bed,” she said tiredly.
Gemma smiled. “Go on, we’ll have plenty of time to catch up in the morning.”
Elizabeth headed straight up to bed, and Digger joined her a few moments later, just as she had undressed and slipped into bed.
She wanted to talk, to at least gauge how he was feeling, but her eyes wouldn’t stay open. She was asleep even before she had time to finish the thought.
Chapter 17 - Choices
It was late in the day by the time she woke the next morning, the sunlight falling across the bed from the curtains that someone had opened, and for a moment she was tempted to let sleep drag her back into blissful nothingness.
But unfortunately her mind refused to be so easily silenced. Her half asleep thoughts wandered erratically from Digger’s face when she had first seen him last night, to her conversations with Jon, to Merron and Jocelyn’s accusations. Everything was a confused jumble, but urgent and annoying enough to drag her back to full consciousness.
She was alone in the bed, the sheets thrown back indicating that Digger had risen some time ago, relieving her of the need to face him right now.
The exhaustion from the previous night abated, she now had a chance to actually think about the messed-up mission with a half clear head. She lay back in bed with her hands behind her head
, staring at the ceiling, though she didn’t even notice the cracks and peeling paint.
There was no way around it in the clear light of day. It was entirely possible Sean had used her and her relationship with Jon to set up the Salingas and steal the items for the Dome. Trouble was, there was no way to know for sure what had happened. She’d seen nothing that indicated the answer either way.
Of course, there was one way to possibly find out.
She gave a small grin at the audacity of the idea, but it appealed to her. Sean may not tell her if he had done it, but if she confronted him, it might surprise him enough to let some hint slip.
And she had to admit that the possibility of seeing Sean again was alluring.
She teetered between being furious at him for setting her up, and desperately hoping that she was wrong. Most of all though, she just hoped that no matter what had happened, he still wanted to see her.
Well, there was no harm in trying, was there? She tossed back the sheets and rose. As she dressed quickly, pleased to have clean clothes for the first time in a week, she realised that she didn’t actually have to go all the way to the Dome either.
She pulled out her pouch, and checked that the key Sean had given her was still there. It would be much quicker to simply go there. Yes, she would have to hope that Sean would come to her, but she would be doing that in the Dome anyway. There was no way she was ever going to front up to his palace again. She banished the embarrassment of that memory before it could even form, and headed downstairs.
When she got downstairs everyone was sitting around the table drinking coffee and eating scones, and the smell of the food and coffee momentarily overpowered her desire to leave, so she sat down to join them.
She was surprised to see Gemma and Digger getting on so comfortably, Gemma filling his cup when it was empty without waiting to be asked. Digger was dressed in work clothes and had obviously been doing something outside in the yard. The exact task soon became apparent when Gemma said, “Thanks for chopping that firewood, Digger, it should see us through another month or so at least.”
