The Dragon Queens (The Mystique Trilogy) (27 page)

‘Does that mean you intend to stay in Cairo, Ajalae?’ I had hoped she would consider our proposal for her and our grandchild to come and live with us in England.

Her large brown eyes apologised. ‘This is my home,’ she explained.

I held up a hand to assure her I understood her reasons; she did not have to justify herself to me. ‘Then we shall stay until the birth,’ I said, and nodded firmly when Miss Koriche shook her head in protest.

‘No, I cannot keep you from your family,’ she insisted.

‘You are our family too,’ my Lord Devere said, and his sincerity brought tears to the young woman’s eyes. ‘Do you think we are going to miss the birth of our first grandchild?’

‘Not on your life,’ I seconded. ‘We can help you find a new living arrangement here.’

‘Indeed,’ my husband said. ‘I, for one, shall not be
leaving Cairo until I see my daughter-in-law and grandson happily settled in their own home.’

Miss Koriche appeared overwhelmed; clearly she hadn’t thought that far ahead. ‘I am really not in a financial situation to—’

‘Our grandson’s allowance will cover all your expenses.’ Lord Devere’s statement stunned Miss Koriche into speechlessness.

‘Any idea on a name yet?’ I asked to fill the silence.

‘I have given that some thought.’ The young mother-to-be found her voice and her eyes turned to my husband. ‘I would like to name him Earnest.’

This was my husband’s given name and the suggestion took him quite by surprise. ‘After me, Ajalae?’ Clearly he was touched by the sentiment.

She nodded. ‘You are the only man I have ever trusted, Lord Devere.’ Her emotions welled with the confession and tears trickled from her eyes. ‘You promised, many times, that you would see me to safety and you have. I want my son to be just like you.’

As my lord embraced the emotional young woman, my own tears began to roll. I so empathised with her reasons for the name choice, for during the twenty years we had been married, my dear Devere had saved me in every sense of the word.

‘You came to my rescue a few times too,’ Lord Devere told Miss Koriche, not wanting to take all the credit for their survival. These two had obviously formed a very close bond during their ordeal and I was glad of it, for it made Ajalae feel more like family.

‘Quite a team,’ she sniffled; then she smiled and released my husband to take hold of both his hands.
‘Even Taylor had his moments,’ she concluded sadly.

The smiles fell from all our faces, and Miss Koriche drew away from us to take a seat at the small table she had been employing as a desk.

‘I feel sure that Mr Taylor did not confront and overcome his lifelong phobia for no good reason,’ I offered, attemping to be of some comfort on the matter, for I sensed that Taylor was also part of the reason Miss Koriche was choosing to stay in Cairo. If our friend had survived the fall, managed to slay the beast and found his way through the outer labyrinths of the inner world, then he would most likely surface in this city, just as we had.

‘Taylor is a survivor, to be sure,’ my husband agreed.

‘His contribution to the pursuit of truth will bear great fruit, I shall see to that.’ Miss Koriche took up her quill, dipped it in ink and continued with her transcription.

By the time young Earnest was born, Miss Koriche had transformed the face and mind-set of her sisterhood, written three volumes on soul genetics and painted all twelve of the remaining time codes. She had been determined to get at least this much doctrine recorded before she went into labour, in the event that the birth of her child did not go well for her. My and my lord’s presence was also a reassurance; should the worst happen, young Earnest would be well taken care of.

It was well that the young mother-to-be had worked so vigilantly, for young Earnest took us all by surprise by deciding to arrive a month early. Miss Koriche was justly distressed for the child,
as babies born so prematurely rarely survived. Still, the blessed little soul did not leave us worrying too long: he was born after only a few hours of labour, weighed in at a healthy eight pounds, and was kicking, screaming and functioning perfectly well.

‘It is a miracle,’ Miss Koriche told us and burst into tears at the sight of her dark-haired, fairskinned, blue-eyed baby boy.

Suddenly I sensed there was more amiss with Miss Koriche than just post-labour stress. I looked to my Lord Devere.

‘You are exhausted, dear daughter,’ he told her. ‘We shall leave you to rest.’

‘No,’ she said, ‘please do not go. I cannot go through with this now that I know for sure.’

My lord knew immediately what was on Miss Koriche’s mind; the premature birth had aroused his suspicions. ‘This child is Mr Taylor’s, isn’t it,’ he said.

You could have knocked me over with a feather when Miss Koriche nodded to confirm my lord’s words.

‘He forced himself upon you?’ Lord Devere attempted to ease some of her difficulty.

Miss Koriche shook her head. ‘At first his attentions were unwelcome, it is true. But I cannot deny that I became attracted to him, despite the fact that he was not my designated target…so I am not entirely blameless. It only happened once, and when I met Levi I cursed my brief impetuous moment with Taylor, for I was truly enamoured of your son. When I discovered I was pregnant, I so wanted the child to be Levi’s, conceived in love and tenderness, not in a wild, irrational moment.’

I sat beside Ajalae and gave her a shoulder to cry on, whilst my husband relieved us of the crying newborn. ‘I’m going to show off my grandson,’ he told us.

Miss Koriche raised her tear-swollen eyes to Lord Devere. ‘Did you not understand me?’

‘I have legally adopted this child,’ my husband said, allaying her concern. ‘Thus I have a perfect right to call him my grandchild.’

‘I do not expect you to honour our financial arrangement,’ Miss Koriche insisted. ‘That is why I confessed my shame. My Lord and Lady Suffolk, you are the best of souls, and now that I know the truth I cannot deceive you into providing—’

Lord Devere cut in and ended the argument. ‘Taylor, despite his faults, was a dear friend of mine and I will not hear of his family going wanting in the wake of the sacrifice he made for all of us.’

Indeed, this turn of events shed new light on Taylor’s reckless and heroic act on the cavern bridge, for he had no doubt suspected that he was saving his own child from the clutches of the alien creature. And I was delighted to realise that Levi had not abandoned his child, after all.

I smiled as my pride in my lad was fully restored. I really should have known better than to doubt Levi’s motives, for clearly he was infinitely wiser than I.

Lord Devere and I left for home a few weeks later. Miss Koriche promised to send us copies of everything she wrote and painted, and we assured her that we would always appreciate her correspondence.

We chose the long sea passage that took us via many islands all the way back to France. Upon our arrival in the port of Marseilles, my lord heard word of a band of gypsies that were camped outside the city whose captain was to be wed this very night. Could it be the Choron clan? Had Raineath managed to capture Cingar’s heart? Lord Devere and I could not curtail our curiosity; we hired a carriage and went to investigate.

I was so glad that we acted upon impulse, for it was indeed the Choron band whom we found frequenting one of their preferred camping sites overlooking the sea. We were warmly welcomed by many old friends—most of all by Cingar, who was astonished and overjoyed to see us alive and well.

‘I have been cursing myself every day since I did not follow you into that cave at Mamer,’ he said.

‘But you obviously made the right decision,’ Lord Devere pointed out, ‘for we hear you are to be wed this night.’

Cingar nearly choked, then began to laugh. ‘I am not the one to be wed this night; it is my son, who has been captaining this band in my absence, who is to marry. Surely, you did not think that I would seduce the young woman in my care?’ he finished, sounding both insulted and flattered.

Poor Raineath, it seemed Cingar was still blissfully unaware of her adoration. Perhaps he would never love again, after all. I knew that if anything were to happen to my dear Devere, I could not imagine ever finding anyone who would suit me quite so well.

‘Who is the lucky bride-to-be?’ I asked. ‘Was it an arranged match, like Jessenia and yourself?’

‘It is Raineath!’ he announced, as if I should have guessed. ‘The moment she laid eyes on my son and he on her,
bam
, they were in love. Funny how destiny weaves her will, is it not?’

This seemed to explain why Chiara had sent Cingar to me in the first place, so that we could go together to rescue his future daughter-in-law from the harem of the Persian Shah. I found it curious, however, that Cingar referred to destiny as a female and I queried him on it.

‘Only a female could be as calculating and have the foresight that destiny requires,’ the gypsy explained. ‘Now fate is a man,’ he went on, ‘no planning, just go with the flow and see what tomorrow brings.’

Both Lord Devere and myself found his reasoning most amusing. Of course, we were both invited to the wedding and were delighted to extend our stay in order to attend. Truly joyous moments had been far and few between during this journey, so a moment to celebrate and to forget all the problems of the inner and outer world was an unexpected gift.

With the merriment of the wedding behind us, we were heading home to inform Levi’s three adoring siblings that they would never see their dear brother again—news that neither Lord Devere nor I was eager to impart. However, before we returned to family life in England, there was one loose end to tie up from our Persian voyage: our debriefing with Lord Malory.

It was a dark and inhospitable night, pouring with rain, when we arrived in London. We took a carriage directly to Lord Malory’s private residence; I did not envy our driver’s exposure to the elements.
Paying no heed to the unfashionably late hour, Lord Devere and I demanded that the Grand Master see us at once.

‘That is quite out of the question, I’m afraid,’ we were told by one of Lord Malory’s underling knights as we were led to the private library where the Grand Master and I usually met.

‘We have just travelled halfway around the world on Lord Malory’s account, and lost a family member and a dear friend in the process.’ My lord made his irritation plain. ‘If Lord Malory will not see us now, then we shall take what we have discovered to the grave and the Sangrèal’s secret agenda can go to hell!’

‘Please wait here. I shall pass on that message.’ The young knight quickly retreated.

We waited, and we waited. Weary from our travels, we were of a mind to leave when the door opened and in walked the one member of the brotherhood whom I truly respected.

‘My Lord Derby, what a marvellous surprise.’ Lord Devere was shaking the man’s hand before I had even found my tongue.

Lord Cavandish, the Earl of Derby, was the father of my dearest friend, Lady Susan Devere. He was also the nephew of my great mentor, Lady Charlotte, and had practically adopted me after I used my psychic skills at the age of eight to save his family from ruin.

Lord Cavandish turned his attention my way. ‘My Lady Suffolk, travel always did agree with you, how well you look.’ He took hold of my hands and kissed them both in turn.

‘Whatever are you doing here at this late hour, Lord Derby?’ I asked. The earl was a family man and
not renowned for frequenting clubs in the wee hours.

‘You do not miss a thing, do you, my dear?’ He grinned, expecting nothing less. ‘I have been called here at this ungodly hour to set the affairs of our late Grand Master in order.’

A gasp caught in my throat and suffocated me a second.

‘Lord Malory is dead?’ Lord Devere was horrified, for he had known Lord Malory for some thirty years.

‘How did it happen?’ I asked. ‘When?’

‘I myself arrived shortly before you did. The doctor tells me that Malory died only hours before he was found.’ The earl invited us to be seated once more and lowered himself into an armchair. ‘As for how Lord Malory died, that remains a mystery. The doctor suspects—’

‘Apoplexy,’ I cut in, never surer.

Lord Cavandish nodded, knowing I would not like the verdict. My dear Lord Hamilton had been pronounced dead by the same cause some twenty years ago and I had never truly believed the diagnosis. Fear permeated my being now as a whole new murder theory began to take form in my mind. Was our return to London and Lord Malory’s death just a sad coincidence?
There are no accidents,
I reminded myself.

I leapt to my feet. ‘I need to see the body.’

My Lord Devere stood too. He knew I suspected foul play; the timing was just too neat.

Lord Cavandish clearly thought my request inappropriate, but knew better than to doubt my motives. He frowned to express how perplexed he was by the request, but nevertheless got to his feet and led the way to Malory’s last resting place.

A few grave-faced men were standing about outside Lord Malory’s private sitting room; all looked stunned by the sight of a woman being escorted to view the body of their Grand Master, so unexpectedly deceased.

The scene that awaited me inside Lord Malory’s private chamber was almost a direct replica of the scene of my Lord Hamilton’s death. Lord Malory was hunched forward over his desk, his arms stretched either side of his head, a glass of wine spilt alongside him.

‘Do you suspect poisoning again?’ my husband queried softly.

I shook my head.

The investigating constable, who had been speaking with the departing doctor, approached to protest at our presence in the room. ‘What do you think you are doing?’ he demanded. ‘I do not want anything disturbed.’

It seemed fate was a man indeed, because as fate would have it, the constable was the very same man who had been called upon to investigate the death of my Lord Hamilton.

‘Constable Fletcher.’ I smiled in greeting.

It took a moment for him to place my face, but I was flattered when he succeeded. ‘Miss Granville,’ he said. ‘I have often wondered if we would cross paths again.’