"Yes, the written words live beneath the palace, and I am their keeper." The old man tugged at a forelock and stared down forlornly at his parchment.
"Perhaps you could show me to the records?" Jon prompted.
The man huffed. "The boy should be here to do the escorting." He rose with a groan. His hands were stained with black ink. "Down this way. They are kept deep in the archive, I fear. Such a long walk. An old man should not make such a walk."
"If you could tell me where they are, I could search them out on my own," Jon offered.
The archivist looked at him with a shrewd gaze. "Only an archivist or apprentice may pull the records." His wrinkled mouth was taut with distrust and anger.
"My apologies, I did not mean to offend. Please, sir, lead the way." Jon stretched out his arm in the direction of a doorway in between shelves of books.
He harrumphed and shuffled down between rows of stacked volumes with leafs peeking out between pages. "This way, the walk will be long."
He disappeared around a corner, and Jon followed after him with a cheeky smile. I hung back as we had planned and waited for their voices to recede. Once they were away, I went around to the other side of the desk and looked over the scattered parchments there.
I sighed. What am I doing? I thought. I don't even know where to begin. I picked up the document he had been working on when I walked in. It was a list of names and dates. These are death records. From the ponderous titles that followed each name, I surmised they were noble deaths. The ages had no correlation, but they had all died within a month of each other. As I read down the list, a thought occurred to me. These deaths happened after I arrived in Sanore.
My heartbeat quickened. It could be coincidence, or it could be something. I folded up the parchment and hid it in my sleeve. I shuffled around a bit more among the parchments. I uncovered an open book beneath a few unfinished lists of stores. I glanced over it. It was a list of land titles and sales.
I was going to set it down again when a name caught my eye. I read it closer. Princess Arlene, First Daughter of King Reginald, Duchess of Ranparet, bequeaths to Princess Sarelle Raleban her estate in the province of Olee.
Below that was a brief description of the land. It was a hunting lodge. Sarelle died in a hunting accident. I read further and found that upon Sarelle's death, the lodge went to Princess Sarelle's betrothed, Prince Reynard. I scribbled down what information I could on a scrap of parchment and slipped the scrap into my sleeve along with the stolen list.
Footsteps fell on the stones behind me, and Jon's voice echoed along with them. I whirled around and headed for the stairs. I would meet Jon at the carriage. I hurried up the stairs and hitched up my skirts for the climb. I was relieved to see daylight pouring from the windows at the top of the stairs, and I stopped to catch my breath, leaning on a windowsill.
"You there."
I looked up, my heart in my throat. Princess Arlene strode towards me. I've been caught. She will arrest me for stealing from the archive.
"Your Highness." I bowed low, finding enough reason to follow proper protocol. My heartbeat hammered in my chest.
"I have seen you before, have I not?" she asked me.
"I am new to court, Your Highness," I replied. My voice wobbled with my fear, and my accent was thick and clumsy as I spoke to her in Neaux.
"You are the Danhadine ambassador's bride?" she asked, switching to my maiden tongue with ease. "What are you doing here?"
"My husband is speaking with the archivist about some records, I believe. He bid me wait here," I said and lowered my gaze.
She stared at me for a moment, and I felt her eyes upon me, probing. I feared she would see through my disguise or, worse, through my lies.
"Where do you come from, in Danhad?" she asked.
The question caught me off guard. I looked up, bewildered. "From the Sixton Province, just west of Neaux, Your Highness."
She hummed. "Your house?"
"My father is a merchant who trades in gems; I have no house ties," I replied. My lies fell easily from my lips.
"How did you manage to marry so high, given your low birth?"
I suspected it was not meant as a judgment but an assessment. She was trying to ascertain my allegiances perhaps?
"Love does not see social class," I lied through my teeth.
She raised a brow but did not comment upon it. "Have you ever travelled to Keisan, to the palace there?"
I paused, fearing answering. "Once," I replied warily. Her line of questioning was perplexing. What could she possibly gain from it?
"You are the same age or thereabout of my sister, Princess Sabine, now Queen of Danhad. Did you see her while you were there?"
Then I understood; she wanted to know about Sabine. It had been ten years since she had seen her younger sister. It must have been difficult for them to be parted.
"Yes, from afar, Your Highness."
She wrapped her arms around her torso and looked away. "How did she seem to you, happy, fair?"
"She was smiling, Your Highness."
Her shoulders were tense. Either she did not believe me or refused to show her relief in front of me. I wished I could tell her more of her sister's condition and open up to her about what I knew and to share my concerns for my friend. But just because she was Sabine's sister, it did not mean she could be trusted.
"Good." She bowed to me and said, "I hope to see more of you at court." Her voice was husky with emotion.
It was then that I realized why her voice seemed familiar to me. It had been Princess Arlene who had attacked me the night of the queen's fete.
Chapter Fourteen
A WEEK PASSED SINCE our trip to the archivist. I had confirmed the names that the archivist had been working on were the same ones that Jon had given me. They were all dead. The causes were different for each one—fatal falls, choking on a bit of pheasant, a weak heart, and a number of other things. Apart, they looked inconsequential, but knowing that the Order had sent Jon to contact these men and then they died within a fortnight, it was more than a little suspicious.
Jon denied any involvement, apart from delivering messages, and I was inclined to believe him. If he were linked to their deaths somehow, why would he bring them to my attention and help me in investigating? If he was involved, he was either a very good liar or very confident I would not suspect him. I set Beau to search out more information about the men.
While I waited for Beau, I did more research on Johai and the specter. Jon's study hosted a number of books on various topics, and I took great pleasure in perusing the titles. I was reading a book on spirits that I had found. It was a thin volume with not much more information other than superstitious nonsense. According to the author, the spirits of the unhappy dead lingered about and haunted people and places or even generations of families. Even if that was true, the specter was much more powerful than that; he possessed his host and imbued him with power. Johai's condition was much more than a simple haunting.
I grew more impatient with each passing day. Elenna had no new insight on Johai's condition, and after getting information from the archives, we had come up with no new viable leads in regards to Sarelle's death. Whoever had her killed did a good job of covering their tracks. There was a knock on the door, and I looked up from the book, marking my spot with my finger.
"Come in," I said.
Beau pushed open the door and strode across the room. I was used to his brisk manner by now. I set aside the book to give him my full attention as he stopped on the other side of the desk where I sat.
"Have you found anything new?" I asked.
He replied by handing me a bit of parchment. I took it from him and unrolled the document. The handwriting made my knees buckle. "Damara," I said, looking up at him.
"Where did you find her?" I asked.
"She was seen at an estate outside the city. The property once belonged to Princess Arlene before it was gifted to Princess Sarelle upon her engagement to Prince Reynard."
/> I folded the letter in half and tucked it into my bodice. "The hunting lodge?"
"The same."
I tapped my chin in thought. The lodge had piqued my interest to be certain but not enough to warrant an investigation. Is Damara looking into Sarelle's death as well? If that were true, our paths were bound to cross. Whatever the case may be, this was the first decent lead we had had in sometime. "I think a trip outside the city is in order. I have been craving some country air." I smiled, but Beau did not return the gesture. "Would you tell Johai for me?" I felt obligated to involve Johai though I worried about his state of mind. That is why I asked Beau to relay messages to keep the distance between Johai and me.
"He left early this morning," Beau replied.
I tried to hide my surprise by fidgeting with some parchment on the desktop. "Oh, he did not tell me he planned to go out."
Beau did not respond.
"Perhaps we should investigate on the morrow, then," I said with a forced smile. Where did he go? I would much rather look for him. What if he lost control? If I am not there to stop him, it could be disastrous.
"Today is ideal; Jon is away for the day. Tomorrow he will be here to interfere."
"Are you saying you think he would inhibit our search?"
Beau did not respond, but from the firm set of his jaw, the message was clear. He continued to have doubts about Jon. I, on the other hand, was torn. He had been very accommodating in our search and often gave me good counsel. The fact remained that he was a member of the Order of the Oak and the ambassador of Danhad. No matter how courteous he was to me, I needed to remain vigilant. I cannot let my guard down. I must remember that.
"Very well, I shall call for the carriage."
Beau nodded and strode out of the room. Our conversation troubled me. Johai's disappearance was not the first, and his behavior continued to be more mercurial, and often times I did not know if I was talking to him or the specter. I feared I was losing him. Today I will find the answers. Today we will be one step closer to saving him.
With renewed resolve, I readied for the journey.The carriage was brought around, and I told my lady's maid I was going for a ride into the city. Beau was waiting for me with the carriage. He sat beside the coachman, and one of the footmen helped me into the cabin. We took off with a lurch, and I sat back against the plush lining and tried to keep my mind focused on the task at hand. Johai is fine. There is no need to worry.
The trip outside the city proved to be a good balm for my nerves. At least I was working towards our goals and no longer idle. We arrived at the city gates and came to a halt. I sat on the edge of my seat and listened to the coachman and the gate guards banter. They spoke in Neaux and laughed. A good sign, I hope.
Someone knocked on the carriage door, and I slid over to open it.
"Your grace." A Danhadine soldier with dark brown hair smiled at me. "We're just performing routine checks."
"Oh?" I said with fake surprise. "What are you looking for? Are we in danger?"
"Not at all, your grace. These are to ensure the safety of the city." He smiled, and I forced a smile back.
"Thank you for your dedicated service," I replied.
He nodded and then closed the carriage door. It's surprising that they're not honest about looking for fugitives. The carriage rumbled forward, and the wheels and the clopping of hooves bounced off the interior walls of the gate. I sat back, but my shoulders were tense. What if they're not looking for me but something else? If only I knew what that was. I eased once we were on our way down a country road. I opened the carriage curtain, and the mountainous countryside spread out beyond my window. The clouds were sparse, and the sky was a brilliant blue, which turned the snowy peaks of the mountaintops an icy cobalt. The road we took was thick with pine trees and tangles of brush. The rest of the ride there was pleasant and without incident. The actual estate was not far from the city at all, perhaps an hour's ride or more from the city gates.
The hunting lodge was located on a small outcrop ringed by cypress and pines. A single dirt road led up to the lodge itself, which was a two-story building with stone walls and a circle of cleared land. I inhaled the scent of pine. I thought it would be too transparent to ask about Damara and about the change in ownership outright, and instead I had concocted an alternate story for our visit.
A man was out in front of the lodge, chopping wood, and he looked up as we approached. He shaded his eyes as we drew up to the front doors. The carriage came to a jerking halt. Beau jumped down from the driver's seat and opened the door for me. As he was helping me down, a woman came out the front door. She wore a crisp apron, and she had her gray-streaked hair pulled back in a severe bun.
"Can I help you, my lady?" the woman said in unaccented Danhadine. I was shocked that she spoke my native tongue so well, but perhaps I should not be so surprised; she was a housekeeper to royalty.
"I am here to survey the land on my husband, the Danhadine ambassador's, behalf. Prince Reynard advised him that I should come on this day to look into purchasing the land and the estate for my husband. He wishes to buy a country home whilst we stay in Sanore," I recited my lie.
The woman pursed her lips. I suspected she was preparing to tell me that she had heard no such plans, which was true. Prince Reynard was stationed south with the army defending the borders from the Biski attacks.
"Duchess Sixton?" a voice called out to me.
Princess Arlene stood in the doorway. She wore a pair of breeches and a white shirt tucked into them, along with a pair of black boots. Her strange garb aside, I was shocked and flustered to see her here, someone from court, someone I suspected would hamper my investigation. My heart beat rapidly in my chest. What is she doing here! I panicked.
"Your Highness," I dropped into a low bow and waited for her signal to stand. She stopped just above me, and I peered up at her through my lashes. "I did not expect you here."
"Yes, I suppose you would not. I came out for a bit of hunting and relaxing. My uncle lets me use his estate when I so choose to visit."
"Oh." I am sure I looked like an absolute fool to be caught out in a lie like this.
"Giovanni, if you like, I can show the duchess and her man about the grounds."
Giovanni, the housekeeper, stared at me with a hawk-eyed expression but did not comment on her obvious doubt as to my reasons for coming here. "If you wish it, Your Highness," she replied.
"Splendid," Princess Arlene said with a dour expression as if she thought it anything but.
She suspects. It cannot be mere coincidence that we have crossed paths twice now. I continued to kneel upon the ground, hoping to appear a harmless fool about her husband's business.
"You may rise," she said to me with an impatient flicker of her hand.
I did so and then glanced in Beau's direction. He was at ease behind me.
"Shall we?" Princess Arlene motioned for me to follow. She headed for a shaded path lined with cypress trees and thick undergrowth. Her strides were wide, and for one of her steps I had to take two. I was hard-pressed to keep up with her. The pathway was lined with stone, and it twisted in between trees, and on occasion there were small clearings where a bench would be arranged underneath the evergreens or a gazebo shrouded in pines. The only sound was the crunching of pine needles underfoot.
"This home was built by King Aeyon for his queen, Sareth," Princess Arlene said in a dry tone.
"I did not know," I replied.
"It passed to his son, Prince Gerard, upon his passing." Princess Arlene continued without acknowledging my commentary. She continued her tale in a monotone, reciting the entire lineage, naming the various viscounts and earls who had owned the property.
"For my seventeenth natality, my father gave it to me. He knew I loved the hunt and thought I could put it to good use." The princess lapsed into silence, and I assumed she had finished her recounting of the lodge's ownership.
"You then gifted it to Prince Reynard?" I prompted.
She stopped and turned to look at me. Her hands were perched upon her hips as she regarded me.
"I gave it to your Danhadine Princess Sarelle on the eve of her engagement to my uncle Prince Reynard." She scowled at me, and I wondered if I had touched upon a sore subject. What was their relationship like? What are you trying to hide about Sarelle's death?
"Her death was a tragedy. We grieved for her greatly in Danhad when we heard the news," I said with solemnity.
"She was taken very young. It was an unfortunate accident." Her words were hollow as if she were reciting lines.
She turned back around and showed us around the back where a falcon mews lay. There were three mews in total, hosting three to five birds each. The outside was slated wood to let light inside and had a door at one end for the lord falconer to enter. The lord falconer was inside the mew farthest from us, and a falcon perched upon his arm. He hailed us, and Princess Arlene led us over and showed us inside. The walls inside were lined with rods for the birds to roost upon, and a handsome tawny bird with a white breast tilted its head and regarded us as we entered.
"Handsome birds," I commented.
"Thank you, my lady." The lord falconer beamed.
Beau walked over to the bird that had been watching us and stroked its snowy chest. The falcon closed its eyes and leaned in to his finger.
"You're good with animals," I remarked.
He nodded. "I grew up in the south. My father was a steward of a manor house."
"Oh, how did you come to this line of work?" I wanted to add Keisan and Sabine into my question, but since Arlene was nearby, I figured it may not be wise.
"Need. The lord died in the war as did his sons. The land passed to another minor lord who had no interest in the land or the farm, and we were turned away. The estate was left abandoned. My parents had enough mouths to feed so I left home, looking for work. I met a man who taught me how to handle a sword, and I never looked back."
"You are fortunate we are in a time of peace," I teased. "Now your days are filled with following a bored wife around as she does her errands." I smiled.
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