Aurelia (7 page)

"Aye, suppose you'll both be getting off before the sun goes down." The man tilted his head toward a sinking glow in the sky. A thin veil of clouds obscured the light's slow descent toward the western rim of the city wall.

"yes, we should," Aurelia agreed. "Thank you again." As she hugged the wobbly seaman, robert thought about the story. Law prevented any man, woman, or child of the Outer realms from entering Tyralt. He wondered if the young boy named Andrew could be real, if a child truly had defied the king.

Then again, the young woman on his right was defying that same king at this very moment. robert doubted whether anyone had defied king Lauzon as often as she had. For all His majesty's attempts to protect his daughter, here she was, standing on the wharf in boy's clothing, completely removed from her father's supervision. robert was never going to be able to protect her if he followed the king's orders.

"Horizon can carry us both if you don't mind a few antics." robert offered Aurelia his hand.

she gave him a critical look. "I'd rather walk."

"Then I'll walk with you. I need to tell you the truth."

she raised her eyes, seemed to accept the statement as a promise, and didn't argue as he fell into step beside her. The smell of fish faded as they moved up a quiet side street. Horizon's hooves clicked along the narrow stone surface and an uneasy silence descended. robert struggled with how to begin.

"you were correct earlier about me not being entirely honest," he said.

she snorted, picked up her pace, and pulled away, a move he had seen from her once too often.

"Would you stop running?" Frustration cut through his voice. "you don't want to reach the palace too soon. I have a lot to say."

"get on with it, then." she spun, scorn twisting her features as he stepped close. dark eyes looked up, their depths filled with mixed emotions--anger and hurt, and deep down a layer of fear.

Holding her gaze, he grasped for words. "Over a month ago, uncle Henry sent a letter, begging my father to return to the palace. In it he claimed the life of the heir to the throne was in danger."

she froze. "my life?" The emotions on her face clamped down.

"yes." He watched her step away from him one careful stride, then turn to proceed slowly up the gentle curve of the street. she was no longer running.

As they walked side by side, he retraced the events of the last several weeks, telling her what he knew about all four assassination attempts. she listened without comment, guiding him from one street to the next, leaving behind the inns and taverns skirting the wharf and moving on to narrow alleys lining the backs of stores and merchants' shops. supply barrels and wooden crates cluttered the path, and the smell of fired clay mingled with freshly baked bread.

Carriages did not come along these backstreets, but the citizens of Tyralt did. A trio of shoeshine boys drifted past, nibbling on rye bread. A middle-aged man carted a heavy load of dusty coal, and a group of gossiping women rushed forward, toting packages wrapped in brown paper. None of the passersby interrupted robert's explanation. They each went about their business, paying no attention to the boy in the white cap and the commoner in frontier garb.

The muscles in Aurelia's face remained still. If anything, her emotions became harder to read until robert related his conversation with drew. Then she shuddered. "I was afraid when I heard that," she said, "about the horse being from elise's stables."

"Is that why you ran?" robert asked.

"Yes, and because I was angry with you for lying."

"But you suggested I talk to drew. How did you know I wasn't being honest with you?"

She let out a slow breath. "This morning when we were playing cards, you told me you couldn't ask Chris about the accident because he was sleeping. That's when I knew you were lying. I saw Chris this morning. He was in my parlor half an hour before I sent for you."

Of all the stupid ways to get caught in this deception.
"What could possibly have motivated Chris to get up so early?"

"A starling with an excruciating voice. she was visiting melony."

Robert groaned, then he refocused his thoughts on the scarred stallion's owner. Now that Aurelia knew the truth, he could ask her questions. "do you believe there could be a connection between the queen and the assassination attempts?"

She eyed him, the screen over her emotions faltering. "I thought you were going to be honest with me. What
else
could it mean?"

"A number of things," he replied, "but that's not what I meant. What is your first reaction? does it seem plausible to you that the queen might be involved? Can you trust her?"

Aurelia trailed her fingers against a sandstone wall. "I don't know how anyone's attempts to murder me could be plausible. elise and I have never been close. she made my father happy after my brother's death. beyond that . . . she has always been melony's mother, not mine." Her voice rose in anger. "but I hardly think that is a motive for murder. What reason could she have for wanting me killed?"

"If her daughter was in line for the throne, that might--"

"But the law forbids melony from becoming queen."

"I know," he said. "And you've never felt threatened by your stepmother?"

Indecision flashed across her face, but she replied, "If I had ever felt I was in danger in the palace, I would not have kept quiet about the fact."

"I need you to stay quiet now, though." Intensity filled his voice. "To catch the person behind this, I need whoever it is to come into the open. The culprit must believe he or she is working in secret." Aurelia gave him an incredulous look. "please," he begged. "Let me do my job. don't say anything to the king yet. He did not want me to tell you about the danger. He didn't want you worried. I decided to tell you because I want you to be safe. I know you value your freedom, but I am asking you not to go out alone. If you must go, at least ask Chris or me to come with you."

"Chris?" she gave a half smile. "He has better things to do, like flirting with melony's friends and lady's maids."

"Then ask me," robert said. "I didn't come all this way to have you disappear on a city street somewhere."

Aurelia looked at him, an odd expression crossing her face. "Why did you come . . . all this way?"

He stared at her, unsure what she was asking.

"Why are you here instead of your father?"

robert felt his chest tighten. He thought about the day uncle Henry's letter had arrived and the resulting conversation. The memory of that talk with his father still haunted him. some truths robert was not prepared to share.

Chapter Six

THE LETTER

THE SKY WAS BLUE THAT DAY, THE DAY UNCLE HENRY'S letter arrived. blue and arching over the curved hilltops and rugged canyons of the frontier. The sun's rays had not yet chased away the chill of the morning air as robert finished his chores and joined his father beside the corral to watch the approaching rider. A sturdy brown mustang followed the wagon tracks etched in the early spring grasses, and robert recognized the mount of his closest neighbor to the east.

"Letter fer you, brian," the neighbor said when he pulled up into the open space between the corrals and cabin. He rummaged in his bulky saddlebags and withdrew a thin brown envelope that he handed to robert's father.

mr. Vantauge ran his eyes over the writing on the sealed parchment. He looked like an older version of his son, except for those eyes, which were brown and wary. "my thanks," he said. "Who can tell when I would have found the time for a trip to town?"

"ya'll do the same fer me when ya do." The man closed the hide flap on his saddlebag. "point of fact, I didn't pick it up in town. ran into a lost-lookin' courier about five miles out. Asked me fer directions to the Vantauge homestead. He wasn't none too anxious to put that envelope into my care, but he finally handed it over after I explained he had another two days' travel with nary a man-made landmark for a stretch of ten miles." The neighbor coaxed his horse around in a circle. "Can't stay; seedin' still to do."

robert's father nodded, his eyes once again drifting down to the letter. "understood."

The neighbor touched his hat brim in a salute and retreated along the wagon tracks. A gust of wind blew over the plowed fields, sending a cloud of dust over the departing horse and rider, and the smell off resh earth swept up to the corral where robert stood peering over his father's shoulder.

VANTAUGE HOMESTEAD was printed across the paper in familiar handwriting.

mr. Vantauge pulled away, walking toward the cabin. A twelve-foot wall of hewn logs formed the length of the building, and a sweet, vaguely off-key hum drifted out the lone window.

robert slipped ahead, ducking under the low door frame. "There's a letter from uncle Henry," he told his mother.

she set a soapy dish on the plain wood table and dried her hands on a cloth. Her blue eyes sparkled, and she pushed a loose strand of blond hair back under her scarf. "really, brian?" she said to her husband. "We had word from Henry only last month. He must miss you."

"more likely he is writing to ask why I haven't given up this 'foolhardy adventure' of mine yet." robert's father winked as he slid onto a bench and cracked open the letter's wax seal. gently he unfolded the wrinkled parchment.

robert and his mother watched, eager to hear the news. Letters did not arrive often on the frontier, and letters from family were especially treasured. mrs. Vantauge allowed the pewter mugs and wooden dishes to sit idle on the sideboard. Neither she nor her son made a sound.

Her husband's face darkened as he read. Instead of sharing the details or passing the precious paper to his wife, he folded the parchment and slipped it through the slit in his trousers into his pocket. Then, without looking up, he walked outside, leaving his audience in unfulfilled suspense.

Nothing more was said about the letter until dinner that night. robert knew enough to let his mother handle the issue. she was the one with the gift for setting people at ease.

mr. Vantauge sat down in his chair to a plate piled high with thick slices of roasted pheasant and homemade bread. steam rose off the food, and the spicy scent of gravy filled the small room. "I could smell supper clear out in the barn," he said. "I haven't forgotten a special occasion, have I, mary?"

robert's mother set the flower-sprigged pitcher of milk on the table and smiled. "you have your son to thank for the fresh meat. He found the pheasant in one of your snares this morning." she lit a candle. "We thought you deserved a treat now you've finished the plowing."

"still the seeding left." mr. Vantauge plunged a fork into the white meat and began sawing away at it with his knife. "Cannot afford to wait for the weeds to begin to grow."

mrs. Vantauge sat down, lifted her own fork, and asked gently, "did Henry have anything of interest to discuss in his letter?"

The sawing knife froze. "He wants me to return to the palace for a while, but I have no intention of going."

"Why does he wish you to come?"

The muscles around mr. Vantauge's mouth tightened. "We'll discuss it after dinner. I've had a long day and would prefer to eat in peace."

The cheery tone in the room disintegrated under his sullen stare. robert and his mother exchanged brief looks. Tension clung to the dinner table, the participants holding themselves erect, each head, each shoulder, each arm suspended in the thick air. utensils moved in slow motion lest they bang against a plate.

The slightest noise might tear a hole in the tablecloth of silence.

As the last bite disappeared from his father's dish, robert slowly began to clear the table. He had no intention of leaving the cabin before the upcoming discussion.

mr. Vantauge passed an empty mug to his son and pushed his chair back, but he did not get up. "Henry wants me to return to run an investigation. They've had four years to engage a new spy. I'm not responsible for their failure to do so. He's just going to have to do what he should have done before and hire someone to my old post."

mrs. Vantauge nodded. "yes, you're right." Her voice softened. "It must be important, though, if Henry asked you to come."

"He still thinks this venture is a phase I'm going through."

she nodded in sympathy, then prompted, "did he explain the problem?"
Of course he did.
robert watched his father. uncle Henry could not ask his brother to travel halfway across the kingdom without stating the purpose, but mr. Vantauge had never discussed a current investigation.

This night was different, though. perhaps robert's father felt he could talk about the case because he was not taking it. perhaps he felt it was safe to share the details this far away from court, or perhaps he felt his son was now old enough to keep a secret. For whatever reason, the former spy relented. "my brother believes the life of the crown princess is in danger."

blackness engulfed robert's mind. shock blocked out everything except the crackle of parchment and mr. Vantauge's voice reading the letter aloud.

The Palace, Tyralt City

XXV year of King Viry Lauzon

To Brian Vantauge,

I am writing you tonight not as your brother, but as the king's adviser. A week ago, a lady's maid found a silver goblet on the bedroom table of the crown princess. Not recognizing the snake mold entwined around the handle, the lady's maid informed me of the object. Its polish was laced with a deadly poison.

I began an investigation without success. The goblet has no signature and cannot be traced to any silversmith in Tyralt City. The placement of the poison suggests a hired assassin; however, this broadens the search for the actual instigator. Whoever the culprit, he or she has the money and power to hire someone inside the palace. This aspect of the plot concerns me the most and is the reason I have taken the desperate step of contacting you. The person who set the goblet on the table had access to the princess's bedchamber and has not been caught.

Please, Brian, as the king's royal spy of fifteen years, your knowledge and skill are unmatched by anyone on today's royal staff. I know you had your reasons for leaving, but I am asking you to return to the palace to help save the life of the princess. There is no reason to believe this assassination attempt will be the last.

With respect and love,

Henry Vantauge

King's Adviser

The words rebounded inside robert's skull, faster and faster, slamming into all other considerations, grinding them to powder. "you could go," robert said as his father refolded the paper. "I can complete the seeding myself."

"No!" both his parents responded at once. mr. Vantauge's chin jutted forward and mrs. Vantauge gripped her husband's hand as if she could hold him there through sheer physical force.

"There is no telling how long the investigation might take or whether the effort would be successful," robert's father argued. "I have given enough of my life to protect the royal family."

"yes." mrs. Vantauge turned over her husband's hand and slipped her own into the open palm. "And I've spent enough of my life waiting to see if my husband would survive his current investigation."

"I left for a reason." robert's father ran a thumb along the back of his wife's hand. "And I'm not going back."

robert swung his gaze between his parents. The strength of a promise made and a promise kept shone in both faces, impenetrable. "Then I will," he said, surprising himself with the statement.

"What?" mr. Vantauge stood up. "you will
not
."

"Why not?" robert replied, asking himself as much as his father. "I'm old enough to travel, and you don't really need me here."

"There's more than enough work on this place for both of us." robert felt his hands clench. He liked the homestead. He did. but he could not help feeling that it was his father's dream, not his. His voice rose. "you can't expect me to stay here forever."

"robert." His mother's calm tone intercepted his anger. she knew how he felt, though he had not yet managed to broach the subject with his father. "Leaving the homestead is one thing. returning to the palace as a spy is something else."

"It's my decision to make."

"Absolutely not," his father responded. "you have no experience running an investigation. you will get yourself killed."

robert argued back "I'm not as well equipped as you, but then, you're not going."

"It will take you almost a month to ride to the palace. The princess may be dead before you even arrive."

robert had a brief vision of his childhood friend being placed in a coffin, her spirit gone forever. "Then I shall leave at first light."

mr. Vantauge's knuckles gleamed white in the candlelight. "What if you can't save her? people always look for someone to blame. you're placing yourself at the mercy of the king."

"I don't care to impress him. What difference does it make if he blames me?"

"It can make a tremendous difference."

"Look around you." robert swung an arm at the cabin's cramped interior. His parents' bed stood in one corner, and the family coat of arms, the only visible reminder of their earlier life, hung above the headboard. The cabinet and fireplace rested along the wall at robert's back, and the loft where he slept stuck out above his head. The entire cabin could have fit within his parents' bedchamber back at the palace. "I doubt the king would bother to follow me here. I don't see him pounding on our door hunting you down."

"No, my brother does it for him through letters." The tone in mr. Vantauge's voice held a mixture of irony and bitterness. "even if you succeed in finding the culprit, there is no guarantee he or she will be brought to justice."

"As long as Aurelia is alive, what does it matter?"

"you're a naive fool!"

The argument escalated into a growing spiral, the bedrock of reason crumbling under the scalding flames of emotion.

robert felt himself wounded time and again by the questioning of his competence, but he fought back with his own unfair accusations, determined not to give ground. The single-minded pressure in his brain propelled him forward. He could not let Aurelia die, not the quick-witted girl who had argued with him in every debate and defeated him in his very first horse race. When he had left the palace it had been with the nagging fear that he might never see her again.

And no matter how much his life had changed, he had never quite managed to shake her from his head. she was always in his thoughts, challenging him to do a better job or goading him to admit when he had made a mistake. she was a constant, unending voice, and he could not accept the thought of her death. He would go to the palace.

"enough." mrs. Vantauge's cool voice broke into the flaming atmosphere. "robert, you know I do not want you to go." she put a hand on her son's shoulder. "I have no more wish to see you place your life in the hands of others than I have to see your father do so in another investigation.

"However." she gave her husband a pleading look. "This is robert's decision to make. We can't keep him here against his will, brian. He is old enough to make his own choices."

mr. Vantauge flung up his hands in disgust and slammed out of the cabin.

robert winced at the memory. Aurelia's expectant face returned to the forefront of his vision. "my father could not leave the farm," he said in response to her query.

Aurelia nodded, seeming to accept his explanation without question. He supposed the trauma of the recent news had dulled her senses. Instead of prying, she turned a corner.

palace Hill rose up before them, the steepness of its dramatic slope nothing next to the sheer cliffs hidden on its opposite side. The palace sprawled across the top, a fortress of stone walls embedded in volcanic rock. The tower and turrets, spires and battlements, reached up above the outer wall into the evening sky. A backdrop of gray clouds buried the distant rim of the Valshone mountains so that only the palace appeared to stand out above the valley floor. shadows slanted down, masking one side of the ominous structures. A palace built for defense, for intimidation, for deterring the most powerful invading army. The front gate stood open now after a century of peace, but those same doors would slam secure at the first indication of attack.

Secure from an outside threat, but from an inside one?
The thought reminded robert that he did not yet know how Aurelia had managed to enter the city alone. "How did you escape the palace today?" he asked. "After the attack last night, I thought your father had you restricted to your rooms for your own safety."