‘This was given to the church by the previous prince of Rostenburg some three hundred years ago,’ Father Leon said as he held the dagger out for me to take.‘Maybe he knew what sort of fate would befall his son.’
I took the blade, marvelling at how neatly it fitted into my hand, how easy it was to wield.Raleigh’s father must have known there were vampires in the region to have commissioned something like this.I realised I knew nothing of Raleigh’s life before court, or of the Linfords who had ruled the region before him.
‘Take it,’ Father Leon said.‘It’s no good here collecting dust.’
‘It’s an historical artefact,’ I protested.
‘It’ll be a fair way cheaper than having one made new.Besides, I doubt any smith in Rostenburg knows how to make one like this these days.Save your pfennigs, take this.’
I blinked.‘I’m not taking it forfree.’
‘Well, I can hardly charge you when your betrothed donates so much to the church.’
My mouth fell open.‘Raleigh does?’I doubted Raleigh could enter the cathedral, and nothing about his courtship methods struck me as the actions of a religious man.
‘For strictly charitable ventures,’ Leon clarified.‘He makes it quite clear in his letters that if a single pfennig goes into the bishop’s pocket he’ll start a Protestant reform.Anyway, consider it a wedding present.Every Linford since the beginning has been gifted a silverblade at their investiture.This can be yours, Your Serene Highness.’He tossed me a three-hundred-year-old sheath that I fumbled to catch with my other hand.It felt shockingly sturdy for its age.‘Though I assume you won’t want me to tell your betrothed of this?’
‘Not yet,’ I said, threading the dagger back into the leather.‘But if this goes well we may hold our wedding here after all.’
Father Leon nodded slowly in understanding.‘I’ll pray for you,’ was all he said.
I didn’t stay long in Triz after leaving the cathedral.Father Leon spent a good hour showing me more of the treasures stashed in the reliquary, including Raleigh’s investiture regalia, which was a treat in itself for the mental image of how ludicrous he must have looked in the trailing robes and puffed-up crown.In the end the priest wouldn’t let me leave until he had pressed another bag into my hands filled with everything the myths suggested I might need to kill a vampire, again without payment.After bidding him goodbye and promising I’d return alive before long, I veered back into the main chapel to surreptitiously drop a few gulden in the donations box.They wouldn’t have paid for a single gem laid into my new dagger, but they would still be a shock for whoever opened the box at the end of the day.
There were a few coins left in my purse that were small enough to buy lunch without attracting too much suspicion, so I lingered long enough to eat at a nearby restaurant, taking care to keep my priceless artefact well concealed.It was a marvel that Triz had fared through the famine so well that they could still run restaurants.I’d always thought the people here had suffered as badly as we had in Orlfen.Why hadn’t we simply moved to Triz, I wondered.Why did we remain in Orlfen to starve?
Because we listened to Father.I poked at my goulash, no longer sure if I wanted to eat.He told us that Triz was suffering as badly as Orlfen and that they had nothing to spare for us.But the famine was exacerbated in Orlfen because of the dam.It didn’t make sense for Triz to be as affected.And clearly it wasn’t, or I wouldn’t have been sitting there in a restaurant with a bowl of goulash and a glass of wine that only cost a few pfennigs more than they might have in peacetime.
Had Father lied to us?But why?What could he possibly have to gain from the people of Orlfen starving to death?
I was back in the castle well before dark and had my dagger and the hunting bag safely hidden in my room with the crucifix I’d stolen from Orlfen before Raleigh began to stir.My wardrobe was starting to look like its own reliquary.I hoped Raleigh didn’t choose to go snooping through my room, for his own sake.At least not before I was able to arrange an audience with the Queen.
I felt deflated.Aside from the glaring truth that I wasn’t sure I could win in a fight against most humans, how was I supposed to kill the Queen if I didn’t even know where to find the court?Raleigh certainly wasn’t going to arrange me an audience with her, and Moira was too loyal to Raleigh to help me bypass him.
But it wasn’t just the three of us anymore …
‘Absolutely not,’ was Enrique’s reply when I asked.He was elbows deep in some sort of dough.I would never have broached the question if he had been holding a knife.‘Why does everyone think that just because I survived one revolution I’ll help them plan another?’
No wonder he was so guarded.Raleigh had mentioned before that Enrique had worked at Versailles.He must have seen things I couldn’t imagine.
‘But you do know where the court is?’
‘Of course.I grew up there.My father was her spawn, same as the prince.’He extracted himself from the dough and began dividing it up into smaller balls.‘Terrible place.Papa moved us back to France as soon as he was able.’
‘Did you know Raleigh back then?’
‘I knewofhim.Papa made sure I never strayed too close to’—he waved a floury hand—‘all that.Not a place for children, I’ll say that much.’
‘I’m not a child,’ I said.
‘Didn’t say you were.’Enrique slid a bowl of apples my way.‘Start cutting these if you’re going to stay in my kitchen.’
I’m not sure why I obeyed.There didn’t seem to be any room in his tone to turn him down.‘Did Raleigh tell you I’d ask?’I said.
‘He said you want to kill the Queen.Which I’d heavily advise against if you want to live much longer.’Enrique dragged out a rolling pin and began working the dough with fervour.‘Why do you care?He seems happy enough.’
‘It’s for our bargain.’
‘What bargain?’
