“Duchess!” A member of the Praesidio appeared in the processing room doorway. “The headmaster requests you report to the entrance hall at once.”
Jax exchanged confused looks with George and Carriena. Entrance hall? What was Ezarath up to? He wasn’t about to send her packing while the whereabouts of the providence documents hung in the air, was he?
At the Praesidio’s insistence that they hurry, Jax gathered her skirts and followed the young knight after making certain George locked the archives with the master key Lord Ashcroft had given him.
She was a bit breathless by the time she, Carriena, and George arrived in the entrance hall. When she saw who stood alongside the headmaster, the remaining air in her lungs disappeared.
She stared at the handsome, yet disheveled figure, hardly believing her own eyes. “Perry! What in the Virtues are you doing here?”
A crooked smile etched into her husband’s face. “I could ask you the same, darling.”
She closed the distance between them in an instant. While she wanted to throw her arms around him, etiquette demanded that she restrain herself. Instead, she reached for his available right hand, taking it in her own.
Only inches away from him, she noticed pinched lines in the corners of his eyes, the skin beneath almost matching the color of his lavender irises. Her gaze fell to his stomach, where his left hand rested as if it were holding his insides together. While he wore a smile, his face was pained. Even his dark curls had lost their usual luster. Her heart clenched. He did not look well at all.
“Headmaster, might there be someplace we can all sit down?” She turned to Ezarath, trying to keep the concerned panic from her voice. “I’m quite winded from my trek from the archives,” she added, not wanting to injure Perry’s pride.
“Of course.” Ezarath dipped his chin and motioned for them to follow him into a nearby sitting room.
George cleared his throat before either Jax or Perry moved. “I’m glad to have you back with us, Perry. Why don’t I take your saddlebag upstairs?”
Carriena bobbed her head. “I’ll stop by and see if Chef Peregane can have some refreshments prepared for you, as well.”
Perry smiled warmly. “Thank you. I’m very glad to see you both looking well.”
George scooped up the small riding satchel that rested near Perry’s boots before backing away with Carriena in his wake.
Ezarath chuckled. “I guess that’s my cue to leave you two alone as well.”
“Thank you, Headmaster.” Jax encircled her arm around Perry, noting that he immediately sagged against her, as if his strength was beginning to fail him.
Ezarath started to walk away before turning around to face them once more. “In light of the day’s events, I’m thinking an early supper is in order. Would your party do me the honor of joining us in the dining hall at six?”
“The honor is ours.” Jax struggled to keep her voice level. She was beginning to tire quickly from supporting Perry’s weight.
“Until then.” Ezarath bowed and disappeared down the hall.
Jax and Perry shuffled through the doorway of the small, yet comfortable sitting room. Pain seared across Perry’s face as Jax lowered him into the arms of an awaiting chaise longue.
“My love, let me send for the resident physician.”
Perry closed his eyes while shaking his head. “Nonsense. I’m just winded from the ride, that’s all.”
Jax’s blood ran cold. “Please tell me you didn’t make the trek all the way from Pettraud on horseback.”
“All right.” Perry chuckled, forcing him to stifle a cough. “I won’t tell you.”
“Alone?” Her voice inched up an octave.
Perry’s features became laced with sadness. “No, of course not. My new Captain of the Pettraud Ducal Guard accompanied me.”
Jax’s throat tightened. Of course, Perry had already appointed someone to replace his brother Ivan. It was a position a duchy could not afford to be vacant for long.
“He came highly recommended by my advisors. The son of some Earl.” Perry’s gaze trailed over to the window, the Academy courtyard glistening in the afternoon sun on the other side of the glass. “You’ll meet him at some point. The Academy’s sentries absconded with him after we arrived at the gates. They told me he wasn’t allowed to accompany me inside the main compound.” Perry’s brow furrowed. “And yet, Solomon seems to have made the cut.”
Jax wondered if she were imagining a glint of suspicion in Perry’s lavender eyes. “George and the Lord Praesidio are old friends from when I was a student here at the Academy,” she explained rather coolly. “The rest of the Ducal Guard will be in the bunkhouse with your new Captain to keep him company.”
Perry smiled. “I’m glad to know you didn’t come here without proper protection.”
His obvious concern melted her frosty exterior. “Perry, my love, what in the Virtues are you doing here?”
His face fell. “Are you not glad to see me?”
“Of course, I am,” she responded quickly. Too quickly, perhaps. “I’m just confused.” Her gaze hardened as she met his own. “I didn’t expect you to be able to rejoin us so soon, what with all the never-ending ceremonies surrounding Ivan’s burial.”
Perry’s pale skin lost the rest of its color as he nervously glanced away. “I-I may have exaggerated those traditions a bit.”
“Sabine made me aware.”
“She warned me as much when I arrived in Lamartre earlier this afternoon. It seems like I missed your departure by only a couple of hours.” Perry muttered a quiet curse. “I suppose you think me a heartless cad.”
“I just don’t understand why you lied to me about Ivan’s burial. Why? Did you not want me to attend?”
Perry massaged his temple with his right hand, his left still pressed heavily against his abdomen. He didn’t meet her searching stare.
“I know Ivan wasn’t my brother by blood, but I had come to think of him as such.” Her voice was strangled by the rush of emotion flooding through her. “I would have liked to have been given a chance to say a proper goodbye.” Tears broke through her stony façade.
Perry finally brought his gaze to meet hers, his face crumbling at the sight of her tears. “My darling, I am so sorry to have caused you pain. I-I never meant to inflict it on you, but at the time I saw no other way.”
“No other way for what?”
Perry’s handsome features sharpened to something darker, something Jax didn’t quite recognize. “No other way to ensure I could attend to Pettraudian business without interference from Saphire and her holdings.”
“Interference?” The word tasted bitter on her lips. “What do you mean?”
Perry shifted against the cushions, clearly uncomfortable. “The events of the War Council have altered the power structure across the entire realm. Dearest, you now have five duchies under your control. While I know you will continue to be a noble and just leader, I would be a fool to not think you might be considering expanding your holdings even further.” He cleared his throat. “I must make it clear that the Duchy of Pettraud is under my rule. It is my family’s legacy, and I needed time to ensure everything was in order for it to remain as such.”
Jax blinked a few times as she tried to process what her husband was telling her. “You think I planned to strongarm your duchy from you?”
“I have no idea what you’re thinking, Jax,” Perry snapped back in forceful protest, “because you hardly ever confide in me. For all I know, you could be secretly planning to rule over the entire realm yourself.”
His disgusted tone left her speechless for more than one reason. She did dream of overseeing the realm as its sole monarch, but only to ensure the duchies were being governed fairly by leaders elected by the people. She was not the power-hungry tyrant Perry was making her out to be. In fact, she wanted to give more power back to the people of the realm, for them to be the designers of their own fate.
“Ivan’s death put things into per
spective for me,” Perry continued, his tone a bit softer, but still with an edge. “He gave his life for our family’s duchy. My father gave up his throne to save our duchy from scandal. I must do what I can to protect the Pettraud legacy as well.”
“Protect your legacy? From me?” Jax stood, suddenly feeling a need to distance herself from her husband.
Perry let out a heavy sigh. “Protect it from the shifting power structures of the realm. I needed some time on my own to secure Pettraud’s future.”
“Virtues, Perry, you and I are Pettraud’s future.” She scoffed at his naivete. “Or have you forgotten that any child we have will inherit the thrones of both Saphire and Pettraud?”
“Not anymore.”
His reply was barely audible, and Jax wondered if she had misheard.
“What do you mean, ‘not anymore’?”
Perry straightened, sitting up from the chaise so that his feet were firmly planted onto the carpet. “While I was home, I consulted with my brothers and my advisors about the events of the War Council. It was agreed upon that measures needed to be taken to ensure that Pettraud’s legacy lives on, and not in the shadow of Saphire.”
Jax felt like her heart might give out. What had come over her husband? Who was this imperious man before her now?
“I have drafted my own Code of Succession, darling. Please know that I did so only to protect my family’s dynasty. It is nothing personal. My love for you still remains the same.”
“‘Nothing personal’?” Anger and betrayal ripped through Jax as she repeated his words. “‘Nothing personal’?”
Perry ignored her outburst. “Upon my death or abdication of the throne, the Crown will pass to my brother Galahad.”
The burning fires of disloyalty and rage died inside her as suddenly as they had sprung up. Perry, as the Duke of Pettraud, had made his decision.
“You’ll deny our future child his or her birthright, simply because you believe Saphire will begin to overshadow Pettraud more than it does already?” Her biting words were smooth and low.
Perry bristled at the petty insult. “You’re the one who’s been on a campaign to eliminate the importance of birthright across the duchies. Shouldn’t this make you happy?”
Jax found herself remembering her conversation with Darian Fangard, and how her uncle did not want his unborn child burdened with a life they had no say or control over. She would have liked to think she and Perry would have raised an heir who wanted to lead, who wanted to ensure their people were cared for. But as much as she despised Perry’s reasoning, he did make a good point about the futility of birthrights in the world she envisioned.
“Don’t think you can use my own words against me, husband.” Jax kept her voice even, but her gaze lanced Perry to his seat. “It is unbecoming to use my ideals to justify what you have done. You have acted out of fear and ego. How you could ever believe I would demand you hand over your duchy to my control is beyond my own comprehension. Have I ever made you doubt your own ability to lead? I have only ever been your supporter and champion through all this.” She paused, trying to control the vicious truth struggling to burst forward. A clandestine conversation that felt like it had occurred a lifetime ago roiled around in her mind, a conversation containing a secret she’d sworn to forever protect…a secret kept from her husband. The same husband who would abandon her now to save his own skin. “Even when your own father didn’t believe in your ability to lead Pettraud, I stood up for you.”
Perry’s features went slack. “What?” His words were a whispered hiss.
Sudden regret had her trembling. No…no! She was supposed to take Lord Cornelius’s qualms to her grave. Perry could never know his father had only bequeathed him the duchy because Lord Cornelius intended for Jax to watch over Pettraud. She may have been furious with Perry, but he didn’t deserve to have his confidence shattered.
“Jax,” Perry growled as he struggled to his feet, clenching his stomach, “answer me!”
Jax wished she could melt into the ground. “Nothing, Perry. I’m sorry. Forget what I said in anger.”
“Forget what you said?” Perry limped toward her, his lavender eyes ablaze. “Are you saying Father didn’t believe I could rule Pettraud on my own?”
The memory of Lord Cornelius begging her to watch over and protect Pettraud seared through her like a brand fresh from the flames. “Of course not,” she lied, trying to cover her misstep. “Why else would he have bestowed the duchy to you? I just said that out of spite. I’m sorry.” She had to bury this topic once and for all. She could not afford for her and her husband to be divided. She placed a tentative palm on his forearm, desperate to conceal the pain his prideful actions had caused her own pulverized ego. “If you believe leaving Pettraud in Galahad’s hands is the right thing for your duchy, then I will support you.” She swallowed her internal wounds and emotions. She would never be able to succeed in her plans for a united realm if Perry shunned her. She would play the game his way…for now. Squeezing his arm gently, she pledged, “I will always support you.”
Tears leaked from the corners of his eyes. “Oh, darling, I am so sorry it has come to this. I-I…please, you must believe that I am only doing what my family deems best for our duchy.”
My family…what happened to our family, dearest? Jax saw before her now a tired, scared young boy. A boy who had the weight of a dynasty resting unwantedly on his shoulders. She knew Perry never wanted the life of a Duke. She shouldn’t hold it against him that he was seeking ways to rid himself of the burden of the Crown. She only wished he had trusted her enough to seek her help, rather than that of his brothers. Jax had grown fond of the Pettraud clan in the time since her marriage, but she also knew Perry’s brothers to be ambitious and cunning in their own right. She couldn’t imagine Perry coming up with these ideas all on his own. It wasn’t in his kind and generous nature to be calculating and shrewd. He had never feared or questioned her growing influence in the realm before. Why now?
She offered an olive branch in the form of a kiss on the cheek. “I am glad to hear that you and your brothers are working together, and not against one another.” She forced a light chuckle, knowing the tumultuous history Perry had with his older siblings. Their relationship had only been repaired in the last several months.
Perry smiled. “Would it make you feel any better to know we voted on who should be selected for the Code of Succession?”
“How very democratic.” Jax stroked his worn cheek. “There will be plenty of time to discuss this further, so let us put aside matters of state for now.” She sat down and motioned for Perry to join her on the settee. “Please, tell me. How are you? How was Ivan’s burial?”
Finally relaxing in her presence, Perry described the lovely ceremony and feast held to honor Ivan’s life.
“Captain Byrne and I set out for Hestes four days ago, once things had been settled.”
Based on the rosy embarrassment tinging his cheeks, Jax could guess what “things” Perry was referring to. “Is Galahad now overseeing the nation in your absence? I thought he was serving in Darian’s court along with your father?” After a family scandal had forced Lord Cornelius into early retirement, he had accepted an advisory position in Cetachi and been accompanied by Galahad, a High Courtier-in-training.
“My father returned to Cetachi after Ivan’s send-off, but Galahad did not. He and High Courtier Shavon are tending to the needs of the duchy.” Perry absently massaged his abdomen.
Jax was afraid to ask how his wound was healing. Given his disheveled appearance, she dreaded the answer. Fortunately, at that moment Carriena arrived in the sitting room with the promised refreshments. Jax smiled as her friend set down the tea and afternoon treats. Carriena must have wanted to give them some time alone together before intruding upon their reunion.
“Any news from Lord Ashcroft?” Jax asked before Carriena left the room.
Carriena shook her head. “Not a word. I think George has gone to find him.”
“News about what?” Perry asked once Carriena had departed.
Now it was Jax’s turn to bring Perry up to speed on the happenings since she had last written to him.
Perry stroked the light stubble on his chin. “I wondered what could have possibly enticed you away from Lamartre, what with your impending coronation. Sabine and Uma weren’t too thrilled to be left behind, you know.”
“Believe me, I wish they were here to help.” Jax sighed. “But I needed someone I could explicitly trust to oversee the coronation preparations. High Courtier Dellathorne may have been Henrik’s ally, but I haven’t completely let down my guard around her just yet.”
Perry frowned. “This Master Gautherd fellow truly believes the providence documents are real?”
Jax nodded. “Although, without a record of whether payment was ever made, we still don’t know where Hestes’s ownership really stands. For all these years, it could have been ruled by the wrong ducal bloodline.” She wrung her hands nervously. “Gautherd was in the process of figuring out whether the documents contained any hint about the Duchy of Hestes repaying the Duchess of Savant in gold. He was attacked and the documents were stolen before we could get our answer.”
“Maybe he came across the answer before the documents were spirited away. Have you been to see him since finding him in the archives?”
Jax shook her head. “He needed rest. But perhaps I can stop by before dinner and check on him.”
Perry reached for her hand. “We can check in on him.”
Jax raised a coy eyebrow. “I’d have thought you’d be overjoyed to learn one of my new holdings might fall through.”
“Darling,” Perry said, chuckling at her barbed jest, “my brothers and I could care less if you ruled over the entire realm…just as long as Pettraud is still autonomous.”
Harrowed Heir Page 15
