Claire rose from the couch as well. “By coming here, you’ve implicated us in your plot.”
“That wasn’t our intention.” James looked down at Maeg. “We had to come. We had to start the revolt now.”
“I don’t understand,” Claire said. “Why now? If you wanted to act before Faulkes was released, you’re days too late.”
“No one fears Faulkes now after his defeat here.” A smug smile had risen on his face, but it fell the next moment. “Our hand was forced.”
“How?” Ransom demanded.
Dearley looked greensick at all the talk of treason.
James swiped a hand through his pale blond hair. “After we defeated the Occitanian army and took our prisoners back to Dundrennan, the king came to visit. He asked to see Drew Argentine. Of course I let him. He’s the king. He took the boy on a walk to the top of the falls. I went with them, of course, because I was worried. The king had been acting strangely.”
“In what way?” Claire demanded.
“Like he had a fever. He had a half-mad look in his eyes and kept muttering under his breath. The three of us climbed to the falls. There’s a bridge there, one that straddles the falls. It’s a beautiful view.” James’s voice began to crack. He covered his mouth, his eyes haunted with the memory. “He did go mad. He grabbed Drew by the shoulders and said if the Fountain wanted a boy to be king, then he would survive the fall. He shoved Drew off the bridge.”
Maeg began weeping, her arms wrapped tightly around herself as she sobbed.
Tears stung Ransom’s eyes as he imagined the awful scene. The man who’d held him hostage all those years ago, King Gervase, had been given the opportunity to kill a child to secure his throne. He’d refused and lost the hollow crown in the end. What sort of monster would do such a thing? Jon-Landon had not even been compelled or cornered into doing so—Drew had been his prisoner. The boy had been honorable and kind, much more regal than the man who’d killed him.
“I was so surprised,” James said. “I rushed to the edge and watched him vanish in the mist. Some of my men found the . . . body . . . two days later.”
“That is terrible,” Claire said with revulsion.
“It was an awful scene,” James said thickly. “I stared at the king. I . . . I was so upset I nearly shoved him off. And every day since I have regretted that I didn’t end his miserable life the same day he killed his nephew. Jon-Landon stood there on the bridge, staring at the falls, and he chuckled and said that the Lady of the Fountain wasn’t real. That nothing had stopped him. No manifestation had saved the boy’s life. He turned to me and made me swear an oath I would tell no one, not even my wife, what had happened. He made me swear it on pain of death.”
Maeg put her hand on her husband’s, still on her shoulder. “But he did tell me. Later that night, James went on a walk in the woods to hide his face from the king. And the king tried to . . . to seduce me.”
Ransom’s heart was already blackened by the news, but hearing Maeg’s confession made it even darker. He glanced at Claire and saw the cold fury in her eyes.
“I fought him,” Maeg said. “Made his lip bleed. He seemed to fancy the taste of blood. I fled and hid in the servants’ quarters.”
James’s eyes were livid. “I didn’t know until he’d left for the palace. I’ve heard since that it has become a habit with him. He preys on other men’s wives and daughters. His court is benighted. I think he demanded hostages from all of us because he suspects an uprising. He sent Bodkin, the head of the Espion, to Dundrennan to collect Percy.”
Maeg scowled with repressed rage. “I refused,” she whispered. “I could not bear him using my only son as a hostage to get me to . . . to submit to him! I refused.”
“That probably didn’t go well,” Claire said softly.
James chuffed. “When he demanded why not, she said—probably too hastily—that she’d never trust her son to a murderer who killed his own nephew.”
Maeg trembled with grief and rage. “I wouldn’t. I couldn’t. Not my son.”
“Ransom,” James said earnestly. “The king has broken faith with all of us. Our borders are under attack by foreign enemies. He’s lost the empire his father built. It’s just a matter of time before it all crumbles. Join us. With you on our side, it will end before winter. When Kiskaddon takes the palace, your sons will be freed. You have nothing to fear if you defy him.”
“Ransom and I need to talk,” Claire said firmly. “Give us some time, please. I’m sorry for your misfortunes. Truly. That must have been an awful scene to witness. I’ll have nightmares just hearing of it. But we must decide what is best for ourselves.”
“Of course,” James said, his shoulders drooping. He took Maeg’s hand, and they rose to leave.
Maeg looked into Ransom’s eyes. “Please, Brother. Please.”
He could not give her the reassurances she wanted, however, so he looked down at the floor and waited for them to leave. As Dearley went to leave, Claire motioned for him to stay. He shut the door before turning back to them.
“I’m sick at heart,” Dearley said.
“We all are,” Claire confirmed as she began pacing the room.
Ransom’s stomach was sour. His feelings of animosity for the king had swelled, yet his commitment to protect Jon-Landon’s children weighed heavily on him. They’d be present when violence began. So would Ransom’s sons. At least they knew the Espion tunnels, and Cecily and Dawson would be there to keep them safe, if that were at all possible.
“They’re going to depose the king!” Claire said in wonderment.
“They’re going to try,” Ransom clarified. “The Espion are still loyal to him. And with Faulkes back in play, he has another duke on his side.”
“How much does Jon-Landon have in his treasury?” Claire asked. “He could hire a lot of mercenaries.”
“He’s richer than Benedict or his father from gathering scutage for so many years,” Ransom answered. “If they fail to capture him quickly, the whole kingdom will be plunged into civil war.”
“It was like this during the reign of Gervase, wasn’t it?” Dearley asked.
“We were only children back then,” Claire said, looking at Ransom plaintively. “Oh Ransom, what do we do?”
“Before I left Kingfountain,” Ransom said, reaching and taking her hand. “I swore fealty to the king. I don’t condone what he did. I abhor it.” He glanced from Claire to Dearley and then back. “But the Argentine line must continue through Jon-Landon’s son. It must. The Fountain has made that very clear to me. If we do not protect the boy, we will all pay the price.”
Dearley clearly didn’t understand all he’d said, but he didn’t ask questions. He just nodded, once, and said, “Then we protect the boy.”
Claire reached for his hand and squeezed it. “Jon-Landon has done nothing to earn your loyalty, but the boy needs you now more than ever. If you’re right, and he’s the one who’ll eventually bring peace to our kingdom . . . we must save him. Alix could use the upheaval as a chance to destroy all of the Argentine heirs. As little as Jon-Landon deserves our help, we must warn him that his family is in danger.”