The Glittering Court (36 page)

Sully had the sense to try and keep Cedric back, but Cedric was undaunted. “The knife is mine. I've got more Alanzan items in my trunk. You won't find anything in her possession.”

“Then arrest him!” said Warren. “And her for being his accomplice! And for attacking me!”

“He attacked me,” I retorted. I gestured to my torn clothes. “He subdued me and tried to assault me! I defended myself!”

Warren was pale and sweating, no doubt feeling the wound and blood loss, but he pushed on. “She invited me here. She's a girl without morals—laid down for Thorn, laid down for anyone. Then she changed her mind and acted like it's my fault. You can't trust the word of some common, vulgar girl!”

Silas looked like he didn't know what to think, and I didn't blame him. But it occurred to me that as improbable as it might be, there could be a chance Warren could get away with all this. He was the governor of this colony. And who was I? A memory surfaced from long ago: Cedric telling me that I didn't know what it was like to live without the prestige of the upper class, that there was a power there I didn't even realize.

I straightened up to my full height and put on as imperious a look as I could manage. “I'm telling you again: He assaulted me. And maybe you can't take that seriously from some ‘common, vulgar girl,' but I'm not one. I'm Lady Elizabeth Witmore, Countess of Rothford, and I am a peeress of the realm.”

Chapter 28

Traveling back to cape triumph by boat was a lot easier than the overland journey had been. We didn't return right away—not with Cedric's injuries being what they were. Between us, Warren, and the hired thugs, Silas Garrett had his hands full keeping track of everyone. He finally hired his own muscle from among the various men looking for work in White Rock—deputizing them as temporary agents of the law. Silas used a group of them to help him take Warren and the others back to Cape Triumph. He left a smaller group to keep an eye on Cedric and me at the Marshalls'—not that we were much of a flight risk.

When Silas came back a week later, news came to us by way of the doctor who'd been making regular visits to check up on Cedric. “I told Mister Garrett you're fit to travel now,” the doctor said. “And he plans on taking you both back tomorrow.”

We were sitting outside in the afternoon sun, with Cedric propped up in a makeshift lounge chair that Mister Marshall had crafted. Cedric's eye was open again, and most of his bruises had faded to a yellowish color. His left arm was in a sling and would need a few more weeks of recovery. He'd also broken a couple of ribs, and there wasn't much to treat them, aside from binding them and taking it easy.

“Fit to travel?” I exclaimed. “Like this?”

“The worst is over,” said the doctor. “Your life's not in danger. Will the journey be uncomfortable? Possibly—especially if you're careless. But the boat's nothing compared to the land route.”

“I'll be fine.” Cedric placed his right hand over mine. “And we need to get back. Warren being there ahead of us isn't a good thing.”

It was something we'd discussed frequently: The more time Warren was in Cape Triumph, the more time he had to perfect his story and muster support from his powerful friends.

“One other thing . . .” The doctor looked a bit uneasy and cast a nervous glance my way. “Mister Garrett said to tell you that his partner had arrived in Cape Triumph and that he had your portrait—that it was a match. My—my lady.”

I held up a hand. “Please. There's no need. Adelaide is fine.”

The doctor gave some advice to Cedric before leaving, as well as various medicines to help with the healing. When he was gone, I leaned my head on Cedric's shoulder. “Well, that's that. The secret's out.”

“Exactly which of our many secrets are you referring to?”

“You know which. My identity. Er, my old one.” I sighed. “But if Silas's partner authenticated it, then maybe my word will have greater weight. Except that now I've opened myself up to anyone hoping to cash in on Grandmother's reward.”

“Do
not
tell anyone we're married,” Cedric said in a low voice, guessing what I was about to say next.

“But that was the whole point! To give me protection if I was outed as a runaway countess. And I have been.”

He shook his head. “You're key in this case—Silas will protect you now. And our backup plan was created before
I
was outed as a heretic. They're going to put me on trial for that. If you're identified as my legal wife, they're going to cast you as Alanzan by association. I'm not going to have you hanged with me.”

“And I'm not going to have you hanged at all,” I growled. “Or let Warren go unpunished.”

But when we sailed back to Cape Triumph the next morning, I wasn't nearly so confident. As a fledgling colony, Hadisen had no court capable of handling a major case like this, so it was being dealt with
in Denham. Warren had a lot of connections there. And the Alanzan faith was illegal in both colonies.

We docked in Cape Triumph in early evening and were promptly separated. Cedric had to stay in custody throughout his trial, and it was only a small comfort that Warren and his henchmen were also in custody.

“I'm not completely insensitive, my lady,” Silas told me. I didn't bother correcting him. If my title could strengthen our case, I'd let it be used. “I'll make sure he's looked after. And I'll have a doctor check in.”

“Thank you,” I said. He gave us a moment of privacy to say goodbye, and I clasped Cedric's hand. It was about as much as I could do, given his injuries.

“We'll get through this,” I said. “I'll find a way.”

“You always do.”

The old bravado was in his voice, but I caught a glint of uncertainty in his eyes. I kissed him fiercely, uncaring of any passersby who saw. And when Silas's men led him away, I stared after them until Cedric had been swallowed by the bustling crowd on Cape Triumph's docks.

“Miss,” said one of the hired lawmen. “Mister Garrett said we're to escort you wherever you want to go.”

I had no idea where I wanted to go. I'd thought little beyond Cedric's fate and now found myself in an odd situation. After years of feeling constricted and defined by the rules of others, I had no limitations now. I could move and go freely—except I had no place to go. No home, no money, no family.

But I still had friends.

“Take me to Wisteria Hollow.”

Unsurprisingly, my reception wasn't that warm. Jasper came striding out of his office as soon as Mistress Culpepper announced me in the foyer. He pointed an accusing finger at me.

“No.
No
. I don't care who you are or what titles you allegedly have.
You cannot come crawling back here after everything you've done to us. You chose to walk away from this life. Don't try to get it back.”

“I'm not,” I said. “I just . . . well . . . that is . . . I don't have anywhere to stay.”

We'd gathered an audience of my beautifully styled peers, making me self-conscious about my bedraggled appearance. Charles was among them. His return to Osfrid to help recruit the next batch of girls had been delayed after all the recent developments. “Jasper, the girl was one of our own, and she may very well be one of our family once this business with Cedric is settled.”

Jasper turned on his brother incredulously. “‘This business?' He's being tried for heresy and assault! There's only one way that can be settled.”

“Assault?” I asked in surprise. “Have you seen him?”

“That's the story going around,” Jasper said. “That you two got desperate when it became clear you weren't going to be able to pay off your debt to Warren Doyle. So you staged an attack to make it look like raiders had come after him—only his men got there in time to save him.”

My jaw nearly hit the floor. “Is that what they've come up with? It's a lie! Come on. You must know Cedric better than that.”

“Actually,” said Jasper, face grim, “I really don't feel like I know my son at all. What I do know is that before you came along, he wasn't abducting noblewomen, practicing heresy, or assaulting government leaders. So you'll understand when I say politely as I can: Get out of my house.”

“She can stay with me.” Aiana strode forward from those gathered, as cool and confident as ever. “And don't look at me like that, Mister Jasper. I rent my own home and can do as I like. Come on, Adelaide.”

What else could I do? There was no home for me here. I had to take whatever allies I could get—though I was surprised to find that my two biggest ones hadn't been in the foyer.

“Where are Tamsin and Mira?” I asked, once I was inside Aiana's home. It was a surprisingly spacious suite of rooms above a tavern in
the city's busy entertainment district. The soundproofing was good, but I could still make out the faint tinkling of piano music from below.

Aiana had been putting a teakettle on her large stove and turned to me in surprise. “You don't know? About Tamsin?”

“What is there to know? Did she get married or something?”

“Sit down,” Aiana ordered.

I obeyed, settling into a chair covered by a blanket with an intricately colored turtle design. I wondered if it was Balanquan, but the look on Aiana's face made me forget all about art. “Where is Tamsin?”

Aiana pulled up a stool and sat across from me. “Adelaide, Tamsin was lost on the day of the storm a couple of weeks ago—the tempest? Part of it hit you too, right?”

I almost thought I was mishearing, that we were somehow talking about our initial sea voyage. “Lost . . . what do you mean, lost in the tempest?”

“She was in Mister Doyle's party—going back to Hadisen. They were practically engaged, and he was going to show her around. They were approaching the bay as the storm was rolling in, and they say she panicked and . . . well, left. No one knows what happened to her.”

“Panicked? Tamsin's never panicked in her life!”

“I don't know anything firsthand, only what they tell me.” Aiana's calm was impressive. “She didn't want to get on the boat during the storm. She ran away from the party. They tried to find her, but it was too late—especially in those conditions. They searched for her the next day, but there was nothing.”

I put my head between my hands, afraid I would faint. “No. That's impossible. You're confused. She was lost once—this can't happen again! She wanted that marriage more than anything. She wouldn't have let a stormy crossing hold her back . . .”

And yet as I spoke, I wondered. Would she? The tempest had upset me with painful memories of that night at sea. What had it done to Tamsin? Maybe the thought of boarding another ship in the storm really had been too daunting. But enough to run off alone into the night?

“I'm sorry,” Aiana continued, oblivious to my mental revelation. “I thought word would've gotten to you, especially since Mister Doyle took the blame upon himself and still paid the Thorns her price.”

“How nice,” I said, lifting my head. Anger was easier to deal with than grief. I still couldn't truly process this. “I'm sure Jasper was glad to make a profit on her after all, especially if . . .” My words gave way to a gasp as I replayed what she said. “Warren knew . . .”

“He was there when it happened.”

I jumped to my feet. “Why didn't he say anything to me? I talked to him the morning after that storm! How could he have not mentioned that my best friend disappeared?”

“I don't know.” Her face was filled with compassion. “The more I hear about Warren Doyle, the more certain I am that I can't ever guess what he might be thinking.”

I felt a sob catch in my throat and swallowed it back, not wanting to cry in front of her. Understanding, Aiana got to her feet. “Mira's at a social engagement. I can get her excused early. I think it'd be good for you to be together. You can make yourself at home, and I'll pay one of the girls downstairs to bring up hot water for the tub.”

I could only nod by way of answer, and as soon as she left, I broke down in tears. The stress of everything came crashing down on me, and I didn't even know what I was crying for anymore. Cedric, Tamsin . . . what good was I to the people I loved if I couldn't keep them safe? Was this some kind of divine punishment for running out on my responsibilities in Osfrid?

I was red and puffy-eyed when the girl came to fill the tub, and she politely pretended not to notice. Sinking into that kind of bath was a luxury I hadn't experienced in almost a month. Baths at the Marshall place had been sparse in water. And cold. Really, after my time in Hadisen, everything in Cape Triumph seemed luxurious by comparison. Aiana's rooms were on par with a royal Osfridian estate as far as I was concerned.

The water was dark gray when I finally emerged, and my head felt
slightly better. Not good, but functional. I couldn't stand the thought of putting on my dirty claim-working clothes and borrowed a long, thick woolen robe from Aiana's closet. A lot of time had passed, and I wondered if Mira's event had been far away or if there'd been difficulty in getting her out of it.

In the end, Aiana delivered. Mira walked through the door with a bundle of clothing in her arms that she promptly dropped as she ran across the room to me. I pulled her into a hug and felt the tears come anew. Aiana discreetly retreated to the kitchen and bustled around in the cupboards.

Mira was the same as ever. Beautiful. Fierce. But not as dressed up as I'd expected, based on Aiana's comment about a social engagement. The violet organdy dress she wore was well-made but too plain to be anything from the Glittering Court. She wore her mother's shawl over it, and her hair had been tied with a ribbon behind her neck with obvious haste.

“Mira—how did this—Tamsin—”

“I don't know,” she said, her own voice cracking. “I couldn't believe it when I heard. Two men came back from the boat to deliver the news—witnesses who swore she wouldn't board the boat during the storm. They say she ran off into the woods and that Warren was devastated.”

I found that unlikely, recalling his blasé attitude the morning after. The morning after . . .

The storm blew up while we were crossing the bay last night.