“What is of interest in that?” I could understand why he thought looking at the first contract might help. Anything resembling a curse was worth a closer look. But a marriage contract?
Marc shrugged. “Your family’s power must have always played a role in marriage negotiations. I am curious to see if the terms here include any mention of the node.”
If Marc was suggesting that the bride’s family might have demanded a node-tie as a condition of the alliance... well, I wanted to claim such a thing was impossible, but even though the truth-telling enchantment around the castle didn’t affect me, I still couldn’t say it. At this point, I wasn’t willing to call anything impossible. “You’ll tell me if there is anything of interest?”
His lips curved upward. “I know the terms of my contract, Your Grace.”
I suspected I didn’t know the terms as well as I should. Marc was hiding things from me, and though he had to share certain information, I now worried that other secrets could slip through. If I couldn’t rely on him, then I’d have to dig around on my own. Except Marc was in the castle specifically because hunting through the archives was nearly impossible for me at present.
I could pull Isa in to help me. I knew she didn’t like me and didn’t want to help me, but she had less freedom than Marc. My earlier guilt, almost forgotten as I worried over the secretary, came roaring back. In an instant, I made a decision. My choice might condemn me to life as a cat, but at least I’d be able to live with myself.
I sat up once more. “Well, I hope the scrolls prove worthwhile, but they’ll have to wait. I came to see you for a reason. With Isa staying at the castle, we will need more supplies. I want you to go into Leort tomorrow to stock up. First, though, I need you to write out a contract to take with you.”
Ten
Isabel
???
After eating thebreakfast waiting for me in my sitting room, I headed down to the archives. I had a few more questions for Marc. The secretary was hiding something, and I could feel the power of the node pulling me to discover his secrets. The more I had thought about my conversation with him from the day before, the harder the magic tugged at me.
When I reached the basement, I didn’t see Marc, but I could hear movement behind his desk. I walked over and found the duke attacking the drawer. He was so intent, he didn’t notice me.
“Is there a mouse inside or something?”
Felix sprang away from the drawer, his fur standing on end. “Isa. What are you doing down here?”
“I came to talk to Marc. What are you doing?”
“It’s my castle. I can do whatever I want.”
I bit my lip. Those weren’t the words of a haughty duke. No, those were the deflection of a guilty boy. And Felix knew it.
His fur smoothed out and he wouldn’t meet my eyes. “Marc went into Leort to restock our supplies. He won’t be back until tomorrow afternoon.”
It would have been nice to know he was leaving earlier. I could have written to Sofia and Frederic, and even if my contract prevented me from telling them exactly what was going on, at least I could have assured them I was alive and well. Then again, Felix probably hadn’t told me on purpose, not wanting word to get out that I was even at Rose Castle.
I sighed. Marc was already gone, so it was no use wishing I could write those letters. I glanced at the drawer. I wasn’t above snooping through the secretary’s things if I couldn’t question him. “Would you like some help getting into his desk, then?”
Felix nodded, still without looking at me.
I slid open the heavy drawer. “Are we looking for anything in particular?”
“He should have a copy of the contract he signed when he agreed to stay at Rose Castle with me. I wanted to review it.”
I rifled through the items in the drawer, but there were no contracts. Wordlessly, I closed that drawer and opened the next. There were several papers here, and after a few minutes I found the one the duke wanted. I placed it on top of the desk. “Found it.”
Felix hopped up next to the paper and we both read.
“That explains a lot,” I muttered as I made my way through the convoluted legalese. This contract sounded more formal than the one binding me. It also had enough loopholes to make me think they weren’t accidental. Unlike me, Marc wasn’t required to work under his own initiative. He only had to follow the duke’s orders, and only in limited circumstances.
Felix looked up at me. “Explains what?”
“How Marc can hide things from you. Look here.” I pointed to a particular section. “According to this, Marc must share what he has learned in pursuit of the answers you task him to find.”
Gold-green eyes blinked. “That sounds like the opposite of hiding things from me.”
“But if he knows the answer before you ask the question, he doesn’t have to share. And since—unlike me—he isn’t bound to pursue any avenue of inquiry he thinks of, only follow your orders, he can know where to find the answer and simply avoid it if you phrase your orders poorly. The only part of this entire contract that isn’t full of loopholes is the non-disclosure clause, and even that is far less stringent than mine.” I pulled out Marc’s chair and sat. “You work with contracts constantly. How can you be this bad at writing one?”
