Princess Rescue Inc (117 page)

“Daa
ddddDuke Rojer,” the man stuttered out then looked away. “His steward Yorick
gave me the poison not on an hour ago.”

“Did
he pay you?” the Queen asked. Ryans glanced at her. She was looking a little
pale. Deidra was behind her, holding her hand. Deidra looked furious.

The
man gibbered and shook his head. “No your majesty. If I did this he would let
my family live.” He turned an imploring look to the Queen. “I don't care about
my life. Please spare my wife and children. They did nothing. It was I who
couldn't pay the taxes.”

“We'll
see what we can do,” Ryans nodded turning to the Queen. She looked furious but
torn.

“So
he ordered you...blackmailed you to kill the Queen?” Ryans indicated the Queen
as he gave Max the jumpers back.

“No,
you Dominus,” Decrius said. He looked to Ryans. “The gaijin leader. He ordered
me to put Chokeberry juice in your meal.”

“Choke...”
Deidra hissed. “That's monstrous,” she hissed. She shook her head. Ryans
glanced at her. “It's without smell and with little taste. But it swells the
tongue and throat of the person who eats or drinks the juice and they die a
horrible agonizing death.”

“Nasty.”
He shook his head. “My thanks Cassius for sparing me that,” he said, nodding to
the cook.

The
head chef bobbed a bow.

“Our
thanks as well good sir. Your loyalty shall be suitably rewarded,” the Queen
said imperiously, and then nodded. The chef bowed to her, head down, cheeks
blushing.

“Dear
me, your uncle has stepped too far,” she sighed giving Deidra a look.

“Unfortunately
we can't touch him though,” Deidra said and sighed as well.

Max
looked startled and then frowned.

“The
uncorroborated statement of a co-conspirator Max,” Ryans said looking over his
shoulder. The engineer frowned, darkened, then he nodded slowly.

“I
think however, we can remedy that. If you think you can handle it,” Max said,
eying the would be assassin.

“Video?”
Ryans asked catching on quickly.

“My
sentiments exactly,” Max said smiling. “Let him try to wiggle out of that.”

  <==={}------------>

Sydney
set the assassin up with a microphone and had the meeting place set up with
cameras. The assassin met with the Duke, who was dressed in his usual robes.
His steward was there. The assassin was nervous, looking around. He told the
Duke that the juice was ineffective. The Duke scowled. He looked to the steward
who shrugged. “My lord there's no telling what magical medicines the gaijin
have,” Yorick said. The Duke scowled and then nodded.

“Since
the baron was such a fool to fail, we cannot make a move directly,” he growled.
He'd expected the juice to work; after all it had worked so well before. Either
this fool had failed to put it in the right pot or he hadn't at all and was
lying now.  He wiggled his fingers to the steward. “Pay the man.” He
turned his back. The steward came forward with a pouch in one hand, but the
other hidden.

“My
lord, I didn't do this for money, I did this for my family!” the assassin gibbered,
stepping back. “You promised to spare them!”

“Oh,
them,” the steward shrugged showing the dagger he had before concealed. “They
died quickly.”

“Crap.
It's going south, plan B!” Perry called over the net. “Move in!”

“Murderer!”
the assassin screamed in pained anguish. He lunged for the Duke but the
steward’s dagger cut him off. It plunged into his stomach and up under his
ribcage. His eyes bulged, outstretched arms frozen and then he fell. His body
slumped onto the steward's arm.

“Have
that dumped in the cistern pits where none will bother with it,” the Duke said
over his shoulder.

“I
think not,” a guard said arriving.

 “This
is none of your concern sirrah. Be gone,” the Duke said waving while trying to
look as commanding and dangerous as he could. When the guard didn't move he
scowled again and pulled a bag of coins. He jingled it then tossed it at the
man’s feet. “There, now go,” he waved. The guard stood his ground.

“Sirrah
you test my patience,” the Duke growled.

“On
the contrary, you have tested mine,” Ryans said coming up behind the guard.
“And the Queen's but she'll talk to you about that later,” he said and smiled
darkly. His eyes fell upon the fallen assassin and turned cold.

“Nasty,
sorry about that Decrius, I wish we could have come sooner,” he sighed as he
turned on the Duke. “You see we caught your assassin. He confessed.”

“The
confession of a toad against a Duke?” the Duke laughed.

Ryans
smiled. “Not quite,” the Queen said, coming up on the other side with Perry and
a six pack of guards. Her royal majesty eyed the Duke. Rojer was now sweating
despite the cool air. Everything had gone wrong, horribly wrong in an instant.
“I too saw the entire thing. I dare say you've overstretched your bounds
brother in law,” she said. She gave the Duke a long look.

“A
lord may not be punished for anything less than high treason,” the steward said
eying the Queen.

She
turned a withering glance on him. “No sirrah, but
you
can.” He blinked
then paled. “And as for the Duke,” she said coldly. She turned on him. Rojer
tried hard not to tremble; he knew this would be bad. At best she could exile
him, she needed him though! If she killed him it would echo through the lands!
He thought. “I henceforth strip you of your titles, lands, and privileges. You
shall henceforth be jailed in a remote tower of our choosing until life leaves
your body,” she said, lifting her chin as her eyes flashed.

The
Duke paled. “You can’t do that,” he said, jowls dancing as his Adam’s apple
bobbed up and down.

“She
just did,” Perry said smiling coldly to the former Dominus. “A little light for
my tastes but effective,” he said. He smiled darkly.

“Unless
of course you want to challenge it with a duel?” Ryans asked. The Duke blinked
then looked to Ryan's hand. He was holding a Glock.

“N-n-no,”
he stuttered. He shook his head looking away. No.

“Thought
not,” Ryans said smiling grimly. He looked at the guard checking Decrius. He
shook his head, and then dropped a cloth over the man's face. “Pity.”

  <==={}------------>

The
Queen held court the next evening. She appointed the royal chef and food taster
Cassius as a yeoman, with ten acres of land in the duchy of Rojer. Rojer was
brought forth in chains and a simple white smock and belt. The other lords were
stunned; some were outraged as the herald read out the list of charges.

Duke
Troy objected immediately. Ryans nodded to a guard. “Here's the evidence you
seek,” Ryans said. He tapped a control as the guards dampened the lights. The
crowd murmured then gasped as a projection came on. They all turned to face it.

“Simple
projector. We snagged one from an office board room before crossing. The screen
is a white cloth,” Sydney murmured as he pressed play.

They
watched and listened to Decrius's confession, then the encounter on the parapet
and his murder... and the confrontation between the Queen and the Duke. Finally
they listened to Yorick's confession.

“As
you've seen, so shall it be. Rojer, former Duke of new Wellingham thee are
struck of your titles and lands. Your eldest child shall inherit them upon
reaching her majority,” the Queen said, every ounce a proud but stern monarch.

The
crowd murmured at that. For some it was too much, others it was too little.
Ryans shook his head; people just couldn't find a common ground sometimes.

“Since
your eldest daughters are married to other lords and you have only one son but
a babe, thy third youngest daughter shall inherit unless she abdicates to her
younger brother on his tenth birthday,” She smiled at the teenager. “Your
mother Serena shall be your regent with Duke Troy until you reach your majority
to choose.”

The
mother frowned and then bowed. Serena was pale, shocked to the core by the
events. Now was not the time to protest or say anything, she knew how much risk
was here now for her and their children. Rojer had failed utterly and she
didn't even look at him. “Unless of course you choose to follow your husband in
exile,” her majesty added. Rojer glared.

Serena
frowned and then shook her head, still mute. “My place is with our children,”
she murmured.

“Then
Rojer, you shall be exiled to a hermitage the crown has selected. Only the
crown shall know it's location for your protection,” she said. She nodded to
the guards holding the man. “Get thee hence and never enter my sight once more
or thee shall loose thine head.”

The
former Duke stiffened and then walked stiffly out of the court. The steward,
also chained took his place.

“Thy
part in this is clear. But for the record...” She bowed slightly to Ryans. “Do
make it clear for those here to understand.”

Silently
the steward stared, and then a guard elbowed him. “Um ah... I... my lord Rojer
set a series of tasks for me...”

The
story poured out. Many gasped at the plot to kill the gaijin, the blatant plan
to kill the Queen and steal the throne as a future move also received gasps of
shock and dismay. His stealing things from the warehouse and the attempt on
Wanda and her attempted kidnapping also got a gasp.

When
the steward finally finished with the Duke planning to be the King and kill his
own wife so he could marry Deidra or Zara the Duke's wife and family began to
sob. Serena's shoulders shook, completely undone.

“He
got off easy,” Perry murmured in the silence that ensued.

“What
do you expect? He's a lord. They can't kill him unless he's actually done those
things. Just plotting them isn't enough,” Sue murmured to him. He looked down
to her.

“Didn't
know you knew that,” he murmured.

“Comes
with the territory. Besides,” she nodded her chin to the other lords. “If they
killed one of their own for plotting they'd all end up dead. Politics makes for
strange bedfellows. If the Queen pushes too hard it could backfire later.”

Perry
nodded then turned to look at the Queen. She was pale but firm. Her lips pursed
tightly. “For your... witness to these statements I shall leave you with your
life sirrah. For having a hand in these events, and for killing Decrius in cold
blood, you shall be whipped and then sentenced to a lifetime in the mines.”

The
steward paled, and then his eyes rolled back and he fainted into the arms of
his guards. The Queen snorted. “Get this rabble out of my presence,” she sighed
then tapped the gavel at her side.

“Court
is adjourned. I am excessively wearied by such troubling events,” she shook her
head getting up. The assembly hastily stood straighter as the Queen sailed off,
head high, followed by her guards and ladies.

Ryans
and Deidra shared some pillow talk time after a light love making session that
night. Neither one of them had their heart in it after the events of the past
two days.

“Will
Rojer's eldest daughter really take the peerage?” he asked stroking her side.

Deidra
shook her head. “Lilith is married to earl Pennington. Faith is married to a
Dominus as well. As is Gwen and Bethany. Lieandra is the only one not married
yet, but she's betrothed to Dominus Candleberry’s eldest grandson Albert.”

“Odd,
they all married lords. No knights or lower peerages?” Ryans asked.

“No.
Nothing odd about it, Uncle Rojer placed them where they're at to better
fulfill his own ambitions. Though Lieandra may pass up the peerage, she's
actually in love with Sir Albert.”

“Well,
will wonders never cease,” Ryans chuckled softly. “I take it he's next in line
for the earldom?” She nodded.

“His
father died of the pox,” she grimaced. “I can't wait until Sue works her
wonders to stop things like that from happening,” she sighed.

He
nodded. “Yeah. So Lieandra is going to pass up a duchy to become the wife of an
earl. Interesting.”

“Countess.
Lilly really loves Albert though,” she smiled wistfully then coughed a little.

“Lilly?”
he asked.

“Lieandra,”
Deidra answered.

“Oh.”

“Young
Uther Rojer may indeed take the peerage. Pity,” Deidra sighed. “If he survives
to reach his majority. If he holds a grudge it could be a problem.”

“That
could be a problem true. But let's not borrow trouble. If he knows exactly what
happened and we present the evidence to him if someone tries to convince him of
his father's innocence then we might be able to head that problem off.
Education is the enemy of ignorance and bigotry.”

She
blinked at him then shook her head. “Still it would've been nice to have had
some more female lords.”

He
chuckled softly. “Maybe you'll get a female or two in other positions. Eventually.
If not by hook or by crook then you can always elevate someone of outstanding
worth when it's your time on the throne,” he said suggestively. He smiled at
her expression. “Then of course there are the crown ministers and judges....
With proper education nothing should bar them from holding those positions.”
Her eyes glittered a little at that.