Lady's Ransom (The First Argentines, #3)

“Stand,” Ransom said. “Come on, lad. On your feet.”

Guivret did so, but he couldn’t meet Ransom’s eyes. He was harrowed by his emotions. Wringing his hands, he tried to speak. “When Lord Dougal was captured, he had with him a white stone. I recognized it from Lady Constance’s stories. She’d seen it in a vision. I tried to warn the queen, Lady Claire, about using it, but she ignored my warnings.” His lip trembled. “I’ve seen it change her, Lord Ransom, and not for the better.”

“How so?” he asked, although he’d seen signs of alteration himself.

Guivret rubbed his mouth. “How to describe it? A darkness has fallen over her. She’s more quick to distrust. More suspicious. I’ve seen her scold Keeva more sharply than usual for no reason at all.” He flushed when he said the maid’s name.

“Have you an attachment to the maid?” Ransom asked.

Guivret nodded guiltily. “She . . . confides in me,” he stammered. “She’s seen the changes in her mistress as well. We thought it was the pregnancy at first. Bearing children is a difficult task, and she’s borne two. But it started when she began using the stone . . . and everything got worse after she started reading that ancient book. It’s done her harm. She’s fixed on learning its secrets. It’s even altered how she feels about you, my lord.”

Ransom stared at the young knight. “And you know this . . . how?”

“Lady Claire has a little book she’s kept for many years. She writes her heart in it. She won’t let anyone else read it. But Keeva has. And she told me what she learned.”

Ransom rubbed his eyes. How had he missed what was going on in his own home?

“Lord Dougal raved like a madman when he lost the stone. We couldn’t bear to see the same thing happen to Lady Claire. That’s why I asked you if I could go home. I lied to you, my lord. I freely admit it. Keeva knew where the stone was hidden, and I stole it ere we left. I brought it here because the Duchess of Brythonica, whom I know to be wise and unselfish, has the other half. Your wife believes in other traditions. She doesn’t trust the Fountain is real.”

Ransom struggled with his feelings, but he put his hand on Guivret’s shoulder. “Thank you for telling me. You betrayed your mistress, but your intentions were honorable. That leaves us in a pickling jar, though.”

“Indeed it does, my lord,” Guivret said. He straightened his shoulders. “Whatever comes, I will take the blame. I’d not have Keeva suffer, if possible.”

Ransom frowned. “Let me think on it, lad.”

“Ransom,” Constance said. “I felt a strong direction to use my seering stone as well. That is why I sent you the message that I did. Estian is coming back, and he intends to start a war. He won’t have all of his men with them—some will take their time returning—but he’ll have more than we do. But that is not all that I learned.”

“Tell me,” he said.

“The book that Claire has, the one that was found in Dougal’s library, is extremely dangerous. The Hidden Vulgate was copied by the Black Wizr in a previous age in another world. Even without the seering stone, that book will corrupt Claire. From what Guivret’s told me, I suspect it has already started.”

A trickle of Fountain magic inside him confirmed the words. He squeezed his hand into a fist. “Are you saying I must steal it from her? Destroy it?”

“It cannot be destroyed,” Constance said. “It must be hidden, safeguarded. Once it is taken away from her, its power over her will begin to dwindle. I’m sorry to give you these ill tidings, Ransom. After she first used the stone, she had a vision of you when you were here and wounded. She believes we are lovers. We both know that is not true.”

“Some of the knights in the mesnie believe something is amiss as well,” said Guivret darkly. “It didn’t go unnoticed that you returned from Brythonica by ship after disappearing on the road to Glosstyr.”

“Who spoke of it?” Ransom demanded.

“Axien,” Guivret said. “Some of your actions have been misconstrued, my lord. Like when you left your knights and went off alone. As soon as I heard the story, I understood why you’d done it, but the others gossip about you. When someone told Dearley about the talk, he rebuked them and said they’d be dismissed from your service if they ever besmirched your good name again. He doesn’t believe any of it.”

“Why hasn’t he told me?” Ransom asked, surprised by the news.

“He knows you have heavy enough burdens to bear. He says you have your reasons, and that is good enough for him.”

Ransom’s gratitude for Dearley’s loyalty throbbed inside him. “I thank you for telling me. He should have . . . he should have told me as well. I could have put his mind at ease.”

“His mind is already at ease,” Guivret insisted. “He knows you’d not do anything to dishonor yourself or Lady Claire.”

“I try not to, anyway,” Ransom said with another heaving sigh. “Claire sent me a letter when I was in Atha Kleah.” He turned to Constance. “She said not to bother returning if I don’t bring the stone back.”

Guivret shook his head in dismay. “I’m sorry, my lord.”

“Her feelings may soften in time,” Constance said. “But only after she stops reading that book.” She stepped around the chair and approached him. “Do not open its pages. It will corrupt anyone who tries to read it.”

Ransom nodded, grateful he’d put it down so quickly. “Is that the other secret I must keep? The one you mentioned before?”

Constance shook her head. “No, it is not. Before you go to Kingfountain, there is something else you must do. Something you both must do,” she added, glancing at Guivret.

Ransom furrowed his brow. “Part of your vision?”

She nodded. “In my vision, I saw you both in Pree. Before Estian returns. And he is on his way now.”

Her words felt like a rope cinching across Ransom’s chest. “I am not welcome in Pree, my lady,” he said, remembering his last visit there. “I was told never to return, on pain of death.” He’d threatened Estian’s life in front of his nobles and advisors.

“I know,” she said. “I’m telling you what I saw. In the palace of Pree, there are many fountains. The king’s private chapel is on the west side of the fortress. You’ll know it from the three enormous chandeliers that hang down the aisle. I saw you both in there. Ransom, you reached into the fountain and withdrew a wooden box containing a Wizr set. It is one of the relics of King Andrew’s reign. You took it before Estian could return and stop you.” Her eyes narrowed as she looked at Ransom. “If Estian wins the game that is being played on the board, then the Deep Fathoms will engulf Ceredigion in a flood. Ransom, so much is at stake here. More than just your marriage.”

He raked his fingers through his hair. Her words made him shudder, for he realized, through the Fountain, that she was speaking the truth.

“But Emiloh has summoned me,” he said, conflicted.

“Send word that you’re delayed. From here you can be in Pree in two days’ time. You have to get there before Estian returns. You speak Occitanian as a local, Ransom. Those years you spent in Chessy will serve you well.”

“If I’m captured . . .” Ransom said, shaking his head, unable to finish the thought. Would Claire even attempt to buy his freedom?

“You must succeed,” Constance said, touching his arm.

“I am to go as well?” Guivret said eagerly.

“Yes, I saw you both there.”

“Can we not send a warning to Benedict?” Ransom said. “Or have you already seen his fate?”

Constance looked down. “It would take too long to reach him, even if we sent it now. And I cannot look into the stone to find out where he will be in the future. I only dare use it when the Fountain bids me do so. Benedict is headstrong and reckless. He’s capable of any number of choices that could affect how things turn out. I’ve heard from several Genevese traders that he’s offended both the Brugians and the Occitanians during this conflict. With Rotbart dead—”