Jade muttered something unpleasant under his breath. “The Mistress of the Princess’s Bedchamber,” he said. “She took up the job two years ago, after the wedding. Alassa didn’t want anyone in that post, but…she needed someone.”
Emily nodded in understanding. The previous Master of the Princess’s Bedchamber had been Nightingale, who’d used it to feather his nest. Alassa had plenty of reason not to want someone else to take the post, particularly someone she didn’t trust completely, but…Jade was right. She had needed someone. A staff of fifty men and women needed someone to supervise. It was simply unfortunate that there was no way to keep that person from exploiting their position for their own personal gain.
She should have offered the post to Imaiqah, Emily thought. But Imaiqah had something else to do.
“This leads to an interesting question,” Cat said. “Did Lady Lye tell you deliberately, in the hopes you would go to the princess?”
Mouse reddened. “I don’t know. I just…I just told the princess!”
Emily frowned. Randor couldn’t just lock up his daughter, particularly one who also happened to be the Crown Princess, on a whim. He would need an excuse, one that would suffice for when the nobility started asking questions. Had he deliberately planned to lure Alassa into treason? Had he left Imaiqah alive to serve as bait in a trap? And, if so, was Lady Lye a co-conspirator or a mindless dupe? And what about Mouse herself?
A nasty thought struck her. Randor wouldn’t have acted so fast if he hadn’t known about Paren’s treason. He’d taken a hell of a risk when, so far, only a handful of people knew the truth. Imaiqah herself hadn’t known. And that meant…Nanette was the only person who could have told the king. She could easily have done more…
She reached out with her senses, carefully brushing them across Mouse. Someone had put a binding on her, one designed to keep her from betraying a handful of secrets, but there was nothing else. Few magicians would tolerate a binding, if one could be induced to stick to them. It took a stronger spell to dominate a magician. And if Mouse was Nanette in disguise, it was a very good disguise. Emily couldn’t sense even a flicker of inherent magic surrounding the girl.
But Nanette was good at hiding her true nature, Emily reminded herself. She posed as a Second Year student and nearly got away with it too.
She listened as Jade interrogated Mouse, silently contemplating the possibilities. Mouse could have brought the king’s men down on their heads by now, if she was working for the king. But she hadn’t. And there was no trace of magic, save for the binding. Master Abrams would probably have put it on her, Emily guessed. Alassa might have done it, but the binding didn’t feel like Alassa’s work.
“Fine,” Jade said, clearly unsatisfied. He leaned back in his chair, making a visible effort to relax. “What happened after you left?”
“Your wife was arrested,” Master Abrams said, curtly. “Beyond that, we don’t know.”
Jade looked at Mouse. “And you made no attempt to return to the castle?”
“No, My Lord,” Mouse said. “I felt I would be safer here.”
Binding and all, Emily thought. Mouse might not even know she had a binding. It wasn’t a compulsion spell, merely something designed to keep her from revealing certain secrets. And you might have been right to stay.
She shuddered. Alassa was safe, at least until she gave birth. Emily was fairly sure of that, if only because Randor needed a legitimate heir. Imaiqah and Mouse, on the other hand, could have their lives cut short in a heartbeat. Randor had no reason to keep Mouse alive if she ever returned to the castle. Technically, Mouse had been obeying orders, but…no one would care if the king ordered her killed. She was just a servant girl.
Jade let out a long sigh. “Master Abrams, where do you stand?”
Master Abrams frowned. “I’m in favor of a peaceful life,” he said. “And the impending civil war is unlikely to be peaceful.”
Emily met his eyes. “Do you know what’s happening?”
“Just rumors, each one crazier than the last.” Master Abrams snickered. “The barons are revolting…and they’re rebelling too. Half the kingdom is already on fire, invading armies are prowling on the edge of the Crown Lands, the Crown Princess has given birth to twin goblins…it’s hard to know what to believe.”
“Hah,” Jade said. “What do you believe?”
“Three of the barons are supposed to be on the verge of formally renouncing their oaths to the king and declaring war,” Master Abrams said, more seriously. “I’ve heard that they’re already drawing up a list of demands, with a threat of war if the king refuses to concede.”
“Randor won’t concede,” Jade said, quietly.
“I fear not,” Master Abrams said. “The king has been bringing more and more troops into the Crown Lands, garrisoning them around Alexis. It’s only a matter of time before they’re employed in a first strike against the Harkness Lands. Baroness Harkness has been making too much noise about her adopted son having a claim to the throne.”
Jade’s eyes narrowed. “She adopted him?”
“Yes,” Master Abrams said. “Rumor has it that she’s barren.”
“Or that her husband couldn’t father a child,” Jade said, savagely. “He doesn’t even have any bastards, does he?”
Emily felt a flicker of sympathy for the older woman, even though she had a feeling that Baroness Harkness would prefer to be beheaded than left alive to contemplate just how far she’d fallen and contemplate the depth of her disgrace. But she knew Jade wouldn’t agree. Another claimant to the throne, even one with a very tenuous link to the Royal Bloodline, would only make Alassa’s life more complicated. Too many barons would back the male, even if his claim was weak.
She cleared her throat. “What do we do now?”
“You and Cat go take a look at the Tower of Alexis,” Jade said. “I’ll have a long chat with Mouse, then see what Master Abrams and I can do.”
“As you wish,” Cat said. “I’m sure it will be a pleasant stroll.”
“Just don’t get caught,” Jade advised. “Please.”
Emily stood. She wanted to tell Jade to be gentle–she was almost certain that Mouse was nothing more than what she appeared to be–but she knew he wouldn’t listen to her either. Mouse had been there when Alassa had made her fateful decision, either as an agent provocateur or an unwitting instigator of doom. Jade would know what she knew, even if it left the younger girl feeling like she’d been put through the wringer. Emily felt genuinely sorry for her. It was never good for commoners to get mixed up in the affairs of royalty.
And you’re a commoner, she reminded herself, as she headed for the door. There wasn’t a trace of aristocratic blood in her. If you didn’t have magic, what would you have been here?
Chapter Thirteen
“THAT GIRL,” CAT SAID, AS SOON as they were out in the sun. “Do you believe her?”
“I think she’s telling the truth, as she knows it,” Emily said. “I didn’t sense any magic around her.”
Cat looked relieved. “I didn’t sense anything either. But a very good magician could hide her power.”
Emily frowned. Nanette was good. She knew that from bitter experience. But if Mouse was actually Nanette…Nanette was taking a hell of a risk. She was good, but could she fight Emily, Jade and Cat at the same time? It would be crazy. And yet…the fight would bring the king’s sorcerers down on their heads. Perhaps Nanette was being crazy like a fox.
It’s still an insane risk, she told herself, firmly. She wouldn’t have needed to stick around either if she’d already done her job.