Dearley was flummoxed by the news. “That’s awful.”
“I’m conflicted, to say the least. It’s possible that Lady Alix doesn’t know the full truth about her parentage, but she may have been feigning her interest in me.” He sighed, again feeling the weight of the sorrow on his heart. “I wanted to believe her. I suspect she has an uncanny power that forces people to believe her. Still, she saved my life . . .”
“I don’t even know what to say,” Dearley said in amazement. “Her affection for you did seem real, as far as I could tell. And yet, if you’re right about her, none of us can trust what we experienced around her. You told me she was Fountain-blessed too, but I never would have suspected that.”
“Well, the matter is moot. The king has forbidden me to marry her.” He paused, considering the situation, and added, “Being in Bayree turned my head around in a way I don’t fully understand. I realize my feelings for Claire haven’t changed.”
Dearley nodded slowly. “And Sir James is courting her. From what you’ve told me, I doubt he intends to seek the king’s approval. That . . . that is unpleasant.”
A knock sounded on the door. Dearley crossed the room and opened it, revealing Lady Deborah in the entryway.
“My apologies!” Dearley said when he saw her. “Sir Ransom just returned, and he was—”
“I know,” she said with a quirk of a smile. “Half the servant girls in the palace were crowded around the windows, fawning over the sight of him in the training yard.”
Ransom thought she was jesting, but the look on her face indicated she was sincere.
“You were quite a specimen, I’ve been told. They’re all aflutter now. Shall we?”
Embarrassment twisted in his stomach. It hadn’t occurred to him that others might be watching. It had been storming fiercely, unnaturally, and he’d probably looked like a fool eejit out there, as Claire would say, swinging at nothing. But he didn’t have time to dwell—the king expected him, and Ransom doubted he was in any mood to wait. He nodded and started toward the door. Dearley touched his arm on his way out, giving him a look of support.
As Ransom and Lady Deborah walked into the hall, she gave him a surreptitious glance.
“Heartsickness is a malady with no easy cure,” she said. “I was young once, although you may not imagine that possible. I was given to the lord of Thorngate castle when I was sixteen and he thirty. It was quite a shock in the beginning. Not a marriage of the heart, you might say. Not at first. Political marriages rarely are.”
Her words seemed intended to ease his pain. He appreciated it.
“I imagine it was that way for my parents as well,” Ransom said. His parents had never seemed affectionate toward each other. He thought about his sister, Maeg, and Marcus’s objection to letting her marry as she wished. If Dearley and Elodie still wanted to marry in a few years, he’d make sure it happened. Happiness should not be impossible to achieve.
“What matters is making the best you can of any given situation. Would you hear my counsel, Sir Ransom?” she asked.
“I will if you have any to give,” he replied. They’d reached the stairs and started down them side by side.
“It is my belief that Lady Alix did intend to deceive you. Someone like her—a woman trained as a poisoner—could not have been kept in the dark forever. She would have found out her true parentage. Would she have betrayed Estian, her brother? Possibly, but I doubt it. She may have killed her other brother, but she was raised with this one. She was raised Occitanian. Her insistence on keeping her identity a secret only strengthens my view. It has long been a practice in Occitania to prefer political intrigues to war on the battlefield. Her efforts to entrap you fit into that tradition. So I’ve advised the king not to allow the marriage.”
“Yes, well . . . I can’t say I disagree with you. I’m not surprised by your counsel.”
“I haven’t given it yet.”
His brow furrowed in confusion.
“I’ve advised the king that you would be a better match for Lady Claire de Murrow.”
Ransom halted and turned to stare at her in disbelief.
“The duchy of Glosstyr has been vacant for far too long. The king needs a strong man in that position more than he needs the additional income. Also, we would regain loyalty from the Legaultans, which would be to our benefit should war break out with Occitania or with one, or more, of the king’s sons. You’ve proven your loyalty, Ransom. I think it would not only be a pragmatic decision, but it would tie your interests to the king’s. My counsel to you, young man, is to ask for it yourself.”
Her words lifted some of the darkness that had descended on him—they gave him something he’d been lacking all day: hope. “I have, but he’s denied me before. And I may be too late. Another man is seeking her favor.”
“She despises Jon-Landon. That’s plain to see.”
“I was talking about Sir James.”
She frowned. “The king wouldn’t trust him to guard a cow, let alone a duchy,” she said. “No, that won’t do, and I’d advise against it. Is this palace gossip? Ignore it. To rule Legault, you’ll need sufficient coin and bravery to tame their nobles. It wasn’t easy for Lord Archer, nor would it likely be easy for you because of your youth. But I think you’re the far better man for such a duty.”
He thought again of James kissing Claire’s hand. The memory still made him queasy. Did she have feelings for him, or was the attachment one-sided?
“The king told me he’d never allow it,” he reminded her.
“I know. He’s stubborn. But I think he’ll come around. Ask for it, Ransom. Demand it. He respects persistence.”
He looked at Lady Deborah with admiration. “Thank you for your counsel. I’ve always been . . . fond of her.”
Lady Deborah smiled. “I know. The cook told me about the two of you.” Then she winked at him and continued down the steps.
When they entered the king’s private chambers, allowed in by his guards, he was pacing restlessly. Hail tapped at the windows outside.
“Accursed storm!” railed the king, glaring at the water-stained windows. “The day started so pleasant. Where have you been, Sir Ransom? I don’t like to be kept waiting.”
“I’m sorry, my lord,” Ransom apologized, but he offered no explanation or excuse.
Lady Deborah approached the king. “I’ve shared with him my views on Lady Alix and her intentions.”
The king gave her a knowing look and then pointed to Ransom. “You seem a little glum, but if Deborah says the poisoner has tricked you, believe it. They’re a cunning lot. She nearly tricked us all.”
“I understand, my lord. What do you want me to do?”
“What do I want? I want you to lead an army and blast through the walls of Pree! But I need to get out of the treaty first. I’m finished playing games with Lewis’s brat. It will not be said of me that Devon the Ursus doesn’t keep his oaths. Go to Pree with a sizable host and tell him that Bayree is mine by rights and that he shouldn’t have made it conditional on marrying the girl. If he balks, tell him you know the truth. If he wants the rumors to get out, then that will be his decision, not mine.”