Revealing A Marchioness's Heart (The Chronicles of Loyalty)

by Jessie Bennett

  “One day I should meet her,” Harold said. “How come you keep her hidden away? Does she even exist?”

  “She works,” Nathan said, stepping through the door. He liked Harold well enough, but so many questions about Loyalty and his private life were starting to make him bristle. “A fact I’m hoping to resolve by cracking this case.”

  “Race you to the finish line, mate,” Harold held up the book, as if toasting him, and Nathan stepped inside the door.

  “Rambles,” he heard a grunting voice call him name, and he looked up to find one of Jerrico's colleagues named Alexander. “You know this place inside and out. Any death records for the city?”

  “There,” Nathan said, sighing. It seemed that he was never going to get very far, especially with people constantly calling his name.

  Finally, he settled in, his focus making him blind and deaf to the rest of the world. It was only for a minute, though, because Ricardo, Jerrico's closest friend among the guards, approached him.

  “Rambles,” he said, handing him a note. “For you, from the palace. A servant entrusted me to run it over, which makes me think they don't know me very well.” Like Jerrico, Ricardo was always smiles and jokes. Today, Nathan wasn't in the mood.

  “From the palace?” Nathan asked with a raised eyebrow. “Why? I thought I was denied that audience with the prince.”

  “You know I don’t read your mail, but I can start,” Ricardo crossed his arms, and Nathan unfolded the note.

  “Thanks then,” he said as he cast his eyes downward to read it.

  Nathan,

  Come at once.

  Jerrico.

  Nathan’s heart rate increased as he read the note again. Jerrico had never summoned him like this before, and he could only imagine why. His first guess was that his friend had fallen ill again, and needed someone to make excuses for him. “I have to go to the palace,” Nathan said, standing. “Look, can you stay here and look for...this?” he shoved his list of requirements into Ricardo's hand. “Please?”

  “Why?”

  “Top secret. Should have read my messages,” Nathan shoved the note into his pocket and spun around, looking for the files he was working on yesterday. If Jerrico was ill and needed someone to watch over him for a bit, he could at least take some work with him. He briefly wondered whether he should send a note Loyalty’s way to warn her that it was happening again.

  He decided against it as he scooped up his files; opting for more information first. He did have to give Loyalty credit though. He had only been home a few days, and hiding Jerrico’s illness was already exhausting.

  “Please be back in an hour,” Ricardo said. “I have a Lady I'd like to make very happy.”

  “Aye, aye,” Nathan said, and shot out the door. He could have walked to the palace, but if it was truly an emergency, he didn’t want to waste time.

  The carriage ride there was only ten minutes. Jerrico had included a royal seal on the envelope, which would allow Nathan access to where he worked.

  Nathan went in and out of the palace frequently, including occasionally dropping off Loyalty’s loads of laundry. From what he could see as he approached, nothing was out of the ordinary. They weren’t under attack, doctors weren’t running, and no one was screaming. He assumed that whatever was going on with Jerrico, he had gotten himself to safety.

  He found Jerrico’s captain at the outer chambers, and showed him the royal seal. The man nodded and pointed him in the direction of one of the staff quarters, which made Nathan’s heart rate rise again. He didn’t know how to deal with fainting spells or a seizure, not like Loyalty did. In addition, if it was more serious than that, he certainly didn’t know how he was going to tell her.

  Nathan rushed toward the rooms. However, when he got inside, he never could have imagined what awaited him.

  7

  CHAPTER SEVEN

  To his relief, Jerrico wasn’t just ill. At least, he didn’t look ill, at least up front. However, he did look as if there was something terribly wrong. Jerrico was pacing, pale as a ghost, and reading over documents again and again.

  Nathan knocked on the door, gently. “Hey,” he said, and Jerrico jumped. “Sorry, I didn’t mean to scare you.”

  “No, you didn’t...I mean...” Jerrico closed his eyes. “Come in. Close the door.”

  “What’s wrong?” Nathan said, although he did as he was told. “It’s not the king, is it? Everything seems alright in the palace.”

  “As far as I know, the king is fine,” Jerrico eventually slowed down long enough to sit on one of the chairs.

  Nathan gave him a sideways glance, but sat as well. “So...what’s happening then?”

  “I asked the prince your questions.”

  “Oh?” he said. “Well, that’s good. What did he say?”

  “He remembered a few more details,” Jerrico said, which made Nathan cock his head.

  “Like what?”

  “There was a beggar in town who saw one of the children taken away. Sylvie, with the red eyes.’

  “Oh. Should we question her?” Nathan asked. Somehow, he didn’t see that as cause for alarm. “Are you afraid of her?”

  “He remembered something else,” Jerrico said at last, steepling his hands over his mouth.

  “Jerrico, you’re frightening me,” Nathan said. “You need to spit it out. If this is something that I need to act on right away, you need to tell me.”

  “Well, that’s the thing,” Jerrico gave him a weak grin. “I don’t know if it’s something that could be acted on right away...or if we should wait...we should do our own investigation work.”

  “Jerrico, spit it out,” Nathan said again. He wasn’t normally so forceful or that commanding, but his mind was jumping to all sorts of possibilities as to what could be wrong. He was thinking of worst case scenarios, and he needed Jerrico to give him some answers.

  “The prince remembered that the oldest girl....was given to a printer and his wife. And that she had a wine shaped birthmark over half her face. He thinks she might have died, that she was sickly, and with such a mark, she’d either be dead or...hidden very well.”

  “Jesus,” Nathan replied, leaning back in his chair. “You aren’t thinking...you can’t be saying...”

  “Well, the story fits, doesn’t it?” Jerrico replied. “Everything fits. Even the birthday is almost right. And how many people do you know walking around with that kind of birthmark on their face? Loyalty stays inside all day, she...”

  “Stop,” Nathan said, shaking his head. “You don’t know that many people walking around because they die, Jerrico. Children with birthmarks born sickly don’t often survive. You’re jumping to conclusions.”

  “I could be,” Jerrico admitted. “Or I could not be. There’s no way to tell.”

  “Of course there is a way to tell,” Nathan said. “There are things we can follow up on.”

  “So...” Jerrico paused. “You don’t want to tell her?”

  “No, I don’t want to run home and tell Loyalty she’s a princess when she’s likely not,” Nathan sighed, closing his eyes.

  Jerrico quieted for a few moments, although he couldn’t seem to catch his breath. “What’s the next step then?”

  “We need to follow up on the prince’s information. Talk to the crazy old lady, and see if anyone knows of another girl with a birthmark...or a baby at some point. You know that we have to check the entire town anyway.”

  “Right,” Jerrico replied, leaning forward. “But Nathan...what if it is her?”

  Nathan rolled his eyes. “It’s not,” he replied. “I knew both of Loyalty’s parents, same as you. They never gave you any indication that it wasn’t their child. In fact, I think actually heard a story about Loyalty being born in the bed in the house.”

  “Which could have been created to cover up another story,” Jerrico said.

  “For God’s sake,” Nathan replied.

  “Humor me,” Jerrico replied and Nathan sighed.

&nb
sp; “Fine. If it’s Loyalty...then I don’t know. We deliver her to the palace.”

  “What if she doesn’t want to go?”

  “Of course she wants to go,” Nathan replied. “There is no one outside of the people who work directly with the royals who understand that it’s not all wonderful. Thrones are dangerous things.”

  “It’ll mean more than that,” Jerrico said. “If she is the princess, she can’t marry you.”

  “Ah,” Nathan put his hand to his face. “Look, I agree that this is a big coincidence, and there are a lot of things that we have to look into. But that doesn’t mean that my intended is a princess, not going to marry me, and coming to bow before the king. Things don’t work this way, Jerrico.”

  “I know,” Jerrico finally managed a smile. “But wouldn’t it be neat if they did?”

  “Yes,” Nathan agreed, although it was without enthusiasm. “It might be a neat thing to tell our grandchildren. That time she was almost a princess. Now, are you alright?”

  “I’m fine,” Jerrico said, waving his hand. “The information just shook me up, is all. I’m alright, really.”

  “I’m surprised,” Nathan said as he got up to get a drink. “That Prince George released so much information to you.”

  “He’s a wonderful person,” Jerrico said with a shrug. “A good guy, actually. Sometimes I’m surprised that he is so normal. But after Princess Caroline left, especially, he became more...normal. More in touch with the rest of us.”

  “Makes sense,” Nathan replied. “Without a wife to talk to. I wonder how that is going to be handled, though.”

  “What do you mean?” Jerrico asked, confused.

  “Well, if George officially becomes king, because God forbid, the old king does have to die sometime....Then will he and Caroline reconcile?”

  “Unlikely,” Jerrico answered truthfully. “That was a bad relationship from the start, and the death of Charlotte didn’t help matters.”

  Nathan sighed. “It must be hard though. I never believed the saying about uneasy lies the head that wears the crown, until I was in intelligence.”

  “Loyalty must be happy for you, though,” Jerrico replied. “Because you’re going to stay here until this whole mess is cleaned up, one way or another.”

  “While my ship sails on,” Nathan admitted. “A promotion, of sorts.”

  “Congratulations,” Jerrico sighed, and stretched. “I’m sorry that I dragged you all the way out here. I just got excited....”

  “For good reason,” Nathan admitted. “She said she’d have whatever laundry you brought her done today.”

  “Excellent, I could use a walk to collect it,” Jerrico said, but Nathan glared at him.

  “Don’t,” he replied, and Jerrico gave him an innocent look.

  “What?”

  “Don’t you dare say a word to her about this.”

  Jerrico snorted, shaking his head. “Technically, I have seniority over you. I’m the one who is supposed to be giving you the orders.”

  “Fine, give me an order to give you an order not to tell her she might be a princess,” Nathan grinned. “I should get back. Thanks for the information.”

  “No problem,” Jerrico shrugged. He bid Nathan goodbye and took a moment in the room to breathe. Whether Nathan thought so or not, it was a bit of information that made his head spin. He hadn’t really thought of it in the context that it could be someone he knew.

  However, the truth was, he, Nathan and Loyalty were around the same age. It could be any one of them that turned out to be royalty, just as likely as anyone else. It was almost as if they were playing the lottery.

  Taking a drink to steady his nerves, Jerrico decided that he was going to go out and see the homeless lady, Sylvie, by himself. He had given her coins often enough, and he knew that there was a better chance that she would talk to him if he was alone.

  He noticed, as he was taking the drink, that his hand was shaking. He put in his pocket, as if hiding it from even his own eyes was going to make it better. It had been happening more and more, especially before a seizure.

  He felt like he was between a rock and a hard place. If he told the doctors more than he already had, he’d lose his job, his livelihood, his purpose in life. If he didn’t, he would likely die. The only thing that kept him going was his secret love, a love that he often considered running from, but couldn’t.

  Sora was a peasant, a schoolteacher in the neighboring town. He couldn’t describe what it was that had made him fall in love with her, but he had. There was something about her plainness that was beautiful, a beauty that cared nothing for the world around her. However, Sora and he were often toxic for each other.

  They fought, they screamed, they threw things more often than not. She had never been anywhere near him at the palace because he knew that kind of behavior would cost him his job. Even Loyalty had only met her a few times because of how toxic the relationship was. She was fiercely jealous of everything, and there wasn’t a thing that they could agree on honestly.

  Yet, despite that all, he loved her. His entire heart belonged to her and he was constantly looking for a way to spend time with her. He convinced himself that this time would be fine; this time would be alright. This time would end in sweetness and not in sorrow.

  “Jerrico,” George startled him as he came out of the room.

  “Majesty,” Jerrico jumped. “You have the stealth of one of my men.”

  “I learned from the best,” George smiled. “I just wanted to tell you that I remembered something else. About the printer.”

  “Oh?” Jerrico asked, trying to act normal. “What is it?”

  “Descartes told me...because she was the first...and I was so heartbroken, he told me that the mother was connected to the palace. That if I really wanted to, I could find a way to see her.”

  “Connected how?” Jerrico asked, licking his dry lips out of nervousness.

  “She ...” George’s brow furrowed. “I don’t know. He just said connected. That it would be easier for me to see the baby because the mother had an excuse to be here. Or connected.”

  “She worked here?” Jerrico asked and George shook his head.

  “Descartes wouldn’t do that...but...”

  “Maybe we outsourced some of the work of the palace to her? Like a cook or...” he didn’t want to put the words in George’s mouth. He needed to hear it himself.

  “A laundress?” George said, making Jerrico’s heart nearly stop. “Jerrico, are you alright?”

  “Fine,” Jerrico gave him a weak smile. “Completely fine.”

  “Right then,” George gave him an odd look. “If you’re sure.”

  “I’m fine,” Jerrico said. “Thank you. That was very important information. I’ll pass it on to Nathan.”

  “Have you spoken to him yet?”

  “Just a few minutes ago,” Jerrico glanced down the hall. “I’ll try and catch him. He should know this.”

  “Excellent,” George clapped him on the shoulder. “Good man.”

  “Right,” Jerrico replied. If this was anything else, he would have been happy for the prince’s praise. Now, it wasn’t the best moment. “Thank you sir,” he said. He dipped his head in a bit of a bow, and then hurried to find Nathan.

  Perhaps the information beforehand was hadn’t had enough value. However, a third clue that led right to Loyalty made even more of a case for her. Suddenly, Jerrico stopped, turning around. “Majesty,” he said, and George faced him. “Have you told anyone else this information?”

  “Ever?” George replied.

  “Sure?”

  “Don’t think so, but it has been 20 years,” George answered. “And we uh...after the Princess Charlotte died...we...”

  “Right,” Jerrico bit his lip. “Thanks.”

  He was in such a hurry in the hallway that he almost bumped straight into the Lady Nora, the fire-scarred Marchioness under palace protection. Jerrico stumbled backward, apologizing. “My Lady,” he said. �
�Forgive me.”

  It should have been a quick apology, but Alexander shot out of nowhere, a book in his hand and his gun in the other. Jerrico froze. Alexander, however, lowered his gun quickly enough.

  “Sorry,” he said. “Peter just brought her back from the market, where she had a scare.”

  “Double my apologies, Milady,” Jerrico said, noting that Alexander did not use her title. “I hear that you are off this afternoon for a possible courtship.”

  To Jerrico's surprise, Alexander spoke rapidly to her in French, which she then responded to slowly. “Yes,” she replied, watching Jerrico. “Today.”

  “Calais, right?” Jerrico asked, remembering that it was still very much French occupied. He wanted to ask if the Lady Nora might ever consider talking to Loyalty, given that he had recognized the way she ducked her face. Both girls were shy about their facial features, and he wondered if they would be good friends. However, his brain clicked on the rest of the conversation.

  “Did you see a beggar in the market?” he asked. “With blood-red eyes?”

  “She did,” Alexander said, after translation. “Around the fruit stalls. Why?”

  “Thanks!” Jerrico took off with that information, leaving them both baffled. Alexander simply shook his head, used to this. “I want to talk to you afterward, Alexander.”

  “Okay,” Alexander grunted, and led Nora down the hall. Jerrico tore up the hallway, hoping that Sylvie was still lingering by the apples.

  8

  CHAPTER EIGHT

  Jerrico felt the hot afternoon sun beating down on him as he searched the market for Sylvie. He had seen her from time to time, and aside from giving her coins, didn’t really give her too much thought. Today, he scoured the market for her, looking in every knock and cranny. He looked behind stalls, crossed behind walls, and even asked people if they had seen the beggar woman with red eyes.

  It was nearly sunset before he found her. She was sitting on the steps of the church that he had passed half a hundred times today. Her eyes focused on him right away, although he wasn’t sure whether she recognized him as the man who gave her money or she was afraid that the King’s guard was nearing her.