This time I did stagger back into a chair. My fear and my mistrust had held my tongue, and now they would never have the chance to question Marcus and discover if he were an agent of this shadowy rebellion. My mind whirled as the talk continued to swirl around me.
“You think the viscount was protecting his nephew with his haste? Even after he attempted to kill Julian?” The earl frowned. “I find it hard to believe. I know I would never do such a thing.”
“And if we had found Marcus to be guilty of not only attempted murder but treason?” asked Frederic. “Would that not be a far worse and more dangerous taint on the family?”
“It is hard to explain the speed of his judgment any other way,” said Cassian. “He has willfully deprived us of information in an effort to protect his own name.”
My head had begun to throb, but that didn’t sound right. And while part of me wanted to let the viscount burn, the other part was still reeling from the consequences of holding on to my knowledge the day before.
I tried to speak, but the words came out so quietly no one heard. I stood and tried again.
“I don’t…I don’t think so,” I said. For the second time the talk stopped as everyone stared at me. I straightened my spine. “As you know, I spent several years living on Catalie.”
The earl looked at me curiously, but I pushed on. “The islands are loyal to the crown, but their culture differs from that of the mainland. They don’t see things in quite the same way.”
The earl was frowning now but also nodding. I focused my attention on Frederic.
“Here on Catalie, it is the viscount’s role to maintain order. Any breach of order is seen as a personal stain on his honor. It’s why he is so harsh against crime of any kind. The larger the breach, the faster he must act to restore the island’s order, and thus his own honor. He can expect neither respect nor obedience from his people until he has acted. They are an insular community here, and far more concerned with honor than most mainlanders. An attack on his own son and three members of the royal family is so grave a breach of order that I am not in the least surprised to find that Marcus is already banished.”
The earl rubbed his head. “The girl…” He looked at me blankly.
“The royal seamstress,” I said, at the same moment as Celine said, “Evie.”
He looked confused but shook the thought aside. “The girl, Evie, speaks truth, Your Highnesses. It has been many, many years since I lived here on the islands. So long, in fact, that I sometimes forget I was an islander born and bred.” He chuckled. “Although it does the old bones good to be here once again, and it’s amazing how it all floods back. In fact, I am a relative of the current viscount, and spent some of my youth with him before I unexpectedly inherited my title on the mainland. I would vouch he has not gone rogue against the crown. Indeed, by the customs of the islands, his swift action—where guilt was certain—is a sign of respect toward the victims.”
Silence reigned for a moment as everyone digested his words. I would have smiled at him in gratitude for backing me up if I hadn’t feared he would consider it an impertinence.
“We must bow to your experience,” said Frederic at last. “And be grateful to have you both with us. The last thing we want is to drive a wedge between loyal subjects and the crown.”
“No, that’s exactly what the rebels will be hoping for.” Cassian sighed. “I do wish we had been given the chance to interview Marcus, however. And I cannot find myself easy at the choice of punishment.”
“Banishment is a customary penalty on the islands,” said the earl, and I nodded. It was a custom with which I had personal experience. “As it is customary with the royal family. It is considered a very grave punishment for an islander, few of who would willingly leave our beautiful shores under any circumstances, let alone leave without friends, family, or money.”
“I no longer question the intent behind the act,” said Frederic. “I concede to your wisdom as my father desired in such an instance. However, it does not change the fact that a potential agent of the rebellion is now loose on the mainland, free to wreak further damage.”
I shivered as the truth of his words sank in. Somewhere in the back of my mind, I had been rejoicing to be once again free from Marcus. But the very opposite was true. I thought of the final expression on his face, and my insides clenched. Soon we, too, would leave Catalie and, when we did, I would have to go back to watching over my shoulder. But now it was not only me, but the whole kingdom that had something to fear.
Chapter 14
Frederic used the excuse of Julian’s injury to leave the island early without impinging further on the viscount’s honor. The noble seemed to understand the true motive but appeared grateful for the reason given, assuring the Tour that he was touched by their thoughtful consideration of his family at such a difficult time.
It still took us two days to organize our departure, during which time I managed to put the finishing touches on three bathing costumes. Celine apologized profusely when she told me that courtesy required her to gift two of them to Monique and Shantelle. I merely smiled knowingly and told her which ones I had made to my guess of their measurements. I had already made my peace with the destinations of my creations. And surprisingly, it didn’t even sting. Something had changed in Monique since the boating accident and Marcus’s departure. She hadn’t actually done anything as shocking as apologize, but she had been subdued, avoiding me rather than seeking conflict. And Shantelle had done nothing but cry since Julian’s injury.
Returning to the island had reminded me of the many things I had enjoyed about my life here, and my experience of island culture had even proved to be of use to my new friends. I found I now viewed my years here through a different prism, and I couldn’t begrudge either girl the gift.
But Celine still seemed to want to make it up to me and suggested that I choose the destination of the final costume. I hesitated, ashamed of myself for finding this gift harder than the other two.
“Delphine,” I forced myself to say at last. “You should give it to Delphine. She is sweet and kind and everything the viscount’s children are not.” I watched Celine’s reaction. Would she understand the second meaning behind my words?
“She is a sweet little thing, isn’t she?” said Celine, for all the world as if she weren’t three years younger than Delphine herself. “It’s a pity Cassian didn’t take a liking to her. But then, she looks like the type to harbor secret, intense dreams of romance, so I can’t imagine Cassian would be to her liking.”
She looked at me to share the laugh, and it was far too easy to join in. It had not occurred to me Celine might think of the other girl for Cassian.
Stop being a fool! I told myself—but I didn’t seem to be listening.
I boarded the royal yacht with some trepidation, drawing courage from the way the three royals strode on board without sign of hesitation or fear. I had been afraid my joy in sailing might be gone forever after three nights of dreams about being trapped in a small place while water slowly rose around me. But I found, to my relief, that the deck of the royal yacht—so much farther above the water than on the catamaran—seemed sturdy and secure by comparison. I even felt relaxed enough to smile at the pod of dolphins that soon found us.
In fact, with the sun beating down, its sting removed by the stiff breeze, and the foaming wake streaming behind us, I could even imagine that the whole sojourn on Catalie had been nothing more than a dream. But when I looked at my companions, my time there was not so easily dismissed.