Aurelia Read online

  No doubt she still does. "yes." robert realized the messages had not been screened by the queen at all, but had been passed on from a loyal servant to her previous mistress.

  He skimmed over the day of the picnic, which brought him to this morning and his father's letter. "That's when I found the motive," he said, "a reason strong enough for someone to kill the crown princess." He hated to hurt her with the truth, but she had suffered enough from this secret. "At the time, I thought the culprit behind the plot might be the queen." He faced the king. "your majesty, Aurelia should know. The secret almost cost her her life."

  silence inflated the room. The king stared at his daughter, his face rigid. she waited, her eyes watching her father with expectation. robert could hear their breathing.

  Finally, the king spoke. "melony is your sister, Aurelia. she stands next to inherit the throne."

  "but . . . she can't." Aurelia shook her head. "she's not--"

  "she's your blood sister, your half sister." The king's words dropped like bullets. "she is my daughter by birth."

  Aurelia's jaw flexed. robert wished he could comfort her, but there was no place for him in this discussion. It was between her father and her. Cold facts peeled from her lips. "melony is only two years younger than me. When she was born, elise had a husband, and my mother . . . "

  "your mother still lived here," said the king, flattening a palm on the top of his desk. "After my second marriage, elise and I agreed to keep melony's true parentage a secret rather than to further tarnish your mother's reputation."

  Your own reputation, you mean, robert thought.

  "But melony knew you were her real father?" asked Aurelia.

  The king raised his chin. "I drew up an official document, just in case you failed to marry. melony had to sign it when she came of age. elise and I told her a few months before her birthday."

  "Before the first assassination attempt?"

  "yes."

  The emotions in Aurelia's dark eyes swirled. "melony wanted me killed in order to become queen? but how could she have had me poisoned?"

  Only at that moment did robert realize he knew the answer. "your new lady's maid," he said. "she moves without making any noise. she surprised us on the balcony, remember? In his letter, uncle Henry said that the person who left the poison goblet had access to your rooms at night. melony must have ordered her to leave the goblet there."

  "Melony sends her girls on missions." Aurelia spoke in a haunted manner, as though repeating someone else's words. "she sends them to the kitchens to share her daily preferences."

  "Then minuet could have put the poison in the cake as well," robert said.

  Horror dawned on Aurelia's face. "she knew about the race. She came with me when I left the bait with edward. I needed a chaperone."

  "And she brought you the message with the time for the race. she couldn't answer my questions because she was the messenger." robert reached into his pocket and pulled out the note from the previous day. He stepped close, bending down to spread the paper open before Aurelia on the desk. "Now do you recognize the handwriting?"

  Her thumb slid along the neat, clear letters, her thumbnail blooming white from pressure. "melony's," she whispered. "I didn't recognize it before because I expected to see elise's."

  "We both allowed our expectations to impair our judgment," robert said, sliding the paper toward her father. The king did not touch it. His face wore a severe expression.

  robert realized he was still bending over the princess and quickly backed away.

  "but how did gregory get involved in the plot?" Aurelia asked. "He works for elise."

  "Not any longer," the king broke in. "When melony turned fifteen, she inherited midbury: the estate, the horses, and the servants' contracts. I did ask her if someone from the stables could greet edward on Carnival night so that arrangements might be made for the later delivery of his colt. I did not specify a driver."

  Then Melony chose Gregory. He must have delivered Edward, then rendezvoused with her and Chris before orchestrating the carriage accident. robert's head ached.

  The pain further increased as Aurelia shared her own version of the morning, every word unfolding in a hollow tone. robert winced as she explained why she had shut the gate.

  If only he had not stressed the importance of the assassin feeling safe.

  If only she had looked for robert's presence before she shut that gate.

  If only--

  Too late now for ifs. They both had a death on their conscience. They would both face the same guilt in their sleep that night and in the nights to come.

  but at least they would wake up. robert gathered his strength, then told about his cousin's part in the plot as well as Chris's relationship with melony. "Chris assumed I'd never find out Aurelia hadn't sent the message about the time delay. He thought she would be dead before I arrived at the racecourse."

  "And if I wasn't," she whispered, "he planned to kill you."

  "And me." The king stood up. "Which is why I am prepared to allow you to leave, robert Vantauge, without having you arrested for placing my daughter in undue danger. you saved my life today, but your task is complete. you will return to your home. I do not want to see you on palace grounds again." The last words hung in the air, a judgment passed down from the leader of Tyralt.

  Aurelia heard the door close following robert's departure. I should stop him, she thought. I should say something. but her mind was frayed, tangled and torn, and on the verge of unraveling.

  Her father sat back down at his desk, his pale eyes directed at her forehead. green eyes. green like melony's. Aurelia's stomach turned. For years she had believed the supposed lack of blood ties between her and melony was irrelevant. but blood had made all the difference--to her sister.

  And who else had Aurelia misunderstood? "my mother," she said, the strange calm in her voice belying the turmoil in her chest. "Why did she leave? Was it because of your relationship with Elise? "

  "That was her excuse, yes."

  "you told me she abandoned us." That was all he had told her, and she had hated her mother. she had blamed her mother for her father's grief, for his need to remarry, for his choice of elise as his wife. because her mother was the one who had left.

  but her father had left first. "she did abandon us," the king said. "she found out about elise and melony shortly after your brother's funeral. your mother was already insane with grief. she blamed me for James's death, and threatened to tell the populace the truth about the accident if I didn't let her leave. she wanted to take you as well but came to her senses long enough to realize she could not discard your life as easily as her own.

  "your mother never learned to bend for politics," he continued with a frown. "I am afraid you inherited that trait from her. perhaps it is my fault. I allowed you too much liberty."

  Aurelia opened her mouth to protest, but he overrode her. "That is going to change." He straightened. "you will marry edward of Anthone. I spoke with him this morning, and he is prepared to forgive your picnic escapade. The golden colt is yours. The tribes gave it to edward as a gift for the future queen of Anthone."

  Queen of Anthone. bile rose in Aurelia's throat. "I am what he wanted from you?" she asked.

  He nodded. "The kingdom of Anthone lies between Tyralt and your second cousin's kingdom of montaine. With you as queen, our family will control the entire southern edge of the coast. If you have a child, one day both Anthone and Tyralt will be in his or her hands. I had hoped to barter for succession of the Anthonian throne even if you do not produce an heir. but the strife with your sister forces my hand. you are no longer safe in the palace. I have no choice but to let you go now."

  Choice. He dared speak to her about choice.

  "you could disown melony," she said.

  The king shook his head, and Aurelia thought she saw sorrow darken his face. "melony was wrong, but she is still my daughter, Aurelia."

  "she should be arrested."

  His ex
pression hardened. "don't be naive. This family cannot afford another scandal."

  No, you cannot afford another scandal. she saw now that it had not been grief that had kept him locked away the year after her brother's funeral and her mother's departure. It had been fear. Fear of scandal. Fear of what people would say.

  For the first time, she saw her father as he really was, a weak man. His support of the investigation had been a charade. He had deliberately hidden the facts that would have allowed robert to solve the case, and now he would not even consider arresting the instigator.

  Instead he would marry his elder daughter to a man three times her age. The memory of edward's index finger sliding along her chin made her shudder.

  she wanted to pound on the desk and argue. she wanted to reason with her father. she wanted to dismantle his tilted, stained, self-centered version of reality. but nothing could be more powerful than the events played out on the racecourse that morning before his very eyes.

  she stood up.

  "Aurelia."

  she walked out.

  "you have not been dismissed."

  The door clicked on her childhood.

  Aurelia climbed the stairs to Henry's rooms, her thoughts running wild. Betrayal--the feeling stormed her defenses. Her father had betrayed her by refusing to punish her sister. Her sister had tried to kill her. And the queen? Had elise known about melony's plan? What did it matter when the king would do nothing to punish elise either? somehow Aurelia felt that the queen would not have tolerated three failed attempts, much less four. No, elise had never accepted failure.

  And melony had failed.

  As had Aurelia. Failed at pleasing her father. Failed at pleasing the populace, for how could she become queen if she refused to marry the man of her father's choice? All the schooling, all the training, all the time spent trying to prove her worth had come to naught.

  yet somehow, it did not matter.

  Courage. Aurelia knocked on the door.

  Nothing.

  Please, please be here. she knocked again, paused, listened.

  Again nothing.

  He just might not be answering. After all, the rooms did not belong to him. He might assume anyone coming to the door must be there for his uncle.

  "robert?" she called, knocking again. something squeaked, and she held her breath.

  Then nothing.

  maybe he did not want to talk to anyone. maybe he was refusing to answer the door because he was angry. He deserved to be angry.

  "robert, it's me! Open the door." she pounded it with the flat of her hand.

  Absolutely nothing.

  gone. unable to accept the silence, she reached for the latch in frustration and pressed the lever, hard. It slid down. she released her grip and the door glided open.

  emptiness. she moved forward, peering into uncle Henry's parlor. No bags, no mess, nothing that indicated someone might be packing for a journey.

  Or that someone in the family had died.

  she continued forward, heading for Chris's room. robert had been staying there. If he had already left, his things would be gone. she opened the door, and pulled back in shock.

  A body sprawled across the bed. strands of blond hair sprayed over the pillow. rumpled skirts and petticoats hitched up around torn stockings. pale elbows splayed wide on quilt rings. melony.

  Aurelia stared, speechless. even as a child, her sister had always arrived in style: face clean, hair brushed, dress spotless. Never had Aurelia seen melony cast off her shoes at the foot of the bed as they were now, never out of control, never without manners, never anything less than perfect.

  What was melony doing here? In the room in which robert had been staying?

  "Where is he?" Aurelia asked, the back of her mind wondering how she could remain composed in the face of her sister's ultimate betrayal. but this was not the sister Aurelia had thought she knew, not the person she had comforted, confided in, and loved. melony had incinerated those bonds and defined herself as a stranger.

  The crumpled figure moved, palms digging into the covers, pushing up elbows and shoulders. A feral set of eyes peered out from behind the yellow net of loose strands. "Where is he?" Hollow words echoed back at her. "He's dead."

  Chris, Aurelia realized. Her sister had come here because of Chris, not robert. despite what robert had said about Chris's feelings for her sister, Aurelia had never imagined melony would reciprocate. Not her sister. Not the one who dangled young men from her fingertips like string and twisted them around one another in an unending game of cat's cradle.

  "Not Chris, robert. Where is robert?"

  "robert?" melony's voice vibrated. "Our father let him go. He's gone."

  Aurelia wanted to doubt the final words, but a glance around the room confirmed their truth. Nothing remained to indicate the room had even been lived in. The walls, the floor, the wardrobe--all stood bare. No swords, no clothes, no saddlebags. she moved to the door and swung it forward. No buckskin jacket.

  "He's gone!" melony's voice rose in hysteria. "He should be chained to a dungeon wall and left to starve until he's dead, like Chris. dead!"

  Aurelia backed away. "Where are Chris's things?"

  "Father had them burned."

  Why? Aurelia wanted to ask. Why would her father do that to Henry? but the answer came to her before she worded the question. The king would tell the public Chris was to blame for the assassination plot, for the unexplained events at the palace over the past four months, for the dead jockey on the racecourse that morning. Chris would be Father's scapegoat.

  "It's your fault, you and your righteous act," melony hissed. she brushed the hair off her face and sat up on her knees. "you don't really think you'll become queen of Tyralt, do you? Father is never going to put the throne in your hands. mother says edward can't have children. If he was going to have an heir, he'd already have one, and you aren't clever enough to have a child without him. you aren't even bright enough to keep your real feelings out of court."

  The conversation with melony outside elise's dressing room suddenly made sense. "you were talking about your relationship with Chris," Aurelia accused, "when you said Father would never accept a suitor without a title."

  melony flung the crumpled pillow at her sister. "Now it doesn't matter, does it?!" she screamed. "you've destroyed everything. I hope edward strangles you in your marriage bed."

  "I'm not going to marry king edward."

  A bitter laugh ripped through the room. "yes, you are. Father hasn't told you yet?"

  "yes, he told me." A strange calm settled into Aurelia's chest. she knew now that the only way to escape this insanity was to relinquish her political power. Let her father and sister suffer its dubious rewards. "but I'm not going to Anthone. I'm not staying here either. I'm leaving."

  Chapter Fifteen

  IN THE GARDEN

  THE BRIDLE SLIPPED FROM ROBERT'S LEFT HAND. He reached out instinctively with his right to catch the sliding leather, but the pain in his injured shoulder surprised him. And the bridle dropped unchecked to the stable floor.

  He buried his head in Horizon's mane. He must leave. There was no question. The king had commanded it, and it was robert's duty to obey.

  Obedience, is that what you call it? The steady rise and fall of the stallion's belly did little to stave off robert's scolding conscience. He should not leave without speaking to his uncle.

  perhaps uncle Henry had known all along. perhaps he also had been involved in the assassination plot. robert had missed so many things, why not that as well? but Chris had said it was his father's idea to send for brian Vantauge. uncle Henry had written the letter. He had chosen to ask for help.

  How could robert explain what had happened? How could he ask forgiveness for having killed the son of a man he loved and respected? robert knew he was too weak to do it.

  bending down, he lifted the bridle from the floor.

  "I tell you, lad, you never cease to surprise me!" A mammoth black hand clappe
d down on robert's good shoulder. The bridle went tumbling into a hay bale as drew's familiar face grinned down at him. "I'm serious, lad," drew said. "I consider myself a strong judge of character. It's a gift, you might say, the ability to see beyond the surface of most folks. but you, you show up at a horse fair, feed me a story, and ask me a simple question. When Her Highness arrived, I knew I was dealing with more than a lad interested in horses; but no matter how many times I revise my view of you, you keep surprising me."

  robert retrieved the bridle again, picking off strands of straw. "What do you mean?" he asked, struggling to adapt his senses to the older man's jovial energy.

  "I mean I keep underrating you. I figured you for a friend of Aurelia's, harboring an infatuation, maybe, but nothing serious. Next thing I hear, you've asked permission to escort her on an outing, asked in the presence of the entire court no less. Lad," he said, shaking his head in disbelief, "I'd have paid gold coin to see that much gumption."

  robert dropped his head. The episode felt like a lifetime ago. "It wasn't what it seemed."

  "That's my point." drew pounded him on the back. "Then today, the streets are full of gossip: 'bout how the princess was found almost dead on the racecourse and you retaliated by killing one of the best fencers at the palace."

  robert shuddered and turned back to his horse. He could not bear the thought of having his actions heralded.

  His companion did not take the hint; "I came up to hear the truth for myself; and not only are the rumors confirmed, but I also hear the same princess is embarking on an expedition of the kingdom. mind you, the departure time for this grand tour is not a year from now, not a month, not even a week, but first thing tomorrow morning. explain to me, lad, how Aurelia could have received permission for such a trip?"

  Again the bridle fell to the ground. "It's not possible," robert said, more to himself than to the man beside him. Not unless she had no choice. Not unless she, like robert, had been ordered to leave. He clapped drew's arm in apology for being rude and walked past the horseman back toward the palace.