“Just got through customs,” said Cally. “A whole crate of the muck. I don’t know why you waste your money on it. It won’t make any more difference than all the earlier muck did. You’re getting old, Fliss. Get used to it.”
“Never!” said Felicity. “I am in my prime! And I still look it, with a little help. I wonder if I could get away with another beauty spot.”
“Any more spots and people will think you’ve got the plague,” said Cally dispassionately. “Either that or someone will try joining up the dots to make a picture.”
“It’s all right for you,” snapped Felicity. “You’re a bodyguard. You’re supposed to have a face like a bulldog licking piss off a thistle. I’m the Queen, dammit. I have to look radiant. It’s expected of me.” She took a hard puff at her cigarette. “Damn, these things make your head spin first thing in the morning. Have you seen my cigarette holder anywhere?”
“Where did you last have it?”
“If I knew that, I’d bloody well look there, wouldn’t I? Look for it. And get me another coffee. Black, three sugars.”
“You do know you’re due at the dentist again, don’t you?”
Felicity shuddered. “You’re just trying to depress me this morning, aren’t you?”
“Come on,” said Cally ruthlessly. “Put on your face and get dressed if you’re not going to bother with a bath. You’ve got to look your best for the Court, and right now you’d frighten a demon.”
“Wonderful. I’m being bullied by my own bodyguard. What else can go wrong this morning?”
There was a loud knock at the door. Felicity and Cally looked at each other, surprised. Most people had enough sense not to disturb the Queen while she was dressing. People had been banished for less. Cally moved to stand beside the Queen, her hand at the sword on her hip as a servant came in, and at the Queen’s nod, went to answer the door. Hawk and Fisher strode right in, sweeping past the servant, and bowed briefly to the Queen.
“Oh, bloody hell,” said Felicity. “It’s you. Can’t this wait?”
“Not really,” said Hawk. “We’ve a lot of people to see today.” He smiled at the Queen, pulled up a chair, and sat down opposite her, politely pretending not to notice her unfinished state. Felicity was so astonished at his nerve that she let him do it. Fisher hung back. She and Hawk had decided earlier that he should do most of the talking, while she faded into the background. Julia had never spent much time with her sister Felicity, even when they both lived under the same roof. They had nothing in common save their father. It was twelve years and more since they’d last seen each other, and Fisher was a brunette now. But she still worried about being recognized. So she hung back, kept a watchful eye on the bodyguard, and tried to look inconspicuous. She had to work at it. It didn’t come naturally. She and Cally exchanged glances, each recognizing a kindred spirit in the other. They both knew a warrior when they saw one. They exchanged meaningless smiles and kept their hands near their swordhilts.
“All right,” the Queen said ungraciously to Hawk. “Ask your questions and then get the hell out of here.” She waved for the servant to leave. “And don’t think you can intimidate me, Captain, barging in here when I haven’t even got my face on yet. Better men than you have tried, and run home weeping to their mothers. I grew up in the Starlight Duke’s Court, and if I could survive him, I can survive any man. What do you want to know?”
“Well, let’s start with your father, the Duke,” Hawk said easily. “A very forceful man. I think a lot of people here would like to know just how much influence he has over you. You are Regent to the Forest Land now, and protector of its someday King. And the Duke has always had a reputation for martial adventuring whenever he sensed a weakness.”
“That’s a hell of a lot of inferences for just one sentence,” said Felicity, entirely unruffled. “Don’t you worry about Daddy. I can handle him. He’s a long way from home, and separated from all his usual support. My main worries these days come from inside my own Court, damn their black and blistered souls.” She took a long draw on her cigarette and threw the last of it away. “I never wanted to be the Forest Queen, you know. Never wanted to be anybody’s Queen. But Daddy insisted, and I was in no position to say no then. After Julia disappeared with Rupert, the treaty between Hillsdown and the Forest meant one of the Duke’s daughters had to marry Harald, or risk open war. Not that I gave a damn, but … Anyway, I was the next youngest after Julia, so I got to put my head on the block for the good of my country. So all of this could be said to be Julia’s fault. She always was a selfish bitch.
“I didn’t want to marry anyone. All I ever wanted was to party till I dropped, have as good a time as possible while avoiding dear Daddy’s informers, and now and again scandalize the Court with some new fashion, style, or love affair. I once went to Court with jewelry hanging from my bare nipples, and the Duke all but had a coronary on the spot. The love affairs were all strictly for show. I kept my real romances strictly secret. I had three abortions dear Daddy never knew about. I didn’t want children then, didn’t want to see them grow up miserable in my father’s Court, like me and my sisters. He never wanted children, either, just pawns he could use in his political games.”
She broke off and rooted among the assorted garbage piled on top of her dressing table. “Ciggies … can’t do without a ciggie this early in the morning. Best damn thing to ever come out of the south. And coffee, of course.” She finally found a silver case, pulled out a black cigarette with blue rings on it, and stuck it in the corner of her mouth. Then everything had to stop while she searched for matches. Finally lit up, the Queen leaned back in her chair again, sighed contentedly, and puffed smoke at Hawk.
“Being Forest Queen was all Daddy’s idea. A son of such a union could be used to unite Hillsdown and the Forest. That was all the Duke cared about. Another pawn for him to manipulate. Never asked my opinion, of course. He knew if he had, I’d just have told him to kiss my bony arse. Being Queen here wasn’t much different to being a Princess at Hillsdown. Harald had all the power. My job was to run the social scene and look good on his arm. I was kept well away from all the political maneuvering. Harald didn’t trust a Hillsdown woman too close to the sources of power. So we each had our separate lives, except for when we had to appear together in public for ceremonial occasions and the like.”
Felicity drew heavily on her cigarette and looked moodily off into the distance. “You want to know how I felt about Harald, don’t you? Well, I’m not sure I know even now. Harald wasn’t an easy man to get to know. He had different faces for everyone. We liked each other well enough, I suppose. Argued morning, noon, and night, but that was just our way of communicating. And he was damn good in bed. When he was around. I used to think he had lovers, God knows I did, but if so he had them even better hidden than me. But I think he was more interested in being King and consolidating his power than he ever was in being my husband.”
“All those years you were married,” Hawk said carefully. “You only ever had the one child. You mentioned abortions earlier …”
“We only had the one child because Harald wasn’t around often enough to manage more than one,” said Felicity tartly. “And with anyone else I was always damned careful to use the right protective spells. A girl can’t be too careful when she’s Queen. And, yes, Stephen is very definitely Harald’s son. He insisted on all kinds of magical tests, in private, to make sure of that. I didn’t really want an heir, but I knew it was expected of me. Part of the job. And I’m fond enough of him now he’s here. I’ll tell you this for free: I’d kill anyone who tried to take him away from me.”
They watched the small child for a while, still playing solemnly with his colored bricks. Hawk looked at the boy closely, trying to see some of his brother or the Forest line in the child, but the boy was just a boy to him. He looked back at Felicity.
“Who do you think killed Harald?”
The Queen started to laugh, and coughed suddenly on cigarette smoke. “I’
m spoiled for choice, darling. He had a hell of a lot of enemies, most of them made on purpose. Either you supported the King in everything you thought and said and did, or you were his enemy. He could be charming and persuasive enough when he had to be, and he could make political deals with the best of them when his back was forced to the wall over some important issue … but he never forgot and he never forgave. He wouldn’t delegate any of his power, either. Everything had to go through him, even when it drowned him in paperwork. Give him his due, he was always good at that side of things. No one ever got anything past him. But if you want suspects …
“I’d have to put the Magus at the top of the list. No one trusts him. Then there’s the Shaman. Crazy old bastard, and bitter and twisted with it. Spends half his time calling for the dissolution of the monarchy and the other half trying to turn the peasants into a political power base. I’d have had him thrown out onto his smelly arse ages ago, but Harald wouldn’t hear of it. In a strange kind of way I think they respected each other. Though they never met in person, to my knowledge. And finally, there’s the Landsgrave, Sir Robert. There isn’t a political deal or intrigue going down in this Castle that he doesn’t know about or have a hand in. Never happy unless he’s stirring the pot. And, of course, there’s me.” She smiled sardonically at Hawk, showing teeth already yellowed by nicotine. “You’ll hear all sorts about me, and most of them are true. But it was always in my interest to keep Harald alive, to secure my Stephen’s position and future. I’d do anything for my boy. Are we finished now? I feel naked sitting here without any slap on my face.”
“Why do you think your husband was murdered?” asked Hawk, sticking doggedly to the series of questions he and Fisher had worked out over breakfast.
“Someone didn’t like the way he ruled as King. I would have thought that was obvious.”
“Was he a good King?”
Felicity frowned. “He thought being King meant he had to do it all himself. It was all his responsibility. His duty. He was always very big on duty. He wouldn’t delegate because he never trusted anyone apart from himself. And yes, of course that included me, too. He’d listen to people at Court, and he wasn’t above stealing a good idea when he heard one, but everything and everyone had to fit in around the way he saw things. That was just the way he was.” Felicity thought for a moment, tapping ash from her cigarette onto the floor. “Once, in bed, he talked about his father. King John, that was. Harald said his father was a weak King, and everything that happened in the Demon War was a direct result of that weakness. That was the only time he ever talked about his father. I think a lot of what Harald did, and was, came from not wanting to be his father.”
“You mentioned the two of you had rows from time to time,” Hawk said carefully. “Did Harald ever … hurt you? Beat you?”
Felicity laughed raucously. “He wouldn’t have dared. I’d have kicked the shit out of him if he ever laid a hand on me, and he knew it. We always respected each other’s strength. And besides, no matter how many rows we had, we always made up in bed eventually. Sometimes I’d pick a fight deliberately, just to be sure of getting a little action later on. Harald was never easy about sex. I don’t think he liked feeling emotionally naked, defenseless.”
Fisher found she was nodding automatically in agreement, and quickly stopped herself. “What about your lovers?” she asked harshly, just in case Felicity or her bodyguard had noticed her lapse.
“I was always very careful,” said the Queen. “You have to be, round here. Never known such a place for gossip. Makes Hillsdown’s Court look like a bunch of amateurs. Harald always suspected, but as long as there was never any proof or evidence to embarrass him, he didn’t care. I almost wished he would sometimes. It would have made it more fun. Of course, these days every move I make is watched and reported on, so I haven’t had any fun in ages. They’d use even the suspicion of a scandal to remove me as Regent and take control of my son.
“I could always marry again. Any number of people would be only too happy to marry the Regent. You’d be surprised how charming and desirable I’ve become since I was widowed. Two-faced bastards. I’ll not marry again. Once was more than enough, thank you. No, I’ll hang on here just long enough to see Stephen safely on his Throne, and then it’s a big house in the country for me, and as many pretty boys as my Royal allowance will stretch to. You’re looking positively shocked, Captain Hawk. Guess whether I give a shit. You get one more question, and then I’ll turn Cally loose on you. Make it a good one.”
“All right,” said Hawk. “Where were you when Harald was murdered?”
“At Court,” said the Queen triumphantly. “Sitting right there on the Throne, receiving a trade delegation from the south. Most of the Court was there at the time. Hundreds of people can vouch for me. Right, that’s it, on your way. Cally, show them the door and then slam it behind them.”
It was a good exit line, but unfortunately Cally and Fisher were engaged in a glaring contest, and oblivious. Hawk had to slap Fisher on the arm to get her attention. They bowed briefly and left. Cally locked and bolted the door behind them. Felicity slumped forward in her chair, her head hanging down, exhausted. Cally came over and massaged her shoulders.
“One of your better performances, Your Majesty.”
“Yeah, but do you think they believed me?”
“Depends on what everyone else says. And let’s not forget who Hawk and Fisher are. They have a reputation for getting to the truth.”
“Jesus, that’s all anyone needs, the truth coming out. We’ve got far too much to hide. And we’re late for Court! Quick, you take the curlers out while I work on the face. And from the smell of it, dear little Stephen needs seeing to again. Oh God, it’s going to be one of those days, I can feel it.”
Hawk and Fisher strolled down the corridor, following the Seneschal’s bobbing light, thinking their own thoughts. Eventually Hawk looked at Fisher and smiled.
“And I always thought you were the forceful one in the family. Are all your sisters like that?”
“We’re all strong-minded in our own different ways,” Fisher said defensively. “We had to be. The weak didn’t last long in my father’s Court. He was always looking for someone to make an example of, and sometimes I think he liked it all the better if it was someone close to him.”
“And now I have a nephew,” Hawk said slowly. “The Forest line continues. He looked healthy enough, if a bit on the quiet side. Why did we never have kids, Isobel?”
“I don’t know. We could have found time, if we’d really wanted to. Our lives have always been full, not to mention dangerous. And just maybe it’s because we both had such rotten childhoods. Both our families give new meaning to the word dysfunctional. This isn’t something we should be thinking about now, Hawk. Concentrate on the matter at hand. One problem at a time. Otherwise, there’s a really good chance we could get our heads handed to us.”
“Of course,” said Hawk. “One thing at a time. But there’s always something, isn’t there?”
They followed the glowing light in silence for a while, neither of them looking at each other.
Tiffany had to excuse herself on witchy business for the Academy of the Sisters of the Moon, so Chance went to pick up Chappie from the Castle kitchens. Chappie wasn’t supposed to be there; in fact, he’d been banned several times on hygiene grounds, but when a dog is as big as Chappie, he doesn’t have to observe such restrictions if he doesn’t feel like it. And mostly he didn’t. Chance walked into the kitchens, into the heat and steam and staff running back and forth, tending to pots and pans and large things revolving on spits, and sure enough there was Chappie sprawled out under a table, gnawing happily on an entire leg bone, and cracking it open between his powerful jaws to get at the marrow. His satisfied growls and grunts and sighs would have intimidated anyone not actually wearing full armor and carrying a battleaxe in both hands, so not surprisingly the kitchen staff had left the dog strictly alone. Chance sighed, strode up to the table, rea
ched under it, and grabbed Chappie firmly by one great floppy ear. The dog dropped his bone to the floor and scrambled out from under the table as Chance applied merciless pressure to the ear.
“Ow! Ow! Bully! All right, I’m out, now will you let go of my ear before it ends up twice the length? I’ll report you for cruelty one of these days.”
“I am not letting go of your ear,” Chance said reasonably. “Because if I do, you will dive back under the tables, and I will have to spend the rest of the morning chasing you round the kitchens.”
The dog grinned. “How well you know me. Ease off, dammit. You’ll have it out by the roots in a minute! Where are we going?”
“To the main courtyard,” said Chance, guiding the dog inexorably toward the kitchen door. “The Shaman has sent word he’d like to see me, upon a matter of some urgency.”
“Do we have to? He’s the only thing around here that smells worse than I do, and he doesn’t roll in dead things. What does the old fool want now?”
“I don’t know. That’s why we’re going to see him. Since he doesn’t normally bother to recognize my existence except to call me a Royal lackey in his speeches, I’m just a little curious as to why he’s finally decided he needs to talk to me. I’m going to let go of your ear now. If you try and run back into the kitchens, I will do something to you of a sudden, violent, and wholly distressing nature. Agreed?”
“Agreed,” growled the dog. “One of these days we’re going to have a long talk about which of us is in charge around here.”
Chance let go of the ear. Chappie continued to trot alongside him. They headed for the main courtyard, following one of the few relatively straightforward routes in the Castle. Things tended to get much less complicated once you approached the outer layers. People smiled and nodded to the Questor as they passed, and a few of the braver souls even stopped to pet Chappie for a while. He wagged his tail vigorously but didn’t ask for snacks, because he could sense Chance’s hand was hovering by his ear.
Beyond the Blue Moon (Forest Kingdom Novels) Page 28
