Secret Heart (28 page)

Jenia
kept quiet. She knew about Walderon’s two illegitimate children,
but she hadn’t met them, and neither had Chantal.

“
Walderon
would never involve a female in his intrigues,” Garit said. “He
thinks women are stupid.”

“
I am
well aware of Walderon’s opinion of women,” King Henryk said. “I am
also aware that he is not the most honest or devoted of my nobles.
Durand, what you have reported suggests a deadly purpose. I doubt
if a vital bridge so close to Walderon’s lands could be repaired
and he not know of it.”

“
What of
the second position you mentioned, near the border with southern
Sapaudia?” Roarke asked.

“
I wasn’t
able to learn the exact location,” Durand said. “However, from
something a man-at-arms told me, I assume the place is south and
west of Calean. The fact that the man fell silent immediately after
what was plainly an indiscretion convinced me that he did know
something and knew he shouldn’t have spoken.”

“
Hah!”
Garit exclaimed. “Durand, do you know where Thury Castle
is?”

“
I see
what you’re suggesting,” Durand answered, “Isn’t Thury Castle just
two or three days’ ride south and east from Calean
City?”

“
It is,”
King Henryk said, “which is why I want all of you to take note of
any unusual activity along your way. Your search for Walderon will
provide an excuse for your presence at Thury. When you find
Walderon, learn as much as you can from him, while taking great
care for your own safety. Until we have proof we must assume that
Walderon is loyal, but if he’s not, then he will be
dangerous.”

“
Walderon
is capable of working magic,” Jenia informed the men.

“
Now,
that I did not know,” King Henryk said.

“
Only a
very few people are aware of his abilities.” Jenia paused. Then,
because she wanted both Lord Serlion and the men who were going
with her to know, she added, “I have reason to believe he has
corrupted his Power.”

“
All the
more reason for you to be careful,” King Henryk said, looking at
the little group with grave concern. No one flinched, or showed any
sign of unease. All of them returned his steady gaze with
confidence. “Very well, then, you have my permission to leave
Calean City whenever you are ready. I wish you a safe journey and
success with your mission.”

The four of them were just leaving the
chamber when Lord Oliver and Lady Marjorie appeared at the door.
Marjorie looked frantic and Jenia could see traces of tears on her
cheeks.

“
My lord
king,” Oliver declared, stepping boldly forward, “I beg your
permission to join my son on his journey.”

“
Do you,
indeed?” Henryk looked from Oliver to Roarke. “What do you say to
that idea?”

“
Lord
Oliver and I discussed the matter last evening,” Roarke responded
in his chilliest tone. “When we parted, I understood that he had
agreed to remain here at court, in case you have need of him while
we are gone.”

“
I have
thought better of the matter overnight,” Lord Oliver insisted. “I
woke this morning knowing that I ought to be with my
son.”

“
I can
see no reason for you to be included,” King Henryk told
him.

“
Thank
you, my lord,” Marjorie cried. “I have tried and tried to convince
my dear husband that his first duty lies with you, but he refuses
to listen to me.”

“
Be
quiet, Marjorie,” Lord Oliver ordered. To King Henryk he added, “Of
course, I know where my first duty lies, my lord. But I feel I owe
this much to my son.”

“
No,”
Roarke stated firmly, “you do not. King Henryk, I beg you to
command my father to remain here at Calean.”

“
The
matter is settled, then,” the king declared. “Lord Oliver, you will
remain with me, and with your lady wife.”

“
Thank
you, my lord,” Marjorie whispered.

“
But,
Roarke,” Lord Oliver protested, ignoring the king’s deep frown at
hearing his command overruled, “I ought to be at your side. I know
I’ve failed you in the past. Allow me to make up for my
defection.”

Jenia saw
Roarke hesitate and she guessed that he was deciding exactly how to
word his reply. She knew him well enough by now that she did not
doubt he would refuse the request made by his rather foolish
parent. Still, he would not quarrel in the king’s presence. He’d be
diplomatic, and he’d try to appease his father’s eagerness. She
watched him take a long breath before he responded to Lord
Oliver.

“
Father,”
Roarke said, and Jenia knew he hadn’t used that endearing term for
many years, “King Henryk needs you here, with him. Your wife and
children need you nearby. I am trusting you to see to the king’s
safety, in case we stir up unexpected trouble and someone attempts
to harm him.”

“
You
trust me to protect the king?” Lord Oliver blinked hard, as if his
eyes were suddenly moist. Then he embraced Roarke, who stood rigid
and proud at the parental onslaught until, at last, his arms
clasped the older man’s shoulders for the briefest possible
moment.

“
You may
depend on me,” Lord Oliver said when Roarke had stepped back from
him. “And you, too, my lord king. I vow, I will not fail either of
you.”

“
All the
same,” Roarke muttered to Jenia as soon as his father turned aside
to bid farewell to Lord Giles, “I will never again entrust any
woman to his care. What’s more, from certain rumors I’ve heard
among the knights and squires, and from what I’ve seen of Marjorie
in the past two days, I expect her to take a younger lover when my
father grows too old to please her any longer. I thank heaven that
will be their problem and not mine. I will quarrel no more with
that frivolous pair and I intend to stay well away from
them.”

“
What
about Lan?” Jenia asked, thinking of the clever little boy who, at
five years of age, was able to outsmart both of his
parents.

“
I will
keep Lan in mind over the next few years and I’ll make certain he
comes to no harm,” Roarke promised. “Perhaps, when Lan is old
enough, Garit will take him on as a squire.”

“
Marjorie
may be able to convince Garit to do just that,” Jenia murmured.
“Look, Roarke; I do believe she’s making up with her
brother.”

Marjorie was embracing Garit, kissing him on
both cheeks and urging him to take good care of himself.

“
Please,
let us be reconciled before you ride into danger,” Marjorie cried.
“Garit, your rejection six years ago nearly broke my
heart.”

“
That is
over, Marjorie,” Garit told her. “In a world in which love can be
killed in an instant, family feuds make no sense at all. I know
that now.”

“
People
may die,” Marjorie said, smiling through the tears that ran freely
down her cheeks. “Love never dies. Love lives on, Garit. Dead
though Chantal is, she still loves you. I am certain of
it.”

“
Thank
you, Marjorie.” Garit hugged his sister, then hastily extricated
himself from her clinging arms.

“
I’d like
to take issue with her assumption that she knows what Chantal’s
spirit is thinking and feeling,” he said to Jenia in a soft voice,
“but this time I prefer to depart from her on a peaceful
note.”

“
Wise
man,” Jenia responded with a smile. “I am glad to see you speaking
to her. Marjorie loves you and she has missed you sorely. She told
me so yesterday.”

“
Did
she?” Garit looked back at his sister, who was clinging to Lord
Oliver’s arm and looking up at him with unconcealed adoration.
“Well, perhaps we’ll grow close again, in time. Shall we leave
now?”

Jenia
cast a final glance toward the anteroom, noting that Sir Durand had
slipped away as quietly as he had arrived. Lord Oliver and Marjorie
apparently hadn’t noticed him at all, though Jenia was sure the
king knew exactly when his secret agent had gone, and where. Before
she could join Roarke and Garit in the corridor, Lord Serlion
appeared at her side.

“
I’ve
been meaning to ask you,” the mage murmured, “what happened to the
court gown you were wearing on the night when you were
abducted?”

“
I don’t
know,” Jenia answered, a bit surprised by the question. “When I
wakened in the dungeon cell, the gown was gone, along with the
jewelry I’d been wearing. Chantal thought our captors had stolen it
to sell.”

“
That was
my thought, too,” Serlion said. “If those belongings can be found,
they might provide useful evidence about who was responsible for
seizing you and your cousin.”

“
After so
long?” Jenia asked.

“
I’ll see
what I can do.” Serlion’s smile concealed a world of
secrets.

“
Chantal
had hidden a few pieces in her maid’s gown,” Jenia said. “She gave
me a plain gold chain and simple earrings to wear so we could
continue our pretense of reversed identities. But the men who
killed her and carried me aboard their ship snatched them away.
Still, that wasn’t so long ago. You may have better luck looking
for them.”

“
I’ll see
what I can do. We will meet again soon, Jenia,” Serlion promised.
One long, slender finger touched her forehead in the lightest
possible caress. “Your grandfather would be proud of your valiant
heart.”

Though it
was not the direct route to Thury, they took the road from Calean
City to Auremont, where they would spend the night and collect the
extra men-at-arms that Garit was providing. The squires whom Lord
Giles had brought to Calean and half a dozen of his men-at-arms
from Nozay rode with them, as well as Roarke’s squire, Elwin, and
Garit’s man, the ever-dour Anders.

“
As I
mentioned yesterday, I have received word from a trustworthy person
that Lady Sanal is currently in residence at Thury,” Lord Giles
remarked to his companions as soon as they were in the open
countryside and could speak without wondering who might possibly
overhear and report on their conversation. “Since Walderon never
allows his wife much freedom, if Sanal is at Thury, we are likely
to find Walderon there, too.”

“
When you
speak of my Aunt Sanal, I think you must know her,” Jenia
said.

“
Since
she was a girl,” Lord Giles responded with an odd little
smile.

“
I never
heard her mention you,” Jenia said in some surprise, “and you never
visited Thury while I was there. I’m sure I would remember you, my
lord.”

“
I have
kept well away from Thury since Walderon moved there after he
became Chantal’s guardian. Walderon trusts no one except, perhaps,
his son who holds Catherstone for him. I, on the other hand, have
often been told that I trust too easily,” Lord Giles added, with
that same odd smile still curving his lips.

“
Given a
choice, I much prefer you over Uncle Walderon,” Jenia told him.
“Even if he proves not to be responsible for Chantal’s death and my
imprisonment, my uncle is still a most unpleasant person, who has
misused his Power.”

“
I am
well aware of Walderon’s reprehensible character, and of what he
has done to his Power,” Lord Giles said.

They arrived at Auremont in time for the
midday meal. After eating, while Roarke and Garit discussed with
Sir Ronal, the seneschal, which men-at-arms were to travel to Thury
and while Lord Giles was seeing to his own men and squires, Jenia
took herself off to the garden. There she sat on the stone bench,
leaned her back against the trunk of the pear tree, and let her
thoughts drift to Chantal.

“
You’d
like this place,” she whispered to her departed cousin. “Garit
insists I must sleep in your bedchamber again tonight. He says no
other room in Auremont is fit for a lady to occupy. He wouldn’t
think so if he’d ever seen our dungeon cell.”

That
harsh memory jolted her mind onto a fresh path. She knew she must
rethink the events of the last half year. Having finally understood
that King Henryk was not a murderous villain, she now had to give
serious consideration to Garit’s claim that Walderon was
responsible for Chantal’s death. Despite Chantal’s repeated
declarations that she’d rather die than marry Lord Malin, Walderon
could have forced her to comply with his wishes by threatening
Jenia, or Garit. He could even have used his Power to compel
Chantal’s obedience, for she possessed no inherited
Power.

So, if he
could get what he wanted without resorting to violence, why would
he order his nieces abducted and murdered? Did he want them dead
because he coveted Thury, and Gildeley, too? He already held
Catherstone along with several other estates. Jenia knew her uncle
was ambitious, but could ambition justify the murder of blood kin?
Walderon must have known he’d face a dreadful punishment if his
crime was ever discovered. That meant there must be some other
reason for what Walderon had done, if he was the guilty party. What
could the reason be?

Jenia sighed in frustration. Then she took a
long, slow breath and tried to relax and stop thinking.

A passing breeze stirred the branches above
her head. A blue and brown bird landed on the sundial and perched
there to groom its feathers. The garden was blessedly silent, all
the noise and chatter of castle life shut out by the stone walls
enclosing the small, sheltered space. The late day sun was warm.
Her eyelids fluttered shut.