Days had passed and Richard had spent them going through each written note William had left to himself or to others, each of his registrations, each of his meeting notes, and interrogating each of the servants he had had any contact with. What he learned was unsurprising: he did his work decently, opted out of lewd gossip, and generally kept to himself, aside from the occasional visit from Walter or one of the advisers. Rarely Katherine, but Richard assumed it was more likely he visited her when he needed her ear.
On him, he had a surprisingly large amount of gold for his station. It was something most shadowmen would not deduce, for they were commoners and imagined a baron to have much gold on him, and the rest of Katherine’s advisers would also not find it — they were dukes and duchesses, and for them that money would not be a shockingly high amount. Richard, being only different from William in terms of his loyalties and the duchy within which he was a vassal. Richard within Milden Cross. William within Garthamshire.
Once he had sufficiently sifted through his chamber, his cabinet, his chancellery, and the objects found on him when he was arrested, he had to face the music: an interrogation would follow. Though he was plenty used to confronting crumb thieves, dishing out petty justice in his guild, and had a brave and swaggering way about him, this was within the realm of the spymaster’s duties that he had no experience with. Harcourt kept himself away from it all, willing only to hear the finished verdict, in order not to sway himself based on his own bias against William. Dorothy and De Vere, as treasurer and marshal, had no reason to become involved.
Walter was on house arrest as well, placed there by Katherine personally. Richard felt sorry for Katherine: out of her endless enthusiasm and lust for life, only an irritable, mean-spirited and cloistered attitude remained. He wondered if perhaps the key to this issue was her.
One afternoon, he visited her after she had come back from the hunt, just before she would get ready for supper. He showed the guards his identification, his new insignia, and knocked the door.
No answer.
‘Lady Katherine?’ Richard hollered through the crack in the door. ‘It’s me. Richard Dauncey.’
‘Fine,’ she hollered in return.
When he entered, he already knew the room would be dark, and that he would find her on the bed. This time, lying on her stomach with her arms outstretched, forsaking the task of undoing the veil pins attached in a half circle formation around her crown braid.
‘Your Majesty,’ he said, and bowed as if she was on a throne.
‘Richard,’ she said, scrambling to a seat. ‘What’s the matter?’
‘May I sit?’
Katherine nodded slowly.
‘Would it find you well, if I were to speak with you about the happenings of earlier this week?’ he asked.
‘It wouldn’t find me well, but I might consider it necessary,’ she said. ‘So do tell.’
‘Right,’ he said. ‘Well, one of these days, the only thing I have left to do is interrogate both William and Walter. They’ve spoken much. I think Walter may have been responsible for getting certain information out of you. William is almost certainly fully responsible for anything pertaining the cloak pin or sluicing anything else out of the castle. You’re going to have to make some decisions as to Walter’s duties within your camarilla. Perhaps you won’t trust it after what has happened. I certainly would think twice about it.’
‘When are you interrogating them?’ she asked.
‘Depends,’ he said. ‘I’d like to do Walter first because I think he’s the most likely to talk. Thereafter William. Thereafter the assassin — likely part of a completely separate plot, actually, I believe neither Will nor Walter had any intent for you to perish.’
‘Then what?’
‘Likely Otterdon independence,’ he said. ‘The assassin is just a poor Massouric lad but he was paid in part with those coins with your title and face scratched out. The ones that are maimed to read, Katherine out of Otterdon Island. Don’t think they’ve got many of those on this side of the pond. Arguably only a fanatic or an imbecile would agree to be paid in those.’
‘No,’ Katherine said. ‘Richard, you’re making me fearful that if I ever set foot in my own country again, I’ll be shot in an instant. After all, many of my courtiers are Otterdon. Grace, for goodness’ sake, is part of their former royal family.’
‘Why’d you be fearful, my lady? The attempt took place here.’ Richard sniffed audibly. ‘We’ve arrested two men and another is on house arrest. You are safer today than you were last month.’
‘I want to be present during the interrogations,’ she said. ‘Both for Walter and William. I need to know what they’ll say.’
Richard saw her face turn briefly fierce again and knew he had to honour her request. ‘I’ll think of a way, my lady.’
She smiled. ‘Please,’ she said. ‘I believe it is in all of our best interests if I decide to listen in.’
He knew she was right. ‘I will gather you when it is time. I swear that much.’
----------------------------------------
He knew that Katherine could not be seen during either of the interrogations. If she showed her face, it would likely cause his subjects to act differently, take him more seriously or not be so candid. William, in a holding cell, would be easy to interrogate. Katherine could stand down the hall and the echo would carry their conversation. Walter, on the other hand, was in his own quarters.
There was no way Richard could arrest him without rousing even more suspicion.
Walter had a few rooms to himself within which he could roam these days, and he had the idea that it would be unlikely that Katherine could hear them from the hallway. As the afternoon was drawing to a close, Richard began to get antsy. There had to be a way.
Solace came as the idea for an unlikely invitation. Katherine would hide in Richard’s chamber, and Richard and Walter would sit in his cabinet. This way, Katherine’s presence would not be implicit in the way it would be when he would be arrested or brought somewhere more likely for her to be, but there would still be an element of familiarity to the situation. After all, Walter had seen his cabinet before.
When Katherine had been introduced to the plan, and then to the chamber, he took Walter out of house arrest.
‘I’ve been trying to talk to you,’ Richard said, key in hand. ‘Would you mind walking along with me?’
Walter was staring out of the window when the door opened on him. ‘I didn’t do anything.’
‘Sure, you didn’t, but you saw a lot,’ Richard admitted. ‘Come on. Fresh hallway air.’
There was no way the swain could resist that.
This story has been stolen from Royal Road. If you read it on Amazon, please report it
The way to his cabinet was fully silent. Walter did not know to what extent he could talk, and would rather not incriminate himself, even if he believed himself to be innocent. Richard opened the door to his cabinet and signaled him to go in first.
It was far warmer in his cabinet than Walter’s chamber had been, and he savoured the warmth for the time it was allotted to him.
‘So,’ Richard began. ‘William.’
Walter sat down and looked with great disappointment onto the glazed surface of the polished wooden table. ‘What about Lord William?’
Richard sat down opposite him and grinned. ‘Great question. About Lord William: notorious in all of Garthamshire for his behaviour around Princess Lettice, has been in trouble previously for forging gold coins, likely used those skills or connections to forge and sell replica royal cloak pins, which were heretofore used for a plot to kill Her Majesty the Queen. Does any of that ring a bell?’
‘I know that Lord William cared very deeply about Her Majesty,’ he said. ‘And he would be pained to hear that anything he has done, has harmed her.’
‘And you?’ Richard asked. ‘Would you be pained to know that anything you’ve done has harmed her?’
‘Certainly,’ said Walter. ‘Without a doubt.’
‘Just so I know, what sort of relationship do you and the Queen have? How should I interpret this dynamic?’
Walter ground his teeth. ‘The Queen comes to me for affection and comfort; I am happy to be of use.’
That is one way to put it, Richard thought. ‘And now, what is your relationship to Lord William?’
‘Needn’t you write this down?’ Walter asked. Richard shook his head contently. ‘Well, I was a footman in Astwick and I just happened to come along to Norbury Castle to be his footman there. We speak to each other because he is technically still the man I serve. I am his servant, not the crown’s.’
‘So you receive orders?’ Richard asked.
It was the question Walter had been dreading. He withdrew a little within himself. ‘Orders are a big word. I am asked to do certain things, like learn things about others in the retinue. Things he wouldn’t be able to learn from where he stands, things Lady Katherine only tells to people she trusts. I’m asked to listen and forward anything that could be of use.’
Even though he wished not to admit it even to himself, Richard was startled by the fact that this had never come up in his mind to question. ‘Such as?’
‘I don’t know, the fact Lady Katherine enjoys gin rather than ale. He’d use it to then buy a great amount of gin for her as a present. Or if I see that she feels insecure about managing a certain vassal, William will try to barter with the duke for a more favourable contact.’
‘Benevolent types of things,’ Richard tried to summarise.
‘Helpful,’ he added. ‘Trying to make himself appear like he knows Lady Katherine better than he really does. I don’t hesitate to say that some of the information might be used for unsavoury ends, but I was never asked to help with any of that. Just the flattery and poignant gifts.’
‘Are you aware you’ll have to remain in house arrest?’ Richard asked. ‘Until we know what to do with you?’
‘Yes,’ Walter said. ‘I’m afraid so. Is Katherine mad?’
Richard snorted. ‘Mad is a weird way to phrase it. She’s devastated but managing. I don’t think her opinion will be coming out quite yet, not until the dust has settled. So for now it’ll be house arrest, and once she comes to terms with what has happened, and most likely, once we’ve finished all the edges of the case of your master, you’ll be the next decision to be made.’
‘Tell her I’m sorry,’ he said.
Richard stood up. ‘Yes,’ he answered simply. ‘I’ll tell her that. I’ll walk you back — no funny business, pretty please. Nobody walks faster than an arrow coming out from a bowstring, and nobody misses fewer times than those archers at the city walls of Souchon.’
Walter stood up and put his arms behind his back as if to show that he was not hiding anything on his body or in any position to act fast. ‘I’ve nothing more to hide.’
----------------------------------------
‘Thought?’ asked Richard as he entered his personal quarters, where he had just left Katherine.
‘I’m not happy,’ Katherine said initially. ‘And I don’t care if he’s sorry. The type of thing he knows about me… quite terrifying to know William is walking around with all of that in his pockets.’
Richard nodded. ‘Well, if it’s any help, personal things are of little use, considering everyone north of the Najan Isles has their own Queen Katherine story, and no matter how true his ones are, they’ll just add to the cacophony. I’m afraid you oughtn’t be seen with him for a while, though. At least not alone. God knows, now he’s without a master, who will be the next criminal he finds himself called to serve.’
‘I don’t believe I will be called to seek him out anytime soon,’ Katherine admitted. ‘I don’t believe I’ll feel compelled to seek anyone out. I did speak to the Sbaian ambassador, by the way.’
Richard was surprised to hear that. ‘Did anything notable happen? I’m afraid without an administrator, what meetings you have tend to be harder to recall…’
‘I think he’ll ask for an amount of silver one of these days,’ Katherine said. ‘Furthermore, nothing of note.’
Richard walked her back to her own quarters, and began to feel quite sorry for Katherine. ‘If anything suspicious happens these days, and even if it’s completely within the realm of safety, please know you can speak to me anytime,’ he said. ‘Day and night. If you don’t trust something, I’ll be there to investigate it for you, or like this, with you.’
Katherine nodded and came closer, not in any way that Richard considered forward or daring, but rather in a way that invited great care with what was left of her.
‘I appreciate it,’ she said. ‘Really do. It may sound strange or reactive to you, but my world really has collapsed because of this, you know. I thought Souchon Palace was safe for me — it isn’t. I thought William was in my corner — he isn’t. I thought I could say everything to Walter — I can’t. At this point, it feels to me like the question is when some other safety will collapse upon me, not if. I’m afraid to overstay my welcome in this place. You know, Theo nearly died for me. I think if Queen Louise had had a say, she’d have asked Theo to duck out of the way instead. What he did was incredibly brave but fully against what Louise must have wanted. I can see it in her eyes. She’s upset with Theo because he sacrificed himself for me.’
He considered reassuring her, but even he did not know what Louise’s true agenda could be. Theo was dear to her, that much he knew. Whether Katherine was, was much harder to grasp.
‘The important part is that you’re alive and well,’ he said. ‘Be grateful to Theo. He’s done you a great favour. One day, when duty asks it of you, I’m sure it will be repaid, so don’t feel too bad for him now.’
Katherine looked down at the bottom of her door, where a small box, wrapped in ribbon, had been placed. ‘I won’t,’ she said. ‘But you’ll have to help me with whatever someone’s left for me now.’
Richard noticed it too and picked it up, unravelled the ribbon, and gave Katherine a prophetic look. ‘I’ve never met a woman who receives more suspicious gifts than you do. First the poison vial, now something wrapped as if it would otherwise escape…’
Katherine chuckled. ‘I’ve many enemies in disguise.’
‘That, you do,’ Richard agreed. Towards the end of the ribbon, he pulled it off and took the top off of the box. In it lay another vial, covered partially by a small slip of paper, and lying in a bed of silk. ‘Let’s see what you’ve been granted now…’
Richard had to squint to read the handwriting. ‘Oh,’ he said. ‘You’ve been gifted a good night’s rest. Perhaps for the rest of your life.’
He held up the piece of paper.
Your Majesty,
This humble gift is intended only to fight the depths of your despair. In case you happen to be unfamiliar with the practice, consuming the contents of this vial will lull you into a gentle rest for a day or more, after which any ill effects of unbalanced humours will have been warded off. Please consider the presence of your physician upon consuming so you may not unexpectedly lose consciousness in an uncomfortable or dangerous position.
Yours,
M. Freyza
‘He believes that I trust him with my life,’ Katherine noted. ‘Not sure if I should be flattered or somewhat disturbed.’
‘Shall I discard it for you?’ Richard asked.
Katherine shook her head and gestured it to be handed over to her. ‘No, I’d rather have it so I can amuse my ladies-in-waiting with the madness of it all. I think I should bid you adieu at this point.’
He narrowed his eyes, worried that she may be tempted to take it. Then. he relinquished. She had not asked him for his help. ‘Adieu, my lady,’ he replied. ‘I will hopefully see you at morning council.’
‘I’ll see if I can make it,’ she said. ‘Tomorrow, we’ll take William.’
‘Indeed.’
She went inside the dark alcove of her chamber with the curtains all shut. It was warm in there, against all odds, and Katherine sat down on her bed again. The reflection of the vial caught her eye again, tempted her. She thought briefly about the outcomes.
She realised there was little to lose. It sounded pleasant enough — it was not death or illness she feared, but rather the pain and fear of the loaded gun. And now, what pleasure was there to be had except feeling consciousness slip away?
With her teeth, she unstuck the cork from the knife-shaped vial and smelled it. Sugary, almost reminiscent of the green and sweet scent of the sugar beet, with some earthiness that smelled more addictive than the finest perfumes. Nothing suspicious — no almond undertone, nothing foul, nothing musty. She took a swig and lay herself on the bed, hands joined over her belly.
There was an immediate sensation of calm, that she told herself was likely the fallout of believing she had taken something that would induce that feeling. She taunted her belief of how she felt, and by the end of that thought, had sunken from the surface of her bed, down to the warm, thick, abstruse underbelly of her unconscious mind.