“That one’s a sorcerer,” Grannam said, too calmly to be disturbed by any of this. “Take him away.”
“No!” the footman cried. “You can’t! I would never hurt anyone!”
The guards paused, hesitant to apprehend the man. It made no sense until the realization of what was happening dawned on Jade. This sorcerer was using his magical influence—whether intentionally or not—on the guards to try to prevent his own arrest.
“He’s using magic on you,” Grannam ground out to the guards, who had broken free from the footman’s control and stepped forward again.
“I’ve done nothing wrong!” He hadn’t, it was true. But Jade recognized the faint tingle of his attempt to sway her in the back of her mind, as though a swirling haze settled over her thoughts. He’d likely sent out a wave of influence over the whole room, possibly unintentionally in his desperation, but he couldn’t adequately manipulate a mind when trying to influence that many people. Few sorcerers could, even some of the strongest. The magic worked most effectively on one mind at a time.
Did anyone else around the table even notice? The military had trained Jade to recognize when she might be under the influence of a sorcerer. Most of the time, people had no idea if they were being manipulated. It was part of what made people say magic-wielders were so dangerous. But members of the military had to recognize the sensation to ensure nothing altered their work or information.
The sorcerer footman resisted as the guards seized him, ignoring his cries of protest. The partygoers had silenced around the table, waiting for the situation to resolve. Jade’s eyes flicked up to Arabella, where she sat visibly fuming.
Could her claims about wanting to remove the execution law be genuine? What motivation would she have to do such a thing? But if she truly did, Jade couldn’t help but hope she took the throne soon. At face value, Jade still supported Prince Reynauld, as all members of the military were expected to do, but the promise of what Arabella might be able to accomplish sent a surge of hope through Jade’s heart.
What better queen to be a grand general under? Jade would finally see through the personal mission she’d given herself as a result of losing her parents.
Jade’s father had been set to inherit the title of Lord of Fairkirk and with it the estate and home where he had grown up. But when Jade was a baby, her father and mother had discovered that a member of the house staff was a sorceress. They’d chosen to keep the information a secret in an attempt to protect the sorceress, personally disagreeing with the execution law. Though her parents hadn’t made their beliefs public knowledge, the secret eventually came to light. Jade’s parents were disowned and disinherited, cast out of their home, and the sorceress was executed.
It was ultimately the reason for the deaths of her mother and father, her father forced to take on a farming job but having no skills and dying in a tragic accident when Jade was six. Being without him worked Jade’s motherto the bone, and when she caught pneumonia in the winter Jade was fourteen, she didn’t recover.
The present situation reminded her too much of what her parents had done. A sob caught in Jade’s throat. She reached for her water, but the moment her fingertips touched the glass, she pulled them away. The action might have come across to others at the table as fearful, since the footman had been the last to handle her glass. In truth, she couldn’t stand the memory of the kindness in his eyes moments before he’d received a death sentence.
With the footman gone, the ruckus in the room devolved into quiet murmuring. Grannam stood as though nothing tremendously out of the ordinary had happened, leading the way for the men to follow into the smoking room.
In her peripheral vision, Jade caught sight of Harrison leaning closer to her. “I’m so sorry you had to witness that,” he murmured.
Jade plastered on a small smile in gratitude. “Thank you. Has this ever happened before?”
Harrison shook his head. “I can’t say that it has, which makes it especially horrifying that you had to be here for it.”
Taking a deep breath through her nose, the closed-lip smile still stretched on her face, Jade nodded in affirmation. Harrison stood, pulling back Jade’s chair and offering her his hand.
“You may go on with the ladies,” he said, guiding her in the direction all the other women headed.
If Jade didn’t already know the nobility to be so callous, she might have been surprised at how easily Harrison slipped into routine after such an event. She carried herself with all the aplomb of an aristocratic lady, walking with Harrison to the door leading to the sitting room, but her heart was breaking.
“It was wonderful seeing you again, Lady Elena,” he said with a bow before turning to join the men.
Jade wasted no time in following in step with the ladies, her hands balling into fists at her sides momentarily before she clasped them together in front of her and tipped her chin up.
It was time to get to work.
Seventeen
Three of the ladies tookup one couch—Jade recognized Marguerite’s younger sister Sylvie with her and Alanna—and Lady Helene, the future duchess of Evenshold, sat on the other with Arabella. They sat in awkward silence, as though trying to figure out what to talk about given the events in the dining room. Marguerite caught sight of Jade and perked up.
“Elena, come have a seat.” Marguerite gestured to the sofa with two occupants, and Arabella scooted in toward the middle at her cousin’s indication.
Jade obeyed, taking a seat beside Lady Arabella. She glanced at Jade as she sat down, anger still clearly roiling under her skin, but she kept it at bay.
“This is Lady Elena Tavigne,” Marguerite began as soon as Jade reached the sofa. “Of Ellyris. She was at my birthday ball as a guest of Harry’s, and I invited her back here tonight to surprise him.”
If the women weren’t going to talk about the sorcerer footman, Jade wasn’t going to bring it up. She was here for other reasons, anyway. And sitting beside Arabella might help to build their future association.
“You’ve met Alanna already.” Marguerite didn’t miss a beat as she continued with the introductions, indicating each person in turn. “And this is my sister Sylvie, my sister-in-law Helene, and Lady Arabella of Fellsrin. But I’m sure you know that. Who doesn’t?”
“It’s quite the honor to meet you, my lady.” Jade bowed at the neck beside Arabella, her eyes wide with awe.
