I was fortunate the soldier was not a shrewd man. He answered me honestly. “We are fifty thousand strong, my lady. You would have to put in a request to my commanding officer to have me released from service.”
My stomach dropped. Fifty thousand swords, they could not need that many to fight back the Biski, surely. I forced a laugh. “I cannot imagine where they house your numbers. I know the Palace of Mirrors is spacious but not large enough to hold so many.”
“We did not all return from the borders, just a select three hundred or so,” he replied.
Three hundred soldiers in the city and another near fifty thousand outside it. What is Adair planning?
“Duchess Sixton, there you are. I have been searching for you.” Prince Reynard met my gaze and nodded slightly, indicating I should play along.
What does he want from me? It was strange but just the opportunity I needed. I decided to proceed with caution, just in case.
The soldier looked to the prince but stood between me and Prince Reynard. “I was showing the lady back to the ballroom, Your Highness,” the soldier said.
“I thank you for watching out for her. The lady’s husband has been worried. I shall take her into my care.” He nodded at the soldier and came around him to grab me by the elbow.
The soldier bowed stiffly and watched as the prince led me down the hall. I had no choice but to follow him into a chamber not far from the banquet hall. It was a room lined with books, and a fire had burned down in the corner.
“Sit,” the prince said and stalked over to an oak desk. His back faced the fireplace. He did not sit as I took a seat in one of the high wing-backed chairs across from him.
He knows my name. Does he know what I am after? I peered at his desk to avoid his piercing gaze. Parchment was stacked to one side, a quill laid over it at an angle. The stopper on his ink was closed tight, and the bottle sat at the edge of the sheets.
“Your husband did not ask me to look for you, as I am sure you are well aware,” he said.
I looked him in the eye and refused to back down. “Yes, I told him I would return in a moment before I lost my way.”
“I did not know that the ambassador had taken a wife. It was surprising and sudden. Are you from Kiesan’s court?”
My palms grew slick, and my heart palpitated. “I have been there.”
“You are avoiding the question. Were you a courtier?”
“Not as such,” I replied. My heart was beating so loud I thought he could hear it.
He walked around the desk and came to loom above me. The light from the fire gleamed off of something silver on his lapel. “What are you looking for?”
My mind stalled. Was he playing games with me? “I was lost and trying to find my way back.”
He hummed and walked around my chair, inspecting me. As he paced back in front of me I saw what he wore on his doublet. It was a circular pin of a tree upon a shield, the Order of the Oak’s emblem. I had assumed Adair would take the palace by force. I did not realize how wrong I had been. He had recruited the Neaux heir into the fold of the Order.
He noticed my gaze and pressed his two forefingers to the pin. “Do you like this?” he asked, and I knew he was testing me, testing my knowledge. However, if I were to reveal my knowledge of the Order, it would not only compromise my disguise but Jon’s position here at court.
“It is lovely, Your Highness. Is it a gift from an admirer?”
He dropped his hand and shook his head. “No, I have no admirers, I am afraid.” He gave me one more long, assessing look before shaking his head slightly. “I am sure your husband is worried for you, having been gone so long. I shall show you back to the banquet.” He offered me a bended arm. I stood on wobbling feet, a bit overwhelmed but relieved I had managed the encounter without arising the prince’s suspicion, or so I hoped.
My heart still beat out of my chest. If Prince Reynard was a member of the Order, then Adair may very well be connected with Sarelle’s death, as I suspected. Had Princess Arlene and Prince Reynard conspired to kill the princess at Adair’s behest? To what benefit? Prince Reynard would inherit regardless. It must have been something different, something I had not yet discovered. Besides, Arlene had just denounced her uncle’s claim to the throne in front of the entire court. I felt as if the deeper I got, the farther I was from the truth.
Jon was sitting at a table with Countess Lorelle, laughing and swinging his arms. The wine in his goblet splashed onto the linen on the tabletop. A woman in a plain gown and cap came up and whispered in the countess’ ear. She turned as we approached, and Damara looked at me as if not seeing me. She had been there right before my eyes the entire time. She was working for the countess. How had I not realized it before? That’s why Hilliard played the countess’ companion, to protect Damara as she worked as her lady’s maid. I wanted to reach out to her and speak with her, but she looked away from me and back to the countess. The countess saw me and smiled.
“Oh, Duchess Sixton, Your Highness, quite an unlikely pair!” She looked at us with a conspiring gleam in her eye.
“My lady.” I bowed and then, turning to Prince Reynard, I said, “Thank you for showing me back to the banquet.”
“My pleasure, Duchess Sixton,” he replied, and the sound of it made my skin crawl.
“Darling, my wife, my evening star!” Jon laughed as he grabbed my hand and pulled me closer to him. “Lorelle was telling me the most devious stories.” His breath stank of wine, and his hands roamed over my body in a way that made me blush.
I batted his hands away, with what I hoped looked like modesty and not repulsion.
“Oh, Jon, you promised not to tell,” the countess replied, though the glimmer in her eye made me think she wanted otherwise.
“Lord Hythe has bedded Lady Lianel!” Jon said in a stage whisper, slurring his words as he did so.
I frowned, wondering what had gotten into him. He never got into his cups. He knew better than this; when I went searching, he was my alibi. I glanced at the countess. She met my gaze with a raised brow. She slid her hand off the tabletop and slipped it into a pocket of her gown. She put something in Jon’s wine.
“Jon, I think it is time that we retire for the night,” I said and tugged on his arm, urging him to his feet. I could only guess what things he had said to the countess in his intoxicated state. Was she trying to get information from him? Perhaps Damara is working with the countess, but for what and toward what end?
“But the night is young yet,” he sang and motioned clumsily about the room.
People stopped and stared but generally regarded him as a drunkard. I slung his arm over my shoulder and helped him towards the door. “Be that as it may, it is time we went home.”
Jon blew onto my neck, and his hand wandered down to my buttocks. I batted him away the best I could with one hand, which was more difficult given his inebriated condition. I hoped he had not let his tongue loose with the countess. Goddess only knew whose side she played on. If Damara was working for her, I could hope it was ours.
Jon continued to babble incoherent nonsense and sang old folksongs off tune. Beau spotted us when we exited the palace, and he ran forward to help us into the carriage. I thanked him before climbing in across from Jon.
I closed my eyes and took a deep breath. The waters were getting deeper, and I was drowning, it seemed. What If I never discovered why Sarelle had died or how this related to Johai?
I opened my eyes as Jon slid onto the bench beside me. “You reek of spirits,” I remarked without opening my eyes.
He cupped my face, and I opened my eyes, coming face to face with him. “We’ve yet to have a proper wedding night.” He breathed on me, the sour smell of wine made my stomach turn.
“And we shall never have one.” I attempted to push him away, but he straddled me and pinned my arms against the back of the carriage.
“You are cruel, Maea. You bewitch a man’s heart and then string him along, tempting him with your come-hither glance
s.”
“Jon, stop this. You’re under the influence of some tonic!” I shouted and wriggled beneath him, but he was strong despite his less-than-charming state. His rank breath fanned across my cheeks, and I squirmed in his grasp.
“Pretend I am him. I promise you’ll enjoy it.” He hummed.
“Enough!” I shouted.
Then several things happened at once. The coach came to a sudden halt. I felt Jon’s weight lifted off me abruptly. I looked up, and the carriage door was open, and Jon had been dragged out.
I stumbled to the door. Jon hung upside down, his head hovering about the ground and his ankles pumping at the air. He shouted obscenities while Johai, standing a few feet away, held his hand aloft, and his eyes were dark as night.
“Let me down!” Jon shouted as he swung his arms and twirled in the air like a drunken dancer.
I watched the scene in slow motion as Johai lifted his other hand and began to squeeze. Jon grabbed at his throat as if fending off an invisible attacker. He flailed and kicked, but his movements became sluggish.
“Stop it!” I shouted.
Johai glanced in my direction, but he was not looking at me, the specter had taken over his body. I stumbled out of the carriage and grabbed his arm that he was using to squeeze the life out of Jon.
“You have to stop. This is not you. You’re not a killer!”
He tilted his head, and the smile he gave me sent a chill down my spine. “Am I not, little diviner?”
I shook my head. “Johai, I know you can hear me. Take back control. He does not own your body. Jon is drunk and did not know what he was doing! Stop this, please!”
Tears pricked my eyes, but I held them back. Johai lowered his arm though he seemed to be warring within himself to do so. Jon fell to the ground in a heap and gasped for air. Johai, too, fell to his knees and cradled his head in his hands. I ran to Johai, kneeling down beside him. I feared touching him let alone trying to embrace him.
“What happened?” I asked.
He only shook his head. When he looked back at me he appeared years older. “I lost control.”
Chapter Sixteen
An invitation to a garden party came from Queen Celeste on the heels of Prince Reynard’s victory banquet. I took it as a good omen and another opportunity to learn more about the royal family. I had narrowed down my suspicions to Princess Arlene and Prince Reynard. I suspected them for different reasons. The prince was working with the Order, which made me think if he was the one who killed her, or organized her murder, he did it at Adair’s behest. While Princess Arlene wanted the throne, I suspected that with Sarelle’s ties to Danhad and Prince Reynard’s legal right to it, they had a stronger claim, which would make it harder for her to overturn it. There was a small possibility they had worked together, but judging from Arlene’s display at the banquet, I did not think so.
The garden party was a women-only gathering, and Jon was to remain at the villa. It made me uneasy at first; I did not realize how much I had been relying on him at court. It was a dangerous realization. I had told myself time and again not to trust him. I kept my guard up, expecting him to inevitably betray me, but the time had not come yet. Perhaps it never would. He had been keeping his distance since the banquet. I suspected he feared Johai’s wrath. He did not even come down to see me off, which he often did. In Jon’s absence, Johai insisted on accompanying me to the palace. I was reluctant to allow him to join me, after he had attacked Jon. I feared him more than ever. His loss of control coupled with his erratic behavior made him a liability, one I could not afford this late in the game. He insisted, however, and I could not come up with a logical reason to deny him, and in the end, he accompanied me, playing the part of my valet.
I arrived at the palace, and the carriage came to a rolling stop beside the sloping gardens. Johai opened my carriage door and helped me down. The ground was scattered with bruised flower petals, which had been trampled upon. Servants held baskets of garlands, and they crowned the guests as they walked through an arbor that led into the garden. I was given a crown of yellow daisies by a young serving girl who smiled at me.
The trail of flower petals continued down the garden path of winding stone. Unlike the manicured lawns of the gardens at Keisan, the gardens at the Palace of Mirrors were wild. Shrubs and large cypresses crowded the path. Balls of lilacs and hydrangeas in pink, purple and blue were hung from low-hanging branches. Wild lavender grew in large bushes alongside sage brush and climbing ferns. As we turned down the path, the harpist’s song glided over us. A wide clearing was set in a circle of trees. Underneath bowed willow, the queen sat on a chaise, with a cluster of women around her and two soldiers on each side. An awning had been erected over her to keep off the sun. Chairs were arranged around the clearing to aid conversation, and court ladies sat chatting and fanning themselves with their decorative fans. The air was perfumed with the scent of lavender. I inhaled deeply.
I made my way across the lawns towards a group of three young women who were about my age. They were laughing at a joke one of the women had told the other two as I approached.
“My ladies, it is a beautiful day, is it not,” I said with a smile. They looked at me with vacant expressions as if they did not understand me. Though my Neaux was far from perfect, I thought I had made myself clear enough. “I’m sorry, my Neaux is a little rusty. May I join you?” I pointed to an empty chair.
The one closest to me looked past me and called out, “Elizabet, come join us. We have one more empty seat.”
A young woman in a chiffon gown strolled over. She looked past me as if she did not see me and took the seat I had motioned towards. Then they turned their seats to face away from me and continued their conversation as if I had not spoken at all.
I blushed and hurried away as to not reveal my embarrassment. As I walked, I thought of a few choice words I wanted to say to lessen the sting of my rejection, but what good would it do now? Why are they so cold to me? Is it because I am Danhadine? I felt as if everyone’s eye was upon me as I picked my way through the crowd. Women shifted in their seats to prevent me from joining their circles. Whispers followed as I made my way across the lawn. This must be more than my heritage, surely. By the time I found an empty space, my neck burned from embarrassment. This was not my first time at the palace; the courtiers had always been distant but never cold. What changed? The bench where I sat down was underneath a shady tree, and it looked out onto the gathering. Now that I was away, the women continued their conversations. I glanced sidelong at Johai, who had been witness to my embarrassment. He made no comment, for which I was glad.
“Duchess Sixton!” I peered up. Countess Lorelle called out to me from where she sat. She was not far from me, on an adjacent garden bench beneath an arbor draped in flowering vines. A young woman with dark curls piled on top of her head and a white gown sat beside her. The countess waved for me to join her. The courtiers had heard her and were whispering again. I wanted to run in the opposite direction to avoid their scorn, but I had a mission to do. The countess had slipped Jon something at the banquet; now was a good time to find out why. I stood up and jutted my chin and walked over to the countess.
When I drew closer to them, I realized who her companion was. Antoinette looked up at me with a broad smile, and a spray of white flowers was styled in her hair. I hid my surprise behind my greeting. “Countess, a fine afternoon, is it not?”
Antoinette did not recognize me beneath the glamour—not that she would. She looked about the garden with wide-eyed amazement.
“Indeed it is. I see you are hard-pressed to make friends.” The countess smirked, and her cutting remark struck deeper than I would like to admit.
I squared my shoulders and smiled at her as I replied, “I am not here to make friends.”
The countess laughed. “And what are you here for, then, your grace?” she said in a low tone. Her brow was raised to her hairline in question.
“I am here for Her Majesty’s pleasure, as we
all are,” I replied and motioned to Queen Celeste. The queen threw her head back in laughter at that same moment. The court ladies who surrounded her did the same; their twittering sounded like a flock of birds. A servant stood by with a platter of grapes, and the queen plucked one and popped it into her mouth.
“Yes, I can see that.” The countess smirked. “Have you met my companion?” She motioned towards Antoinette. “I found this charming creature wandering about the palace, quite lost.”
“I have not had the pleasure, mademoiselle.” I bowed to Antoinette.
She giggled. “Thank you, madame.”
“The duchess is the ambassador’s wife. You should address her as ‘your grace’,” the countess corrected, not unkindly.
Antoinette looked up at me, her eyes wide. “I am so sorry, your grace, forgive me. I am rather new to these courtesies.” She blushed and lowered her eyes.
“Think nothing of it. I was not born a duchess. I married above my station, one might say. I have not seen you at court before; did you recently arrive?”
Her smile faltered. “I am new to court, but I shall only be here for a time, I suspect.” She fidgeted in her seat and touched a tendril that had come loose from her hair. She twirled it around her finger and gazed about the garden. “I would love to stay here forever. It’s like something out of a fairytale.” She sighed.
What is she doing here? Are the players performing? I glanced around, expecting to see Elenna, but I saw no sign of the other players. I regarded Antoinette as if staring at her would yield answers to my unasked questions. Or does the countess know who I really am and she is using Antoinette to taunt me. Why else would one of the players be here?
“Duchess Sixton, if I could have your ear on a matter that has perplexed me as of late, I would be forever in your debt,” Countess Lorelle said.
I looked back to the countess. “I would be happy to help in any way I can.”
[fan] diviners trilogy - complete series Page 45
