by C. J. Archer
"Who is Theodore? I noticed he wears a similar black uniform to the captain's."
"That's because he's the highest servant in the palace, along with Hammer and the Master of the Palace, Balthazar. Theodore is the king's chief valet. He organizes all personal matters for the king, from his wardrobe to his food, who gets to see him and when. Hammer takes care of the king's personal security, and Balthazar oversees the staff who don't fall under Hammer's or Theodore's jurisdiction, as well as the day to day running of the household. Between the three of them, they have utmost authority."
"The king must have known them a long time to entrust them with such important roles."
"It would seem so." He stood and turned toward the bedroom but stopped. "Quentin will want to know you're here. He's been driving everyone in the garrison mad with talk of you these last few weeks."
"He's sweet."
"He's a fool but a harmless one. I'll tell him you're here when I'm relieved of duty. He'll want to take over but I doubt the captain will let him. He's too…" He waved a hand, as if that explained Quentin's inadequacy.
"Tell Quentin I'll visit later. Where's the garrison?"
Max hesitated before answering, "Ground floor, almost at the end of the northern wing."
I followed him into the bedchamber and checked on the patient. She slept peacefully so I decided to go for a short walk along the corridor. I was surprised to see more guards on duty. Two had been stationed at each end. I asked one of them who occupied the other rooms and he said that aside from Lord and Lady Claypool's apartments, only the duke and duchess of Gladstow had permission to use that corridor to access their rooms. Captain Hammer had instructed the guards not to allow anyone else in until Lady Miranda was better.
I sat with the patient and checked her pulse on the hour simply to keep her mother and maid happy. I could tell by looking at Lady Miranda that she was better. She wasn't quite so pale anymore and she slept peacefully.
The maid left to have her supper and brought some bread and cheese back for me. She whispered something in Lady Claypool's ear then her ladyship rose and left. I ate in the sitting room. By the time I'd finished, Lady Claypool returned. She smiled warmly at me and entered her daughter's bedchamber.
After another hour, I could no longer stand the boredom. I signaled that I was going out then slipped into the corridor. Someone had lit the torches in the wall sconces and the flames danced merrily in the drafts.
I found the hidden door that opened up to the service stairs by running my palm along the wall. Thankfully the torches had been lit in the service corridors too. I headed downstairs then in the direction that I hoped was north, although I couldn't be certain. The windowless passages used by the servants played havoc with my usually good sense of direction. I asked a passing footman dressed in palace livery which way to go but I didn't like the way he licked his lips as he looked at me, so hurried on. Thankfully he didn't follow. I came across two maids moments later, talking quietly.
"Can you point me in the direction of the guards' garrison?" I asked them.
"Who do you work for?" asked the larger one.
"No one. I came to tend to Lady Miranda Claypool."
"You're that woman doctor!" the thin one cried. "Is she all right? Will she die?"
"She'll be fine."
"Good. I liked her."
The big woman grunted. "I know a few what will be disappointed with that news. Some around here want her dead. Some would rather the king looked at them the way he looks at her."
"Well some ain't as pretty or as kind as her and ought to just piss off back to where they came from," the thin maid said. "I'll be glad when they're all gone again. They're lazy and rude. Fetch this, empty that…it's all they ever say, and me not even their own maid. That's just the ladies too. The men are worse. My arse still hurts from where that Deerhorn prick slapped it when I was trying to make his bed."
"You should have slapped him back," the big woman said.
"I would have but he looked like he could smack me from here to the other end of the palace."
"He can," I warned her. "Stay away from the Deerhorns, especially the sons."
"Thanks. I will." She pointed along the corridor. "Take this all the way. Turn right, then left, then right again. Go down the steps, through the arched doorway—"
"The second one," the thin maid said.
"No, the third. Then it's right, right again and left. Why?" she asked with a crooked grin. "Who're you meeting there?"
"Quentin, and it's not like that."
Both women chuckled. "We believe you," the bigger woman said. "If it were the captain, I'd have my suspicions."
"He has a lot of lovers?" I dared ask.
"Don't know. I meant you ain't the first one who's tried to find her way to his room in the night. Problem is, his chambers are next to the king's. It's impossible to sneak in without a dozen servants seeing."
"You tried, eh?" The thin woman chuckled and nudged her companion in the ribs with her elbow.
I continued on my way but became hopelessly lost when the corridor darkened. The torches in this part were not lit. I was surrounded by cool stone walls, a flagstone floor and wooden ceiling that creaked as someone walked above me. That's it! I'd forgotten to go down the steps.
I was about to retreat when I heard someone speaking. "How did he know, Hammer?" the man asked. "How did he know women aren't allowed into the medical college in…where is it again?"
"Logios." I recognized Captain Hammer's voice, drifting to me from along the corridor. He was still far enough away, however, that I couldn't see him. "It's an old city in Dreen where all the colleges are located, and the libraries. Perhaps he read about it. There's a book on the history of The Fist Peninsula in the palace library. More than one, in fact."
Why would the king need to read up on Logios? Everyone on The Fist knew of the colleges and how they didn't allow women. I could believe that these men, who may not be native to the peninsula, would need to read a historical text on the area to know such a thing, but it struck me as odd that they thought their king in the same boat.
"He doesn't read books. I know that for a fact." I now recognized the voice as belonging to Theodore, the king's valet. "He's worried the poisoner meant to target him and not the Lady Miranda. Can you reassure him?"
"Not yet."
The voices became more distant and I realized they weren't coming toward me after all. I went in search of them. I thought I almost had them but as I rounded a corner, I saw Theodore's back as he walked alone through a doorway. There was no sign of Hammer.
I took the other door. A faint keening echoed along the narrow space. I couldn't tell if it was human or animal, but it was certainly disturbing. My heart raced and every part of me wanted to turn back. But I was a healer and that sound could have come from an injured or ill person. It was my duty to check. Besides, Captain Hammer must be up ahead and he was no danger.
I crept along the dark corridor, feeling my way with a hand pressed against the stone. The keening sounded again. At first it seemed as if it was all around me, but as it faded, I could tell that it came from ahead. I sucked in a deep breath in the hope it would calm my rapidly beating heart, then pushed on.
Soon the pitch dark lightened to a dull gray and finally the flames of a lit torch banished the darkness to the shadowy edges on either side of a closed door. A padlock as big as my hand hung from the bolt. It was open.
Beyond the door, wood scraped and a metal chain clanked, but the keening had stopped. There were no other sounds. The silence closed in, as thick as a winter fog.
I reached out but the handle turned. My heart leapt into my throat. I don't know why, but I ran off back up the corridor.
I got as far as the corner when someone grabbed me from behind. I tried to scream but a hand slapped over my mouth. A strong arm wrapped around my waist and pulled me back against a solid chest.
"You shouldn't be here, Josie," Captain Hammer said in a low voice
that stretched my nerves to breaking point. "You shouldn't be anywhere near here."
Chapter 4
Captain Hammer's breath brushed my hair and his whisper echoed through my body. "Don't scream. I'm going to let you go now." His hands moved away from my mouth, my waist, and his body no longer warmed my back.
I shivered.
"Are you lost?" he asked.
I nodded. It was all I could manage. My voice could not yet be trusted to remain steady.
"Follow me." He strode off without looking back.
I picked up my skirts and followed. By the time we reached a brightly lit corridor, my heart had stopped racing. "Who was in that room?"
"No one."
"I heard something."
He rounded on me. "What did you hear?"
"A sort of wail."
"Probably just the wind. The drafts in this part of the palace could sail a ship." He took off again and I realized we were heading back the way I'd come.
"I was trying to find the garrison," I said. "Can you direct me? Usually I'm very good at following directions but the maid's instructions were complicated."
"You've spoken to palace servants?"
"Yes. Why? Am I not allowed?"
He turned left into another corridor. "The garrison is this way. Why do you want to go there?"
"Max said Quentin has been asking about me."
"Persistently." He sounded annoyed.
I smiled at his back then, as the corridor widened, moved up alongside him. He didn't break stride.
"So what is in that room?"
"Nothing that concerns you. Any other questions, Miss Cully?"
"Call me Josie. And I have a million questions," I muttered.
He turned to look at me. "This is why your father didn't want you to stay, isn't it? Because he knew you'd sneak around the palace and find trouble."
"First of all, I am not sneaking. I was looking for the garrison. Secondly, have I found trouble?"
"That depends."
"On what?"
"On whether Lady Miranda dies in your absence."
I slowed but he kept walking. He was utterly serious. "She's out of danger," I said, catching up. "She won't die now unless the poisoner gets to her again, but Max is there to stop him."
"Or her. Are you sure she's out of danger?"
"I know you'd prefer to have my father's reassurance, but I do know when someone is on their death bed or not."
"I believe you."
I blinked at him but refrained from asking if he really did believe me or was just saying so. I had a feeling Captain Hammer wasn't a man who said one thing when he meant another.
He pushed open a door and the sounds of quiet chatter welcomed me into the large room beyond. Ten men dressed in palace guards' uniforms sat in chairs, some positioned at the long central table, others near the fireplace. As with the service corridors, the walls weren't plastered, painted or carved like Lady Miranda's apartments. It was as bare as a crypt.
"Josie!" Quentin set down the boots he'd been polishing and sprang up. He went to embrace me then thought better of it and patted my shoulders instead. He couldn't stop grinning. "I'm so glad to see you! So, so glad. Come, sit down. You must be exhausted."
"Not at all. There's nothing to do except watch Lady Miranda sleep."
"Lucky you."
The captain ordered some of the men to relieve Max and the other guards. They plucked off belts hanging from hooks by the door, each one with a sheathed sword attached, and filed out.
Quentin pulled his chair around and directed me to sit. I did, somewhat self-consciously. All the men had stopped playing their card games or eating supper and watched me as if they'd never seen the likes of me before. I smiled at Sergeant Brant, the only other face I recognized. He tipped his chair back, balancing it on hind legs, and folded his arms over his chest. He looked broader without his doublet, the muscles of his shoulders straining his shirt seams.
"So she lives," he stated.
"Despite the unqualified daughter of the local doctor creating the antidote," I said, unable to resist the barb.
Quentin and at least one other guards snickered. "Ignore Brant," Quentin said. "He's an arse."
Brant shot to his feet and grabbed Quentin by the front of his doublet. "You're getting cocky. That got something to do with the pretty girl in the room? Haven't you ever seen one before?"
Quentin swallowed audibly.
"Let him go," Hammer said. He poured ale from a jug into a tankard and handed it to me, then poured another for himself.
Brant snatched up his own tankard and drained it. Quentin flattened his rumpled doublet and managed a limp smile. "Tell me about the poison, Josie," he said. "Brant said your father knew straight away what it was. How?"
I described the symptoms and my father's research. I told them how we'd tested the different combinations of ingredients for the antidote on Lady Miranda's vomit. Several looked revolted. One even gagged.
"Your father is good healer," one of the guards said in a thick accent. Like most of the men, he was broad, but he was also tall, taller even than Hammer, whereas the others were shorter. I'd never seen the likes of him before in Mull, with his ropey blond hair falling past his shoulders and the line of dot tattoos across his forehead. I may never have seen a man from the Margin but the hair and tattoos were a giveaway. Despite Glancia butting up against the south eastern edge of the Margin, it was rare for anyone from either side to cross the border. The Margin folk believed strongly in family tribes staying together. So why had this man left his home, and how had he come to work at the palace?
When he flashed me a grin, I realized I'd stared too long and looked away.
"That's Erik," Quentin said. "He's not as frightening as he looks."
"His looks don't scare me," I said. "I'm intrigued, that's all."
Erik arched a brow. "Intrigued? What word is this?"
"It means curious, interested. But not scared."
"Then you are not like others."
At my questioning look, Hammer added, "The visiting servants and nobles take one look at him and change direction to avoid him."
"We're not used to Margin folk here," I said. "The palace servants aren't afraid of you?"
"No," Erik said. "Are you healer too, Josie? Like your father?"
"Yes…and no."
"She hasn't studied medicine," Brant told him.
"Women aren't allowed to go to the colleges," Hammer clarified.
"No?" Erik's brow wrinkled with his frown, drawing the dot tattoos together. "Why?"
The guards all looked to me, even Hammer. "Because it's just the way it is and has always been," I said, lamely. A lecture on the unfairness of a patriarchal society seemed out of place amidst all these men. Still, their ignorance was somewhat refreshing. Part of me wished they'd never learned of the college's rules.
"What's the medical college like?" Quentin asked. "Can anyone apply? Do you have to be a certain age?"
"Any man over the age of eighteen can apply. Any man from The Fist Peninsula, that is," I added, watching him closely.
"Does the applicant have to prove he's from The Fist?"
"A letter of introduction from his village's sheriff or the local lord will suffice."
Quentin slouched into his chair. "Bollocks."
"Thinking of a career change?" Brant asked.
"Not anymore," Quentin muttered.
"You've got to find something else to do. You're the worst guard I've ever seen."
"How many you seen?" Erik asked.
"He's the worst guard here," Brant clarified. "By far. He can't ride a horse and he looks like he'll faint whenever he gets hit in the training yard, which is all the time. Him being a guard…it doesn't make sense."
"You think any of this makes sense?" Quentin shot back.
"Enough," Hammer snapped.
Brant glowered at his captain then rested his folded arms on the table. He leaned forward and muttered something under h
is breath that I couldn't hear.
"How much longer will Lady Miranda have to remain in bed?" Quentin asked.
"A few days," I said.
"Will there be any lasting effects? Scarring? Disfigurement?"
"It's a poison, not a disease or injury. She'll look as she always did."
"Beautiful." Quentin smiled. "The king will be pleased that she won't lose her looks."
"A pretty face does not make a good woman," Erik said.
Brant snickered, revealing a missing top tooth that I hadn't noticed before. "Spoken like an ugly man who can't get a beautiful woman."
"Beautiful women come to me many times. Them that do not fear me." Erik grabbed the bread and tore off a chunk. "Big is best, they say."
"They say that before they've seen your pizzle stick."
"Enough!" the captain roared. "Josie isn't interested in hearing you two lugs voice your ignorant opinions."
"Aye," Quentin chimed in. "She's far too clever for the likes of either of you, so stop beating your chests and showing off in front of her."
"Showing off? To her?" Brant looked at me and laughed.
At least Erik blushed, saving me from complete humiliation.
Quentin offered me some cheese from the board but I refused. "More ale?" he asked. "Are you cold? It may be summer but it's often cool in this room. We're used to it and haven't bothered with a fire tonight, but I can make a small one if you like."
"I'm fine, thank you," I said.
"Merdu, Quentin, you're worse than a puppy," Brant muttered.
"Thank you, Brant, I always knew you thought of me as adorable."
Everyone except Brant chuckled. "Shut up, you annoying little turd."
Hammer sighed and appealed to the ceiling. I wondered if it was always like this.
The door opened and Max entered with five other guards. He greeted me with a lift of his chin. "You found it, then. I thought you might get lost."
"I did."
The newcomers helped themselves to ale and food then took up seats around the room. "Find out anything today, Hammer?" Max asked.
"No," the captain said. "It's most likely traitor's ease was sold off-market to the poisoner, as Doctor Cully thinks."
