He saw her swallow. “Bodkin made it a test of loyalty,” she said. “Within the Espion. Those who balked were imprisoned as Occitanian spies. Some are still in chains.” She looked at him. “I’m not proud of what I did, Ransom. We were forbidden to tell anyone. How did you know? Did one of the Espion betray Jon-Landon?”
Ransom let out his breath, struggling to contain his disgust and deep disappointment. He was grateful his boys were alive and well, but their lives were in greater danger than ever before. And so was the whole kingdom with such a king.
“Not the Espion, no. I found out through another source.”
“Will you tell me?” she asked.
He studied her for a moment before responding. “Whose side are you on now, Cecily?”
“I’ve always been on your side,” she said, leaning forward. “That hasn’t changed. But I have to maneuver a very narrow ledge. When I heard a ship from Glosstyr had arrived at the merchants’ docks, I intervened to find you first. Other Espion will be coming for you. If you were intending to slip away, you should do so at once.”
“That is not my intention,” Ransom said. “I came because the king summoned me.”
“He summoned you to arrest you,” Cecily said earnestly. “He’s going to take Legault from you and Lady Claire. He sent Faulkes there to do the deed. Ransom, you cannot trust Jon-Landon. The king means to destroy you.”
Ransom’s stomach shriveled. “If I didn’t come, he would have every right to.”
She shook her head. “He has a grievance against you and Claire. If you enter the palace of Kingfountain, you may never leave it again.”
Ransom was sick at heart. “I know.”
“Then why did you come?” she asked, perplexed.
“Isn’t it enough that my sons are hostages? But even if they were not at his mercy, I have a duty to the Argentine family. If he feels the need to imprison me . . .” He shrugged. “So be it. I will not rebel against him.”
“That sounds more like stubbornness than loyalty,” Cecily pointed out. Her eyes flashed with disappointment. Had she hoped for something else from him?
“I wish it were only foolish pride and stubbornness,” Ransom said, shaking his head. “If that were the case, I might change my mind, but the Fountain bid me safeguard the king’s children.”
She gave him a quizzical look. “Devon and Léanore?”
Léanore was the king’s young daughter, born a year after the heir.
“Yes,” he said. “It’s as simple as that. I would have come anyway, since the king has my boys, but I’ve learned that Estian’s poisoner, Alix, intends to murder Jon-Landon and his children in revenge for what he did to the hostages.”
“They know?” she asked with a gasp. “I thought we’d caught all the Occitanian infiltrators.”
“Perhaps you did. They have keen ways of knowing things. I learned of this from Lady Alix herself. She left me a . . . message in Glosstyr. A warning.”
“I need to get back to the palace, Ransom. If Jon-Landon doubts me . . . it’s much more dangerous now than ever before.” She gave him a regretful look. “Benedict would never have ordered anything like this.”
Ransom sighed. “No. I can’t believe Lady Deborah condoned it.”
Cecily shook her head. “She doesn’t know. Emiloh might. Since Auxaunce, she’s been very ill. It was a hard winter for her.”
Ransom stepped forward, away from the door. “What do you mean? Has she been poisoned?”
“I don’t think so,” she said. “I think her heart is just giving out. She’s lost all of her sons, or as good as. Jon-Landon treats her horribly.”
He cringed. “Is she still in the Vexin?”
“Yes. He doesn’t want her anywhere near the palace. These are dangerous times.”
The sound of boots came from beyond the door. The heavy footfalls suggested a group was coming. Ransom felt his instincts tingle with dread. He looked at her.
“It sounds like they sent enough men to tame a beast,” she said, shaking her head. “But if I’m seen here, my loyalty will be suspect.”
“I’d better distract them, then,” Ransom said with the same tingle of excitement he always felt going into battle.
Six more ships arrived at Atha Kleah, each stuffed with mercenaries. Nigh on two thousand soldiers disembarked. They’re patrolling the streets and terrorizing the citizenry. One of my nobles, I think it was Brie, was accused of treachery and flogged in the center of town. Faulkes is using fear to tilt the balance of loyalty. I don’t know why he hasn’t left Atha Kleah and come north to Connaught yet, but I suspect he’s biding his time for a reason.
Dearley says we must anticipate an attack by sea and by land. I anticipate sending my daughters to the hunting lodge we have in the woods, but I worry about treachery from the inside. These additional troops show that the king is serious about stripping us of all power.
I’ve had no word from Ransom since he left Glosstyr. No word about the boys. I fear for them, and yet I must keep my focus on the challenge in front of me, not the one underway across the seas.
Steady, Claire. The people will look to you to see what you do. I don’t think I can win this war, but I can make it a costly one.
—Claire de Murrow, Queen of the Fair Isle
(ready to stand alone)
CHAPTER TWELVE
The Sin of Andrew the Ursus
Ransom grabbed his cloak and put it on, hearing the steps coming down the hall. His magic flickered to life, delivering a warning that would have roused him had he been asleep.
“Are you going to fight them all?” Cecily hissed.
“Not if they back down. They’ve no reason to act against me.”
He sensed several men coming to the door. He hadn’t locked it since letting Cecily in. Leaning back against the door, he wedged his boot against the edge of a floorboard and pressed his shoulder into the wood.
Cecily rose, looking fearful. She’d feared being caught out of the palace—how much worse would it be if she were caught with him?
“Hide under the bed,” he counseled. She promptly obeyed.
A voice grunted, and then several bodies struck the door at once. Ransom held it firm. Another blow came, making the whole frame rattle. The wood cracked, but Ransom did not desist.
“C’mon lads. Hit it harder!” said a muffled voice.
Ransom stepped away from the door to the opposite side of the hinges. When they hit it again, the door flew open with a crash, and three men tumbled inside, landing atop each other. Ransom stepped around them and entered the hall, encountering several more men.
“It’s him!” one of the Espion said in surprise.
They didn’t state their purpose or explain why they’d come to him before sunrise—rather, four men charged him at once.
Ransom felt the Fountain magic surge inside him, but it was muted, lethargic.
Because his magic was driven by loyalty, and his was being tested. Severely.
He punched the first in the jaw, dropping him. Two of the man’s companions shoved him into the wall, but he kneed one in the stomach and threw the second down. The fourth he grabbed by the collar and threw into a neighbor’s door. Blood spurted from the man’s split nose as he sagged down to his knees.