by Lucy Kelly
“Have Catherine call her counterparts among the KowLer again. We know they’ve had miscarriages, too. Let’s see if we can find the commonality and let’s do it soon. This can’t go on,” said Addie.
“We will. Now you need your rest, too. Let’s go back to bed,” said Rune.
Addie’s Ankida carried her back to the bedroom, all of them worried about their people.
****
BianCa and Thors reached their country estate just after midday. As they approached the gate, a guard stepped out of the gatehouse and approached their vehicle.
“We’re not allowing visitors; the House is in mourning,” he said.
Thors stepped out of the land shuttle and approached the guard.
“I am Thors, Duke of LucenTio. This estate belongs to me and my wife, BianCa. Do you take an oath of loyalty to me or do you leave these borders?” roared Thors. He’d had enough and decided now was not the time for diplomacy.
“I’ve always been loyal to the duke and duchess,” the guard said, falling to his knees. “I was unaware the duchess had remarried. I didn’t know she’d left the premises,” he said, with a confused look on his face.
“Swear your loyalty, here and now,” stated Thors again.
The guard recited the oath of loyalty solemnly and then rose. When he raised his head again, BianCa was standing next to the shuttle door.
“Is the lady a member of your family, My Lord?” he asked in a shocked voice. He was surprised by the pants.
“This is my wife, BianCa, Duchess of LucenTio,” said Thors.
“But she’s not the duchess!” said the guard, taking a step back and reaching for his sidearm.
BianCa stepped forward and spoke, “I am BianCa, formerly of the House of KowLer and Duchess of LucenTio at the command of my father. I was never allowed to come to this house and now I’m beginning to understand why,” she said.
“How do I know you’re telling me the truth?” he asked.
At this point, the driver of the shuttle stepped out. “Is there a problem, My Lord, My Lady?” he asked.
“Jarmin—is this really Duchess BianCa?” asked the guard.
“Of course it is. I’ve served her at the palace in the city for the last two years,” said Jarmin.
“Then who’s the woman at the house calling herself the duchess?” he asked.
“That’s what we’re going to find out. Immediately,” stated BianCa. “We’re going up there now! Don’t call ahead and warn them, either!”
“No, My Lady,” stuttered the guard.
The estate was huge; it took twenty minutes to reach the end of the drive. BianCa used her time wisely. She took one of the information tablets they had used to view the evidence on the men they’d arrested that morning to pull up pictures from her wedding and the royal family of KowLer. The tablet had holographic capabilities so she could project the images three dimensionally. Thors looked over at what she was doing and nodded his approval. It appeared they might have a difficult road ahead.
Thors was wondering if they should have arrived with a large official retinue instead of just one driver. “You should also show a recording of this morning’s gathering at the palace.”
“You’re right,” she said.
Linking to the main database at the palace, she downloaded the morning’s events. After she thought about it, she decided she would lead with that. She knew many of the dignitaries arrested earlier had traveled back and forth to the country estate and were, therefore, known here. It made her even happier they were no longer in power.
They had been traveling through tall trees. As the small forest ended, they came around a turn. Spread before them, was a beautiful valley with a huge, elegant house of stone and wood covering a hill in the distance. The valley was filled with a small vineyard, gardens and lawns.
“It’s beautiful, Thors. He stole this from me,” she said, getting angry all over again.
“I want you to take the lead here, BianCa,” said Thors.
“Thank you, my love, for trusting me,” she said.
He picked up her hand and kissed it. He didn’t just trust her; he also felt she needed this. The first duke had married her under false pretenses, used her for her family connections and abused her trust. She needed to take back what had been stolen from her. Thors had long determined the first duke had been a selfish coward. His only regret was he hadn’t been the one to end his miserable life.
BianCa took a few deep breaths as she waited for the ground shuttle to come to a complete stop.
Jarmin exited the shuttle first at BianCa’s command. He went up to the door and knocked. A warrior opened the door.
“We are a house of mourning and not accepting visitors. How did you get past the guard at the gate?” he asked.
Jarmin did not recognize this guard but BianCa had briefed him on how to respond. “By order of the new Duke of LucenTio, the entire household must assemble within the hour. Do you have a room of adequate size or must the assembly take place on the lawn?” he asked.
“Of course we have a large enough room. Is the king in the ground shuttle? Was he the one who appointed the new duke?” the guard asked.
“You don’t get to ask questions. Just obey the command. You now have fifty-eight minutes remaining,” Jarmin returned in a hard voice.
He’d read all of the charges against the former duke and his cronies and was appalled at their crimes. The new duke was a true warrior and didn’t hesitate to act. This Thors from HeVan would make a good leader; the duchess had chosen well for a House which hadn’t given her the loyalty she deserved. Jarmin had requested the posting as her personal guard. The negative feelings generated by her first husband made it easy for him to succeed. Many were waiting to see how the next duke treated her. After this morning’s audience, many warriors requested the duty and now Jarmin was chief guard. He would do his best to make sure she was never insulted again and was always protected by the best warriors.
The guard ran off and Jarmin could hear shouting coming from deeper within the building. After a few minutes, he heard steps coming in his direction. A young woman hurried toward him. He waited by the door for her to approach.
“The duchess has asked me to inquire if her brother, the king, is here,” she said in a soft voice.
Jarmin noticed some bruising on the side of her jaw line extending down her neck and behind her ear. He could see she’d tried to cover it up. Whatever she’d used, it had worn off.
“Who hurt you, little one?” he asked in a soft voice.
She tilted her head to the side to hide the bruise. “It was my own fault; I was clumsy. The duchess was right to punish me. Please, will you answer my question? She will be angry if I don’t return with the answer.”
“You will not go back to her. She will have to assemble with the rest of the household without her answers,” he said.
“Please,” she cried, “let me return with the answer. She will give me a terrible punishment if I do not follow her demands.”
Jarmin could see she was literally shaking in her shoes. He was torn; BianCa had told him not to reveal her presence.
“You have nothing to fear. The one you speak of loses her power over you today. Stay here with me and I will keep you safe,” he said.
Her eyes grew round with shock. “Are you telling me the truth?” she asked.
“This is the truth. They have already had an assembly at the palace in the city. All of the previous duke’s associates were taken into custody for various crimes against the House of LucenTio. Promises have been made; things will be better for our people,” he said.
“There are many here who will be pleased if she is removed from power,” she said.
“She will be lucky if she is not imprisoned,” he muttered, “What is your name?” he asked.
“Illianna,” she answered.
She took a closer look at him from behind her lashes and blushed. When he noticed, he smiled. It seemed his new duties were already
reaping wonderful benefits.
After about fifteen minutes, the guard came hurrying back to the door.
“Illianna, what are you doing here? Hurry back to the duchess before you get into trouble.”
“Illianna is attendant to the duchess, is she not?” asked Jarmin.
“Yes, she is the duchess’s lesser maid,” stated the guard.
Jarmin raised an eyebrow at the word lesser. “Then she is where she belongs.”
He signaled the ground shuttle and the door opened. Slightly bent over, Thors emerged. As he stood to his full height, the guard watched him with a wary eye. He gasped when he saw the enormous warrior reach back and pull out a long staff with a sharp curved blade on the end. He never noticed the other figure stepping out; he kept his eyes on the dangerous one.
Illianna rushed over to the two of them and bent down on one knee before them, giving her oath of loyalty in a soft, clear voice.
Thors, being as sharp-eyed as Jarmin, tried to keep the anger out of his voice when he spoke, “Child, who put these bruises on you?” he growled.
Jarmin quickly approached. In a soft voice, he said, “The imposter has much to answer for.”
BianCa stepped out into the open and said, “The time is now, justice has come.”
She walked over to the guard and asked that he guide them to the chamber where the household had gathered.
“Take us through a back entrance; we prefer not to walk through a crowd,” said Thors.
If this other woman was acting as the duchess, it would make their position weaker if they approached pushing through a crowd, as if begging for an audience. They would come from behind and supplant her.
The guard gave the blade one last look and led the way through a side entrance to the ballroom where the household had assembled. Just as they reached that part of the building, he showed them a doorway which led to a long hallway.
“This hallway leads around to the back of the ballroom. The servants use it to deliver trays of food and beverages during parties. The door at the end opens on the small stage where the orchestra sits during a party,” he said.
The guard was a little worried the duchess would punish him for not bringing them through the front, as she had instructed. But the anger in the eyes of the warrior convinced him any punishment she could mete out would be slight compared to what this warrior could do.
BianCa was getting nervous but tried not to show it. They stopped at the door. Just before Jarmin opened it, Illianna sidled up to BianCa. “She keeps a knife in her left sleeve,” she whispered.
BianCa thanked her and then walked through the door. Thors and Jarmin followed her. Illianna and the guard stepped through but hung back against the wall.
As BianCa came forward, she pulled out her tablet and brought up the video she wanted to show. She had spliced several scenes together to quickly and definitively prove who she was. She projected the holographic image to appear at the front of the stage, directly in front of the throne-like chair.
In the chair sat a tall woman with black hair in an intricate style on her head. From just behind and to the left, all BianCa could see was that she was wearing a blue gown with gold embroidery. The gold embroidery was only legally allowed on clothing worn by members of the Royal House.
It didn’t take long for the woman, and the audience, to understand what they were seeing. BianCa placed the tablet on the floor, still projecting images into the room as the woman leapt from the chair, shouting.
“Invaders―guards― kill them!” she screamed, even as she ran toward BianCa. The woman was taller and bigger than BianCa but BianCa had years of anger on her side. As the woman drew near, she raised her foot and kicked her in the stomach. The woman screamed and clutched her waist as she fell back and down to the floor.
BianCa reached over and taking Thors’ staff in both hands, she swung it down and held the blade just over the woman’s throat.
“Move and you die, bitch!” said BianCa.
She gestured for Jarmin to take the woman. “Make sure you check her for weapons. I understand she keeps a blade in her sleeve,” she said to him.
After Jarmin had done as she asked, BianCa returned the staff to Thors and then reached down and picked up her tablet, stopping the images.
“While I am shocked this female has successfully impersonated me for so long, I’m not very surprised my first husband would be party to this deception. All of you have been also fooled. Or at least those of you who have not left this holding since we were wed have been fooled. Those of you who have traveled to the city and back will have to answer for keeping this secret and being party to breaking our laws. For now, I want you all to meet the new duke and Proctor of the House of LucenTio. This is my husband, Thors of the Nephilim from HeVan,” she said.
She was going to mention the queen and Grace and what Addie had done for the KowLer people, but noticed many women in the advanced stages of pregnancy and many infants and small children.
Whatever had affected the rest of the KowLer people had not affected the women of this holding.
“I see many children here and many women heavy with child. No female KowLer outside of this holding has gotten pregnant in the last five years. It’s obvious this is another crime which can be laid at my former husband’s door. If anyone here has information about this, speak now,” she said in a strong voice.
It was apparent the assembled household was in shock. Looking around the room, there were a few who seemed to be edging toward the doors.
“Anyone who is so cowardly they would attempt to leave, will be taken directly to jail and not be given the opportunity of a defense, as they don’t deserve one,” shouted Thors.
He hoped it would work, since he hadn’t brought any additional warriors with him. He was please to see some of the household guards come out of their shocked stupor and act on his behalf and block the exits.
The crowd of people parted as an old, bent woman came forward.
“Come with me; I think I know what you’re looking for. Don’t let anyone leave this room. Especially the witch who’s been acting queen-of-the-manor for the past two years,” she said in a strong voice.
Several other women came out of the crowd and offered to make sure the woman sitting on the throne-like chair, glaring with hatred-filled eyes at BianCa, didn’t cause any more trouble.
As they followed the old woman through the hallways, BianCa wondered aloud at how they had kept this huge secret for so long. The old woman heard her and answered.
“There is no advanced technology here. The duke said he came home to get away from being surrounded by all that. He wanted to be the only one who had access and so made it law that there be no video or electronic communications here, not even entertainment visuals or music. The duke was the only one who could send communications out or get communications in. And now we know why.” Cackling, she added, “That’s why there are so many children; there’s not much else to do,” and Thors burst into laughter.
“BianCa and I intend to spend most of our time here. In that case, we intend on having a lot of children,” he went on to say.
“Good. I’ve served the dukes of LucenTio since I was a girl of twelve. I’ve known three and, except for this last one, they were all good men. I can already tell you’ll be a good one, too. Now, here behind this door, is something. It’s the only room in the whole place no one was allowed in, only that woman, and I don’t even know what to call her now,” she said, making a tsking sound.
“I’m going with ugly witch—it suits her,” said BianCa, causing the old woman to make her dry cackling laugh again.
“I liked the way you put her down. She needed it, the way she treats the people here.”
She and BianCa had stepped to the side as Thors and Jarmin looked at the door.
“What is your name?” BianCa asked.
“I’m called Melbas.”
“You said you’ve been here on the estate for your whole life. What can you tell me
about the people here? I was kept in the city ever since our marriage and was disappointed never to spend time here. Thors and I both prefer country life to city life and would like to spend the bulk of our time here. Like so many of the women I saw, I am also expecting my first child.”
“Children are a blessing. The ugly witch, as you called her, never had a child. She begged for one. It’s one of the reasons there are so many here. The duke said she could take a baby another woman had given birth to.”
At BianCa’s gasp, Melbas nodded her head and continued, “Yes, she wanted a child until the first one she chose got the colic and wouldn’t stop crying. She said it was defective and gave it back. The next one threw up on her favorite dress. After those incidents, the new mothers made sure their infants were in some way displeasing to her. It worked because she quickly decided she didn’t want a child, after all. She went through the motions when he was here but we fixed it quickly,” she said with a snicker.
BianCa smiled, “What happened?”
“Well, he wanted a son, didn’t he? But he wasn’t having one of his own. So he looked over the batch of them and picked out the one he thought was the pick of the bunch. We helped his decision by dressing them in a particular way. If one cried the instant he was picked up—well, perhaps there was a pin sticking him and other things. Then, when he chose the one we expected, we’d timed it right and dear Horace passed his lunch all over the duke’s clothing. He’d had quite a bit of fruit, you see, and his diaper may have been a little loose.”
Thors and Jarmin had been listening at the same time as they tried to open the door. When Melbas finished her story, they both burst into laughter. Thors had to stop what he was doing and bend over with his hands on his knees, he was laughing so hard.
“Afterwards, he said he’d wait until they’d grown up a bit,” she finished with a smile.
“We’re going to enjoy living in this house. For one, the inhabitants have proven themselves to be highly intelligent and inventive,” Thors stated when he finished laughing and caught his breath.
