Twenty
Elowen had made no further progress when she was called to lunch a short time later. She had no appetite and could hardly bear to sit idle while the few courtiers present chatted about the tournament as though nothing was amiss. None of them knew about Theo’s situation. And none of them cared about Simeon.
She watched without much interest as a servant brought wine to her father for his approval. But as his brow furrowed and his gaze slid to her, she straightened, wincing internally.
Sure enough, as soon as the servant was gone, the king called her to his side.
“Elowen,” he said with a warning note in his voice. “Why did the kitchen send this wine specifically to oblige you? Why do the kitchen staff have the impression that you have a particular interest in the wine used in the betrothal ceremony last night?”
“I just asked some questions, Father,” Elowen said. “Trying to figure out how someone might have put poi—”
“That’s quite enough,” the king cut her off, with a sterner tone than she was used to from him. “Elowen, this is not a game. You absolutely cannot spread these unfounded rumors about foul play.”
“They’re not unfounded,” Elowen insisted earnestly. “Father, I truly believe Theo was poisoned last night. We have to figure out how and with what!”
“Elowen.” The sharp command pulled her up. “You’ve expressed your suspicion, and you’ve been taken seriously. A thorough assessment was undertaken by our most experienced physician. If there was any sign of poison, I would not hesitate to initiate a proper investigation. But there isn’t. And you poking around asking questions will achieve nothing but gossip.”
“But what if the physician is wrong?” Elowen said desperately. “What if it’s a type we haven’t encountered before, and he missed it?”
“The prince is ill, Elowen,” the king said. “It’s not a catastrophe. And incidentally, even that information should be kept private. You don’t seem to understand how serious it is for you to throw around these accusations while Prince Xavier is here. Wars have been started on less provocation.”
“Prince Xavier doesn’t want war,” Elowen said impatiently. “He wants his brother to be safe, which is the same thing I want.”
“Prince Theodore is perfectly safe in the infirmary, and will continue to receive excellent medical care until he’s fully recovered,” the king said calmly. “In the meantime, I absolutely forbid you to question the servants or say anything to anyone that might lead to unhelpful suspicions.”
Elowen wasn’t finished, but her retort died on her lips as she saw who’d just arrived to join the luncheon.
Sophia!
The other girl looked pale, her brow still lined, but something had changed since they’d last spoken. Elowen could tell. Sophia was accompanied by a few others, one of them the last person Elowen wanted to see.
“I’m surprised to see Bertrand and Sophia here,” she said, her eyes flicking to her father.
The king sent a dignified look toward the door. “The duke returned to his lands this morning to conduct his own investigations,” he said. “I believe his children chose to stay in the capital.”
Returned to his landswas a nice way to say that the duke had been exiled in disgrace, Elowen reflected. The mortification of their servant’s supposed treason would be crushing for the family, and it was no surprise to her that the duke was absent. Sophia wouldn’t leave while Simeon was in trouble, she knew. But Bertrand…the identity of the servant in the dungeons had inevitably spread, and Bertrand was holding his head surprisingly high for how closely Simeon was connected with him.
Elowen’s eyes were narrowed as she watched him take a seat beside his sister, far too close to her own chair for her liking. It hadn’t been lost on her that no one had a bigger grudge against Theo than Bertrand. Would he really dare to attack a foreign prince? She knew he hated Theo, but would he risk war? Elowen returned to her seat, her thoughts swirling. If she told her father about Bertrand’s behavior toward her, and the conflict between him and Theo before their fight in the tournament, would he take her fears more seriously? She knew the answer. Any hunch or suspicion of hers would never weigh against the medical evidence of the physician.
“What’s happened?” she asked Sophia in an undertone.
Her friend just shook her head.
Frustration rose in Elowen, but she didn’t have the chance to press. Bertrand was speaking to the man next to him, his strained voice carrying.
“Yes, of course I’m shocked, can’t you think of a more intelligent question than the one ten others have asked before you?”
“You kept him so close, My Lord,” the other nobleman said, not succeeding in hiding his glee at Bertrand’s embarrassment. “It’s incredible that he was able to cause such mischief without you knowing of it.”
“I understand now why he had become increasingly unreliable,” Bertrand said, his gruff voice full of resentment. “But I confess I never imagined him capable of this.”
Elowen searched his face, her eyes narrowed. Was his outrage manufactured? The anger seemed real enough. He was discomposed in a way she’d rarely seen before, his usual smooth manner gone.
“Just as I never thought he’d steal from me. Apparently loyalty means nothing anymore.” The last words were uttered in a lower voice, something dark behind Bertrand’s eyes.
“Let it rest, Bertrand,” Sophia said wearily. “He’s in the dungeons, what more do you want?”
“Steal from you?” Elowen repeated, her eyes flying between the siblings.
