Sophia gave her head another small shake, but Bertrand transferred his attention to Elowen.
“Yes, Your Highness, the servant I foolishly trusted with a position far beyond his merits wasn’t satisfied with harming both my affairs and my reputation. Since he was taken by the royal guard, I’ve discovered that he ransacked my belongings without me noticing. I can only assume he intended to find enough of value to run away before his misdeeds came to light. Fortunately, he didn’t manage that.”
He glanced up the table, his face twisting into a look of polite derision that made his manner much more familiar.
“I don’t see any sign of our noble victor.”
“He’s resting after the exertions of the tournament,” Elowen said shortly, watching him for his reaction.
One eyebrow curved artfully upward. “He has a delicate constitution, it seems. Was he really overpowered by his efforts in the tournament? Or is it that, having secured what he needed and formalized the betrothal, he no longer feels any need to court our favor and pander to our ways by continuing his public duties?”
“Of course that’s not the case,” Elowen snapped, annoyed to see that many of the courtiers within hearing range were murmuring disapprovingly to one another. Of course they were glad of any reason to think poorly of the Siqualian.
“I hope not, my dear Princess.” Bertrand leaned forward. “I would hate to see you with the kind of man who loses interest once he’s gotten what he wants from you. Women as beautiful as you do sometimes have that problem, I’m told.”
Elowen felt her cheeks heat, as much from anger as from his insinuations. She longed to hurl accusations at him, but she knew she had to hold her tongue. She had no proof that he’d done anything untoward. Even his brazen appearance at lunch seemed to mock her suspicions. And she didn’t know if she could trust her suspicions in the first place. She had no impartial argument against him, only her own scathing dislike.
She contented herself with glaring at the few others who were still muttering about Theo’s absence. None of them seemed to even notice.
Prince Xavier had been right. Theo didn’t deserve the suspicion and poor treatment he’d received.
Theo. She was itching to get back to him. She cast another look over the assembled members of the court, searching for hidden enemies. She hated to suspect her own people, but if someone had attacked Theo, it must have been someone Torrenese. There was no other explanation. If he had even been attacked, she amended, her certainty wavering. The physician had said that exposure to poison would likely have killed himby now. Would Theo be dead already if he’d drained the whole goblet as he was supposed to do?
She’d hoped to wait Bertrand out, but he showed every sign of settling in for a long meal. Unwilling to delay, Elowen lowered her voice as soon as he was distracted with his food.
“Sophia, tell me. You found something out.”
Sophia moved a thin sliver of ham around her plate with her fork. She didn’t seem to have much appetite.
“I spoke to Simeon,” she said, her words barely above a whisper.
“They let you see him?”
Sophia shook her head. “They refused. But I…found a way.”
Elowen frowned in confusion but stayed on the main point. “And?”
“I…he didn’t say much. I mean, there’s not much to tell,” Sophia said lamely.
“What are you talking about?” Elowen hissed. “He must have said something.”
Sophia shrugged, the fact that she was hiding something written as clearly across her face as if she’d used ink.
“He did. He said that I should stay out of it.”
Bertrand claimed their attention again, and Elowen let the matter drop. She wasn’t done, but she couldn’t focus much on Simeon’s plight with Theo’s situation still so uncertain. As soon as politeness allowed, she rose from the table and made her way toward the infirmary. She swept past the guards on the door, stopping in the doorway of Theo’s room.
“What’s amiss?” she asked, alarmed to see Prince Xavier on his feet, with an air of departure.
“He’s worse,” the prince said shortly, the set of his brow telling Elowen that she’d missed some kind of conflict. “We’re leaving.”
Elowen had been studying Theo’s flushed face. He was still unconscious, and the way his eyelids kept twitching suggested his dreams weren’t restful. But the other prince’s words made her eyes snap to him.
“Leaving?” she repeated stupidly. “We? You want to move him?”
“The physician still insists that it’s only a fever, and it’s been made clear to me that no investigation is underway regarding who might have poisoned him.” Prince Xavier’s dark, rather thin brows were drawn all the way together as he shot a look at her. “Except for whatever inquiries you made. Did they convince you to rule out poison?”
“No,” Elowen admitted miserably. “I learned that the ceremonial goblets, with Theo’s clearly recognizable, sat for hours in a place where almost anyone could have gotten to them. And my father is unconvinced by my theory, and unwilling to start an investigation without medical evidence of poison.”
