Chapter 6
Icaught up to Lord Barborough in one of the salons where he'd stopped to talk to another gentleman. I stood demurely behind him and cleared my throat at a suitable lull in the conversation. Both men finally took notice of me, albeit cursorily.
"Yes?" Lord Barborough asked, sounding annoyed. "What is it?"
I bobbed a curtsy. "I heard you wrote a book, my lord. It's on a topic that interests me, and I'd like to discuss it with you, if you have the time."
His heavy lids lifted and he regarded me more thoroughly. "Accompany me into the garden." He gave his bemused companion a nod then led the way out.
We passed through room after room of opulence where lords and ladies conversed in small groups or played cards and games. Few looked up but those who did, frowned and nudged their companion.
"I think this is the way," Lord Barborough said to me as he we headed down a set of marble stairs. "The palace is so large. I lose my way all the time. I'm sure you're used to it, Miss…?"
"Cully. Josie Cully, my lord. No, I'm not used to it. I rarely see this side of it."
He smiled. "I'm sure. What are the service corridors like?"
"Quite dull by comparison. There's a considerable lack of gold."
He laughed softly. He wasn't nearly as stern as I first thought. Perhaps it had been a façade, put on for the benefit of the other gentleman. Or perhaps he was eager to talk about magic.
We headed outside into the sunshine. Lord Barborough paused on the top step and used the height advantage to survey the gardens. Ladies and gentlemen strolled around each of the sections closest to the palace, some stopping to admire the flowers. From where we stood, they looked like exotic dragonflies in their colorful clothes and hats.
"Over there seems the least populated," Lord Barborough said. "We may have to go a fair way from the palace to be alone. You do want to be alone, don't you, Miss Cully?"
"I, er, perhaps if there's a garden where we won't be overheard but we can be seen."
We strode between the twin ponds then turned right. We passed more ponds, gardens and fountains to an avenue that led us further away from the palace. Instead of following it, we detoured onto yet another avenue that dissected a large lawn and led to a gate. I recognized the two guards manning it.
We followed another avenue running alongside the estate's wall until we reached yet more formal gardens partitioned into sections by gravel paths and bordered by chest-high hedges. Lord Barborough indicated I should walk ahead of him through a gap in one of the hedges to the garden beyond. A fountain sprinkled musically in the center, the water reflecting the sunlight in a rainbow of colors. Where many of the gardens closer to the palace displayed flowers, this one was all green. Lord Barborough invited me to sit on the stone bench seat nestled into one of the hedges.
I realized it was a mistake when I sat. I could no longer be seen from the avenue. I went to stand again, but Lord Baroborough sat down too. His smile was kind yet I didn't quite trust it.
"Tell me, Miss Cully," he began. "How did you hear about my book?"
"A woman in the village told me."
He frowned. "How did you know to ask her?"
"She's the widow of a Zemayan, so I hoped she'd know a little about magic from him."
His frown deepened. "Did someone direct you to her?"
"No."
"I'm a little confused. For one thing, I didn't think you were allowed in the village."
"You are confused, my lord. I'm from the village. I live there."
Silence, then, "I thought you were an off-duty palace maid." He looked longingly back toward the palace, as if he wished he'd never walked all this way with me.
"My father believed in magic," I said. "He tried to convince me, but I was skeptical. Until the palace was built, that is."
He set his leather document wallet on his lap then used his left hand to pull his right arm over the wallet to rest there instead of hanging by his side. After he let go, the right arm shifted a little, so he must have some movement in it. I wanted to ask him what had happened but didn't dare.
"If you're not a maid, why are you here?" he said.
"I'm a midwife. One of the maids needed my services."
"You have no bag."
"I left it in her bedchamber while I sought you out." I hadn't thought I'd be so good at lying, particularly to a lord. I even managed to meet his gaze.
He seemed to believe me. "You say you were skeptical about magic before the palace was built, Miss Cully. Does that mean everyone in the village thinks as you do, that magic is involved in its creation?"
"Some do."
"I heard that it appeared quite suddenly and was completed in mere weeks. Is it true that no builders were seen coming or going?"
"It's true. They didn't come through the village. Nor did the building materials."
He nodded slowly. "It certainly seems as though magic had a hand in it, yet it all seems very real to me." He knocked on the bench between us. "Solid stone. The buildings are real and the gardens are growing as gardens ought. The servants are fully functioning humans whose actions would imply they have independent thoughts."
"Is the sorcerer powerful enough to make an illusion look real?"
His lips twitched. "You seem to be under the impression I know the sorcerer personally."
I bit down on my snide retort. "You are an expert, my lord."
"I merely wrote a book on the things I heard in Zemaya. I never saw magic performed, I never met the sorcerer, although it wasn't for lack of searching. It's fifteen years since I was there. I was young at the time, only twenty, although I thought I knew everything there was to know about the world." He leaned closer to me and his gaze, shining with humor, darted across my face before finally settling on my mouth. "Except for magic."
"My lord," I said sharply. He glanced up and fidgeted with the ends of the ribbon tied around the wallet. "What if the events the Zemayans attribute to magic are just stories?"
"Perhaps they are. But is the strangeness surrounding the palace's existence just a story? You don't think so, Miss Cully, or you wouldn't be here. I don't think so either." He smiled. "So we have something in common."
I couldn't bring myself to return the smile. He had not leaned back but had actually shifted a little closer. I shuffled along the seat, away from him. "Then what is your expert opinion on the palace's existence, my lord? Did the sorcerer create it?"
"It certainly seems that way. I can't think of another explanation, can you?"
"Tell me about him."
"First of all, I think calling it a 'he' doesn't do it a service. According to the Zemayans, it transcends gender, just as it transcends nationality and race. It can take on any form—"
"Human form?"
"Of course. It's the favorite disguise." He winked. "How is it able to choose where and how to perform magic unless it walks among the people?"
"Why would it have chosen to create this palace for King Leon?"
"Ah. That is a very good question, Miss Cully, and I don't have the answer yet."
Yet. "Is that why you're here? To find out?"
"I'm here to make arrangements for His Majesty King Leon to marry the Princess Illiriya of Vytill," he said, his tone condescending, as if I were stupid not to know.
"Yes, but your king could have sent anyone. Why did he send you?"
His gaze narrowed. His mouth curved into a slow, wicked smile. "I see you're not just a pretty face. You're right, he wanted to send someone else but I put forward my case to represent his interests here. He chose me and here I am in this remarkable place." He stretched out his good arm to indicate the entire garden. "So far, I have not seen or felt any signs of magic."
"What signs?"
"I won't know what they are until I see them, but I know I would recognize them as signs when I do. Have you seen anything, Miss Cully?"
I blinked innocently back. "Nothing. No shimmering walls or moving doorways, if that's the sort of thing you mean."
"Precisely. You have caught on quickly."
"Perhaps the sorcerer hasn't left any signs."
"That's a possibility. That's why I also need to speak to the servants. They alone can shed some light on this mystery. Nobody seems to know where they came from before the palace was built. Unfortunately, the ones I've questioned have all been reluctant to speak to me." He regarded me again, taking in my face then going lower, lingering on my throat and breasts.
"My lord," I bit off.
He looked up and smiled wolfishly. "Yes?"
"Do you think the sorcerer can manipulate more than physical things?"
"What do you mean?"
"Can he manipulate someone's mind?"
He frowned. "I don't follow."
"Can the sorcerer make a person do something they don't wish to do? Or stop them from doing something?" It was the closest scenario to memory loss I could think of without alerting him to the servants' precise predicament.
"I suppose so. It's a sorcerer, after all."
It was hardly the definitive answer I wanted. I decided to change tactic, and bring the gemstone into the conversation. "Does the sorcerer work with a device?"
"Device?"
"An object that helps it work its magic."
"You mean a talisman. No, nothing like that. There are more to the stories, however."
"Tell me."
He smiled and tapped the side of his nose. "I'll tell you when you've done something for me." He chuckled at my disappointment. "Come now, Miss Cully, it's only fair that you help me when I've been very generous with my knowledge." He shifted closer. I was already on the edge of the seat with no more room to move. He stopped only when his thigh bumped mine.
"Please, my lord," I said loudly. "What do you want?"
"Shhh." He glanced around and leaned in. "Keep your voice down, Miss Cully. Do you want passersby to overhear us? This is dangerous talk."
"Dangerous!"
"Shhh," he said again. "Think on it. If the palace was built by magic, it must be at the behest of the king. If the two dukes find out the king uses magic, will they still want him as their king? Will they be able to trust him?"
"They won't be able to do anything about it if the king has the sorcerer in his pocket."
"They could kill him and take the sorcerer's power for themselves."
Now I understood the danger. I glanced around too, suddenly wondering if I'd made a mistake having this conversation with Lord Barborough. What if someone listened in? What if he reported me?
He licked his lips. "It's even more dangerous for me, of course, being a foreigner. But I'm willing to risk it to learn more. This opportunity may never come my way again, and I have to grasp it before I return home." His good hand reached out and snatched at the air in front of my face, making me blink. His right arm jerked but did not rise from his lap. He seemed to realize it and self-consciously pulled it into his body.
"If I can find the sorcerer," he went on, "I can learn more about it. This is a great opportunity for me, but I need your help."
"Pardon?"
"I need you to gather information. I want you to question the servants."
"I—I can't."
"Of course you can. You're a commoner too; they'll relate to you more than they do me. You're friendly and pretty." He winked. "The footmen will give up all their secrets if you ask nicely."
Ugh. If he was suggesting what I thought he was suggesting, then he didn't deserve my help. On the other hand, he wouldn't answer any more questions for me unless I agreed. That's why he'd been so willing to answer my earlier questions; he needed me. Now, we needed each other.
"Start with the maid you saw on your midwifery rounds," he said. "You have to go back to her room to get your bag, so why not ask her some questions while you're there. And if she's out, then look around her room."
"I can't do that."
He closed his hand over mine, trapping it on my lap. "Of course you can." He smiled. "If you don't steal anything, she can't accuse you of theft. Look for anything that tells you where she came from, what she was doing before the palace was built, that sort of thing. I feel as though the servants are key to this mystery."
It was the same theory Dane and I had, in a way.
"They're hiding something," Lord Barborough went on. "They must be, otherwise why not just answer my questions?"
I pulled my hand free. "Perhaps you frighten them."
He glanced at his limp arm, lying awkwardly on his lap. "Perhaps I do."
I could have told him that his infirmity didn't scare anyone, that it was his character that unnerved me, but decided against it. I wanted to get away as quickly as possible. "I'd best go now," I said, rising. "Ruth will be wondering why I haven't collected my bag."
He showed no flicker of recognition at her name. I wasn't sure if that meant much, however. Few lords would know the names of the maids who cleaned their rooms. Even if he'd attacked her, that didn't necessarily mean he knew her name.
I went to leave but he caught my wrist. His grip tightened, pinning me. "Don't back out of our agreement, Miss Cully," he said darkly. "You wouldn't want this conversation to reach the king's ear."
"You would also bring trouble on yourself," I pointed out.
"I have a reason to be wandering around the palace and gardens. You do not."
I swallowed heavily even though I wasn't convinced he would follow through on his threat. It could just be his way of making me do his bidding. "If I do this for you, I expect you to give me more answers about magic in return," I said.
He let me go and smiled. "We have an agreement."
I hurried off. It wasn't until I'd left the garden well behind and checked to see that he wasn't following before I rubbed my sore wrist. He might not have the use of one arm, but the arm that did work was very strong. Perhaps strong enough to overpower Ruth.
I saw Dane before he saw me. He stood on the top step outside the palace, his gaze scanning the vast patchwork of gardens spread before him. When he finally spotted me, he trotted down the steps and took my elbow. He continued to glance around, checking the faces of the nobles nearby as he steered me to the shadows near the palace.
"I've been looking everywhere for you," he said.
"Am I under arrest?" I asked as we walked close to the palace wall.
"No. Why?"
I glanced pointedly at his hand on my elbow. He let go. "My apologies. Where were you?"
"In one of the gardens." I nodded toward the avenue where I'd walked with Lord Barborough.
"Hardly anyone goes up there," he said.
"I noticed."
"I seem to recall asking you not to be alone with him. You should have made an excuse not to go that way."
"If I had, I wouldn't have learned as much as I did from him."
"Even so, I asked you."
"I don't recall agreeing. And anyway, he couldn't have harmed me. His right arm is useless, just as Ruth said." I did not tell him about Lord Barborough's strength. If I did, he'd never want me to be alone with him again, and the only way I could see us gathering more information about the sorcerer was to do just that.
"He's still a suspect," Dane said. "I have reason to believe his arm works perfectly."
"What reason?"
"The king claims he saw it move during their meeting."
"It seems to have some slight movement, but not much. Did he say to what degree it moved?"
"Just that it was a twitch here and there. Is it possible for a limb to have limited movement like that?"
"Yes, although I've never witnessed it myself."
After a moment, he said, "I'm still keeping him on my list of suspects. There's something about him I don't trust."
"With good reason."
He suddenly stopped and grabbed my hand. We were outside the theater built into the northern wing. Six giggling women emerged wearing wings attached to the shoulders of their gowns. Their eyelashes and lips were painted in shining silver and their hair was streaked with the same shimmering paint. Dane steered me further away, heading ever closer to the northern end of the palace.
"What did he do?" he growled.
"It was more what he threatened to do. I can't tell you here. We have to speak privately."
"Can you stay longer or do you need to get back?"
"I can stay. There's so little to do in the village, I welcome being here. I'd be bored otherwise."
"I thought you had babies to bring into the world and medicines to sell."
"I'm used to being busier."
We walked several more steps before he said, "If you need money—"
"I don't," I snipped off. "And don't insult me, please."
He paused in front of a door, regarded me closely through lowered lashes, then pushed it open. I entered and found myself in one of the palace's service corridors. I was beginning to think they all looked the same, with stone walls and floor, and flickering torches valiantly beating back the darkness.
"Where are we going?" I asked.
"The garrison. I thought you might need refreshments before returning home. You can wait there while I round up Balthazar and Theo. Brant is on duty."
"Do you have to inform Balthazar and Theodore? I'd rather have the conversation privately with you."
His pace slowed. "You can trust them, Josie."
"You used to say that about the king."
He stopped and rounded on me. The tip of his sword sheath scraped against the wall. The only other sound came from my sharp intake of breath.
"I never trusted him," he said. "I couldn't admit it to you at first. But Balthazar and Theodore I do trust." The torchlight flickered in his eyes, giving him a sinister air. "Everything you tell me in private will be told to them anyway, so they may as well join us."
I folded my arms against the chill sliding through my veins. I wanted to diffuse the tension but I could think of only one way. "Everything?" I asked breathily.
Dane set off again, his strides long. "Almost everything," he muttered.
I smiled at his back.