“Uma’s been kidnapped,” Jax said, stating the obvious. She took the parchment from him and examined the intricate scrawl. “I just don’t know what I have that these thugs would want.” Her gaze dropped down to the hand-drawn signet at the bottom of the note. A shiver flowed down her spine as she examined it. Etched within the drawing of an upside-down shield was a gnarled sword with a crude serpent wrapped around the blade. “Have you ever seen a mark like this before?”
George’s eyes narrowed as he searched his memories. “Not that I can recall.”
“This isn’t a crest belonging to any of the noble families within Saphire,” she said with certainty, “but that hardly narrows it down.” She glanced at the drawing again. Her blood turned to ice at the sight of the sinister image, and she marveled its unsettling effect on her.
“Someone is out to sabotage your wedding,” George guessed.
Jax stared at the haunting message once more. “But what do I have that they want?”
“Besides the throne of the most powerful nation in the realm?” he said dryly.
She shot him a condemning look. “This reads more personal than that.”
“Duchess! Captain! Over here!” Hendrie’s voice called from the wreckage.
Dashing over as quickly as her dress would allow, Jax reached the valet’s side just as George asked, “What is it?”
“Look! I think someone is trapped underneath the tail board.” Hendrie pointed with alarm at the broken back of the coach.
With speed and strength, George lifted the heavy board off a cluster of brush, revealing the face of a boy, no older than eighteen, buried beneath the rubble.
“Virtues.” Jax knelt beside the unconscious young man, her heart racing. His breath was shallow and quick, but he was indeed still alive. “We need to get this poor lad back to the castle at once. He may be able to tell us what happened.”
Although George nodded his agreement, Jax could tell he was at war with himself. “George, you take him and ride ahead. Hendrie and I will keep up as best we can, but it is imperative you get him to Master Vyanti at once.”
“Jax, I can’t leave you unprotected out here,” he objected. “You know that.”
“I understand, and I won’t be defenseless,” she replied, pulling the hilt of his longsword from the scabbard attached to his belt. “You were the one to train me with this when I was a young girl. I know how to use it.”
Her brazen action failed to convince him. “Jax, after what these people did to Uma—”
“Exactly. They did this to my friend, and I will not let anything get in the way of rescuing her. She’s in this predicament because of me.” Jax paused, feeling her throat catch with emotion. “This boy is the only clue we have to finding her. I need him alive.”
“Saphire needs you alive, Duchess.” George stood firm, in spite of the certain knowledge that he was poking a dangerous beast.
Just as Jax’s mouth opened to force him to obey her command, Hendrie interrupted. “I’m lighter, so I will be able to travel faster with another in tow. I can take the boy back to Vyanti. Please. We’re running out of time.”
Waging their options for only a moment, George conceded and lifted the unconscious boy from the ground, dragging him toward Hendrie’s horse, leaving Jax to stew in her anger.
Her two companions quickly secured the young man’s limp form atop the horse, and Hendrie galloped away, a pack of phantom wolves biting at his heels.
Alone at last, Jax turned to George and bellowed. “How dare you defy my direct orders like that.” Her tone was vicious.
George met her heated gaze head on. “You must be losing your mind if you think I’m going to leave you to fend for yourself after one of your own was just attacked.”
“Watch your tongue, Captain. Might I remind you that I am your Duchess?” Jax snapped, furious at having her intelligence insulted.
“No, you don’t need to remind me, Your Grace, because I am doing my job to protect you, which means I have to do what’s best for you and you alone,” George thundered, his face red.
His outburst startled her, causing her to take a step back. “What’s that supposed to mean?”
George ran a hand over the close-cut hairs on his head. “You are my responsibility, Jax. My top priority. If I must risk the life of someone else just to keep you safe, then I will do it in a heartbeat.”
“Even Uma?” Jax whispered, her chest full of dread.
“Even Uma,” he responded sadly.
Jax saw his temper deflate before her eyes. The tears she’d been struggling to hold in broke through her emotional dam, cascading down her face. “If any harm comes her way because of me,” she began, her words strangled by gut-wrenching sobs.
George gathered her up into his arms, stroking her hair until she controlled her cries.
“We need to follow Hendrie,” Jax croaked.
Nodding in agreement, George led the way to their ever-patient horses. “I told him to speak to no one and to go directly to Vyanti. I don’t want word of Uma’s disappearance spreading around the castle. With all the different delegations visiting, any one of them could be behind this. Its best if we keep it to ourselves, so that no one is put on alert while my men investigate.”
Gripping Mortimer’s reins, Jax tossed a look over her shoulder. “You’re the one who’s lost his mind if you think I’m not going to help you get to the bottom of this,” she said with a snort, feeling a spark of hope that all was not lost.
George didn’t bother concealing his rolling eyes, taking off in a gallop before Jax could respond.
ǂ
They arrived back at the castle a little while later, severely winded from the arduous horseback ride.
Wincing as she breathed through a pinch in her side, Jax led the way from the stables to Master Vyanti’s chambers deep within the belly of the palace. “Send some of your men back to the carriage, George. If we’re going to pretend like nothing is amiss, I need the fireblooms brought here immediately and placed in the wine cellar. My guests will notice something’s off if no blooms are present at the rehearsal dinner in two night’s time.” As trivial as it sounded to be worrying about flowers right now, Jax knew that their absence would be a dead giveaway that something had gone wrong.
Without hesitation, George summoned the nearest guardsmen he could find and dispatched them to the forest to collect the flowers, as well as the bodies of the two slain soldiers. “Come now, let’s go see if Vyanti has made any progress with our witness.”
Jax did not need additional prodding. She followed in George’s shadow in a sedate stride, careful not to draw attention to themselves by scurrying through the halls. The Virtues must have been looking down on her, for they did not run across any of her guests along the way.
Master Vyanti’s chambers were in the lower recesses of the castle, the warm spring air not yet penetrating the cool passageways. She rarely visited this area of her domain. The memory of her last time here, when the court physician had summoned her to investigate the bodies of her parents, still made her tremble.
Murmuring voices up ahead jolted her thoughts to the present. “Master Vyanti? Is that you?” she called down the dimly lit corridor.
The old man’s head poked out of a doorway, his wrinkled face looking shocked. “Duchess? What on earth are you doing down here? What is all this secrecy Hendrie is insisting upon?”
Hurrying the remaining steps, Jax and Captain Solomon strode into the room with purpose. “Close the door, Vyanti,” she said as she walked over to the examination table. The injured boy lay upon it, still unconscious, but it appeared that color was returning to his cheeks. “Has he woken up at all?” she asked, looking at Hendrie.
Wiping sweat from his brow, he shook his head. “No, he’s been out the entire time.”
Vyanti went back to work, his robes sweeping across the floor as he retreated into his medicine cabinet. “Is anyone going to tell me what’s going on? Young Hendrie burst in here wit
h this poor boy, but demanded my silence.”
Jax shot an approving look at the valet before clearing her throat. “I’m sorry, old friend, for the shroud of secrecy. We’re dealing with a bit of an incident I’m afraid.” She glanced at George, who gave her an encouraging look to continue. “This young man was found at the scene of a crime. Lady Uma has been kidnapped, and he was the only one we found alive.”
“Good spirits! Kidnapped?” Vyanti took a stumbling step backward, clearly stunned by the announcement.
“Yes, and the culprits left very little to go on. I’m hoping our friend here can tell us what happened.” Jax motioned to the physician’s newest patient.
The elderly man frowned. “Well, Duchess, I hope I can bring him back from the abyss. Whoever attacked him tried to kill him. If the blow to his head had been but an inch lower…” his frail voice trailed off, leaving Jax and her friends to figure out the implications.
She paced nervously around the room, not wanting to interfere with the physician’s work but eager to know more about the lad. “Will you be able to help him?”
Vyanti’s cloudy eyes examined his charge. “I believe so, but he needs rest. I’ll come get you the moment he wakes up.”
“Come find me, instead, Master,” George ordered with resolute firmness. “We don’t want to draw any unnecessary attention to the Duchess until this matter is resolved.”
“Of course.” Vyanti bowed his head in acquiescence.
Turning to Jax, George motioned to the door. “Your grandfather will no doubt be arriving soon. We need to get you back upstairs.”
Bidding the worried physician goodbye, Jax followed Hendrie and George back out into the hallway. “I can’t just stand around and pretend like everything is normal with Uma missing!” she hissed, feeling a swell of panic rush through her veins.
“I’m going to ride back out to the caravan and take another look around to see if we missed anything,” George replied. “I know it pains you to do so, Jax, but for Uma’s safety, you must remain calm. Use that clever mind of yours and see if you can dig up anything from your guests that might be of use.”
“You really think someone in the castle might be behind this?” Jax whispered.
George took a moment before responding. “Whoever attacked her knows just how much Uma means to you. I don’t think we should dismiss the possibility that they have eyes and ears inside our walls.”
Pulling out the threatening letter, Jax read the chilling words once more. You have something of ours. What did she have that someone would go to such drastic measures to get back? Some gold artifact in her royal treasury, perhaps? She couldn’t help but think back to Jaquobie’s veiled warning concerning Isla DeLacqua’s financial straits. Would the Duke stoop so low as to hold her lady-in-waiting hostage in return for funding?
“What are you thinking?” George asked, his eyes never leaving her face.
“My mind is spinning out of control right now,” Jax said, dismissing the outrageous accusation as quickly as it appeared. “I’m going to keep this on my person.” She sighed as she folded the note. “Until the boy wakes up, it’s all we have to go on.” She tucked the parchment back into the pocket of her dress.
George turned to Hendrie. “See that the Duchess safely arrives at the throne room. I’m going to stop by the soldiers’ quarters and arrange for her security to be doubled before I head out and will have them meet you there.” He gave the valet a stern look before taking off down the hallway.
Jax placed a hand on Hendrie’s arm, noticing his red-rimmed eyes. “How are you holding up?”
“How could something like this happen to her? Uma wouldn’t harm a fly.”
Jax took no offense that he hadn’t answered her question, understanding his thoughts being with Uma. She kept her face neutral for his sake. “We will find her, Hendrie. Of that, I can assure you.”
“But we have so little to go on,” he said with a whimper.
“We’ve solved puzzles with less, remember?” She poked at his shoulder, trying to lighten the mood, for it was the only way she would survive the terror building up inside her.
“How am I supposed to keep this a secret from Perry?” he asked, his voice hoarse.
“I’ll tell Perry myself,” Jax said quickly. “We don’t need to keep my future husband in the dark. But not a word of this to anyone else, understand?”
Wide-eyed, Hendrie nodded before dropping his chin in defeat. “It just seems so hopeless.”
“We’ll find her,” Jax repeated. We’ve just got to.
Chapter Seven
Jax and Hendrie walked to the throne room in silence, where she was greeted by six of the most seasoned members of the Ducal Guard.
“I take it you are my new entourage?” Jax asked with wry humor, and the six nodded in reply.
“What’s all this about?” Perry asked as he entered the room, confusion written all over his face. “You disappeared for a while there. My family already scare you off?”
Just seeing him made her smile, but as Hendrie visibly tensed at her side, the contented feeling did not last long. “Oh, Perry. There’s been a dreadful development.”
Taking him into her confidence, Jax brought him up to speed on all that had happened during their brief time away from the castle. His face grew more and more troubled, a deep-set frown marring his handsome features by the time she concluded her story.
He reviewed the threatening note the kidnappers had left behind. “Any idea when this could have happened? How long has it been since the attack?”
“Uma departed before dawn to ride down to the town square,” Hendrie answered.
“If she left that early, she should have been back well before lunch,” Jax said. “I can’t believe I didn’t so much as bat an eye when she didn’t show up to receive your father.” Racked with guilt, she sought comfort from Perry.
He wrapped an arm around her. “With all you’ve got on your plate, you can’t blame yourself.”
“If anyone’s to blame, it’s me. I thought she was just avoiding me again, which is why I didn’t seek her out sooner.” Hendrie’s glum expression pulled at Jax’s heartstrings.
“It’s the people who did this to our friend who are at fault,” Perry said with a growl, forcing Jax and Hendrie out of their self-deprecating moods. “We can reasonably assume the carriage was attacked sometime in the late morning.”
“George’s men are retrieving the two slain guards. Once Vyanti performs autopsies on them, we’ll know for sure.” A burst of rage flooded Jax’s veins as it sank in that two of her faithful guardsmen had lost their lives in this deadly plot. She was determined that no more harm would come to her people.
Hendrie looked to Perry. “Do you think your father saw anything out of the ordinary while on the road to the castle?”
He shook his head. “No, he and my brothers would have arrived from the western road. That’s the most direct route from Pettraud. They wouldn’t have gone near Sephretta’s city limits.”
Pointing down to the bottom of the parchment still in Perry’s hand, Jax asked, “Does this crest look familiar to you at all?”
“I’ve never seen anything so sinister before,” he answered.
She wished she could say the same. This wasn’t the first menacing threat she’d ever received. “Let’s hope George returns with something we missed at the scene or that Vyanti’s patient wakes up sooner rather than later.” She took the note from Perry and tucked it away once more. “For now, I’ve got to figure out a way to make it seem like my lady-in-waiting isn’t missing.” She brushed a speck of dirt from her gown. “I should go freshen up before my grandfather arrives. Come find me at once if you think of something, but for Virtues’ sake, be discreet about it.”
Perry frowned. “Do you really think it’s wise to not alert our guests as to what’s happened?”
“If there’s someone inside the castle plotting against Saphire, I'd rather have them think they have the upper hand by
appearing to be oblivious. It might cause them to slip up and make a mistake,” she explained with grim diplomacy before bidding the two farewell.
Jax wished that she didn’t have six guards following her as she hastened back to her chambers. She desperately wanted to hide in an alcove and release the burgeoning tears welling behind her eyes. But for her duchy, she had to remain strong. Sovereigns of nations didn’t weep in public over a missing member of their court. As much terror as she felt for Uma and what she might be experiencing at the hands of her kidnappers, she knew she had to remain levelheaded if she wanted to get to the bottom of this. With the piece of paper in her dress pocket the only clue, she had so little to go on, it would be a struggle not to feel hopelessness clawing at her heart.
“Duquessa! I wasn’t expecting you back until later this evening to prepare for dinner,” Vita said in surprise as Jax rushed into her chambers. “Is everything all right?”
Taking a few deep breaths to calm herself, Jax forced a smile. “Just wedding nerves sneaking up on me. I’d like to change before my grandfather arrives, please,” she said, quickly switching the subject before Vita could pry more.
Fifteen minutes later, Jax wore a fresh yellow gown with her hair pulled back in a low bun. Vita was wise enough not to ask any questions, despite finding several twigs in the Duchess’s hair and dirt on her clothing.
“I’ll be back to change for dinner,” Jax said, waving goodbye as she left her chambers in a whirlwind.
Perry was waiting outside of her door, looking restless. “Your grandfather’s carriage just pulled up. Crepsta is here, too.”
“Oh, Grand-Père will not like that.” Jax couldn’t resist a light chuckle. Duke Mensina was not fond of sharing the spotlight with anyone.
“Luckily, Jaquobie knows that. He’s already shown Duke Crepsta and his wife to their chambers. He said you’ll greet them at a private reception in just a bit.”
Rolling her eyes, she cringed. As politically correct as Jaquobie’s actions had been, she did not want to be forced to spend time alone with Duke Crepsta.
Throne of Threats (Ducal Detective Mysteries Book 5) Page 7
