Jade tried to release the tension in her shoulders and neck, but only some of it abated. The grand general’s answers worked. They made enough sense to disregard everything she had discovered. But it didn’t change the sinking feeling in her stomach when she considered those pieces of the puzzle. Combined with Marchand’s insistence of innocence before he died in a strange accident, the suspicion that something wasn’t right settled deep in Jade’s mind.
“The killer was being supplied with rienevoir from somewhere, and based on your own findings, that somewhere was from the Earl of Southbury,” Devereaux went on, cool, collected, and matter-of-fact. “We know he had threatened the other contenders at the beginning of the feud. He likely tried to frame each of them in turn. Though we will not be able to get answers from him any longer, our forces are scouring his records just as we have done with Lord Grannam. I imagine we will find evidence of his association with the assassin that way.”
Instead of debating her highest-ranking commanding officer, Jade simply said, “I see, Grand General,” and left it at that.
Grand General Devereaux sat back as if the matter was well and fully settled, her fingers separating and trailing across the smooth desk top. “There’s just one more thing.” Devereaux’s gaze flashed between Jade and Theo. “Lady Arabella has formally requested a meeting with both of you.”
Jade’s mouth fell open as her eyebrows shot up. How did Arabella even know about Jade to request a meeting with her? Did she know she was Elena, or did she simply hope to speak to the intelligence agents working The Claim?
Matherson was the only one to speak. “She’s uncovered the truth about them?”
Devereaux pursed her lips before speaking. “It would appear so.”
Tightness clenched around Jade’s heart. Her cover had been blown. How had Arabella found out? Did it have to do with Theo delivering that note Jade had found?
If Arabella knew Jade was an espionage agent, that Elena had been a farce, how far would that knowledge extend within the royal family? With her identity exposed, Jade wouldn’t be able to work espionage anymore. She tried to keep her expression neutral even as her lungs failed to expand, making it difficult to breathe.
Matherson’s brows knitted together as he brought his hand to his chin and rubbed it thoughtfully. “And we agreed? Confirmed their identities?”
“Yes,” was Devereaux’s strong, simple answer.
Jade’s eyes fixed on Matherson as he hesitated. He returned his hand to the arm of the chair and said, “I’m not sure that was the best course of action. What would Lady Arabella hope to learn from them that was worth exposing them as intelligence?”
Pressing her fingertips into the desk, Devereaux slowly rose but did not straighten, instead leaning over her desk. “It is nothing for us to appraise. The soon-to-be Princess of Marran, and our future queen, has requested this meeting. We are in no position to question her. They will meet here in Lady Arabella’s suite in the castle after the king’s funeral. She understands the roles they played in The Claim and has agreed to keep their true identities secret.”
Breath finally left Jade’s lungs. Perhaps as the future queen, Arabella understood the necessity of keeping the identities of espionage agents confidential. They would behermilitary one day. Arabella had nothing to gain from spreading such knowledge.
The telephone on Devereaux’s desk rang, the shrill sound grating on Jade’s ears. “Dismissed,” she said as she returned to her seat and answered the phone. Jade, Theo, and Matherson crossed the room and exited, but as soon as the door closed behind them, Jade turned her attention to Matherson.
“Do you agree with what the grand general said? About Marchand.”
Though his face didn’t move, Matherson’s eyes flitted to the corners as though looking through the office door. Devereaux’s voice carried as shespoke to someone on the other end of the telephone, but even Jade knew they only had seconds to discuss.
“I’m not sure,” he finally said, his voice barely audible. “I’ll look into it more when I return to Ivanelli after the memorial and coronation. But, Ni’ihm”—he dipped his head closer to her for a fraction of a moment—“if Grand General Devereaux says something is true, it will take a lot of hard evidence to convince me otherwise.”
Hard evidence was not something Jade possessed. She’d laid out everything she had right then, and if it wasn’t enough for Devereaux, it clearly wouldn’t be enough for Matherson. She would make the most of her time in the archives, and she would see what Arabella knew. Because now that she had an official meeting with Arabella as herself, she might find answers to some of her lingering questions.
Forty
In the afternoon following theking’s funeral, Jade sat in the Fellsrin sisters’ private parlor in their newly attained suite at Castle Venemer, soon to become their primary home after the coronation. She and Theo occupied wing-backed chairs opposite Arabella and Alanna, a small, round table between the two pairs set with a teapot and four cups and saucers. After inviting the captains inside the room, Arabella had called for some refreshments and took her seat, her tired eyes flicking continuously between Jade and Theo.
She had to have been recalling what little she knew about them and putting their newly exposed identities into context. Alanna appeared more at ease, a soft smile touching her lips though her eyes bore evidence of the same fatigue. No doubt the sisters had had some long days and possibly sleepless nights recently. A perceived attempt on their father’s life had most likely setthem on edge. With the preparations leading up to the coronation, their little remaining energy was no doubt constantly drained.
Jade settled into the chair. Was this the start of a working relationship between her and Arabella? This might be the first of many similar meetings, a queen and her top military advisor. Jade had to establish a good foundation now, wanting nothing to jeopardize the task she and Arabella had ahead of them to undo the damage done by the execution law.
“I was curious to meet the real you, after I’d learned of the true nature of your association with our family,” Arabella began, straightening in her seat. The upward tip of her chin gave away the bit of indignation she must have felt at being deceived.
“I apologize for the deception, Your Highness—”
“Oh, it’s not official yet. It’s still ‘Lady Arabella’ for now.”
“Lady Arabella,” Jade repeated, resuming her previous sentence. “I was just doing my job, which involves protecting the true line of succession.Yourline.”
In her peripheral vision, Jade caught sight of Theo’s quick glance in her direction. He didn’t have to say anything for her to know what the look meant. She was speaking to the future queen. He knew what Jade hoped to establish with her even now.
Arabella brushed the bodice of her black mourning gown as if to remove some lint, seemingly unbothered by Jade’s response. “Yes, I suppose you were. And I’m grateful this has come to an end, albeit a bloody one.”
The memory of Arthur convulsing as he died by the poison flashed in Jade’s mind. Arthur, Grannam, Marchand...so many had died as a result of this senseless conflict.
