“I did not steal anything,” I said again, emboldened by Ash’s presence.
“Of course you didn’t,” he said. He turned to the guards. “Release her. She’s not a thief. She’s a debutante.”
“In that case she’s a thieving debutante,” Karen said, snickering. She coughed when Ash stared at her. “Your Highness.”
I swallowed, my throat dry. “Just search my room,” I said.
It was clear Narcissa wanted Sir Hughes to uncover the jewelry she placed there. My only hope was that Ash could convince them I was being framed.
“See? She might as well have admitted to her crimes,” Sir Hughes said with a shrug. “Let’s go, men. Good day, Your Highness.”
Ash shooed away the guards behind me and untied my hands. “I’m coming with you.”
The mustached guard shrugged again. “It’s all the same to me. Make sure you’ve got a good grip on her. Thieves are slippery.”
It was a tense walk to the servant’s hall and a tenser silence that marching feet or clearing throats couldn’t break. I knew Ash wanted to ask me a million questions. I hardly knew the answers to the ones I was asking myself.
Madam Josephine scurried out of the way as we marched down the hall to my room.
“Well,” Narcissa said. “Get on with it.”
I took a breath and pushed open the door. But instead of jewelry, my room was littered with herbs and vials of witch-made ingredients I could have sworn I put away. The pot still hung over the oven, filled with the truth potion. My blood froze.
“What is this?” Sir Hughes bellowed. “What have you been doing here?”
The guards streamed into the room, inspecting the potion ingredients. “Witchcraft!” one of them bellowed, holding up a jar of pheender leaves.
Naricssa swooned and Karen caught her. “A witch!” she cried, pointing a shaking finger at me. “You must be the one who poisoned the queen!”
“Narcissa, this was not part of our deal,” I said. “The duchesspromised.”
“What deal?” Narcissa said.
“She said if I served you—”
“Nonsense! You are changing the subject on purpose. You poisoned the queen!”
“I would never hurt Her Majesty,” I said, running into the room. “I have an antidote for her!” I grabbed the bottle of general antidote from my bed stand and held it out.
Sir Hughes and the guards recoiled. I looked desperately at Ash. His face was unreadable.
“Ash, please—”
“You’ve been getting close to the prince on purpose,” Narcissa said. She had abandoned her shocked guise, but no one noticed. “You pretended to be helping him when in fact you were the culprit all along.”
I shook my head, backing into my bed as the guards advanced. “No, I can prove it! I wasn’t making poison. It’s a truth potion! Duchess Wilhelmina is the one poisoning the queen. You have to believe me!”
Narcissa gasped. “How dare you taint my mother’s name?” She gestured around the room. “This is evidence enough! You’re using magic.”
“A thief and a witch and a traitor.” Sir Hughes frowned. “There’s a special place in the dungeon for your kind. Seize her.”
The guards grabbed me again, but this time more gingerly. It was clear they were frightened. My pleading fell on deaf ears.
“Stop,” Ash said quietly.
Relief flooded through me. There was still hope. But when I tried to meet his eyes, he kept them firmly on the ground.
“Amarante. Is it true you’re a witch?”
