Immediately, Ryder recalled a previous conversation with his father about this very subject. His father had briefly mentioned helping an old woman. Yet, Fred wasn’t part of the four guards who’d been with his father. “Have you helped this old woman before?”
“No, not that I recall.”
“Do you know who she is?”
Slowly, Fred shook his head. “None of us had seen...her before. But then, we don’t know...everyone in the...kingdom.”
“What did she look like?” Ryder would seek out this woman and spy on her if he must. His gut feeling told him this was not a coincidence.
“Small...perhaps five feet in height. Petite. Her hair was blonde...with very little gray...and wound in a coil...on the top of...her head.” He took another deep breath. “She wore glasses. They were round.”
“Any warts? Missing teeth?” Ryder didn’t want to fall for a stereotype, even if the thought of a witch did cross his mind, but odd facial characteristics would be helpful no matter what, right?
“No, but...she wore a red...scarf around her...head.”
From up the hall, Ryder detected the king’s voice. His Majesty must be finished with his meetings and would soon wish to leave. Although Ryder yearned to stay and talk to Fred longer, his first responsibility was to the king.
Ryder gently placed his hand on the frail man’s arm. “Thank you for letting me know. I promise to look into the matter immediately.”
“Thank you.” Mrs. Cook’s eyes brimmed with unshed tears.
As Ryder left the hospital, determination surged through him. He finally had the information needed to pursue this matter. Some of the king’s guards were being poisoned, and it was up to Ryder to find the person responsible...before he became the next victim.
EIGHT
Clarissa hummed asshe wandered through the palace. Her mind couldn’t stay still. Not only was it filled with thoughts of Prince Ormond and the dinner party last night, but a sense of urgency rushed through her—as if she were running out of time. She didn’t like the feeling, and she wondered if she felt this way because of her father and their little talk on the hospital grounds yesterday.
Either way, she couldn’t wait to see Prince Ormond again. Then again, she didn’t want to frighten him away. What if he thought she only liked him because of the lands and wealth their marriage union would bring? That certainly wasn’t the reason. She didn’t want him to think she was doing this purely for her father’s sake, either. Yet, she knew if she pondered on it too much, the anxiety would drive her mad.
As much as she wanted to have a heart-to-heart with her mother about her bewilderment, she didn’t feel she could talk to her as she once had. It hurt Clarissa to know that they had somehow drifted apart over the past year while she’d been away visiting her cousin, when they had just barely begun to develop a relationship before her trip that exceeded that of mother-daughter and became one of friends.
Earlier this morning, during breakfast with her mother, the two women had the oddest conversation. The queen just hadn’t been herself, and there was not even a flicker of their previous connection. It angered Clarissa to think her mother could be so self-absorbed, since most of the conversation had been about the queen, and how tedious her daily activities had been of late. She complained about how the servants never did as she instructed, and they were all imbeciles. The woman Clarissa knew and loved adored her duties and performed them with grace. She would also never belittle others, no matter how lowly their station.
The more Clarissa thought about it though, the more she wondered if something drastic was going on in her mother’s life that her parents didn’t want to let their daughter know about. Worry grew inside of Clarissa, and she could only hope her father would let her know if this problem—whatever it was—was tragic. She didn’t think she could handlediscoveringsomething terrible was going on. She would much rather hear it straight from her parents.
Movement from outside the window caught her attention. She peered out. Several of her father’s guards were returning. She quickly scanned to see if any of them were Ryder, but none looked like her childhood friend.
