Naamah's Blessing - Jacqueline Carey [229]
They were escorted from the throne-room by the royal guardsmen, Claudine de Barthelme with her not-quite-crowned head held high, and her eldest son casting uncertain glances over his shoulder.
“Your highness, I cannot expect you to believe it, but I knew nothing of this.” Duc Rogier spoke in a stiff, formal tone. Beneath the circlet he wore, there were beads of sweat forming on his brow, trickling down his temples. “I swear to you, I would never have condoned it. Never.”
Narrowing his eyes, Thierry considered him.
Once upon a time, it would have been nothing to be subjected to the scrutiny of Thierry de la Courcel.
That time had passed.
“I do believe you,” he said at length. “I believe you are guilty of nothing but naked opportunism. To be honest, I am not sure which I despise more. And so for the moment, I will ask you to remove yourself from my sight, cousin.” He tilted his head. “Go.”
Duc Rogier Courcel de Barthelme went, his shoulders slumped and heavy, taking his younger son Aristide with him. Like his brother, the lad glanced over his shoulder. Unlike his brother, Aristide gave Desirée a brave smile, waving his fingers at her. Glancing down, I saw her offer a tremulous smile in reply, and I thought mayhap there was hope for House Barthelme after all.
“You may also go,” Thierry said to the Comtesse de Maillet. “My stepmother Jehanne and I may have disagreed on many issues, but on this, I suspect we would be in perfect accord. Consider yourself dismissed from the service of House Courcel.”
Jehanne’s mother departed with an audible sniff, her delicate nostrils flaring; but she went.
I wondered, briefly, where her husband was.
And then I forgot, along with the rest of the realm, as Thierry took a knee and knelt before his little half-sister in an unconscious echo of the pose Balthasar had taken, hands braced on bended knee.
“Hello,” he said to her. “I don’t expect you remember me, do you?”
“No,” she said gravely. “But I know who you are. I was very, very little when you went away, wasn’t I?”
Thierry nodded. “Very little, yes. And I am sorry to have been gone for so long, little sister. But now that I have come back, do you suppose we might be friends, you and I? It would please me greatly.”
Desirée glanced up at me.
I nodded.
Bao extricated his hand from hers. “You are fortunate to have such a brother, young highness,” he said to her. “It was not easy to rescue him! He has many, many tales to tell you.”
“I would like that very much,” she said solemnly, extending her hand to Thierry, who clasped it with equal solemnity.
It was a private moment in a public setting, and I felt my throat tighten at the sight of them, the twice-orphaned survivors of House Courcel; and I daresay everyone in the throne-room felt the same way, for there were audible sighs.
“I have a great deal to do to set matters right here, little sister,” Thierry said to her. “And I fear I will be busy for a time. But I will always have time for you, I promise. We are family, you and I.”
Desirée hesitated. “You won’t hurt them, will you?”
“The Duc and his family?” he asked. She nodded. Thierry considered his reply. “It is not for me to decide. Those who have broken laws will be judged in a court of law, and if they are found guilty, there will be a price to pay. Not even the King is above the rule of law. But if you wish to plead clemency for them, you may—and nothing will be done today.” He squeezed her hand. “We will talk more about this later, all right? I promise, nothing will be done without your knowledge.”
She nodded again.
Gently releasing her hand, Thierry straightened and placed himself before the throne, turning to address the assembly once more.
“My lords and ladies, I am blessed among men to stand before you today,” he said to them. “I owe my safe return to the brave D